10 things you need to know today: November 13, 2016

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

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1. Clinton blames FBI director for defeat
2. Conway says Trump's chief of staff decision is 'imminent'
3. Trump compliments Clinton, moderates ObamaCare plan
4. Democrats bicker over power, direction
5. Paris marks attacks anniversary, celebrates Bataclan reopening
6. 52 killed, more than 100 wounded in ISIS attack in Pakistan
7. Colombia and FARC rebels agree to revised peace deal
8. New Zealand hit with tsunami caused by powerful earthquake
9. South Korean president to be questioned by prosecutors over confidante scandal
10. SNL mourns Clinton's loss, mocks those surprised by it in Chappelle episode

last updated 13 November 2016

1. Clinton blames FBI director for defeat

In a call with donors Saturday, Hillary Clinton blamed her loss on FBI Director James Comey, who sent a letter to Congress 11 days before the election reopening his agency's investigation into her use of a private email server while secretary of state based on the discovery of new emails. "There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful," Clinton said, and "our analysis is that Comey's letter raising doubts that were groundless, baseless, proven to be, stopped our momentum." Worse than the initial letter, Clinton said, was the second letter Comey sent two days before the election saying no new evidence justifying prosecution had been found, news she argued undecided voters interpreted as evidence for Donald Trump's allegations of a rigged system.

Donald Trump's erstwhile campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who is working on his transition team, told reporters Saturday announcement of the president-elect's pick for chief of staff is "imminent." She acknowledged that Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus has "expressed interest" in the position and is under consideration, but reiterated that "it's Mr. Trump’s decision ultimately." How Trump will choose to staff his administration is the subject of much debate, as he ran his campaign as an indictment of the Washington establishment but, with 4,100 jobs to fill, has stacked his transition team with Washington insiders.

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President-elect Donald Trump made "immediately repealing and replacing ObamaCare" a key promise of his campaign, but in his first on-air interview since the election, Trump moderated his plan for the Affordable Care Act. He described the law's ban on denial of coverage for preexisting conditions as "one of the strongest assets" and said ObamaCare's provision that children under 26 can stay on their parents' insurance is "something we're going to try and keep." Trump also praised Hillary Clinton as a gracious loser, labeling her concession call "lovely" and "tough." The full 60 Minutes conversation airs Sunday.

The Democratic Party finds itself at a crossroads in the wake of Hillary Clinton's unexpected loss to Donald Trump, and party progressives want to see the "Clinton-corporate wing" of the Democratic establishment gone for good. The Democrats' civil war currently centers on who will be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, a seat presently held by an embattled interim chair, Donna Brazile. Candidates for the position have rapidly multiplied as too many Washington connections have become a liability.

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead last November. French President Francois Hollande unveiled a memorial plaque Sunday morning, and the names of every person slain were read aloud at a somber memorial event. Saturday evening, the Bataclan, a music venue where the bulk of the casualties occurred, reopened with a performance led by Sting. Proceeds of the concert were donated to two charities helping survivors of the attacks, and the families of those who were killed were all given tickets.

At least 52 people were killed and 100 more wounded in an attack on a Muslim shrine in the Balochistan province of Pakistan on Saturday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing, calling it "a martyrdom attack" on the Sufi sect of Islam, which ISIS believes to be heretical. The death toll may continue to rise, in part because the blast site's remote location makes it difficult for emergency medical services to transport the injured. The explosion occurred at the Shah Noorani shrine, where hundreds were gathered to watch a nightly ritual dance at sunset.

A month after Colombians voted down a historic peace deal between the government in Bogotá and the FARC rebels, the two sides have reached a new agreement to end 52 years of bloody internal conflict. The new deal reportedly incorporates suggestions from those who said the old deal was too lenient toward the rebel fighters. "We call upon all Colombia and the international community ... to back this new accord and its quick implementation so as to leave the tragedy of war in the past," the negotiators said in a statement. "Peace cannot wait anymore."

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook New Zealand north of Christchurch Sunday morning, leaving little direct damage there or in the capital city of Wellington. But tsunami waves caused by the quake began arriving about two hours later. Officials warned New Zealanders they should get to higher ground away from the ocean in case the waves — initially measuring about six feet — become larger and more dangerous. Aftershocks from the earthquake continued throughout the morning.

After days of massive protests in Seoul demanding the resignation of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, prosecutors will question Park over accusations that she gave an old friend, Choi Soon-sil, undue influence in state affairs. Choi herself, seen as a corrupt, Rasputin-like figure, will also be investigated. The date for Parks' questioning is presently "undecided," said an official at the prosecutors' office, but it is expected to happen within the next few days.

Comedian Dave Chappelle made his Saturday Night Live debut this week in an election postmortem episode with an uneven tone. The completely serious cold open simultaneously mourned the recent death of songwriter Leonard Cohen and the demise of Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes, featuring Kate McKinnon as Clinton singing Cohen's "Hallelujah." In a wide-ranging monologue, Chappelle criticized Donald Trump as an "internet troll" but concluded he would give Trump a chance, adding after a reflection on the history of African Americans in the White House, that "we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one too." Chappelle was also joined by Chris Rock in a sketch about an election watch party that skewered white Democrats' surprise at Trump's win.

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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.