1. Obama doesn't back down on Syria after fractious G-20
After attracting only middling support from other nations at the G-20 conference in St. Petersburg, President Obama stood firm in supporting a strike against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons. "There are times where we have to make hard choices," the president said. "This is one of those times." Obama will address the American people on Tuesday to continue pressing his case. [Chicago Tribune]
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2. Dismal jobs report shows people are dropping out of the workforce
Job growth was worse than expected in August, with 169,000 jobs being added to the U.S. economy instead of the 180,000 predicted by economists. The drop in the unemployment rate — from 7.4 percent to 7.3 percent — was due to 312,000 people dropping out of the labor force entirely. [Washington Post]
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3. U.S. diplomats ordered to leave Lebanon
The U.S. State Department ordered all non-essential diplomats and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to evacuate due to fears it could be targeted by Syrian allies if the United States decides to launch a military strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. [New York Times]
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4. Aaron Hernandez pleads not guilty to first-degree murder
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on Friday. Hernandez is accused of shooting his friend, Odin Lloyd, and dumping the body in an industrial park near his home in North Attleborough, Mass. [NBC News]
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5. Teen births at lowest levels ever
A new government report shows that teen births hit a historic low in 2012. The teen birthrate dropped to 29.4 births per 1,000 teen girls, the lowest level since data on teen births was first collected in 1940. Birthrates for all racial and ethnic groups dropped from the year before. [USA Today]
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6. Hitler's bodyguard dies at age 96
SS Staff Sgt. Rochus Misch, the last remaining person to witness Adolf Hitler's final hours in a Berlin bunker, died on Thursday. In a 2005 interview, Misch called Hitler "a wonderful boss" and claimed ignorance of the Nazi leader's brutal genocide against the Jewish people, saying it "was never a topic" of conversation. [Associated Press]
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7. Cleveland kidnapper revealed close calls before suicide
Ariel Castro, who pleaded guilty to 937 counts of rape, kidnapping, and aggravated murder before hanging himself in his jail cell, revealed to investigators before his death that he was almost caught multiple times while keeping three women imprisoned in his Cleveland home for a decade, including one instance where he called one of his victim's mother. [TODAY]
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8. Nigeria's military kills 50 Islamic militants
The Nigerian military launched a two-day air and ground assault against an Islamic insurgent camp resulting in the death of 50 members of Boko Haram, military spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said on Friday. The group, whose name translates to "Western education is forbidden," has killed 1,700 people since 2010. [Associated Press]
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9. Scientists discover the world's largest volcano
Researchers discovered the largest volcano on Earth four miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean and approximately 1,000 miles off the coast of Japan. The 120,000-square-mile Tamu Massif volcano is nearly the size of New Mexico and comparable to Olympus Mons on Mars, the largest known volcano in the solar system. [NPR]
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10. Dallas Zoo home to two new cheetah cubs
A pair of 8-week-old cheetah cubs arrived at the Dallas Zoo from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., where they were born. The cubs were joined by a playmate, an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever puppy named Amani. [CBS News]
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