#BacktotheFuture is here, and other midday must-reads

What are people reading right now? Get up to speed on today's top news —

1. Happy "Back to the Future Day," y'all. To catch you up, it's the day Marty McFly (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) time-traveled to in Back to the Future: Part II. Among his discoveries are hand-held computers, video chatting, Major League Baseball in Miami, and a preponderance of cameras. What did the future get right, and wrong? And where are all the hoverboards?! Full coverage here.

2. Vice President Biden said no to the 2016 presidential race, ending months of speculation about his political future. Biden, speaking from the White House Rose Garden with his wife and President Obama by his side, said there's a window of opportunity to jump into the presidential race, and "I've concluded it has closed."

3. Flags in New York were ordered to half staff Wednesday after a NYPD officer was shot and killed in the line of duty. Randolph Holder, who was assigned to the NYPD's housing unit, was responding to reports of gunfire in one of the area's large housing projects Tuesday night when gunfire was exchanged, and Holder was shot in the head. The suspect was caught blocks away and was being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg. Police are still seeking witnesses.

4. Put on your Halloween costume, then look to the skies (with a telescope) as a massive asteroid will be hurtling past Earth. The asteroid, dubbed 2015 TB145, was discovered Oct. 10 and will zip past on at "unusually" high speeds Oct. 31, say scientists. Fear not, though, because it'll be 300,000 miles away.

5. Drive a Toyota? You should probably read this. A defective power window switch prompted the automaker to recall 6.5 million vehicles, with model years ranging from 2007 to 2011. The troublesome switch has caused at least 11 incidents in which the switch or car door burned.

6. Syrian President Bashar Assad made a secret visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their two governments disclosed Wednesday.

7. When was the last time you lusted after a product from Microsoft? OK, maybe never. But really, the Microsoft Surface Book is apparently drool-inducing and could give Apple's MacBook Pro a run for its money.

8. Nope, Pope Francis does not have a brain tumor. Vatican officials on Wednesday smacked down an Italian newspaper's claim that the pontiff has a small, curable tumor.

9. Sad. A Michigan man was found dead on his kitchen floor — and likely had been there for a year, officials said. He is believed to have died of natural causes.

10. November is almost here, which means you should watch these things on Netflix before they disappear.

11. Last night, the ever-impeccable Duchess Kate busted out the tiara. Today, it's Dolce & Gabbana.

12. Let's talk baseball. The Chicago Cubs added another grim chapter to a century of October failure, but the Mets aren't taking aren't taking things for granted. Here's how the Kansas City Royals found their formula to own October.