The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

DINA SPECTOR

 JUL. 16, 2014

AP Photo/Nati Harnik

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett donated a record $2.6 billion to five charities.

Hello! Here’s what you need to know for Wednesday.

1. IBM announced it was partnering exclusively with Apple to sell iPhones and iPads to its clients. IBM will develop cloud services that are optimized for the iPhone and iPad operating system and Apple will provide hardware support for the devices.

2. The first Israeli was killed near the Gaza border after an Egypt-proposed cease-fire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militants unraveled. Hamas rejected the deal and airstrikes between the two nations have resumed, continuing a week-long battle that has also killed 200 Palestinians.

3. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a testimony to the Senate Banking Committee that “significant slack” remains in labor markets despite the recent strong jobs report. Yellen defended a loose monetary policy until the economy has fully recovered from the financial crisis, but was optimistic that “the economy would continue to grow if supported by the Fed’s current low interest rates,” Reuters says .

4. California is imposing tough water restrictions during the state’sthird-worst drought ever seen. Residents will be fined up to $500 a day for wasteful outdoor watering of gardens, lawns, or car washing.

5. General Motors records obtained by the New York Times appear to cast “doubt on how forthright the automaker was with regulators over a defective ignition switch that G.M. has linked to at least 13 deaths over the last decade.” The Times says, reportedly, that the company “repeatedly found a way not to answer the simple question from regulators of what led to a crash.”

6. A Japanese nuclear plant was given preliminary approval for meeting safety regulations required after the meltdowns at Fukushima. The Sendai plant in Tokyo is the first to meet these safety upgrades and is a step closer to coming back online.

7. The world’s worst-ever Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed at least 68 people in the last week. Ebola, one of the world’s deadliest viruses, is spread through contact with blood and bodily fluids of infected people or animals.

8. At least 10 people were killed as Typhoon Rammasun tore through Manila, the capital of the Philippines. More than 370,000 people were evacuated from their homes as strong winds brought down trees and power lines, causing widespread blackouts. 

9. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett ;donated $2.8 billion in securities to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four other charities. This is most Buffett has ever donated to these charities since he began his  2007 pledge to give away nearly all his wealth through annual contributions of his stock in Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

10. Hillary Clinton said she would prefer to work in a place with “fewer corners” — presumably a reference to the White House Oval Office — in an interview on” The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” Tuesday night. This came in response to the comedian’s repeated attempts to get Clinton to reveal any plans to run in the 2016 presidential election. 

And finally…

A 24-year-old British woman spent nearly $30,000 on plastic surgery, teeth whitening, spray tans, and a new wardrobe to look like celebrity Kim Kardashian. The Kimitator is now $10,000 in debt, the New York Daily News reports.