The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

DINA SPECTOR

AUG. 25, 2014

REUTERS/Stephen Lam

A car damaged by bricks falling during an earthquake is seen next to a downtown building in Napa, California August 24, 2014.

Good morning! Here’s what people will be talking about Monday. 

1. A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck 50 miles northeast of San Francisco early Sunday. The biggest quake to hit the region in 25 years injured hundreds and led to multiple fires. 

2. Burger King is in talks to buy Canadian donut and coffee chain Tim Horton’s, The Wall Street Journal first reported. The deal would see the hamburger giant’s home move to Canada to avoid U.S. taxes. 

3. British actor and Oscar-winner director Richard Attenborough died Sunday. He was 90. Attenborough won an Academy Award for his direction of “Ghandi.”

4. American freelance writer Peter Theo Curtis was released Sunday after nearly two years of being held captive by Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, Nusra Front. 

5. Sony says the information of 53 million PlayStation users is safe after its network was attacked by hackers on Sunday. “The unidentified hackers said on their @LizardSquad Twitter microblogging account that the attack was meant to pressure the Japanese tech giant to spend more of its profits on security,” Reuters said.

6. The political leaders of both sides of the Scottish Referendum on Independence will go head-to-head Monday night in the last televised debate before the Sept. 18 vote. 

7. A memorial was held Sunday for American journalist James Foley in his hometown of Rochester in New Hampshire. Foley was killed by Islamic State militants last week after disappearing in 2012.  

8. The first British man to contract Ebola in West Africa is being treated at a London hospital. A special isolation ward has been set up for the patient.

9. Rap mogul Suge Knight was shot at an MTV awards pre-party in West Hollywood. Knight, 49, is expected to survive. 

10. Swiss drugmaker Roche has agreed to buy U.S. biotech company InterMune for $8.3 billion. “The driver for Roche was to gain access to InterMune’s drug, pirfenidone (trade name, Esbriet), which is already approved in Canada and Europe for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF),” according to Forbes. 

And finally…

Nicki Minaj’s dress ripped during her performance of  “Bang Bang” with Jessie J and Ariana Grande at the MTV VMAS.