9 Things You Need to Know Thursday, Oct. 6 (audio)
- After charging through Cuba and Haiti, Hurricane Matthew is headed toward Florida. The category-four hurricane is expected to make landfall on Friday. So far, two million people have been encouraged to evacuate along the East Coast from Florida to South Carolina.
- New York's Comic-Con began today. Over the next four days, thousands of fans and cosplayers will converge on Manhattan to celebrate all things comics-related — particularly the upcoming films and TV shows.
- The Paris Agreement between 73 countries, including the United States and nations from the European Union, will go into effect on Nov. 4. Participating countries have pledged to reduce carbon emissions in order to avoid a catastrophic rise in global temperature.
- President Obama's approval rating reached its peak for his second term, according to a new CNN poll. For the last seven months, Obama's approval rating has been hovering above 50 percent, but the newest poll puts him at a 55 percent approval.
- Jay Z is adding two more projects to his résumé. The media mogul has teamed up with the Weinstein Company to produce a biopic about the late comedian Richard Pryor and a docuseries on a high school student who committed suicide after spending years in prison for allegedly stealing a backpack.
- The cast of Fox's Empire has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. The new ad, which was directed by the show's own director Lee Daniels, features the actors describing "what's at stake" for the black community this election.
- It's the battle of Fox News hosts. Last night, Megyn Kelly criticized Donald Trump for only appearing on Sean Hannity's show. Hannity, who is apparently quite close with Trump, fired right back with a tweet alleging Kelly supports Hillary Clinton. Kelly has yet to respond to her colleague.
- According to the United Nations, the eastern part of Aleppo could be eradicated within two months if airstrikes continue in the Syrian city. Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy for Syria, appealed directly to Russia to end its airstrikes against the rebels. De Mistura also offered to personally escort the approximately 900 rebel fighters from the city if the bombing ceased.
- Joining a long list of Republicans who have expressed their disapproval of Donald Trump, 30 former members of Congress wrote an open letter today explaining why they could not support the GOP nominee. Echoing sentiments shared by Republicans and Democrats alike, the letter said Trump "has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president."
