10 things you need to know today: October 19, 2015

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1. Leader of al-Qaeda-linked group killed by airstrike in Syria
2. Polls indicate trouble for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
3. Benghazi committee chair says House critics should "shut up"
4. New migrant bottleneck develops in Europe's migrant crisis
5. Two killed, including migrant mistaken for terrorist, in latest lone-wolf attack in Israel
6. Trump says his immigration policies could have prevented 9/11
7. Deputy fatally shot by suspect in Minnesota hospital
8. Two die as typhoon hits Philippines
9. Michelle Obama launches initiative urging teens to continue education
10. FAA expected to announce require owners to register drones

last updated 19 October 2015

1. Leader of al-Qaeda-linked group killed by airstrike in Syria

An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria killed Sanafi al-Nasr, the highest-ranking leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Khorasan Group, U.S. officials said Sunday. Al-Nasr — whose real name is Abdul Mohsen Adballah Ibrahim al Charekh — was the fifth Khorasan Group leader killed in four months. "The United States will not relent in its mission to degrade, disrupt, and destroy alQaeda and its remnants," said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.

Canadians vote Monday to determine whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has held power for nearly a decade, will get to keep his job. Harper's Conservatives trailed the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau, the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, in polls ahead of the election. Harper entered politics to dismantle the elder Trudeau's 16-year liberal legacy. Justin Trudeau has vowed to turn the tables, and "bring an end to the Harper decade."

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Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chair of the House committee investigating the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks, said on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that he has told Republican critics to "shut up about things that you don't know anything about." A former staff member has accused Gowdy's committee of partisan targeting of Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state in 2012. Clinton, who is scheduled to testify Thursday, has called the panel "a partisan arm of the Republican National Committee."

Slovenia said Sunday it will only take in 2,500 migrants per day, half of what neighboring Croatia has requested. The decision promised to worsen the latest bottleneck in the European migrant crisis. Hungary closed its border to Croatia at midnight Saturday, leaving Croatia to reroute migrants through Slovenia. Each day, thousands of migrants — including refugees fleeing conflict in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq — try to cross through the Balkans to seek asylum in Western Europe.

A gunman identified as an Arab Israeli citizen opened fire in a bus station in the southern Israel city of Beersheba, killing a soldier and wounding nine other people. The alleged attacker was fatally shot. A security officer also shot Eritrean migrant Mulu Habtom Zerhoma, mistaking him for an attacker. Police are looking for bystanders who beat Zerhoma, thinking him a terrorist. Zerhoma later died. A Foreign Ministry spokesman called the mob's attack on the innocent bystander a reflection of the fear created by a month-long flurry of attacks.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said Sunday that his "extremely tough" immigration policies would have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "I believe that if I were running things, I doubt those people would have been in the country," Trump said on Fox News Sunday. Trump said he didn't blame then-President George W. Bush for the attacks, but current GOP candidate Jeb Bush should stop saying his brother made us safe. Jeb Bush said Trump's remarks on 9/11 show he is not taking the prospect of being president seriously.

A Minnesota sheriff's deputy, Steven M. Sandberg, was shot and killed Sunday by a suspect he was monitoring in a hospital. The suspect, 50-year-old Danny Leroy Hammond, was taken to St. Cloud Hospital after what police described as a domestic problem. He was not in police custody, but hospital officials had asked that a law enforcement officer watch him. Hammond reportedly got out of his bed and got Sandberg's gun after a struggle, and fired several rounds. Another deputy tased Hammond, who later died.

At least two people were killed as Typhoon Koppu hit the northeastern Philippines on Sunday. The slow-moving storm drove 16,000 people from their villages, and cut off power to nine entire provinces. Soldiers and police rescued people from flooded areas. Rice farms in Nueva Ecija province were devastated just when they were due to be harvested. Late Sunday the typhoon, weakening but still with top sustained winds of 93 miles per hour, was pushing through the mountainous province of Nueva Vizcaya.

First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday is unveiling an initiative called "Better Make Room" aiming to encourage teens to continue their education beyond high school. "You should think about the first lady as school-counselor-in-chief for the entire country," said Tina Tchen, Mrs. Obama's chief of staff. Celebrities such as NBA star LeBron James and social media sites, including Vine and AwesomenessTV, will help raise awareness.

The Federal Aviation Administrations is expected to announce new rules on Monday requiring the owners of remote-control drones to register them with the government. The government is concerned about hobbyists flying the small aircraft close to airports. The rule will help track owners in the event of an accident, including a collision with an airplane. "There's still people out there doing stupid things, and as long as you got people out there doing stupid things, it requires more regulation," drone hobbyist Jerry Zegart said.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.