10 things you need to know today: October 13, 2015

1. World's two biggest beer companies agree to merge

SABMiller agreed to a sweetened takeover offer from larger rival Anheuser-Busch InBev, the rival brewing companies said in a news release Tuesday. The deal values No. 2 global brewer SABMiller at $104.5 billion. SABMiller's board rejected four previous proposals in recent weeks, but agreed to unanimously recommend this all-cash offer to shareholders. If regulators approve the merger, the combined company will sell more than 30 percent of the world's beer. AB InBev's beers include Budweiser and Corona. SABMiller's include Miller and Coors.

The Wall Street Journal USA Today

2. Clinton maintains big lead as Democrats head into first debate

The five Democratic presidential candidates meet Tuesday night for their first debate. The event will be held in Nevada, a state where Hillary Clinton is the party's clear frontrunner, with the support of 50 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers, according to a CNN/ORC International poll. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is in second at 34 percent. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 48 percent of Democrats nationwide wish Vice President Joe Biden would join the race, although only 17 percent said he would be their preferred candidate.

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3. U.S. airdrops ammunition to Syrian rebels

The U.S. military has airdropped 50 tons of small-arms ammunition to moderate Syrian rebels. The news came as Russia continued its air campaign in support of Syrian government forces, hitting 53 targets. Syrian insurgents on Tuesday fired at least two shells into the Russian Embassy compound in Damascus as Syrian pro-government demonstrators were holding a rally outside celebrating Russia's military support. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Voice of America The Associated Press

4. Shootings and stabbings escalate wave of violence in Israel

At least three people were killed and more than 10 injured Tuesday in several stabbings and shootings in Israel. In one attack, two Palestinians boarded a bus in Jerusalem, and began stabbing and shooting passengers. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called on the Israeli government to "immediately implement drastic measures" to curb escalating near-daily violence. Seven Israelis have died, and at least 27 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in recent weeks.

NBC News The Associated Press

5. Texas investigates Taser use on black councilman

A Texas prosecutor on Monday launched an investigation into the use of a Taser against a black councilman in the town where Sandra Bland, also black, died in custody after a heated traffic stop. A cellphone video shows Councilman Jonathan Miller on his knees with his arms at his side, when officers use a Taser on him after telling him to put his hands behind his head. Miller was outside his house where police were questioning a group of his friends. Prairie View police said he was disrupting their work.

Reuters

6. Egypt releases Mubarak's two jailed sons

An Egyptian court on Monday ordered the release of the two jailed sons of deposed longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Gamal Mubarak, once his father's heir apparent, and his brother Alaa, a wealthy businessman, were first detained in April 2011 in a corruption case, two months after a popular uprising ended their father's three decades in power. They were released on bail in January only to be convicted in May and sentenced to three years. Their father remains in custody in a military hospital.

New York Daily News

7. Taliban launches assault outside another provincial Afghan capital

Taliban fighters intensified an assault on a second provincial capital in Afghanistan on Monday. Hundreds of Taliban attacked just a few miles from the city of Ghazni, about 80 miles southwest of the nation's capital, Kabul. With tensions high after Taliban forces briefly captured and occupied Kunduz last month, some residents of Kabul fled out of fear the offensive would reach their city.

Reuters

8. Zimbabwe declines to charge U.S. hunter who killed Cecil the lion

Authorities in Zimbabwe announced Tuesday that they would not file charges against Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed a well-known lion named Cecil in an allegedly illegal hunt in July. The foreign bowhunter reportedly paid $55,000 for the expedition, in which the lion, wearing a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University research project, was lured out of a national park and shot with an arrow, then tracked for 40 hours and killed with a gun. Palmer says he relied on his guides to make sure the hunt was legal.

CNN

9. USC fires football coach

The University of Southern California fired its football coach, Steve Sarkisian, on Monday, a day after he allegedly showed up intoxicated at a team meeting. Sarkisian had been placed on leave indefinitely on Sunday, and had been under suspicion since slurring his words and shouting an expletive at a pre-season event in August. "Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well-being," Athletic Director Pat Haden said.

Los Angeles Times

10. Playboy to dispense with nude photos of women

Playboy will stop publishing fully nude photos of women in a redesign to be unveiled in March, The New York Times reported Monday. "You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it's just passé at this juncture," said chief executive Scott Flanders. The iconic men's magazine, which featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953, has seen its circulation fall from 5.6 million in 1975 to 800,000 now. Its web traffic has quadrupled since it eliminated nudity in August 2014.

The New York Times