10 things you need to know today: September 18, 2012

An anti-Japanese protester in Shenzhen, China throws a gas cannister as hundreds of people demonstrate over the disputed Diaoyu Islands.

last updated 8 January 2015

1. MITT: 47 PERCENT OF AMERICANS DEPENDENT ON GOVERNMENT

Mitt Romney is coming under fire over a secret video recording in which the Republican declared at a small fundraiser that 47 percent of voters are "dependent on the government," and see themselves as "victims." "My job is not to worry about those people," he is heard saying at the event for a small group of wealthy contributors earlier this year. The White House hopeful said Monday night that his remarks were "not elegantly stated" and were "off the cuff." But he also doubled down on the views he expressed in the video, insisting that "the president's approach is attractive to people who are not paying taxes." [Bloomberg]

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.

Chicago teachers are "poring over the details" of a proposed contract that would end a strike that has kept 350,000 students out of class since last week. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who wants to judge teachers based on students' performance on standardized tests, took the matter to court on Monday. A judge has called a hearing for Wednesday to rule on the city's request for an injunction mandating that teachers return to work, contract or no. [Associated Press]

Anti-Japan protests rocked China on Tuesday, the emotional anniversary marking Tokyo's 1931 occupation of its "giant neighbor." The rioting has escalated over a territorial dispute regarding islands in the East China Sea. Japanese businesses have shut down hundreds of stores and factories across China. And Japan's embassy in Beijing came under attack by rioters who threw water bottles and eggs at the government building. [Reuters]

A suicide bomber in Afghanistan slammed a car packed with explosives into a minivan carrying foreign workers on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people. Afghan militant group Hezb-e-Islami claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, saying it was in retaliation for an anti-Islam video made by a filmmaker in the United States. Thousands of protesters have battled with police over the video in recent days, torching cars and throwing rocks in what is seen as "the worst outbreak of violence" since February's riots following the inadvertent burning of Korans by U.S. military personnel. [Reuters]

More than 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested on Monday as groups descended on Manhattan's financial district to mark the one-year anniversary of the grassroots movement railing against economic inequality. About 200 demonstrators showed up at Zuccotti Park and marched to the New York Stock Exchange. While some protesters said they were prepared to be taken into custody, others said they merely went to commemorate the movement's anniversary. [Associated Press]

French magazine Closer has been fined for publishing topless photographs of Kate Middleton taken while she was sunbathing at a private villa. A French court also ruled Tuesday that the magazine not distribute the magazine in print or online. Meanwhile, an editor at the Irish Daily Star, which also ran the photos, was suspended pending an investigation. The royal couple has also filed a criminal complaint against the photographer who took the photos. [CNN]

Mexican authorities said 132 inmates have escaped a state prison in northern Mexico, sparking a massive search by police and soldiers in an area close to the U.S. border. The prisoners escaped through a tunnel from the jail, which is located in the city of Piedras Negras. Officials said corrupt prison officials may have helped the prisoners escape. U.S. authorities have been asked to help capture the inmates if they try to flee across the border. [NBC News]

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox