10 things you need to know today: August 15, 2013

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi throw rocks while taking cover among debris during a violent crackdown by Egyptian security forces in Cairo on Wednesday.

(Image credit: Ed Giles/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

1. EGYPT BRACES FOR FRESH DEMONSTRATIONS DESPITE DEADLY CRACKDOWN

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood urged its followers to take to the streets peacefully Thursday, a day after security officers violently cleared two massive Cairo sit-ins that had become the hub of the Islamist group's resistance to the military since it overthrew President Mohamed Morsi on July 3. "We will push until we bring down this military coup," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad wrote on his Twitter feed. The official death toll from Wednesday's crackdown had risen to 525 by early Thursday. [Reuters, CBS News]

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In a dramatic twist during the sentencing phase of his court-martial, former Army intelligence officer Bradley Manning apologized Wednesday for handing classified documents to WikiLeaks. "I'm sorry that I hurt the United States," he said. Manning was convicted on espionage and other charges in July, and faces up to 90 years in prison. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange issued a statement calling Manning a "symbol of courage," saying the military extracted his apology by force. [NBC News, Huffington Post]

Former Democratic congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison for misusing $750,000 in campaign funds to fuel a lavish lifestyle. The Chicago Democrat, son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, pleaded guilty in February. His wife, Sandi, got 12 months for filing false joint tax returns. Jackson, who was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party before his downfall, apologized to his family and constituents, saying, "I was wrong." [New York Times]

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held their first direct meeting in five years on Wednesday. Neither side would reveal much about what was said — the talks were cloaked in secrecy to prevent leaks and build trust. A Palestinian official did say that the negotiators had agreed to continue meeting weekly. The talks, which came after months of mediation by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, mark the third attempt since 2000 to reach an agreement on establishing a Palestinian state. [Associated Press]

Federal investigators are trying to figure out what caused a UPS jumbo cargo plane to crash near a Birmingham, Ala., airport. They were unable to recover the jet's cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders immediately after the Wednesday accident, which killed the two pilots, because the plane's tail was still smoldering. A preliminary investigation suggests the pilots did not make any distress calls before the plane went down in flames as it approached the airport near dawn. [Fox News]

Search warrants unsealed Wednesday revealed that police believe the mother and brother of rescued California kidnap victim Hannah Anderson were tortured before they were killed. The bodies were found in the burned home of the 17-year-old's alleged abductor, family friend Jim DiMaggio, who was killed in a shootout in the Idaho wilderness. A crowbar and blood were found next to Hannah's mother, Christina. The family's dog had also been shot to death. [Los Angeles Times]

Reality TV star Gia Allemand, 29, died Wednesday two days after her boyfriend, NBA player Ryan Anderson, found her hanging in her New Orleans home. Allemand had been on life support since being rushed to a hospital Monday. Her family described her death as a suicide. Allemand appeared on Season 14 of ABC's reality romance show The Bachelor, then spent two seasons on a spin-off, Bachelor Pad. [New York Daily News]

A local TV report is hailing a herder in the Bolivian highlands near Lake Titicaca as the oldest human being ever documented. Bolivia's civil registrar lists the birth date of the man, Carmelo Flores Laura, as July 16, 1890, making him 123. Guinness World Records says the oldest living person whose age has been verified is Misao Okawa, a 115-year-old Japanese woman. Guinness says the oldest ever is 122 years and 164 days, the age of Jeanne Calment of France when she died in 1997. [Associated Press]

Cops won't be arresting pot smokers at this weekend's Hempfest, Seattle's traditional "protestival," where thousands will gather and light up publicly along the city's waterfront. Instead, officers will be passing out Doritos. They aren't just trying to help festival goers deal with the munchies, though. The police have affixed labels to 1,000 bags of Doritos informing people about the details of the law that has made Washington one of the first two states, along with Colorado, to legalize marijuana use. [Associated Press]

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.

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