Here's a roundup of news trending across the nation and world today.
What to know now:
1. Plane crash: Both British and U.S. officials are now saying they have reason to believe that a Russian passenger plane was brought down Saturday by a bomb planted by a Sinai-based affiliate of the Islamic State terror organization. A U.S. official said intercepted communications suggest that a bomb had been planted on the plane. There has been no official judgment as to what happened to the Airbus A321 carrying 224 people from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected the claim that a bomb took down the plane.
2. 41 on 43: President George HW Bush is speaking out on his son's administration and some of the people in it in a new biography set for release next week. The elder Bush slams Vice President Dick Cheney for building "his own empire," and says Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld "served the president badly." The 91-year-old Bush chided his son, George W. Bush, for his use of "hot rhetoric" saying using it is "pretty easy to get headlines, but it doesn't necessarily solve the diplomatic problem."
3. Clinton Foundation to refile returns: The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation will refile erroneous tax returns for its health initiative in response to "recent media interest," according to a story from Reuters. Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) spokeswoman Maura Daley said in a statement Wednesday, "As previously stated, the minor errors on the 2012 and 2013 CHAI 990s are immaterial and do not require refiling, yet in response to recent media interest in the forms, CHAI has decided to refile the returns in order to be fully transparent." The decision came after Reuters posted a story saying CHAI had misreported funding sources by millions of dollars.
4. The CMAs: Jokes about break-ups (Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert), a "Star Wars" opening and a stand-out performance by a pop star were some of the highlights of the 2015 Country Music Awards ceremony. While Justin Timberlake's performance brought down the house, "Girl Crush" took home Song of the Year and Single of the Year honors. Luke Bryan was named Entertainer of the Year. In a related note…
5. Shelton, Stefani dating: As Blake Shelton sat in the audience of the Country Music Awards ceremony Wednesday, his representative confirmed that he is dating his "The Voice" co-star Gwen Stefani. Shelton, who divorced fellow country star Miranda Lambert in July, has been seen recently with Stefani who filed for divorce from her husband, Gavin Rossdale, in August. Stefani and Rossdale were married nearly 13 years and have three children.
And one more
NBC is facing mounting protests over its decision to have Donald Trump guest-host on this weekend's "Saturday Night Live." A coalition of advocacy groups delivered petitions to the network Wednesday asking it to reconsider Trump's appearance. According to a story from Politico, NBC accidentally released promos for the appearance including one where Trump calls fellow GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson a "loser."
In case you missed it
Just one more Halloween prank.
