Here's a roundup of news trending across the nation and world today.
What to know now:
1. Obama vows retaliation: President Barack Obama said in an interview Thursday that the United States will retaliate against Russia for what intelligence agencies say was meddling in America's election process. Talking with National Public Radio, Obama said the United States will take action "at a time and place of our own choosing … . Some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be." Russia has denied they had anything to do with hacking into the Democratic National Committee or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or trying to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
2. Not from Russia: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Fox News' Sean Hannity that the hacked emails from the Democrats published prior to the election did not come from the Russian government. U.S. intelligence agencies have told members of Congress in recent days that Russia, and the country's president, Vladimir Putin, were behind the email hacks at the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Our source is not the Russian government," Assange told Hannity Thursday. "So in other words, let me be clear," Hannity said, "Russia did not give you the Podesta (Hillary Clinton's campaign manager John Podesta) documents or anything from the DNC?" "That's correct," Assange said.
3. Roof found guilty: Dylann Roof, who shot and killed nine worshippers in Charleston's Emanuel AME church in June 2015, was found guilty Thursday on 33 federal charges related to the shooting, including hate crime charges because he targeted his victims on the basis of race and religion. Roof still faces murder charges at the state level. The penalty phase of the trial begins on Jan. 3, and Roof plans to act as his own attorney. He faces either the death penalty or life in prison.
4. Rogue One opens: Christmas has come early for "Star War" fans as "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" opens nationwide. The story is set in a time before the 1977 original "Star Wars." It tells the story of Jyn Erso, a fighter who tries to steal the plans to the Death Star.
5. Trump's pick for Israel: President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel. Friedman, an attorney, supports Israeli settlements on the West Bank, something in conflict with the current U.S. policies in the region. Friedman said he looked forward to working from "the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." Other presidents have suggested the U.S. embassy be moved to Jerusalem. The U.S. embassy is in Tel Aviv.
And one more
Craig Sager, the beloved NBA broadcaster, died Thursday after a two year battle with cancer. Sager, known as much for his brightly-colored sports coats and suits as for his years of sports journalism, was 65. When asked in August about his attitude toward the disease that would take his life, Sager said, "Man, life is too beautiful, too wonderful, there's just too many things. It's not just you. It's your family and kids and all. Fight. Fight until the end. Fight as hard as you can."
In case you missed it
What did people search for on Google this year? Here’s a look.
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