10 things you need to know today: September 27, 2015

(Image credit: Julio Cortez/Associated Press)

Jump to category:

1. Bill Clinton calls email scandal 'full-scale frontal assault' on Hillary
2. Report: Freddie Gray asked for medical care in police van
3. Pope Francis encourages laity to step up during Mass in Philly
4. Poll: Ben Carson closes in on Donald Trump
5. Planned Parenthood supporters protest Carly Fiorina in Iowa
6. Obama administration allots $300 million to reduce HIV in Africa
7. France's first Syria airstrikes reportedly destroy ISIS training camp
8. Mexico protests disappearance of 43 students on first anniversary
9. Australia may ban Chris Brown over domestic violence record
10. Rare, red supermoon lunar eclipse to grace night sky

published 27 September 2015

1. Bill Clinton calls email scandal 'full-scale frontal assault' on Hillary

Former President Bill Clinton criticized continuing discussion of his wife's use of a private email server as secretary of state. "I think that there are lots of people who wanted there to be a race for different reasons," he said in an interview set to air Sunday on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. "And they thought the only way they could make it a race was a full-scale frontal assault on her." Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton's private server use is under FBI investigation.

Freddie Gray, whose death this spring sparked massive protests in Baltimore, reportedly asked for medical care during a police van ride after his April 12 arrest, according to officer statements. The 25-year-old unarmed black man, handcuffed and unbelted in the vehicle, reportedly said, "Help me. Help me up." William Porter, one of six Baltimore officers charged in Gray's death, asked if Gray needed the hospital. Gray affirmed, so Porter reportedly alerted the van driver, but also questioned whether Gray asked for care in order to avoid going to jail.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Pope Francis spoke to a crowd of about 2,400 during Mass at a Philadelphia cathedral Saturday, urging laypeople to take on more active roles in the Catholic Church while still respecting spiritual authority. "We know that the future of the church calls for a much more active engagement on the part of the laity," he said, highlighting women's contributions in particular. On the last day of his trip Sunday, Francis will visit a prison before holding outdoor Mass for an expected crowd of 1 million.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson polled at 20 percent in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday. He sits just one percentage point behind frontrunner Donald Trump. Behind them are Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio, each with 11 percent of the GOP primary vote. On the Democratic side, the poll shows Hillary Clinton up 15 percentage points on Bernie Sanders, a 19-point drop since July's Journal/NBC poll.

Planned Parenthood protesters threw condoms at Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on Saturday as she campaigned at a University of Iowa football tailgate. One even dressed as a monthly supply of birth control pills. At CNN's Republican debate this month, Fiorina performed well — and surged in polls afterward — but also drew criticism in response to her comments about the women's health clinic. She incorrectly claimed video footage shows Planned Parenthood keeping a fetus alive to harvest its brain.

The Obama administration announced Saturday a $300 million program to help reduce HIV infections in girls and young women who live in sub-Saharan Africa. Officials are shooting for a 25 percent reduction in women aged 15 to 24 by the end of 2016, and a 40 percent reduction a year later. The announcement is the newest phase of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which President George W. Bush started.

France has started carrying out airstrikes against ISIS militants in Syria, President Francois Hollande announced Sunday. Six jet fighters reportedly destroyed a training camp for the terrorist group in the eastern part of the country. "We will strike each time that our national security is in play," Hollande said in a statement. France has already been involved in attacking ISIS in Iraq, but was hesitant to target militants in Syria for fear of inadvertently aiding President Bashar al-Assad.

Thousands of people marched in Mexico City to mark the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students. The government has said Iguala police illegally detained the students before turning them over to a drug gang, which allegedly killed them and incinerated the bodies as part of the nation's ongoing drug war. Independent experts dispute that account. President Enrique Peña Nieto has vowed to create a special prosecutor's office to investigate the incident. Protesters are pushing for a new investigation under international supervision.

Australia's government warned R&B singer Chris Brown on Sunday that he will probably be denied a visa due to his domestic violence record. Brown, convicted of assaulting pop star Rihanna, had planned a December tour in the country. The musician has 28 days to present evidence as to why he should be permitted in Australia. Should officials deny his visa, Australia would join the ranks of Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, which have all refused entry to Brown after his 2009 guilty plea.

In clear skies, watchers Sunday night can expect to see a crimson-colored moon in a total lunar eclipse. On top of that, the moon will be at its closest point to Earth all year, making for a bigger and brighter supermoon. The last time a supermoon and a lunar eclipse converged was 33 years ago, and the phenomenon won't happen again for another 18 years afterward. East Coast spectators can expect to see a partial eclipse begin at 9:07 p.m., according to NASA, with the full eclipse visible from 10:11 to 11:23.

Explore More

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.