10 things you need to know today: October 15, 2015

President Obama halts Afghan withdrawal, Blue Jays beat Rangers in wild seventh inning, and more

Joe Bautista celebrates after a home run.
(Image credit: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

1. U.S. to halt Afghanistan withdrawal as Taliban surges

President Obama is expected to announce Thursday that the U.S. will halt its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending Obama's hope of bringing all American troops home before he leaves office in 2017. The shift came after the Taliban last month scored its biggest victory in 14 years of war by briefly taking control of the provincial capital of Kunduz. Under the revised plan, U.S. troop strength will remain at 9,800 until late 2016 or early 2017, before dropping to 5,500.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.