The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

DINA SPECTOR

 SEP. 16, 2014

REUTERS

Dave Cameron makes a last-minute plea to keep the union intact.

Good morning! Here’s what people will be chatting about on Tuesday.

1. The U.S. launched the first airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq under an expanded military campaign to defeat the militant group. 

2. The death toll continues to climb in India’s Kashmir Valley region, which is experiencing the worst flooding in at least five decades. Health officials are now worried about the spread of waterborne diseases.

3. There are just two days until Scotland decides whether or not to break the 307-year-old union with England. Follow this link if you’re still not sure what the independence referendum is all about. 

4. President Obama will announce a major expansion of aid toward fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, including the construction of 17 treatment centers in Liberia with around 1,700 beds, The New York Times reports. 

5. Apple received a record 4 million pre-orders in the first 24 hours that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were available. 

6. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba raised its IPO price range to $66-68, up from $60-66, ahead of its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. 

7. A new climate report out Tuesday will argue that the world has just 15 years to switch to a low-carbon economy in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. 

8. Switzerland said it might offer Edward Snowden safe entry “if he helped a potential criminal inquiry into U.S. spying there,” Reuters reports.

9. Tesla shares plunged on Monday after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas cautioned that the stock price might be rising too quickly. 

10. Boeing could beat out Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a multibillion-dollar NASA contract to carry astronauts to and from space, industry officials told The Wall Street Journal. 

And finally…

Scientists have pinpointed a comet surface landing spot for a probe deployed by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta made history in August for becoming the first craft to rendezvous with a comet.