10 things you need to know today: September 22, 2016

1. State of emergency declared in Charlotte after second night of protests

Violent protests over a fatal police shooting continued in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a second night on Wednesday. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) declared a state of emergency and said he would deploy National Guard troops and highway patrol officers. "We cannot tolerate violence," he said. Four more police officers were injured in clashes on Wednesday, as protests that started out peacefully were disrupted when some people threw rocks and smashed windows. One person was shot and gravely injured in "civilian on civilian" violence, police said. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say Keith Lamont Scott, whose fatal shooting by a police officer sparked the protests, was carrying a pistol and ignored commands to drop it before he was shot. Relatives say Scott was carrying only a book.

USA Today CNN

2. Clinton outlines vision for more job opportunities for people with disabilities

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday outlined her plan to foster a more "inclusive economy" by expanding job opportunities for Americans with disabilities, whom she said "are, too often, invisible, overlooked, and undervalued — who have so much to offer, but are given far too few chances to prove it." The address made no mention of her Republican rival, Donald Trump, but it was widely interpreted as an issue her campaign saw as offering a stark contrast between the candidates. Trump was widely criticized last year for mocking New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a congenital condition that limits flexibility in his arms.

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The New York Times

3. Fed holds interest rates steady, suggests December hike

The Federal Reserve concluded a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday with an announcement that it was holding interest rates in place, as economists expected. "The economy has a bit more running room than might have been previously thought," Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said. Yellen also emphasized that a rate hike could soon be justified, because, "We don't want the economy to overheat." Many economists took the comments as a sign that a December rate hike was likely. The Fed decision gave global stocks a lift early Thursday, with the Stoxx Europe index rising by 0.8 percent.

USA Today MarketWatch

4. Trump praises controversial 'stop-and-frisk' policing methods

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would consider cracking down on crime using "stop-and-frisk" policing methods. Trump made the comments during a Fox News "town hall" taping at a predominantly African-American church in Cleveland, according to two attendees. Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, has a huge polling lead among black voters, and Trump has been making a push to chip away at her advantage. Stop-and-frisk tactics, however, have sparked protests in New York and other major cities due to complaints that the practices unfairly target minorities.

Reuters

5. ISIS suspected of 'mustard agent' attack on U.S. base in Iraq

Islamic State fighters appear to have fired an artillery shell or small rocket containing a "mustard agent" at a U.S. base near Mosul, Iraq, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Soldiers tested the shell and got an initial reading that it contained the chemical agent, although one official said it had "low purity" and was "poorly weaponized." No U.S. troops were injured or showed symptoms of exposure to mustard gas.

CNN

6. At least 42 die in sinking of migrant boat off Egypt

A boat carrying about 600 African migrants capsized off Egypt's Mediterranean coast on Wednesday, killing at least 42 people who had hoped to reach Europe. Local authorities said the migrants came from several African countries, and about 150 people were rescued, although more were being pulled from the water late in the day. Egypt's official news agency MENA said the boat sank about 112 miles north of Cairo, Egypt's capital. Thousands of illegal migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in recent years to escape violence and poverty in Libya and other countries.

7. Lawmakers grill Mylan CEO over EpiPen price hikes

Heather Bresch, CEO of EpiPen maker Mylan, defended the life-saving drug's drastic price increase in a congressional hearing on Wednesday, saying the company was striking a balance between "price and access." Bresch said Mylan only profits $50 for each two-pack of the autoinjectors for extreme allergy reactions that the company sells. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) accused Mylan of raising the price — despite keeping the drug's ingredients virtually unchanged — when it acquired EpiPen in 2007, "to get filthy rich at the expense of our constituents." Since Mylan acquired EpiPen, the price has risen more than 500 percent.

The New York Times The Associated Press

8. Weiner allegedly sent suggestive texts to 15-year-old girl

Former New York congressman Anthony Weiner had an online relationship with a 15-year-old girl last January, according to a report in the Daily Mail. Weiner allegedly was aware of the minor's age but still sent her shirtless photos and sexually explicit messages. Weiner's past sexting scandals have torpedoed his congressional career, a New York City mayoral bid, and, most recently, his marriage to Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin. He issued a statement to the Daily Mail that did not deny the report, saying he had "repeatedly demonstrated terrible judgment" but that in this case he had "likely been the subject of a hoax."

Daily Mail New York Daily News

9. Staff shortages hurt wildlife refuges, report says

Hundreds of national wildlife refuges face staffing shortages that threaten to harm havens for migratory birds and other species, the Washington, D.C.,-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said Wednesday. Staffing at the nation's 565 wildlife refuges and related properties decreased by nearly 15 percent over the last 10 years. More than a third of the facilities, which attract nearly 50 million visitors annually, have no staff at all on site.

The Associated Press

10. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative pledges $3 billion for disease research

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, announced on Wednesday that their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative would spend $3 billion over 10 years on research aimed at curing or managing all disease by the end of the century. The couple last year said they would devote 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charitable causes. They put the shares into the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which has invested in charter schools and education start-ups. The disease research marks the group's first major science initiative.

The New York Times