10 things you need to know today: September 21, 2016

Prosecutors charge Ahmad Khan Rahami with bombings, fatal police shooting sparks protests in Charlotte, and more

Police confront protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina
(Image credit: REUTERS/Adam Rhew/Charlotte Magazine)

1. Ahmad Khan Rahami charged with New York, New Jersey bombings

Prosecutors formally charged Ahmad Khan Rahami with last weekend's bombings in New York City and New Jersey, saying he was inspired by Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki and had written in a journal that he wanted to "kill" unbelievers. His father, Mohammad Rahami, said he told the F.B.I. in 2014 that his son might be involved in terrorism. The elder Rahami said that after a nearly two-month investigation, agents told him, "He's clean, he's not a terrorist." The agency said in a statement that its agents reviewed databases, contacted other agencies, and conducted multiple interviews — but not with Rahami himself — and found no evidence that he was involved with terror groups.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

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.