10 things you need to know today: September 21, 2018

1. Kavanaugh accuser proposes testifying late next week

Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school, ruled out testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, but her lawyer told committee staffers in an email that she "would be prepared to testify next week" under "terms that are fair and which ensure her safety." Ford's lawyers said she still had a "strong preference" to testify only after the FBI does "a full investigation" into her claim that Kavanaugh forced her onto a bed at a party and groped her before she got away. Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegation, as has a man Ford said was in the room during the alleged assault. Committee Republicans agreed Thursday to hire an outside counsel to lead their questioning of Ford.

The New York Times CNN

2. U.S. sanctions China for buying Russian arms

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on China's military on Thursday for buying Russian fighter jets and missile systems in violation of U.S. sanctions imposed to punish Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. The State Department said the sanctions targeted China's military branch responsible for weapons and equipment, and its director, for making "significant transactions" with Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms exporter. China purchased 10 SU-35 combat jets in 2017, and equipment for the S-400 surface-to-air missile system in 2018. China's government expressed outrage and demanded that the U.S. drop the sanctions.

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Reuters

3. EU rejects May's Brexit plan at summit

European Union leaders rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan at an Austria summit in what U.K. newspapers called a "humiliation." European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday that some of May's plan "will not work." French President Emmanuel Macron said U.K. politicians who pushed through the referendum on Britain's exit from the EU were "liars" who misled voters about Brexit costs. May responded by saying her plan was the only one on the table, and that Britain would leave the 28-nation trading bloc without a deal if necessary. The clash dashed hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations six months before the U.K. leaves the EU in March.

The Associated Press

4. Dozens drown after ferry overturns in Tanzania

At least 100 people, and possibly more than 200, died Thursday after an overloaded ferry capsized on Lake Victoria in Tanzania. Rescue operations resumed Friday after being halted overnight. About 100 people were rescued, 32 of them in critical condition, but the vessel, intended for 100 passengers, reportedly was carrying more than 400. Investigators could not provide precise numbers, as the person who handed out tickets died and the ticket dispensing machine's data was lost. "We pray to God to give us hope in such an accident," regional commissioner Adam Malima told reporters. "We pray to God to give us hope that there has not been a high death toll."

BBC News The Guardian

5. 4 dead, including suspect, in Maryland warehouse shooting

A woman opened fire with a handgun Thursday at a Rite Aid drugstore chain distribution center in Maryland, killing three people and wounding three others. The suspect then fatally shot herself, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Authorities identified the suspect only as a 26-year-old whose last known address was in Baltimore County. She was a temporary employee at the facility, which has nearly 1,000 employees and packages pharmaceuticals and other products sent to more than 2,500 stores. Investigators could not immediately determine a motive for the rampage, but it was believed to have been related to a workplace grievance. The gunfire started outside the warehouse then moved inside. The incident was among the rare mass shootings attributed to a woman. Most are committed by men.

Reuters

6. Ugandan pop star-politician returns vowing to fight for freedom

Ugandan pop star and opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, whose stage name is Bobi Wine, vowed to continue pressing for freedom for his countrymen after returning from the U.S., where he received medical treatment after being tortured by security forces last month. "We must get our freedom or we will die trying," he told reporters. The 36-year-old musician, a political novice, was elected in a parliamentary election last year on a wave of youthful support in a country where nearly 80 percent of the population is under 30. The government, which charged him with treason following campaign violence, has denied mistreating him. Kyagulanyi's popularity and calls for reform have put the government of 74-year-old President Yoweri Museveni, who has run the country since 1986, on the defensive.

BBC News Reuters

7. Report: Cohen spoke to Mueller's team for hours

President Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has given hours of interviews to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team over the past month, ABC News reports. Cohen, speaking voluntarily with no promise of leniency, reportedly has discussed "all aspects of Trump's dealings with Russia," and he has been asked about whether the president has offered to pardon him. Cohen apparently is also speaking with authorities in New York about the ongoing investigation into the Trump Organization, where Cohen used to work as vice president. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in August, and in his plea he said that during the 2016 campaign, he arranged payments to women who alleged they had affairs with Trump. He said he did it at Trump's request in violation of campaign finance laws.

ABC News

8. Suge Knight pleads guilty to manslaughter

Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight pleaded no contest Thursday to voluntary manslaughter, avoiding a murder trial for running over and killing businessman Terry Carter outside a Compton burger stand in 2015. The Death Row Records co-founder entered the plea in a Los Angeles court under a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to serve 28 years. Jury selection in his trial would have started Monday. He was charged with murder, attempted murder, and hit-and-run. Knight traded punches with Cle "Bone" Sloan, a consultant on the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, in the incident, then sped away in his pickup truck, hitting Sloan and running over Carter, who died from his injuries. If he had been convicted in the trial he could have been sentenced to life.

The Associated Press

9. Vietnam's president dies at 61

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang died Friday at a military hospital in Hanoi after battling an illness for months. He was 61. Quang was appointed president in April 2016. It is a largely ceremonial role, but he also served on the powerful Politburo alongside Vietnam's de facto leader, Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Quang last appeared in public on Wednesday, at a Politburo meeting and a reception for a Chinese delegation. Before becoming president, he was minister of public security. Quang was tough on dissent, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, and his "legacy is a multi-year crackdown on human rights and putting more political prisoners behind bars in Vietnam than any time in recent memory."

CNN The Associated Press

10. Jordan Peele to host Twilight Zone revival

CBS announced Thursday that in addition to producing the forthcoming Twilight Zone revival, Oscar-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele will also serve as its host. Peele was announced as producer of the Twilight Zone reboot last year, but it was unclear at the time whether he would host as well. Peele had said he had "resisted" the idea of hosting because he was worried audiences wouldn't be able to take him seriously after he spent five seasons on the Comedy Central sketch series Key & Peele, but earlier this year he won an Oscar for writing the screenplay for last year's Get Out. The new Twilight Zone will premiere sometime in 2019 exclusively on CBS All Access, the network's streaming service.

Variety