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Authorities have identified the Oregon shooter as 26 year-old Chris Harper Mercer, who was not a student at the college. In an online dating profile Mercer reportedly described himself as a mixed-race “conservative Republican” who was “not religious, but spiritual.” Shortly after the August on-camera murder of two Virginia journalists, Mercer wrote a blog post in which he expressed admiration for …

Oregon Live reports: The shooter at Umpqua Community College on Thursday asked people to state their religion and then started firing, one student said. Kortney Moore, an 18-year-old, told the News Review she was sitting in her writing class when a bullet blasted through the window. She saw her teacher shot in the head then noticed that the shooter was …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu punctuated his denouncement of the “utter silence” over the Iran deal today by glaring wordlessly at members of the United Nation General Assembly for nearly a full minute. Reaction to the ploy has ranged from “chilling” to “creepy” to “intimidating.” Watch below.

Via CNN: Preliminary information indicates 10 people were killed and more than 20 others injured in a shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College on Thursday, said Oregon State Police spokesman Bill Fugate. Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice told CNN that the shooter is in custody. It was not immediately clear whether the shooter was injured. ATF agents were on the …

The Washington Post calls this a “terrifying concept.” They write: You can already rate restaurants, hotels, movies, college classes, government agencies and bowel movements online. So the most surprising thing about Peeple — basically Yelp, but for humans — may be the fact that no one has yet had the gall to launch something like it. When the app does …

AccuWeather has the latest: Hurricane Joaquin is rapidly intensifying. Joaquin reached Category 3 status late Wednesday evening. The storm is now expected to strengthen into a Category 4 storm sometime late Thursday or Thursday night. After it passes just northeast of the Bahamas Thursday, Joaquin will begin to turn north and parallel the East Coast on Friday and Saturday. Virginia …

Via the Colorado Springs Gazette: The “crime” is blasphemy and Wednesday (Sept. 30) is “International Blasphemy Rights Day,” set aside by human rights activists to highlight the blasphemy laws on the books in 22 percent of the world’s nations, according to the Pew Research Center. Among those countries frequently cited by human rights groups with the most aggressive laws banning …

AccuWeather has the latest forecast: Hurricane Joaquin is forecast to continue to gather strength just northeast of the Bahamas during the next couple of days before it begins its northward run along the East coast. The system could reach Category 3 strength. The storm will bring pounding surf, dangerous seas, strong winds, drenching squalls and flash flooding to the central …

An Oklahoma commission has agreed to comply with the state Supreme Court’s order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the grounds of the state capitol. Christian activists had maintained that the monument was historical rather than religious, but the court sided with plaintiffs represented by the ACLU. Tulsa World reports: The Capitol Preservation Commission on Tuesday authorized a state …

GOP Indiana House Majority Leader Jud McMillin abruptly resigned yesterday after a sex video was sent from his phone to unknown persons. McMillin, one of his state’s most ardent opponents of same-sex marriage, claims that his phone was “stolen in Canada.” Via the Indianapolis Star: The Star has learned that the surprise resignation came after a sexually explicit video was …

Last month we learned that Alabama was set to close 45 of its 49 driver’s license bureaus despite a strict voter ID law. The number of planned office closures has since been reduced to 33 and the state is preparing to make that move. Via Montgomery’s NBC affiliate: Governor Robert Bentley is moving ahead with plans to close some driver’s …

The Intercept reports: Edward Snowden isn’t just a hashtag anymore. The NSA whistleblower joined Twitter on Tuesday, using the @snowden Twitter handle. Snowden, who has lived in Russia since turning over a trove of top-secret documents to reporters more than two years ago, has remained in the public eye thanks to frequent appearances and interviews using video links and sometimes …

The First Lady appeared on The Late Show last night where Stephen Colbert asked about her post-White House plans. TIME Magazine recaps: You know what First Lady Michelle Obama is most looking forward to when she leaves the White House? Opening a window. They say it’s the little things that matter most in life. In this case, that seems like …

ABC News reports: President Obama took on a confrontational tone in his speech this morning to the United Nations General Assembly, specifically calling out Russia, China and Iran for destabilizing activities in various world conflicts. Obama opened his speech directly decrying “strong states that seek to impose their will on weaker ones,” then alluded to Russian support for Syrian President …

NASA set the web aflame this weekend with a promise that they would have a “major announcement” about Mars today. Sadly, the big reveal is not about little green men – but it IS fascinating. Via the Guardian: Liquid water runs down canyons and crater walls over the summer months on Mars, according to researchers who say the discovery raises …

Over at Blood Moon Apocalypse World Headquarters (aka World Net Daily), they’re probably disappointed to wake up and find the planet still revolving. Here in Manhattan, we didn’t get such a great view due to the clouds. How were your skies last night? UPDATE: LGBT activist Inga Sarda-Sorensen got some great shots from Brooklyn.

This is one of the more bizarre Pope Francis stories of the week. A congressman stole the water glass Pope Francis was drinking out of during his address at the White House on Thursday. Representative Bob Brady, a devout Catholic and Democrat from Pennsylvania immediately made his way to the podium after Pope Francis finished speaking and grabbed the glass …

“My dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, I am grateful for this opportunity to meet you. I am blessed by your presence. Thank you for coming here today. Words cannot fully express my sorrow for the abuse you suffered. You are precious children of God who should always expect our protection, our care and our love. I am profoundly sorry …

USA Today reports: Pope Francis cruised through Central Park early Friday evening to the cheers of tens of thousands who stood in line at security checkpoints for hours to enter the site. Waving to the cheering crowds, Pope Francis’ motorcade made its way from 72nd Street down to near 59th Street as he passed through on his way from Our …

Singing “Zip-O-Dee-Doo-Dah” (seriously), John Boehner held a press conference this afternoon to announce his resignation both as House Speaker and from Congress entirely.