Good morning, and happy Tuesday. Here are some of the stories we’re following today:
1. What to expect from the CIA torture report
A Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA interrogation tactics is expected to be released Tuesday — and could stir threats and even violence against American embassies and assets across the world, defense officials warned. As a result, about 2,000 Marines have been placed on alert around the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean. The full report — estimated at 6,000 pages — is expected to conclude that the CIA repeatedly tortured three detainees for a period of several years after 9/11, including by the simulated drowning tactic known as waterboarding. It is also expected to accuse the CIA of repeatedly lying to Congress, the White House and the public. Read more in NEWS.
2. Protesters step up ‘die-ins’ amid Brown autopsy
A federal autopsy released Monday reiterates that Ferguson, Missouri, teenager Michael Brown died of homicide in a fatal police shooting in August. He suffered “severe injuries of the skull, brain and right chest.” While a grand jury decided not to indict a Ferguson police officer in Brown’s killing, protesters have continued to make their voices heard over police brutality. They stopped an Amtrak train in Berkeley, California, on Monday, while a crowd outside of a Brooklyn Nets basketball game in Brooklyn, New York, held a “die-in.” Read more in NEWS.
At the Nets-Cavaliers game Monday night, players — including LeBron James — showed their support for Eric Garner, the unarmed New York man who died amid a police arrest in July. Garner was heard on a cellphone camera saying, “I can’t breathe,” as one officer held him.
3. Family of Tamir Rice wants officer’s conviction
A grand jury is expected to hear the case of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Cleveland boy killed by a police officer last month. Tamir’s mother said at a news conference Monday that police “didn’t even give him a chance to cooperate” when they shot him. The boy was found armed with a pellet gun, and was reaching in his waistband when he was shot, police said. Meanwhile, Tamir’s 14-year-old sister was also tackled and placed in a police car during the incident, the family claimed. They have filed a civil suit against the officers involved as well as the city of Cleveland. Read more in NEWS.
4. Nor’easter brings mix of wintry weather
It’s a nasty commute in store from the Mid-Atlantic up to Maine as a developing nor’easter produces rain and winds along the coast and snow further inland. The storm is forecast to be a drawn-out affair, dropping rain or snow on some parts of New England as late as Thursday night, the National Weather Service said. New York’s Catskills and Adirondacks could get up to 2 feet of snow through Thursday before the plodding storm takes its leave. The heavy, wet snow and gusty winds could combine to bring down tree limbs and power lines. Read more in NEWS.
5. Technology helped to stop L.A. fire from spreading
ATF investigators are expected to arrive Tuesday to help city and county investigators determine what sparked Monday’s massive fire at an apartment building under construction. The blaze in Los Angeles’ downtown spanned more than two football fields, shutdown part of freeways and caused tens of millions of dollars in damages. Federal investigators plan to run background checks on workers and review every piece of video. The use of technology, meanwhile, helped to stop the fire from incinerating large swaths of the downtown neighborhood. Read more in TECH.
6. William and Kate get royal treatment in NYC
LeBron James — aka King James — held court with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge during Monday night’s Nets-Cavs game in Brooklyn. He later presented the couple with a customized mini-jersey with their son’s name, George. It was one of several stops for the couple during their three-day tour of New York City and Washington, D.C. William spent part of the day in D.C. with President Barack Obama, while Kate visited a children’s center in Harlem. On Tuesday, they’re expected to go to the 9/11 memorial and museum in Lower Manhattan. Read more in POP CULTURE.
And now this …
These Santas would make Rudolph blush. About 300 runners braved the frigid temperatures to take part in Boston's annual Santa Speedo Run over the weekend.
