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The 10 most important things in the world right now

Dina Spector   

The 10 most important things in the world right now

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AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

Visitors are silhouetted against illuminated trees to celebrate the upcoming Christmas and New Year at Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015.

Good morning! Here's what you need to know today.

1. Elon Musk's private space company SpaceX made history on Monday by sending the first orbital rocket into space and landing it back on the ground.

2. At least one person was killed and 81 people are still missing after a landslide at an industrial park in southern China. A giant, man-made mountain of soil and waste are being blamed for the disaster.

3. Oil prices have plunged to an 11-year low, with more crude set to hit the market from nations like Libya and Iran. "Warm temperatures are killing the markets right now and the oversupply is weighing on prices," Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, told Reuters.

4. A homeless Oregon woman who police accuse of intentionally driving her car into a Las Vegas crowd, killing one person and injuring 35 others, had a suspended driver's license. The woman had been living in her sedan with her toddler and gave herself up to officers near the scene.

5. One of China's most admired civil rights lawyers has been given a suspended jail sentence after a Beijing court found him guilty in a case involving online comments critical of the ruling Communist Party. Pu Zhiqiang's prison sentence will be suspended for three years.

6. Martin Shkreli has been fired as CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals and resigned from his position on its board after he was arrested last Thursday on charges of securities fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty.

7. In an interview with National Public Radio, US President Barack Obama accused Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump of preying on the fears and anxiety of the blue-collar, working-class men. "They are no longer getting the same bargain that they got when they were going to a factory and able to support their families on a single paycheck," Obama said. "That's what he's [Trump] exploiting during the course of his campaign," he added.

8. A major fire in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo killed one firefighter and destroyed a popular museum that is more than 100 years old and houses information on the history the Portuguese language, the BBC reports.

9. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" set new box-office records, taking in $529 million (£355 million) worldwide opening weekend. "It's bigger than big. It's bigger than we thought it would be... And China has yet to open," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a release Monday.

10. Prince Christian of Denmark, who is second-in-line to the throne, was saved by a lifeguard after the 10-year-old got caught in a rip tide off an Australian beach last Thursday.

And finally ...

Harrison Ford was reportedly paid 76 times more than his "Star Wars" costars.

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