Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 3 Oct 2017

1. Police seek motive for Las Vegas shooting

With the death toll at 59, and 527 injured, police still have no trace of a motive for Sunday night’s Las Vegas mass shooting. Gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, took his own life before they reached the hotel room from which he repeatedly fired into the crowd at a country music festival. An arsenal of at least 23 weapons were found in the room.

2. Government denies poor handling of Monarch

The Department of Transport has defended its handling of the collapse of Monarch Airlines, denying it should have warned customers of the firm’s financial troubles and saying it is “not the role of government to decide on the viability of a business”. An operation to fly home the airline’s 110,000 stranded passengers began yesterday.

3. Hunt warns Johnson to ‘swing behind’ May

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has issued a gentle threat to Boris Johnson, due to speak at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester today. Asked if he thought the Foreign Secretary was angling for Theresa May’s job, Hunt said “anyone who might be eyeing a different job” must “swing behind Theresa” or risk opening the door to Jeremy Corbyn.

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4. May to confront ‘uncomfortable truths’ on race

Theresa May will say today, in a speech at the Conservative conference, that she will confront the “uncomfortable truths” revealed in a report on racial discrimination due to be published this week. May ordered the wide-reaching audit of racial and socio-economic disparity when she became Prime Minister.

5. Trump to visit storm-damaged Puerto Rico

US President Donald Trump is to see for himself the damage caused by Hurricane Maria when it hit Puerto Rico two weeks ago. His visit comes after he rubbished the leadership of the mayor of San Juan and claimed local officials “want everything done for them”. The US relief effort has been widely criticised as slow and inadequate.

6. Catalans strike to protest police violence

A general strike is expected to go ahead in the Spanish region of Catalonia today, in protest at brutal police treatment of people voting in a contested independence referendum on Sunday. Police fired rubber bullets, pulled women by their hair and left hundreds injured. Public transport, schools and medical clinics will stay closed today.

7. Longer sentences for online terror content

Home Secretary Amber Rudd yesterday announced plans to jail people who repeatedly view terrorist content online, for up to 15 years. Tougher laws on radicalisation would also apply to those who publish information about members of the Armed Forces, police and intelligence services online for the purposes of terrorism.

8. Musician Tom Petty dead at age of 66

The manager of rock musician Tom Petty has confirmed his death at the age of 66. The singer and guitarist suffered a cardiac arrest at his Malibu home and died on Tuesday evening in hospital “surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends”, said a statement. Tributes have been paid by stars including Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson.

9. Final MH370 report: ‘inconceivable mystery’

Australian air accident investigators have released their final report on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on 8 March 2014 with 239 people on board, describing the failure to locate the crash site as “almost inconceivable” and “societally unacceptable”. The search was given up in January this year after 1,046 days.

10. Briefing: how to invest in the art stars of the future

The world is full of art lovers, says art expert Ryan Stanier, but few would perhaps see themselves as potential collectors.

The difference, however, lies in simply knowing what to buy, and when.

With the number of people buying art worldwide at an all-time high, most of us would probably love to rewind the clock and support one of the art world’s biggest stars before they made it big. But the opportunity to invest in rising stars is, of course, there for the taking.

How to invest in the art stars of the future