Trouble in Russia: A bomb on a trolley killed 15 people today in Volgograd, just a day after 17 people were killed in a suicide bombing at the Volgograd train station. As concern spread across the country, Red Square in Moscow was briefly evacuated after a woman left an object near St. Basil’s Cathedral. A total of 60 people were wounded in the two blasts in Volgograd. No one has claimed responsibility for either attack. Volgograd is about 400 miles from Sochi on the Black sea where the Winter Olympics will be held in February.

The Money: The NY Times reports that JP Morgan bank advanced its business in China by hiring the children of China’s ruling elite. Starting in about 2009, according to the Times, JP Morgan stepped up its “Sons and Daughters” hiring program then tracked the correlation between hiring the kids and completing new business deals. Now JP Morgan, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, are all being looked at for a hiring practice that could amount to bribery for business, which is illegal under US law. Stories like this are related to the trouble foreign journalists have been having getting, or renewing, credentials to work in China. The Chinese government doesn’t like having reporters look into corruption.

World: Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher is in a coma in a French hospital after a skiing accident. The 44-year-old German is said to be “fighting for his life.” Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he fell and hit his head on a rock. He walked away from the accident, but quickly deteriorated, and was rushed to a hospital for brain surgery. He retired from car racing in 2012.

• ØThousands of people in a coffee growing region of Eastern El Salvador had to leave their homes Sunday after the eruption of a volcano. About 5,000 people live in the area.

gAyBC News: Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts publicly acknowledged for the first time yesterday that she’s gay in a Facebook post of thanks for surviving severe illness. She said, “I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together.” It was no secret, but like Anderson Cooper, it was a long time before she said it. On a more serious journalistic note, we’d like to point out that in her message she skipped the Oxford comma after “friends”.

The Obit Page: Dallas billionaire philanthropist Harold Simmons, who gave hundreds of millions of dollars and was a staunch supporter of Republican politics, died at age 82. Considered a giant in Texas, he gave large sums of money to universities, hospitals, the performing arts, and even the zoo. He was also a backer of the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” who trashed John Kerry during his run for president, and gave money to unseat President Obama. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Simmons called Obama “the most dangerous American alive.”

Sandwich Play: ESPN football analyst Jesse Palmer is credited with saving his broadcast partner’s life during the halftime of a Saturday bowl game between Rutgers and Notre Dame. Chris Fowler Tweeted, “He saved me from death by dry chicken sandwich. Really.”

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