10 things you need to know today: September 28, 2016

The late Israeli President Shimon Peres in Amsterdam

(Image credit: Michel Porro/Getty Images)

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1. Democrats block spending bill as shutdown threat looms
2. Former Israeli president Shimon Peres dies at 93
3. Obama nominates first U.S. ambassador to Cuba in half century
4. Unarmed black man, behaving erratically, fatally shot by California officer
5. Trump lashes out after debate criticism
6. Clinton-Trump debate breaks TV viewership record
7. Syrian forces make advances in Aleppo as bombing offensive continues
8. Wells Fargo CEO forfeits millions over sales scandal
9. Federal government settles suits with Native American tribes
10. First 'three-parent' baby born in Mexico

published 28 September 2016

1. Democrats block spending bill as shutdown threat looms

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a bill needed to avoid a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1, because Republicans did not include federal money to address the Flint, Michigan, drinking-water crisis. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) unveiled the stopgap bill last week with accommodations for several Democratic demands, including funding for Zika response. Democrats in both houses of Congress, however, called for including the Flint money — the Senate approved a $220 million Flint aid package in separate legislation earlier this month. The stopgap bill would keep the government fully funded until Dec. 9. Democrats say it's unfair to include money to help flood victims in Louisiana, Maryland, and West Virginia, but leave out aid for Flint.

Shimon Peres, one of Israel's last leaders from its founding generation, has died. He was 93. His son Chemi praised him as "one of the founding fathers of the state of Israel," saying Peres "worked tirelessly" for his country. Peres helped make Israel a leading regional military power, then shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his work on trying to establish peace with the Palestinians. A former president, Peres also served as prime minister twice, as well as foreign minister, information minister, finance minister, and defense minister. Peres' death came two weeks after he suffered a stroke.

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President Obama on Tuesday nominated a career diplomat, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, to be the United States' first ambassador to Cuba in more than 50 years. DeLaurentis has served as the chief of mission of the United States Interest Section in Havana since 2014. In that role, he has been the top U.S. diplomat in the communist-run Caribbean nation as the Obama administration worked to reestablish normal diplomatic relations with the former Cold War foe. "Jeff's leadership has been vital throughout the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba," Obama said in a statement, "and the appointment of an ambassador is a common-sense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries."

About 200 protesters, including local church members leading prayers, gathered overnight in El Cajon, California, after a police officer fatally shot an African-American man who had been acting erratically. Police Chief Jeff Davis said the man was shot after he suddenly pulled something out of his pocket and extended it at an officer in a shooting posture, but he turned out to be unarmed. Friends said the victim, Alfred Orlango, 30, was mentally ill, and started acting out on Tuesday after a mental breakdown.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pushed back on Tuesday after polls and analysts said Hillary Clinton won their first debate, accusing moderator Lester Holt of asking "unfair questions" and suggesting that someone might have tampered with his microphone. He also doubled down on two issues that sparked charges of sexism — repeating a charge that Clinton lacked the "stamina" to be president, and criticizing a former Miss Universe after she won the pageant when he was its executive producer. Clinton shrugged off Trump's suggestion that he might bring up the infidelity of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and said: "Anybody who complains about the microphone is not having a good night."

The first 2016 general-election presidential debate, held Monday night, drew 81.4 million TV viewers, making it the most-watched debate ever. The clash between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was shown on every major television network. It also was streamed on Facebook and YouTube — so actual viewership was probably higher, although probably not as high as the 100 million some projected. Nielsen data showed that viewership did not trail off as the debate went on, with most people sticking around to see how the contentious, 90-minute forum wound up.

Syrian government forces gained ground in the heart of the besieged, divided city of Aleppo on Tuesday, as heavy bombing that ended a week-long ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Russia entered its fifth day. Fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad took control of a rebel-held neighborhood near the city's medieval citadel, Syrian state TV reported. Tuesday airstrikes killed at least 23 people, including nine children, according to the London-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Wells Fargo is taking back $41 million in stock and salary from CEO John Stumpf as the company conducts an internal investigation of its sales scandal. The bank has faced rising pressure to hold its top executives accountable for the opening of about two million unwanted deposit and credit card accounts without customers' authorization, apparently to meet sales quotas. Last week, Stumpf faced a grilling in Congress, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accusing him of "gutless leadership" and saying he should resign. His compensation forfeiture will be the industry's biggest, at least since the 2008 financial crisis. Former community banking chief Carrie Tolstedt, who has left the firm but was responsible when workers opened the unwanted accounts, will lose $19 million in unvested stock.

The Obama administration has agreed to pay a total of $492 million to 17 American Indian tribes for the mismanagement of tribal assets, including natural resources. "Settling these long-standing disputes reflects the Obama Administration's continued commitment to reconciliation and empowerment for Indian Country," Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a joint press release from the Departments of Interior and Justice. The settlements complete an administration push to wrap up more than 100 lawsuits by Native American individuals and tribes totaling more than $3.3 billion.

The first baby with DNA from three people — the mother, father, and an egg donor — has been born in Mexico, according to a research summary published in the journal Fertility & Sterility. The 5-month-old boy was born using a controversial technique intended to allow parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies. "This is great news and a huge deal," says Dusko Ilic at King's College London, who did not participate in the work. "It's revolutionary."

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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.