10 things you need to know today: July 16, 2013

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wants to reform the filibuster... for real this time.

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

1. SENATE FACES SHOWDOWN OVER FILIBUSTER REFORM

The Senate is heading into a showdown over the filibuster on Tuesday. Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid, say they will end the minority party's ability to use the tactic to block executive branch nominations with just 41 votes in the 100-member Senate, unless Republicans stop using the filibuster to block seven of President Obama's nominees. A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says a "clear bipartisan majority" wants to reach a compromise. [New York Times]

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Mexican marines on Monday captured Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, or "40," the alleged leader of the notorious Zetas paramilitary drug cartel. Treviño Morales, who was known for his brutality, had told associates he would never be caught alive, but he did not put up a fight during the raid near Nuevo Laredo, a border town. "He had a reputation of leading the most vicious group in Mexico," said one law enforcement official. "This is a huge symbolic way to end his career." [Dallas Morning News]

A member of the jury that acquitted George Zimmerman told CNN on Monday that the six women on the panel were split when they started deliberating — three wanted to acquit him, and three wanted to convict him of either second-degree murder or manslaughter for the killing of Trayvon Martin. The woman, known as Juror B37, said Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer, should have stayed in his car, but Martin made mistakes, too. "They both could have walked away," she said. [Associated Press]

Egyptian authorities arrested 400 people overnight during clashes between Islamist supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and rival anti-Morsi groups, along with police. Seven people were killed and more than 260 wounded in the fighting — the bloodiest since 50 Morsi supporters were killed by soldiers a week earlier. The violence stoked questions about whether the military could restore calm. "I've had enough of this chaos," one onlooker, Ashraf Mohamed, said. "Egypt is just rubbish." [Reuters]

Britain's House of Lords approved a bill allowing gay marriage on Monday, clearing the way for the first same-sex weddings in England and Wales next summer. The House of Commons will hold a final debate on Tuesday, but that is considered a formality, and royal assent is expected within days. Baroness Stowell, who steered the bill through the House of Lords, called it "historic," while opponents said the government pushed the bill through using a parliamentary "bulldozer." [Telegraph]

Protests against George Zimmerman's acquittal for the killing of Trayvon Martin have been peaceful in cities across the country. In a rare exception, a group of about 150 youths broke away from an orderly rally in Los Angeles Monday night, and stomped on cars, broke windows, set fires, and attacked several people, including a TV news reporter and a cameraman. About 350 police officers swarmed the area, arresting 13 people for various offenses. [Los Angeles Times]

Newspaper columnist John Rosemond is filing a lawsuit on Tuesday asking a federal court to prevent the state of Kentucky from forcing him to stop writing his parenting advice column, which he launched in 1976. Kentucky officials say his old-school, tough love suggestions amount to practicing psychology without a license. His lawyers say the state is trampling his free-speech rights with logic that would also make what Dear Abby and Dr. Phil do illegal. [Associated Press]

Panamanian authorities arrested 35 sailors on a North Korean-flagged ship Monday night after inspectors looking for drugs found military equipment hidden in a cargo of brown sugar. Panama's security minister, Jose Raul Mulino, said the ship had arrived from Cuba. Panamanian officials did not immediately say what kind of military equipment was on board. The United Nations has imposed a ban on the import or export of most weapons from North Korea due to its controversial nuclear program. [CNN]

Britain's royal baby watch is kicking into high gear. Kate Middleton is past her due date, and British bookies are fielding a wave of bets from people on everything from the weight, name, and arrival date of the first child of Prince William and Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge. The wagers so far total $1.5 million, a record for a non-sports event. One person wagered $7,500 the baby would be a girl. If it is, the odds are on the name Alexandra. [Daily Mirror]

ABC officially confirmed Monday that actress Jenny McCarthy is joining The View as a co-host. She will fill a spot left vacant when longtime co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck left the daytime talk show for Fox News. Founding co-host Barbara Walters said McCarthy would bring "warmth and humor" to The View. Critics say they fear the job will give McCarthy a forum to spread her belief that vaccines are unsafe and cause autism, despite a lack of medical evidence. [Entertainment Weekly, Boston Globe]

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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