10 things you need to know today: September 16, 2012

1. U.S. PULLS EMBASSY STAFF FROM TUNISIA, SUDAN

The U.S. State Department is ordering non-essential staff to leave American embassies in Tunisia and Sudan amid heightened concerns over growing anti-American violence. The American embassies in Tunis, Tunisia, and Khartoum, Sudan, were attacked on Friday by demonstrators furious over a provocative and amateurish anti-Islam video made by a filmmaker in the United States. During the siege in Tunis, four people were killed and 46 were injured. In Khartoum, 5,000 protesters stormed the German and British embassies in addition to breaking into the U.S. property. At least two people were killed in the Sudan rioting. [Reuters]

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2. NATO TROOPS KILLED BY AFGHAN POLICEMAN

Four NATO troops were shot dead by at least one Afghan police officer at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, in what officials are calling an "inside attack." The deaths brought the number of NATO troops killed by Afghan soldiers or policemen (or those wearing police uniforms) to 51 this year. [Associated Press]

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3. NETANYAHU: CONTAINING IRAN WON'T WORK

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued again on Sunday that a policy of containment for Iran won't work because the country is guided by a "leadership of fanaticism." On NBC's Meet the Press, Netanyahu disagreed with those who say going to war with Iran would be worse than a nuclear Iran. "Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism," he said. "You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons?" The Obama administration wants to give diplomacy and sanctions more time to force Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear work. [NBC News]

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4. CHICAGO TEACHERS TO VOTE ON STRIKE

After a week of teacher strikes in Chicago — which left 350,000 children without classrooms — the city's teachers' union will vote on a tentative deal with the school district on Sunday afternoon. Both sides were optimistic the deal would be green lighted and that classes could resume on Monday. "We believe this is a good contract; however, no contract will solve all of the inequities in our district," said union president Karen Lewis. The strike is considered a litmus for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who infuriated teachers by proposing that their evaluations be more heavily determined by students' standardized test scores. [Associated Press]

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5. NHL PLAYERS LOCKED OUT BY OWNERS

The NHL has officially locked out its players after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. At the heart of the dispute is how league revenue will be split between players and team owners. This is the embattled league's fourth work stoppage since 1993. No negotiations took place Saturday and there are no talks planned, raising concerns that the season won't start on its scheduled day of Oct. 11. Training camps were scheduled to open next Friday. [ESPN]

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6. SUDAN REJECTS U.S. REQUEST TO BEEF UP SECURITY

Sudan is vetoing a U.S. request to send 50 Marines to the African country to help with security following Friday's attack on the American mission in Khartoum. "Sudan is able to protect the diplomatic missions in Khartoum and the state is committed to protecting its guests in the diplomatic corps," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti said, according to the state news agency. On Friday, thousands of rioters, enraged over an anti-Islam video made in the U.S., stormed the German and British embassies and broke into the U.S. mission. Two people were killed. [Reuters]

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7. GOOGLE REFUSES TO YANK ANTI-ISLAM VIDEO

Google is refusing a White House request to remove an anti-Islam clip on You Tube that is being blamed for causing a wave of attacks across the Middle East. YouTube said in a statement that the video is widely available on the internet and is "clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube." In the video, reportedly made by an Egypt-born Coptic Christian living in the U.S., Prophet Mohammad is painted as a womanizer, pedophile, and killer. [Associated Press]

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8. ROMNEY: OBAMA WILL DRIVE US OVER FISCAL CLIFF

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is arguing that President Obama is leading the country toward economic catastrophe. "Political gridlock threatens to plunge us back into recession, but instead of seeking bipartisan solutions, President Obama is passively allowing us to go over a fiscal cliff," Romney argued Saturday. Thanks to a congressionally approved deal last year, massive across-the-board spending cuts and tax hikes will be enacted at year's end unless Obama and Congress reach a new deal. The Obama administration say it's the Republicans who are to blame for standing in the way of an agreement. [Reuters]

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9. MORE MAGS TO RUN KATE'S TOPLESS PHOTOS

A day after Britain's royal family sued a French magazine for publishing topless photographs of Kate Middleton sunbathing while on vacation, two publications in Ireland and Italy have decided to run the images anyway. The Irish Daily Star printed the images on Saturday and Italy's Chi announced the photos would hit newsstands next week. A royal spokesman said "there can be no motivation for this action other than greed." [BBC]

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10. REPORT: AMANDA BYNES MENTALLY UNSTABLE

Former teen star Amanda Bynes' erratic behavior, which recently culminated with an alleged DUI and hit-and-run, might be due to mental illness, friends and neighbors told TMZ. Members of Bynes' Equinox gym told the gossip website that the troubled actress had been displaying delusional behavior, often speaking to herself or "laughing hysterically for no reason." Others called her "unstable" and said she had "conversations with inanimate objects several times." Pictures recently surfaced of her smoking an unknown substance from a pipe. [TMZ]