10 things you need to know today: September 26, 2016

Hofstra prepares for tonight&#039;s debate

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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1. Record audience expected for tonight's presidential debate
2. Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez dies in boating accident
3. U.N. chief says Aleppo bombing reaches 'new depths of barbarity'
4. Washington state mall shooting suspect to be arraigned Monday
5. Charlotte authorities lift post-shooting curfew
6. Pence says Gennifer Flowers won't really attend debate
7. Hollande says France will dismantle controversial Calais migrant camp
8. Hungary searches for bombing suspect
9. Millions rise out of poverty as employers add jobs, raise pay
10. Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer dies at 87

published 26 September 2016

1. Record audience expected for tonight's presidential debate

A record TV audience is expected to watch the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday night. Trump, the Republican nominee, has gained in recent polls and heads into the first of three debates nearly tied with Clinton, the Democratic nominee. The debate is expected to be critical, with both candidates going in among the most unpopular presidential candidates in modern history. Clinton, an experienced debater, has been holding marathon preparations and enters the forum facing high expectations. Clinton aides say they hope the forum will reveal Trump's "lies," while Trump's camp says he just has to show he's "ready to be president" to win.

Miami Marlins star pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed early Sunday in a boating accident on the edge of Miami Beach. Fernandez, 24, and two other men were found dead after their boat was spotted upside down on top of a rocky jetty shortly after 3:15 a.m. Fernandez defected from Cuba when he was 15 years old, and went on to become one of professional baseball's rising stars, winning National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and reaching 500 strikeouts faster than any pitcher in history.

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a Sunday crisis meeting on Syria that the use of bunker-busting bombs in an escalation of bombing in the besieged city of Aleppo "brings the violence to new depths of barbarity." Ban said the bombings, which have killed more than 100 civilians in densely populated areas since Friday, could amount to war crimes. Sunday's Security Council meeting ended with no action after the U.S., British, and French ambassadors walked out in protest. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said that Syria's Russian-backed offensive "is not counterterrorism. It is barbarism." Russia accused rebels of sabotaging a ceasefire.

Arcan Cetin, the suspect held in the killing of five people at a Washington state mall, is scheduled to be charged formally on Monday. The 20-year-old Cetin faces five counts of murder for the Friday night shooting, which left four women and one man dead at a Macy's store in the Cascade Mall in Burlington. State police said Sunday that it was too early to rule out any motive, including terrorism. Cetin was born in Turkey and is a legal permanent U.S. resident.

Charlotte, North Carolina, authorities on Sunday lifted a curfew that had been in place since last week's fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, an African-American man. The shooting sparked several nights of protests and rioting. Police on Saturday released body-cam and dash-cam video after Scott's family viewed the footage and said it left many questions unanswered. Police say Scott had a gun; his family said the video did not confirm that. "It does not make sense to us how this incident resulted in the loss of life," said Ray Dotch, Scott's brother-in-law.

Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence said on Sunday that Gennifer Flowers, whose claim of an affair with Bill Clinton posed a threat to his 1992 presidential run — would not attend the first 2016 presidential debate on Monday. Donald Trump tweeted a day earlier that he might invite Flowers. Trump's campaign said he was only trying to make a point after former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, invited Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, a Trump critic. "He wants to remind people that he's a great counterpuncher," Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said on ABC's This Week.

French President Francois Hollande said Monday that a controversial migrant camp known as "The Jungle" in the city of Calais will be completely dismantled. Thousands of people have been living at the sprawling camp on the outskirts of the city on France's north coast, under poor conditions. Authorities have removed some of the refugees, but there are still about 7,000 migrants in the area, many hoping to reach Britain. "From now on our objectives are clear — to guarantee the security of the people of Calais, maintain public order, and ensure for the migrants and refugees conditions are dignified," Hollande said.

Hungarian authorities launched a manhunt on Sunday for a man suspected of setting off a homemade bomb that seriously wounded two Budapest police officers. The blast occurred near the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. "We have established without a doubt that our police officers were the targets of the attack," national police chief Karoly Papp said. "They wanted to execute my police officers." Papp did not specify a motive, but did not rule out terrorism.

About 3.5 million Americans lifted their incomes above the poverty line last year, according to newly released census data. The change came as employers — especially retailers, restaurants, and hotels — hired more workers and increased wages, both to attract workers and to meet higher minimum wages in some areas. "It all came together at the same time," said independent business economist Diane Swonk. "Lots of employment and wages gains, particularly in the lowest-paying end of the jobs spectrum, combined with minimum-wage increases that started to hit some very large population areas."

Golf legend Arnold Palmer died Sunday in Pittsburgh. He was 87. Palmer won seven major titles — four Masters, one U.S. Open, and two British Opens — and his 62 PGA Tour victories ranks fifth all-time, behind Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan. His charisma attracted thousands of followers to the sport between 1958 and 1964, and his most avid fans became known as "Arnie's Army." "We loved him with a mythic American joy,” said Palmer biographer James Dodson. "He represented everything that is great about golf."

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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.