10 things you need to know today: October 23, 2016

Trump proposes lengthy list of policies in Gettysburg speech, AT&T reaches $85 billion deal to acquire Time Warner, and more

Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Chicago Cubs reacts to winning the National League Championship
(Image credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

1. Trump proposes lengthy list of policies in Gettysburg speech

Republican Donald Trump gave a wide-ranging speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday outlining his plans for his first 100 days in office if elected president. Touted by his staff in advance of the event as a "very specific, detailed vision" for "economic and physical security," the speech largely took a list format as Trump outlined legislation and executive policies he intends to implement. Among other points, he offered six proposals for cleaning up Washington corruption, seven ways to protect American workers, and five actions to restore rule of law. Trump promised to end outsourcing with tariffs and other "consequences" to ensure "our companies will stop leaving the United States and going to other countries." He reiterated his intention to build a border wall at Mexico's expense, and described legislation to reduce violent crime, eliminate the defense sequester, expand military spending, increase health care options for veterans, and screen would-be immigrants and refugees because "we want people that can love us."

2. AT&T reaches $85 billion deal to acquire Time Warner

AT&T Inc. announced Saturday evening it has agreed to buy Time Warner Inc. for $84.5 billion, a price point of $107.50 a share, split equally between cash and stock. The merger is expected to be complete by the end of next year, and the combined company will be headed by current AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson. "It's a great fit, and it creates immediate and long-term value for our shareholders," Stephenson said — but it still has to get approval from Washington, which in a populist political climate may make the process difficult or shut it down entirely. Republican Donald Trump has already said his administration would not permit the deal.

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3. Chicago celebrates Cubs' first National League Championship since 1945

For the first time in 71 years, the Chicago Cubs won the National League Championship and are headed to the World Series. The team beat the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday in a 5-0 game, giving them a 4-2 Championship Series win. As Chicago celebrated Saturday night, the team thanked fans for their support throughout years of drought and an "unbelievable" season alike. "There's a favorite saying in Chicago," said Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams. "'I hope they do it in my lifetime.' So everybody who's living today got to witness this."

Chicago Tribune ESPN

4. New Trump accuser comes forward as Trump threatens to sue

An 11th woman accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct Saturday just hours after he said in his "first 100 days" speech in Pennsylvania that he will sue his accusers following Election Day. The accuser, an adult film star named Jessica Drake, says when she met Trump with several friends, "He grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking permission." Drake also says Trump later called her and offered $10,000 and a plane ride for sex, which she refused. For his part, Trump on Saturday reiterated his position that all the accusers are politically-motivated liars who will "be sued after the election is over."

CNN Politico

5. Iraqi Kurdish forces seize several small towns near Mosul

Iraqi Kurdish forces reported Sunday they have freed several small towns from Islamic State control as part of their advance on the city of Mosul, Iraq. Bashiqa and two other liberated villages are at this point mostly uninhabited and and badly damaged thanks to years of fighting in the area. However, unconfirmed reports at CNN indicate the liberated towns and their remaining populations will not stay safe from returning ISIS militants unless Iraqi forces begin leaving behind a small contingent for protection. In one town on the south side of Mosul, ISIS reportedly returned Saturday and executed 40 unguarded villagers celebrating their freedom.

Reuters Associated Press

6. Airstrikes resume in Aleppo and Yemen as cease-fires end

Fighting in Aleppo, Syria, intensified Sunday after three days of cease-fire provided the desperate city a moment of relief. The unilateral cease-fire announced by Russia, which is supporting Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime, was not accepted by the rebels who control Aleppo and thus was swiftly broken. Likewise, in Yemen, a three-day cease-fire ended Sunday, and the U.S.-supported, Saudi-led coalition intervening in the Gulf nation's civil war promptly resumed airstrikes. The brief truce did allow some humanitarian aid to enter the starving country.

Reuters Reuters

7. Tom Hanks joins SNL to spoof the final presidential debate

Tom Hanks joined Saturday Night Live as moderator Chris Wallace for the last presidential debate cold open sketch. "Welcome to the third and final presidential debate," he began. "Tonight, it's going to be a lot like the third Lord of the Rings movie: You don't really want to watch, but, hey, you've come this far." Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump mostly took it from there, with McKinnon playing a private game of Bingo based on Trump's outrageous comments while flat-out refusing to address the content of campaign emails published by WikiLeaks. As for "Trump," he went meta, celebrating his support from "the best Baldwin brother, Stephen Baldwin."

The Hill NBC

8. Libyan forces free 13 foreign ISIS captives in Sirte

Libyan fighters announced Saturday they have freed 13 foreign captives held by the Islamic State — 11 from Eritrea and one each from Turkey and Egypt — in the seaside city of Sirte, which has long been the center of ISIS activity in Libya. The pro-government Libyan forces have been fighting to take Sirte for six months with the assistance of American airstrikes. Libya's fate will not be determined even if ISIS is eradicated in the North African country, as a diversity of rival factions will still compete for power in the vacuum left by the removal of strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Reuters

9. Japanese veteran kills himself in explosion at public park

A 72-year-old retired soldier in Japan killed himself with an explosion at a city park Sunday morning, injuring three other people in the process. Located in the city of Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, the blast exploded one car and burnt two others. The man's home also burned in a separate fire several miles away, and a suicide note written by the elderly veteran was discovered by local police. Japanese suicide rates are among the highest in the world, with some 30,000 people taking their own lives each year.

Sky News Reuters

10. First woman to summit Everest, Junko Tabei, dead at 77

Junko Tabei, the first woman to climb Mount Everest, died Thursday at a hospital near Tokyo, her family announced Sunday. She was 77 years old. Tabei reached Everest's summit in 1975 and climbed the highest peak on each continent — Kilimanjaro, Denali, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Carstensz Pyramid, and Vinson as well as Everest — by 1992. She was proud of her reputation as a trailblazer for women, remarking in 2012 that "in 1970s Japan, it was still widely considered that men were the ones to work outside and women would stay at home." She continued climbing until 2011.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.