Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 27 Sep 2012

1. 'EXPECT TO BE SHOT' JUDGE TELLS BURGLARS

Judge Michael Pert sentenced burglars Joshua O'Gorman and Daniel Mansell, who were shot and wounded when they raided an isolated Leicestershire farmhouse last month, to four years' jail for burglary at Leicester Crown Court yesterday, saying: "If you burgle a house in the country where the householder owns a legally-held shotgun, that is the chance you take."

Did judge give homeowners 'licence to shoot' burglars?

2. CAMERON FLUNKS TV HISTORY QUIZ

David Cameron became the first serving British prime minister ever to appear on the Late Show in New York last night – and flunked two British history questions posed by host David Letterman. He did not know who wrote Rule Britannia (music Thomas Arne, words James Thomson) or what Magna Carta means in English (Great Charter).

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Cameron flunks Letterman history test, but is it all bad?

3. UK ACCOUNTS IN RED BY RECORD £20.8BN

Britain's current accounts went into the red by a record margin in the second qUarter of 2012, new figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed today. They show a deficit of £20.8bn, the biggest ever for a quarter. The numbers take account of Britain’s weak trade balance and disappointing income from foreign investments.

4. MORE HOMES IN PERIL AS FLOODWATERS RISE

Flooding of thousands of homes across Britain continued overnight as torrential rain began to spread through the Midlands into the South West from Yorkshire and the North East. In the worst September storm for 30 years, the Environment Agency has issued 60 flood warnings and more than 100 alerts.

City of York floods as River Ouse rises - pictures

5. JK ROWLING'S ADULT NOVEL SHOCKS CRITICS

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's first book for adults, 'The Casual Vacancy', hits the shops today, with critics surprised by drugs, sex and swearing – "things that Harry Potter never dreamed of" - and the memorable phrase "that miraculously unguarded vagina". The bleak view of small-town life has already earned it the nickname 'Mugglemarch'.

JK Rowling's 'Casual Vacancy': too rude, too political, too dull

6. ROCHDALE SOCIAL SERVICES BLAMED

Inadequate and "patchy" training of social services personnel has been blamed for the "missed opportunities" to stop the sexual grooming of young girls in Rochdale, according to a report into the scandal. Nine men were jailed in May for grooming girls as young as 13, plying them with drinks and drugs so they could "pass them around" for sex.

Rochdale sex grooming gang victims to sue social services

7. FRENCH NOT 'ACTIVELY SEEKING' MEGAN

French authorities have revealed they are not "actively seeking" 15-year-old Megan Stammers and Jeremy Forrest, the teacher with whom she has eloped. They pointed out that the age of consent in France is 15. But the couple are on a missing persons list and would be arrested on a European warrant on behalf of British police if spotted.

French police 'not searching' for runaway Megan Stammers

8. ACTOR HERBERT LOM DIES AT 95

Herbert Lom, the Czech-born actor who made his name in Britain playing Peter Sellers’s exasperated boss in the Inspector Clouseau films, has died a few days after his 95th birthday. Until his death, he was the last surviving star of the 1955 comedy caper The Ladykillers, in which he appeared with Sellers and Alec Guinness.

9. TERRY FINED £220,000 FOR RACIAL ABUSE

Chelsea FC captain John Terry has been banned for four matches and fined £220,000 by the FA for using racially abusive language towards Anton Ferdinand last October. He was alleged to have used the words "f***ing black c***" towards the QPR man. The FA decision came despite Terry being cleared of any racial offence by magistrates in July.

10. HOT TICKET: SIP BUBBLY WITH DOGS

Bubbledogs, a new restaurant bar serving gourmet hotdogs and champagne has opened in Fitzrovia, London. Hotdog varieties include a Trishna Dog, with mint, mango and coriander and a K-Dawg, with kimchi. Champagnes are from boutique growers. "A guilty pleasure," says View London.

Flirtatious and fun: Bubbledogs champagne and hotdog diner