10 things you need to know today: August 7, 2012

1. SIKH COMMUNITY MOURNS; OBAMA CALLS FOR "SOUL-SEARCHING"

Mourners in the Sikh community of Oak Creek, Wis., will hold a vigil for a third consecutive night on Tuesday, to remember the six people who were killed by alleged gunman Wade Michael Page in a Sikh temple on Sunday. Page, 40, was shot to death by police responding to the attack. On Monday, President Obama spoke about the attack, saying that it should inspire "soul-searching" by Americans. He said that shootings like this and the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting in July are "happening with too much regularity." But the president stopped short of calling for stricter gun control laws, only saying that he would "examine additional ways to reduce violence." [CNN, Politico]

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2. ACTING SYRIAN PREMIER MEETS WITH CABINET

Syria's new acting Prime Minister Omar Ghalawanji met his cabinet on Monday after Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected to Jordan. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi indirectly confirmed Hijab's departure at the meeting, "saying that anyone who fled the country and illegitimately abandoned a government post showed a lack of political and national awareness." Hijab is the highest-ranking defector since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last year. [Bloomberg]

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3. ACTIVISTS PLAN STARBUCKS APPRECIATION DAY

Proponents of same-sex marriage are planning to swarm Starbucks locations on Tuesday to counter Chick-fil-A's record sales last week. Last Wednesday, the fast-food chain enjoyed a surge of support from the likes of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sarah and Todd Palin during what was dubbed Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, after the company's president, Dan Cathy, went on record backing the "biblical definition of the family unit." So far, nearly 28,000 people have signed up to attend the Starbucks event, which was organized by Equally Wed, a gay and lesbian wedding magazine. Early this year, the coffee purveyor, which is headquartered in Washington state, threw its support behind the state's push to legalize same-sex marriage. The law will be voted on in a November referendum. [Los Angeles Times]

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4. FIRE ERUPTS AT CALIFORNIA CHEVRON REFINERY

Residents of Richmond, Calif., were ordered to stay in their homes Monday night after a series of explosions and fires erupted at a Chevron refinery in the area. There were no fatalaties, but one employee did suffer burns. Health officials' main concern was fumes from crude oil and diesel fuel. The Chevron Richmond refinery is Northern California's largest, capable of processing more than 242,000 barrels of oil each day. [San Francisco Chronicle]

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5. ACCUSED TUCSON SHOOTER RETURNS TO COURT

Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of shooting and killing six people, and wounding 13 others, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, last January in Tucson, will return to court on Tuesday. A court-appointed psychiatrist is expected to testify that Loughner, who has been forcibly medicated while in prison, is now mentally fit to enter a guilty plea. In the plea deal, Loughner would likely get life in prison. [Associated Press]

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6. U.K. BANK MAY HAVE HELPED IRAN AVOID SANCTIONS

On Monday, regulators in New York charged British bank Standard Chartered with helping Iranian banks and companies hide some $250 billion in financial transactions, in a bid to skirt tough sanctions intended to isolate Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. Describing the bank as a "rogue institution," authorities said Standard Chartered had made hundreds of millions of dollars in fees by helping Iran evade the sanctions. Furthermore, Standard Chartered "left the U.S. financial system vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins, and corrupt regimes," regulators said. Standard Chartered said it was reviewing the charges and cooperating with authorities. [New York Times]

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7. U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM ADVANCES TO FINALS

The U.S. women's soccer team defeated Canada in a thrillingly close game that ended with a score of 4-3 in overtime, when forward Alex Morgan swooped in for a header to close out the game. The victory sends the U.S. to the finals, where they will play Japan for the gold medal. [New York Times]

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8. PHILIPPINES FLOODS LEAVE NINE DEAD

Torrential rains have paralyzed Manila, the capital of the Philippines, leaving at least nine people dead. The flooding, which is neck-deep in some areas, has caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. More than 50 people died in the Philippines when Typhoon Saola hit the country over a week ago. [BBC]

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9. CURIOSITY ROVER SENDS VIDEO OF LANDING

NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars on Sunday, transmitted a two-and-a-half-minute video of its dive into the Martian atmosphere. To complete its landing, the rover had to go from 13,000 mph to zero in just seven minutes. The video was just a sneak preview of the full version, since it'll take some time before full-resolution frames are beamed back. [Associated Press]

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10. DORMANT NEW ZEALAND VOLCANO AWAKENS

Mount Tongariro, a New Zealand volcano that has been dormant for 115 years, began spewing bolders and spreading a cloud of ash over the center of the country Monday night, disrupting air traffic but causing little damage. [Reuters]