10 things you need to know today: November 12, 2015

(Image credit: AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

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1. Kurds lead offensive to retake Iraqi town from ISIS
2. University of Missouri police arrest online-threat suspect
3. Chinese online shopping holiday smashes record
4. Two relatives of Venezuelan president arrested in Haiti on U.S. drug charges
5. Myanmar government and military promise to respect opposition election victory
6. Spanish court warns Catalonia against independence push
7. TV audience declined in latest GOP debate
8. Angry crowd protests in Afghanistan after suspected ISIS attack
9. Fantasy sports sites vow to fight order to shut down in New York state
10. Utah judge removes foster child from lesbian couple's home

published 12 November 2015

1. Kurds lead offensive to retake Iraqi town from ISIS

Kurdish forces supported by U.S.-led airstrikes on Thursday launched an offensive to retake the Iraqi town of Sinjar. ISIS seized the Mount Sinjar area last year. The Islamist extremist group enslaved thousands of the northern town's Yazidi residents, prompting the U.S. to start its air campaign against ISIS. Armed Yazidis are fighting alongside up to 7,500 Kurdish peshmerga fighters attacking on three fronts to cut off ISIS supply lines.

University of Missouri police on Wednesday arrested a 19-year-old student, Hunter M. Park, and charged him with making a "terroristic threat" directed at African Americans on the campus. Protests over racial issues prompted the resignations of the university system president and the school's chancellor. Police did not immediately say what threat he allegedly made, but one message posted this week on the anonymous app Yik Yak said, "I'm going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see."

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Customers spent a record-breaking $14.3 billion in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, the company announced Thursday. The holiday started six years ago as an ironic anti-Valentine's Day celebration of people who aren't in relationships, and has become the biggest online shopping day in the world, beating Cyber Monday and Black Friday combined in sales. This year's event broke 2014's spending record of $9 billion by noon in China as buyers snapped up deep discounts.

U.S. drug agents arrested two nephews of Venezuela's powerful first lady, Cilia Flores, in Haiti this week on charges of conspiring to smuggle 800 kilos of cocaine into the U.S. The suspects, Efrain Campos and Francisco Flores, face arraignment in New York. The arrests came after accusations from the U.S. of narcotics trafficking at the top levels of President Nicolas Maduro's administration. The case is expected to worsen already tense relations between Washington and Maduro's socialist government.

Myanmar's army and the military-backed president, Thein Sein, congratulated democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi and her party on their landslide victory in the country's first free elections in 25 years. Thein Sein said the government would accept the results. He also said he was open to reconciliation talks called for by Suu Kyi, who won a seat in parliament. Her National League for Democracy has won more than 80 percent of the seats declared so far, putting it on track to win a parliamentary majority.

Spain's Constitutional Court on Wednesday blocked the latest push for independence by separatist regional Catalan lawmakers. Hours after Prime Minister Mariona Rajoy challenged a roadmap to secession approved Monday by Catalonia's regional parliament, the court unanimously agreed to consider the government's case. Rajoy accused the separatists of violating the Spanish constitution and endangering centuries of unity. The court said Catalan leaders could face criminal charges if they defy the decision.

The Fox Business Network debate was watched by 13.5 million viewers, making it the least watched debate this year. The numbers were not unexpected, as the first debates tend to draw the most viewers, but the ratings marked a sharp decline — 24 million viewers tuned in to the first GOP debate. Still, Tuesday night was a record-setter for FBN. The GOP's debate for lower-polling candidates drew 4.7 million viewers. The party's next debate is Dec. 15 on CNN.

Protests erupted in Kabul on Wednesday after suspected Islamic-State-linked militants slit the throats of seven members of the Hazara minority in the southern province of Zabul. The killings fueled criticism of the government's ability to provide security and counter attacks by Taliban and ISIS militants. Thousands of demonstrators gathered near the presidential compound. Some tried to climb over the walls before security personnel fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.

Daily fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings on Wednesday called an order that they stop taking bets in New York state "hasty and uninformed." New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday said the companies, which let fans compete for daily cash prizes with imaginary sports teams made up of real players, violated laws against illegal gambling because customers "are clearly placing bets on events outside of their control or influence." The companies plan a legal challenge to stay in business in the state.

A Utah judge this week removed a foster child from the home of a lesbian couple, saying his research showed that children are better off with heterosexual parents. The couple, Beckie Peirce and April Hoagland, got married last year. Then, after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, Utah's social services agency authorized them to become foster parents. Hoagland called the ruling "heartbreaking," and Utah state child welfare officials said Wednesday they were reviewing the decision.

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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.