A motive for a mass killing. Murder for an Olympian. And impeachment for a president. It’s Thursday, and here are the five things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
SAN BERNARDINO MASS SHOOTING
Not again: America wakes up trying to wrap its collective head around yet another mass shooting. This one, in San Bernardino, California, left at least 14 people dead at a holiday party. The shooters — a man and a woman — are dead, killed by police in a shootout a few hours later. We know their names: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. We don’t, as of yet, know a motive. We also don’t know the identities of the victims. Here’s what we know so far. And here’s a profile of the shooters.
BRITISH AIRSTRIKES
Fighting time: For 10 long hours British lawmakers debated launching airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Late yesterday they finally gave their OK in a 397-223 vote. Soon after British jet fighters took off from a base in Cyprus, taking the fight to ISIS strongholds beyond Iraq.
ALASKA MAYOR’S DEATH
Not what we feared: His death just weeks after taking office spurred rumors of assault and foul play. But it turns out Juneau, Alaska’s 70-year-old mayor died of natural causes. Stephen “Greg” Fisk did suffer from injuries, but officials said they were from falling or tripping, not from being assaulted.
OSCAR PISTORIUS
Changed: Oscar Pistorius is now a convicted murderer, after South Africa’s top court overturned his previous conviction of culpable homicide in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The court said Pistorius should have known that firing a gun through a bathroom door would have a fatal result.
BRAZIL POLITICS
Goodbye, Madame President?: Impeachment gets the green light in Brazil. Proceedings to yank President Dilma Rousseff from office have begun. Corruption scandals involving her political party and a state-run oil company have shattered her popularity and sparked mass protests.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
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Quote of the day: “This is like some Watergate stuff.”
Spike Lee, on his belief that high-level Chicago officials were involved in a cover-up of the Laquan McDonald video.
Mo money, mo problems
Two more FIFA officials have been arrested, this time accused of accepting “millions of dollars” in bribes.
How the mighty have fallen
Just how bad are things right now for Tiger Woods? His body’s in such bad shape he can’t even bend over to pick up a golf ball. Golf’s former golden boy is now ranked No. 400 in the world.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Here’s what’s coming up later.
Oh Christmas tree
President Obama and the first family will flip the switch at the National Tree Lighting Ceremony this evening in Washington.
Meet and greet
The foreign ministers of Turkey and Russia are set to meet today, which is noteworthy considering the current war of words between the two countries.
AND FINALLY …
Savor it
Curl up by the fire and watch actor Nick Offerman sip scotch … for 45 minutes.