TODAY'S TALKING POINTS 09-31-15

TODAY'S TALKING POINTS

The murder rate spiked in at least 35 cities. With the year still far from over, homicides have climbed into the triple digits in New Orleans, Baltimore, St. Louis and elsewhere. While there may be a different reason for the rise in each city, some officials suspect that scrutiny of officers' use of force has "made officers less aggressive and emboldened criminals."

Mount McKinley will be renamed Denali (again). Native Alaskans, who’ve been fighting for a name change for the nation’s tallest peak since 1975, are celebrating President Barack Obama’s decision to change the name back to the original. Lawmakers in Ohio are less than thrilled because the peak was originally renamed to honor former President William McKinley, an Ohio native.

While visiting Alaska, the president may not hike Denali, but he will be getting wild with Bear Grylls on NBC’s adventure show Running Wild. He’ll be focusing on bringing attention to the results of climate change, but the whole thing sounds a lot like Survivor: POTUS. Denali isn’t the only landmark Americans have renamed throughout history. Here are five more that once had Native names and are now named after people you’ve probably never heard of, like lawyer Charles E. Rushmore.

The prime suspect in Bangkok's bombing was reportedly arrested. The unidentified man, who's suspected of committing one of the worst attacks on Thailand's capital in recent history, is thought to be a Uighur muslim. Officials are speculating that the bombing might be revenge for July's deportation of more than 100 Uighur refugees to China, a move the U.S. and the U.N. condemned.

Hurricane season is here in full force. For the first time ever, three Category 4 hurricanes formed simultaneously over the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific is already experiencing a record hurricane season that’s due in part to really warm water.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic is facing its second hurricane this year. Fred, a Category 1 storm that could be the first to make landfall on the Cape Verde Islands, comes days after Tropical Storm Erika killed at least 20 in the Caribbean. A new study published in Nature Climate Change shows that future storms have the potential to get much worse than anything we have seen before.

A Kentucky clerk loses her fight against same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court denied an application from Kim Davis, who has been refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses in the name of religion. If she continues to keep couples from putting a ring on it, she could face serious penalties.