Heavy Weather: At least eight people were killed yesterday as tornadoes ripped through Mississippi and Tennessee. A dozen tornadoes touched down and thunderstorms rolled over the Southeast as tornado warnings were issued in more than a dozen states Hundreds of …

Not a Lot Like Christmas: Record-breaking warm weather has moved into the central and eastern states just before Christmas with temperatures running as much as 20 degrees above normal. Christmas day in some cities could be the warmest on record. …

Uncas Thinking: A ground war in Iraq would lead to 100 US deaths and 500 wounded every month, President Obama told a private meeting of news columnists earlier this week. He said the cost in lives and money was the …

Poll-itics: In a flip-flop from the national trend, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump 24 percent to 19 percent in the Iowa Republican polls. Marco Rubio is running third at 17 percent. Chris Cillizza writes in The Washington Post …

Political Climate: Delegates to the world climate change summit in Paris were expected to release the draft of an agreement that would commit nearly every country on earth to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. The target is to keep …

World at War: Central Brussels was in shutdown last night as soldiers patrolled the streets and investigators were on the hunt for Salah Abdeslam, the man who thought to have been the planner of the Paris attacks. By some reports …

War in the Air: Russia says it was definitely a bomb that took down a chartered airliner over the Sinai desert two weeks ago. Explosive residue was found in the wreckage. Alexander V. Bortnikov, the head of the country’s Federal …

Nation: The governor of West Virginia declared a state of emergency after a train pulling 109 cars of North Dakota crude oil derailed yesterday, setting tanker cars on fire and spilling oil into the Kanawha River, a source of local …

Denmark: The shooter in the Copenhagen café attack has been identified as a 22-year-old Danish-born man with a history of violence and gang affiliation. Witnesses said they heard him shout, “God is great!” as he sprayed the café with bullets. …

Free Speech, Free Fire: Danish police say they have shot and killed the man they believe carried out a shooting attack yesterday at a Copenhagen café hosting a public talk on religion and freedom of speech. In the second incident …