10 things you need to know today: September 30, 2016
World leaders gather to mourn Shimon Peres, USA Today and Detroit News oppose Trump, and more
- 1. World leaders gather in mourning for Shimon Peres
- 2. USA Today and Detroit News break with tradition to oppose Trump
- 3. Hillary Clinton stumps in Iowa as early voting begins
- 4. New Jersey train crash kills 1, injures more than 100
- 5. Trump Foundation reportedly lacks certification to solicit money
- 6. Obama orders sick leave for federal contractors' workers
- 7. Wells Fargo CEO hammered on Capitol Hill for second time
- 8. Cuban-Americans want facts on report Trump company violated embargo
- 9. GOP leaders consider fixing 9/11 law approved over Obama veto
- 10. Yosemite chief retires after complaints of toxic work environment
1. World leaders gather in mourning for Shimon Peres
World leaders, including President Obama and former President Bill Clinton, gathered in Jerusalem on Friday for the funeral of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Clinton, who hosted Peres for the signing of the Oslo peace accords in 1993, called the 93-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner Israel's "biggest dreamer." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Peres "a great man of Israel." Obama noted that the presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the funeral was "a gesture and a reminder of the unfinished business of peace." With Peres' passing, Obama said, "The last of the founding generation is now gone," and the work is "in the hands of Israel's next generation and its friends."
2. USA Today and Detroit News break with tradition to oppose Trump
USA Today broke with a tradition of not taking sides in presidential races by declaring Donald Trump "unfit to for the presidency," although its editorial board stopped short of endorsing Hillary Clinton. Similarly, The Detroit News on Thursday endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, breaking with a 143-year tradition of always endorsing Republicans. "We abandon that long and estimable tradition this year for one reason: Donald J. Trump," the paper said. For Johnson, who served as New Mexico's governor as a Republican, the support came none too soon. A day earlier, Johnson was flummoxed when MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked him to name a world leader he respected, and he couldn't think of one.
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3. Hillary Clinton stumps in Iowa as early voting begins
Hillary Clinton urged Iowa voters to cast ballots on Thursday, the first day of early voting in the state. "Are you ready to go to the polls? Luckily in Iowa, you can start today," the Democratic nominee said in Des Moines. The Associated Press estimates that pre-election votes could account for 40 percent of the ballots cast this year, up from 35 percent in 2012. Clinton's campaign has identified Iowa, Nevada, and North Carolina as the most promising states for focusing its early voting push.
The Wall Street Journal Chicago Tribune
4. New Jersey train crash kills 1, injures more than 100
One person was killed and more than 100 were injured when a New Jersey Transit train crashed at the Hoboken station on Thursday. The woman who was killed, Brazilian-born lawyer Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, was standing on the platform when she was hit by debris after the train slammed through its stopping point, hurtling across a passenger concourse and collapsing a section of a metal shed roof. "It just never stopped," said train passenger Nancy Bido. "It was going really fast and the terminal was basically the brake for the train."
5. Trump Foundation reportedly lacks certification to solicit money
Donald Trump's charitable foundation has never acquired the certification New York requires for groups that solicit donations, according to the state attorney general's office. Trump set up the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 1987 to give away the proceeds of his book, The Art of the Deal, but in recent years it has been largely funded by outside contributions. Early this year, for example, the foundation set up a website that collected $1.67 million for veterans. If the attorney general finds the Trump Foundation violated the law by raising money without the proper certification, he could order it to stop taking outside contributions.
6. Obama orders sick leave for federal contractors' workers
The Obama administration issued a rule on Thursday requiring federal government contractors to give workers paid sick leave. Under the rule, the Labor Department estimates that more than 1.1 million people will be able to get sick leave — up to seven days per year. "This is really part of a broader conversation across America about what a 21st-century social compact should look like," Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said. "Back in the day, when Beaver Cleaver got sick and June Cleaver was home, who takes off to stay with the Beav was a non-issue. In today's world of dual-career couples in the work force, our public policy has not caught up."
7. Wells Fargo CEO hammered on Capitol Hill for second time
Lawmakers harshly criticized Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf over the bank's sales scandal for the second time in two weeks on Thursday. Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, told Stumpf that Wells Fargo's sales abuses amounted to "some of the most egregious fraud we have seen since the foreclosure crisis." Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) accused Stumpf of presiding over "a criminal enterprise." At a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Stumpf to resign over the scandal, in which Wells Fargo employees opened as many as two million bank and credit card accounts without customers' authorization.
8. Cuban-Americans want facts on report Trump company violated embargo
Cuban-American Republicans in the potentially key swing state of Florida on Thursday called on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to respond to a Newsweek report that his hotel and casino company secretly did business in Cuba in what could be a violation of the trade embargo against the communist-run Caribbean island. Sen. Marco Rubio called the report "troubling." Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami said the report was based on "unnamed sources" and that "it's important to see what the facts are." Jake Sullivan, an adviser to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, said the report shows that "Trump will always put his own business interest ahead of the national interest — and has no trouble lying about it."
9. GOP leaders consider fixing 9/11 law approved over Obama veto
A day after Congress overwhelmingly voted to override President Obama's veto of a law that will allow the families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said they were open to rewriting the legislation to address potential problems Obama warned about. Before the vote, Obama cautioned lawmakers, saying the law could leave U.S. soldiers open to retaliation by foreign governments. Ryan said he hoped to find a "fix so that our service members do not have legal problems overseas while still protecting the rights of the 9/11 victims." White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called the second thoughts despite Obama's earlier warnings an "abject embarrassment."
10. Yosemite chief retires after complaints of toxic work environment
Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher has resigned after facing allegations of sexual harassment and bullying in the park, officials said Thursday. Neubacher ran the California park for nearly seven years, and spent 37 years with the park service. He said in an email to employees Wednesday night that his boss had offered him a transfer to Denver because Yosemite needed new leadership, but he decided to retire instead. The decision came days after a congressional committee said 18 Yosemite workers had complained about a toxic working environment at the park.
Fresno Bee The Associated Press
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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.
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