10 things you need to know today: September 11, 2013

(Image credit: (Win McNamee/Getty Images))

last updated 8 January 2015

1. Obama delays military action against Syria to focus on diplomacy

President Obama said Tuesday that he would hold off on military strikes against Syria and pursue a Russian plan to take over the country's chemical weapons. Obama, facing stiff opposition to military action, said he had asked Congress to delay a vote on authorizing force, but that if the Syrian regime fails to surrender its chemical arsenal, the U.S. must retaliate to protect "our ideals and principles, as well as our national security." [New York Times, Washington Post]

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Colorado voters ousted two Democratic state senators on Tuesday, including state Senate President John Morse, over their support for tougher gun laws. The recall races — the first in state history — marked a showdown in the national debate over gun control after several mass shootings, drawing big campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. [Reuters]

Bill de Blasio finished first in New York's Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday after tapping into anger at rising income inequality and aggressive policing under outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It might take days to determine whether de Blasio, the city's public advocate, won the 40 percent of the vote needed to avoid a runoff against his nearest rival, former city Comptroller Bill Thompson. As expected, Joseph Lhota won the GOP primary. [New York Times]

A powerful blast damaged a Libyan Foreign Ministry building and a bank branch in Benghazi early Wednesday. The explosion came on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the 2012 assault on U.S. diplomatic compounds in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The U.S. recently moved 250 Marines to a base in Italy so they could reach Libya quickly in case of trouble on the anniversary. [CNN]

Shares of Apple and its suppliers slumped early Wednesday, a day after the company unveiled a faster iPhone, and a cheaper one. Apple shares fell 2.3 percent overnight. Lens-maker Largan dropped by 6.4 percent, while mini-speaker supplier ACC Technologies fell 4.7 percent in Hong Kong. Analysts said the lower-cost iPhone 5C, at $549 with no contract, was still too expensive to compete in the low-end market in emerging markets like China. [CNBC]

Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as New York's governor after a 2008 prostitution scandal, came up short in his effort to return to public office, losing the Democratic primary for New York City comptroller to Scott Stringer on Tuesday. With the count nearly complete, Stringer led 52.1 percent to 47.9 percent. In another failed redemption bid, sexting-scandal-plagued Anthony Weiner finished fifth in the city's Democratic mayoral primary. [New York Times, USA Today]

Sept. 11 victims' relatives gathered at Ground Zero in New York City early Wednesday to begin a day of ceremonies to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. At the 2-year-old memorial plaza, the victims' loved ones will participate in the now-traditional reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pa. [Associated Press]

National Security Agency personnel searched call-tracking data on thousands of phone numbers that had not been properly vetted, according to previously secret documents released on Tuesday. The NSA also falsely certified to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that it was complying with a court order to conduct searches only on numbers linked to suspected terrorists. The unauthorized searches lasted three years and were halted in 2009. [Politico]

The U.S. men's soccer team defeated Mexico on Tuesday night to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The 2-0 victory alone wasn't enough to secure the U.S. team its seventh straight World Cup berth. The clincher came when Honduras and Panama tied, ensuring that the U.S., which still has two qualifying matches left, would be among the top three teams in its six-team qualifying group. [USA Today]

Miley Cyrus, fresh off her controversial televised twerking display, shattered the record for most-viewed new music video on Tuesday. Her "Wrecking Ball" video, in which she swings naked on a wrecking ball, got 19 millions on Vevo in the first 24 hours after its Monday release. The previous mark, set in July by British boy band One Direction for their single "Best Song Ever," was just 10.9 million views. [CBS News]

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox