10 things you need to know today: October 20, 2016

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump square off in the final presidential debate

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1. Trump and Clinton exchange sharp attacks in final debate
2. Turkey bombs U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in Syria
3. U.S. service member, civilian killed in Kabul
4. Former TV reporter accuses Bill Clinton of sexual assault in '80s
5. U.S. military says ISIS leaders may have fled Mosul
6. At least 4 die as typhoon slams Philippines
7. Temporary Yemen ceasefire takes effect
8. Theresa May expected to clarify Brexit plan in her first E.U. summit
9. Jury clears NBA star Derrick Rose in rape case
10. Cleveland beats Toronto to clinch World Series spot

published 20 October 2016

1. Trump and Clinton exchange sharp attacks in final debate

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton clashed Wednesday on abortion, immigration, and other key issues in their third and final presidential debate, but the night's most striking moment came when Trump refused to promise to accept the election results if he loses. "I will keep you in suspense," the Republican nominee said. Clinton called Trump's response "horrifying." Fox News anchor Chris Wallace got the debate off to a sober start but the candidates later got into fiery exchanges. Clinton said Trump would be a Russian "puppet," and Trump called the Clinton family's charitable foundation "a criminal enterprise." Clinton vowed to "defend" Roe v. Wade, while Trump predicted his Supreme Court appointments would help overturn the landmark abortion rights decision.

Turkish jets hit U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia with at least 18 airstrikes overnight, Turkey's state-run news agency reported Thursday. Turkey said it killed 160 to 200 Kurdish fighters, but the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a death toll of 11. The Kurdish forces had recently retaken three villages north of Aleppo from the Islamic State. The fighters, with the Syrian People's Protection Units (YPG), are considered by the U.S. to be the most effective ground force against the Islamic State, but Turkey — also a U.S. ally — links them to Kurdish separatist guerrillas inside Turkey.

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A gunman in an Afghan army uniform shot and killed two American advisers — a soldier and a civilian — on Wednesday near a base outside Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. Three other Americans — two soldiers and a civilian — were wounded. The attacker was killed. There are about 13,000 international troops and thousands of civilian advisers still in Afghanistan to train and assist members of the country's security services. The Americans were at the gate of an ammunition supply depot near Camp Moreshead outside Kabul. The attacker was not immediately identified. U.S. officials are investigating.

A former Arkansas TV reporter, Leslie Millwee, says former President Bill Clinton groped her in three separate encounters in 1980, when he was governor of Arkansas, according to an exclusive interview with Breitbart News reported Wednesday. Breitbart also interviewed three of Millwee's friends who said she told them of the alleged assaults in the late 1990s. The claim surfaced as Clinton's wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, leads her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in polls three weeks before Election Day. Trump's campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, previously served as chairman of Breitbart News.

Islamic State leaders appear to have fled as Iraqi forces and allies close in on Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, U.S. Gen. Gary Volesky said Wednesday. "We've seen movement out of Mosul," Volesky said. "Make no doubt the Iraqi security forces have the momentum." Iraqi government forces are advancing toward Mosul from the south while Kurdish peshmerga allies move in from the east. ISIS reportedly had about 5,000 fighters in the city when the Iraqi army offensive began. Iraq and its allies, including teams of U.S. special forces advisers, number more than 90,000.

Super Typhoon Haima hit the Philippines with top sustained winds of 140 miles per hour late Wednesday, killing at least four people, ripping tin roofs from houses, and knocking out power to entire villages. Wind gusts reportedly reached 195 mph. "We can't go out because the wind is so intense, trees are being forced down," a local official, Elisa Arugay, told DZMM radio from Camasi village in Penablanca. The government weather agency issued a five-level storm warning — its highest. Storm surges of up to 15 feet could cover some coastal villages.

Yemen's United Nations-brokered ceasefire took effect late Wednesday. U.N. officials said they hoped the 72-hour truce would give relief workers an opportunity to distribute humanitarian aid throughout the country. The ceasefire can be renewed if all parties go along. The internationally backed government of President Abed Rabo Mansour Hadi is fighting Shiite Houthi rebels who control part of the country. The U.S. has supported Saudi-led pro-government airstrikes with intelligence and mid-air fueling, but the Obama administration began reviewing its aid after a Saudi airstrike on a funeral procession killed at least 140 people last week.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday will attend her first European Union leaders' summit. The two-day summit will focus on trade, migrants, and Russia, not Brexit. Still, other leaders are expected to be looking for clarification on her recent remarks suggesting Britain will try to make a hard break from the trading bloc. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted Monday that May had agreed to update leaders of the 28-nation trading bloc on her Brexit plans, and when the formal exit process might begin.

A California jury on Wednesday rejected a woman's federal civil suit accusing NBA star Derrick Rose and two friends or raping her while she was intoxicated and passed out. The incident occurred three years ago at the plaintiff's apartment. She said she was incapacitated and incapable of consenting to sex. Rose and his friends said the woman, who had a previous relationship with the basketball player, said she was sober enough to consent to sex. Rose was the NBA's most valuable player in 2011. He was traded from Chicago to the Knicks this summer, but missed the team's exhibition games because of the trial.

The Cleveland Indians advanced to the World Series on Wednesday, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 to take the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. Toronto only managed to win one game against the dominant Cleveland team, which now has a shot at following up on the Cavaliers' 2016 NBA championship, the city's first major sports title in 52 years. The Indians will play the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs beat the Dodgers 10-2 on Wednesday night to even that series at 2-2.

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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.