10 things you need to know today: September 10, 2016

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shake hands while announcing a Syria deal

(Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)

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1. U.S. and Russia reach Syria cease-fire deal
2. Clinton, Trump escalate personal and national security denunciations
3. Obama condemns North Korea's nuclear test
4. Appeals court blocks voter ID rules in three states
5. Construction paused on oil pipeline protested by Native Americans
6. Congress allows 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia
7. 23 killed in Bangladesh factory fire
8. Superbug discovered in 2-year-old child
9. Texas mattress company closes 'indefinitely' after offensive 9/11 ad
10. Ronald Reagan shooter John Hinckley Jr. released from mental hospital

last updated 10 September 2016

1. U.S. and Russia reach Syria cease-fire deal

The United States and Russia reached a cease-fire agreement over the conflict in Syria early Saturday morning, a deal made after days of intense negotiations between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The truce will go into effect Monday evening at sundown, timing which corresponds with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, and will allow much-needed humanitarian aid to make its way into Syria's devastated cities. After a week, American and Russian forces will begin cooperating to target Islamic State and al Qaeda militants in Syria, and Russia has pledged to stop the Bashar al-Assad regime from flying over rebel-controlled regions to drop barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks. In return, the U.S. will pressure opposition forces to stop working with the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda splinter group in Syria which Assad has used as an excuse for brutal bombing campaigns. The deal was quickly welcomed by Turkey, which is now preparing humanitarian aid for its Syrian neighbors.

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump launched a series of cutting personal attacks and foreign policy criticisms at each other during campaign events Friday. Trump alleged Clinton's corrupt political connections are so strong she could "shoot someone with 20,000 people watching, right smack in the middle of the heart, and she wouldn't be prosecuted." Clinton said half of Trump's supporters belong in a "basket of deplorables" — "the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it." On national security issues, Trump labeled Clinton "trigger-happy" and too eager to go to war, while Clinton charged Trump with promoting unserious policies "that will make us less safe."

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Hours after North Korea announced it had conducted a fifth successful nuclear test, President Obama issued a statement Friday condemning the explosion in "the strongest possible terms" and warning of new sanctions on the country. "To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state," the statement read, calling North Korea's actions "a grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability." North Korea confirmed its nuclear attempt soon after the United States Geological Survey detected a 5.3 magnitude earthquake near the country's nuclear test site. Several regional leaders have also condemned North Korea's actions, with China's Foreign Ministry expressing "firm opposition" and South Korea's president calling it "maniacal recklessness."

Would-be voters in Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas cannot be required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to vote, a federal court of appeals ruled Friday night. The 2-1 decision struck down a lower court's ruling in favor of the laws and ordered all voter applications submitted since January 29 to be treated as if proof of citizenship were not a stated requirement. Supporters of the voter ID rule say it is necessary to prevent in-person voter fraud, but opponents argue it discriminates against the 7 percent of Americans who do not have proof of citizenship while addressing a nearly nonexistent problem. The other 47 states only require voters to swear to their citizenship instead of providing formal documentation.

An order from the Army, the Justice Department, and the Department of the Interior on Friday temporarily halted construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil conduit which has been subject to heavy protest by Native Americans in North Dakota. Though a judge rejected a request from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to stop construction earlier Friday, the federal government requested a voluntary construction halt so the Army could review relevant federal law. The Standing Rock Sioux celebrated the decision, as the $3.8 billion pipeline, designed to run through North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, is expected to damage sacred sites as well as pollute drinking water on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

On Friday, Congress passed a bill that could allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia over its alleged ties to the terrorist attacks. The House approved the bill with a voice vote, seconding the Senate's vote in May and sending the bill to President Obama's desk. Obama, however, has already vowed to veto the legislation. Policy experts argue the Saudis, who have repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks, would see the law as a "hostile act" threatening diplomatic relations with America's largest ally in the Middle East. Proponents of the bill argue it would give victims' families an opportunity to seek justice.

A major fire at a food and cigarette packaging factory in Bangladesh on Saturday killed 23 people and wounded at least 24 more. Believed to be caused by a boiler explosion, the blaze started around 8 a.m. local time and was contained after several hours. Rescue efforts are still underway, and officials say more victims may still be trapped inside the damaged building. The factory belongs to Tampaco Foil, which lists Nestlé and British American Tobacco among its customers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported the fourth human case of an antibiotic-resistant superbug. The patient, a 2-year-old Connecticut child, may have contracted the superbug during a trip to the Caribbean in June; she tested positive for a strain of E. coli that contained the gene mcr-1, which scientists have found to be resistant to the antibioitic colistin. Colistin is generally the "last-resort" treatment, administered when patients aren't responding to other antibiotics. Health experts have been carefully tracking the mcr-1 gene, as scientists believe that if it spreads to other bacteria, it could morph into a superbug invincible to all known antibiotics. The toddler was free of superbug infection as of August 1.

After one of its stores released a tasteless homemade advertisement marketing a 9/11-themed sale, a Texas mattress company announced Friday it will close its doors "indefinitely." The ad in question, which sees sales associates offering any size mattress for the price of a twin — while standing in front of twin mattress towers they gleefully knock over — went viral online, prompting national outrage. The embattled company first issued a strongly-worded apology and later announced its immediate closure.

John Hinckley Jr., the man who in 1981 attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, was scheduled for release from the mental ward of a Washington, D.C., hospital Saturday morning. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and his release was ordered in July of this year after a judge found he no longer posed a threat to society. The would-be assassin, whose attack disabled and eventually killed Press Secretary James Brady and injured President Reagan plus two others, will live with his elderly mother in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.