Clash of the Titans

View this email in your browser Monday, September 26, 2016 The debates are finally here. More on that Washington mall shooting. And a weekend of big losses. It's Monday and here's what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door: Share Tweet Forward 1. Campaign 2016 The first presidential debate is finally upon us. Obviously everyone's hyping it up to be a huge battle of wits, so here's a breakdown of Clinton and Trump's biggest debate strengths and weaknesses going into tonight. Oh, and all of this is happening while the candidates are in a virtual dead heat in the polls. If you want to be REALLY cynical at your debate-watching party, perhaps you should be asking: Are all of these crazy expectations a farce?  2. Syria civil war Long story short: It's a mess. That ceasefire is long gone. Two hundred airstrikes, and that's just this weekend. At least 85 dead in Aleppo. Diplomats are at each other's throats. And as if it couldn't get worse, another devastating photograph is bringing the horror of this war back into sharp focus. How has the world failed Syria so completely? Here's an explanation.  3. Washington mall shooting  Why did 20-year-old Arcan Cetin turn up at a Macy's in Burlington, Washington, and kill five people? Did he know them? Was this an act of terror? We may learn more more today when Cetin appears in court. We'll have to wait until tomorrow, however, to find out the ID of the five victims, the coroner says. 4. North Carolina shooting Charlotte police finally released video of Keith Lamont Scott's shooting death. Sadly, it answered ...pretty much nothing. Neither the dashcam nor body-camera footage shows Scott pointing a gun at officers. One video shows Scott with his arm by his side, but it's unclear if there's a gun. The release came in under the wire: A new NC law goes into effect next month that blocks the public from seeing such recordings.  5. Nigeria abducted girls Remember the 300 girls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014? There's a new, discouraging twist to the story. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has appeared in a new video to mock the parents of the girls and the Nigerian government after the army said it killed him last month. "To the despot Nigerian government: Die with envy. I'm not dead," Shekau says in the video. Breakfast Browse People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Jose Fernandez dies  The baseball world and beyond is mourning the superstar Miami Marlins pitcher, 24, who died early yesterday in a boating accident.  Arnold Palmer dies  The golf legend passed away yesterday too. He was 87.  Buckwheat Zydeco dies The Louisiana music icon, whose real name was Stanley Dural Jr., left us Saturday at 68.  Ugh. We need SOMETHING happy  Need to cheer up now? Here's an elderly couple reuniting in a nursing home.  Number of the Day $45,000 How much writer Truman Capote's ashes sold for at auction this weekend. And finally ... Giving up...plastic?  Literally almost everything you eat and love is covered in plastic. Could you go a whole MONTH without using the stuff? It's harder than it looks. (Click to view)  This edition of CNN Five Things brought to you by AJ Willingham. Address your complaints accordingly.  Thanks for reading Five Things! We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the dramatic election season, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Read more stories on CNN.com » Paid Content CNN Five Things magically shows up in your inbox every weekday at 6 a.m. ET. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know. We're all about self improvement. Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign yourself up! Copyright © 2016 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to CNN newsletters. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, Ga 30328 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences