officials gathered at the prime minister's office. they inaugurated a foreign ministry intelligence unit and body to coordinate the work of several ministries and agencies. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga says japan needs to strengthen intelligence-gathering capabilities. he called on officials to work together. >> translator: i would like all you professionals to eliminate barriers between departments and do your job on vital information about international terrorism. >> deputy chief cabinet secretary sugita will lead officials from the foreign ministry, the national police agency and public security intelligence agency to coordinate intelligence-gathering measures. foreign ministry will appoint officials to monitor south asia, southeast asia, the middle east and africa. they'll work with diplomatic staff overseas and exchange information with foreign intelligence services. >>> a new government is set to take office in myanmar next year. its electoral victory marks another pont in the country's transition to democracy after ha

officials at the cabinet official released the revised numbers, and they now say the japanese economyrew by an annualized 1% in real terms during the three months. that is a 1.8 percentage point upgrade from the preliminary figure announced last month. growth in corporate investment was revised up from the initial minus 1.3% to plus 0.6%. housing investment also improved slightly to 2%. >>> japanese officials have also released the latest current account data that is the broadest measure of trade and investment with the rest of the world. the balance for october remained in the black for the 16th straight month. finance ministry officials say the surplus in october totaled nearly $12 billion. the trade account stayed in the black with a surplus of about $1.6 billion. the number was up from a year earlier as falling crude oil prices reduced energy imports in value terms. as for overseas investment, the primary income account shows how much japan earns from its foreign investments. that account showed a surplus of about $14 billion, down 14.4% in yen terms. the current account surplus c

government officials say exports fell in november. the officials at the finance ministry says japan's trade deficit was about 380 billion yen. exports were down 3.3% year on year. that was the second straight month of decline. auto exports to the u.s. were strong but shipments to china and other asian markets were down. imports also fell dropping 10.2% as prices of crude oil and liquid natural gas decline sharply. the figure fell for the 11th month in a row. >>> japan is preparing to sign an investment deal with iran next month. a government official has told nhk the two sides are at the final stage of working out the details. the officials say the countries plan to hold the signing ceremony in japan. the document will be submitted to the diet in february. the iranian side needs to finish off its procedures. it is expected to make inroads into the country's markets. an agreement reached in july between iran and six world powers cleared the path for lifting economic sanctions on iran. >>> the first customers of a japanese-designed pass

officials will install biometric systems to screen visitors. the announcement comes during a heightened state of alert after the recent terrorist attacks in paris. >>> some private companies here in japan are also castinging a critical eye on security. nhk world takes a look at how. >> reporter: there are 10,000 people at this tokyo sporting event. the kind of place authorities fear could be at risk to terrorist attacks. so a private security company is conducting the drill. they are outfitted with wearable cameras with the aim of using as many eyes as possible to find suspicious objects. >> translator: i see an unattended paper bag. your image has been confirmed. >> reporter: the camera shares the images and the gps location with security guards so they can respond. the drill is a success. but should only be a first start says the company that prevented it. >> translator: there's a limit to what we can do with conventional manpower alone. we must take advantage of technology to reinforce our security system. >> reporter: another firm is using

officials for the mitsubishi aircraft. that's it for business news. and news of the markets. >>> the united states has announced the sale of a weapons package worth $1.83 billion to taiwan. it has triggered strong opposition from china which considers it interference in its domestic affairs. >> today's notification is consistent with the taiwan relations act. and u.s. support for taiwan's ability to maintain sufficient self-defense capability. >> reporter: white house spokesperson josh earnest told reporters on wednesday that the obama administration has officially notified congress of the arms sales. the proposed package includes two naval frigates and amphibious assault vehicles. at the same time, analysts stress that the u.s. supports efforts by the president to improve ties with china. a spokesperson for taiwan's presidential office said in a statent on wednesday that president ma is very pleased and thankful for the u.s. decision to provide aweapon that taiwan sees as necessary for its defense. china is strongly opposed to the u.s. action. an ass

officials say they'll impose the restriction on january 1st.hey say it's just for the winter when pollution is especially bad. new delhi authorities say they'll also ask a state-run electric utility to shut down a thermal power station. some analysts doubt the authorities will actually impose the traffic restriction. they say commuters would suffer because the city does not have sufficient public transport. >>> the scandal that's engulfed the world football governing body is spreading. u.s. investigators have indicted 16 more officials at fifa as they continue their probe into allegations of corruption and bribery. nhk world's chiaki ishikawa has more. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney general has named 16 new defendants. loretta lynch says they are charged with racketeering and taking bribes related to marketing for matches and tournaments. >> and the message from this announcement should be clear to every culpable individual who remains in the shadows hoping to evade this ongoing investigation, you will not wait us out, and you will not escape o

the officials have approved seven regional brands. they include kobe beef and lons from the northern island of hokkaido. the others are squash, black vinegar ripened in jars, traditional authentic green tea, tajima beef and cassis. ministry officials selected them after more than 50 applications. the products will display the official logo to show they meet quality and production standards. people who use place names or other elements of the brands without certification face fines or prison terms. the agriculture minister says each product is a regional treasure grown in a special way that's been developed over the years. he says the government plans to register more items to help boost demand for high-quality products at home and abroad. >>> here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. executives at japan's biggest brokerage say it will buy a 41% stake in american century investments. nomura holdings wants to expand its asset management with a $1 billion deal. it's the biggest purchase for the company since th

officials i soak with. one of the officials saying the two conspired in 2012. a specific target was considered. neither of these official, though, could say how serious the plotting got. but the fact na they had picked out a target, of course, is alarming an shows a concrete step towards carrying out an attack. officials say the two decided not to go through it after a round of terror-related arrests in the area. one official claims they got spooked. this is bolstering the belief that law enforcement said he was radicalized before the san bernardino attacks and before he was married to his wife tashmeen malik. we know that farook and his friend, they have been conspireing to do bad things, officials say. at this point we are learning that they are discovering the extent. federal law enforcement discovering the extent of the 2012 plan following the san bernardino attack. officials have said that farook was not a target of a terror investigation or known to law enforcement before the shooting last week. these new details coming to light showing how active this in

officials opened that spill gate at 4 this morning... and residents here in the pine glen neighborhood are monitoring the situation closely. spill gate was necessary this morning because the lake level was nearing its licensed operation level. we're told the gate will be releasing up to 18- thousand cubic feet per second into the lower saluda river. that's about an olympic- sized swimming pool every five seconds or so. officials say homes along the lower saluda river should not be affected like they were in october. but we're out here monitoring the situation and will have more in just about 10 minutes. live in the pine glen neighborhood, michal higdon, wis news 10. von gaskin is in for tim miller this morning. she's keeping an eye on your first alert forecast. the flood watch remains in effect through thursday morning with several strong storms and the possibility of flash flooding throughout the midlands. falls to 50% during the day and then down to 30% that night. high: 70 new year's day will be mostly cloudy with only a slight chance

tokyo officials argued that delays will hurt national defense and diplomacy. they claimed the move will undermine the public interest. they also said that prefectural governors don't have the right to decide on issues of defense and diplomacy. he rejects those arguments. >> translator: i think local autonomy and democracy is being called into question in japan. >> onaga said he spoke in the hearing about okinawa's history and feelings of its people. the next hearing is scheduled for january 8th. >>> russia is giving yet another update on sanctions against turkey over the downing of its jets. experts say the measures may add to a chill on the russian economy that is already suffering from declining oil prices. russian officials announced on tuesday a list of 17 turkish food products including tomatoes, onions and tangerines. they will be banned as of january. experts say the trade restrictions may raise inflation in russia. the country imports 20% of vegetables and around 15% of fruit from turkey. the russian jet was shot down by turkey's air force near the syr

that's according to officials. and, once again, we will be sure to update you when that advisory has been lifted. >>> rochelle: in the final hours of 2015 we're taking the time to look back on some of the stories abc columbia has brought you over the year. it's the day south carolina would be changed forever -- the historic rain brought columbia to an abrupt halt with so many roads closed and so many residents' homes destroyed. less than 24 hours after the rain came the highway patrol reported 500 traffic accidents and 104 flooded roads. governor nikki haley puts it into perspective. >> we haven't seen this level of rain in the low country in a thousand years, that's how big this is. >> our abc columbia team delivering breaking news october 4th. >> devastating, unimaginable numbers. >> we have crews all over. >> i'm next to buffalo wild wings and ruby tuesday you can see these walking lots are entirely under water. >> i'm at an apartment complex where you can see rocky branch has overflowed into the parking lot bre

officials say during thisis disagreement... volstromer came out of the house and fired on the victim, killing him. this morning... the richland county sheriff's department is still investigating two more weekend shootings. that's right. officials say one man was taken to the hospital after a shooting off hard scrabble road. and hours earlier... deputies responded to a shooting during a house party on bridgecreek drive. according to lieutenant curtis wilson... an increase in crime season. 33 investigators are still looking for information on the bridgecreek road and hard scrabble road shootings. if you have any information, call crimestoppers... at one- triple-eight-crime-s-c. in orangeburg county... a man is facing murder charges... after the discovery of the body of a holly hill woman... missing since christmas day. deputies say the body of 38- year-old loretta brunch was found in local waterway about five miles south of holly hill, off highway 4-53. investigators believe she was shot to death. 45-year-old harold pratt is char

aiib officials say they're open to accepting more members. japan and the united states are among countries that have not joined the bank. the aiib plans to start financing projects by the middle of next year. >>> the chinese government has said that sunday's landslide was not the result of a natural disaster. they say it occurred when soil from construction sites that had piled up collapsed. authorities have confirmed four deaths. and say over 70 people are policing. the landslide moved massive amounts of soil that buried 33 buildings, including several factories at the industrial park in shenzhen. chinese authorities released the findings of the investigation as military and police rescue crew continue to work around the clock at the site. the landslide is drawing attention to the safety standards of construction companies and as nhk world tells us, it's also highlighting the challenges that china faces as it rapidly develops its cities. >> reporter: the massive landslides took place in one of the many industrial complexes that are in the ci

officials are working to schedule a meeting next monday. abe and south korean president park geun-hye had their first summit last month. they agreed to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. president park has been calling for the issue to be resolved by the end of this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of ties. disagreement on the issue has been a continuous cause of friction. park insists the solution must be accepted by the former comfort women and convincing to south korean people. south korea's foreign ministry said it will comment after it makes a concrete decision. in the meeting, tokyo was told to promise this will be the final settlement of the issue and they will stop setting up statues memorializing the comfort women. >>> the okinawa government is losing ground in a long-running spat over the relocation of a u.s. military base. a request by the island prefecture's governor to continue efforts to halt the project has been dismissed by an independent panel. and he's now planning to file a lawsuit again

officials say the fire started in the chimney, and although they haven't released an official cause. fortunately, no one was hurt. officials in cleveland are bracing themselves for a round of protests today. a grand jury decided not to indict 2 officers for shooting and killing a 12 year old boy who was playing with a pellet gun. fox's kevin freeman tells us how tamir rice's family is handling the news. calm urged after ohio grand jury doesn't indict officers cleveland (ap) -- officials are urging calm as they brace for expected protests after a grand jury voted not to indict a calm as they brace for expected protests after a officers cleveland (ap) -- officials are urging calm as they brace for expected protests after a grand jury voted not to indict a white cleveland police officer for fatally shooting a 12-year-old black boy who was playing with what turned out to be a pellet gun. small groups of protesters gathered monday outside a government building and the recreation center where tamir rice was shot by then- november 2014. the size of those protests likely was reduced by stead

officials saying they received that electronic threat against a number of campuses. that is when the decision was made to close all of the schools and send any students and staff who did come, who did arrive early, back home immediately. police and other experts saying they will sweep the campuses until they are all declared to be safe to reopen. >> we expect to hear from officials with the los angeles unified school district at the top of the hour, we will bring that to you live. in the meantime new details are emerging about the female shooter in the san bernardino attack. including online posts. as john siegenthaler reports those red flags may have prevented her from every coming to the u.s. >> reporter: three background checks didn't reveal what she apparently didn't try hard to hide. that the woman along with her husband carried out the san bernardino mass shooting, supported violent jihad and wanted to be a part of it. the "new york times" reports she made her views clear online as far back as 2012 and up to a year before entering the u.s. in 2013 to marry faro

officials in l.a.point to research showing nearly 90% of chronically homeless people remained housed after five years using this model. for seay, who has been sober for more than two years, it's more than he had hoped for. >> it feels good. sometimes, i walk around the apartment and no-- no tv or nothin' on, and just singin' for no reason at all. and then i catch myself doin' it and i start to laugh and i say, "you must be goin' crazy now." but i'm just happy, it feel-- >> reporter: a good crazy. >> it feels good. >> reporter: there is no time limit on staying in the apartment. residents generally pay 30% of their income in rent-- for seay that's $470 from his pension. the rest is subsidized with a federal voucher specifically for homeless veterans. since 2008, nearly 80,000 of these vouchers for homeless vets have been awarded around the country. >> i'll sign it, thanks. >> reporter: christine margiotta runs home for good for the united way of greater los angeles, which has coordinated the efforts of

officials i've spoken with. one saying the two conspired back in 2012 and a specific target was even considered. neither of these officials, though, could say how serious the plotting got. but the fact that they had picked out a target, okay, is alarming and shows a concrete step towards carrying out an attack. the officials are saying we are speaking with the two decided no to the go through with it after a round of terror-related arrests in the area. one official saying they simply got a spooked. this is bolstering saying it was before the san bernardino attacks. now it appears before he was married to his wife tashfeen malik. we know farook and his friend have been conspireing to do bad things and at this point we're learning they have discovering the extent as federal law enforcement discovered the extent of the 2012 plan following the san bernardino attacks. officials said farook was not a part of the shootings last week. these new details coming to light, showing how actich this investigation is allison, c

officials also found marijuana. keethan faces three of counts of third-degree burglary and a controlled substance charge. reveal police say 21-year-old austin lovett called them friday night to his home in the 700 block of university avenue, saying someone had tried to break in. while officers were searching for a suspect inside, they saw marijuana stems and seeds and later found two grams of the drug. officers later arrested lovett on a charge of possessing a controlled substance. the waterloo school district finalizing a formal bond issue today for a vote in february. the waterloo- cedar falls courier reports the board of education will look at a 47- million dollar bond issue that would focus on career and technical education. this has been a conversation for the waterloo schools for years. the new programs would be inside a new, 35-million dollar career center close to central middle school. waterloo east and waterloo west high schools would also receive six million dollars for renovations. the vote would be held

officials are working with the nashua police department, local public safety officials, and the fbi. >>> three people charged in connection with a violence home invasion are due in court today. dominic ferrari and trenton mcdonald are facing armed robbery and criminal threatening. tasha lebeau is charged as an accomplice to commit robbery. the suspects went in to a home armed with guns he managed to escape. they received reports of an injured man running between houses on nelson street. the victim passed out, but not before describing how he was injured before fleeing his apartment. >> he ran to the back deck which was a second floor, jumped off the deck, and ran through the woods about 200 yards down to nelson street. erin: the victim was flown to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. they got a description of the pickup truck. it was reported stolen and numerous weapons were found inside. >>> firefighters in manchester say an unintended frying pan sparked a fire. the flames broke out shortly after 8:00. firefighters say the second floor apartment was destroye

officials called on the rodeway inn just before noon. police say a 75-year-old man was found with a cloth wrapped around his neck. we don't know who he is. >>> to your fox 29 weather authority right now. live look at christmas village in love park. i still have to make the out there. though it hasn't felt a whole lot christmas for, you know, a little while now it's going get even warmer than it has been which i think is mind blowing. >> i love it actua actually. meteorologist kathy orr joins us for a first look at weather. kathy. >> unbelievable. last week at this time we were talking about four days of records in a row this week we're talking about shattering records perhaps an all-time december record but we have rain to talk about. ultimate doppler shows the clouds over us right now. rain moving in during the overnight and it will continue for your morning rush. high temperatures over the weekend we're on the cool side. saturday the only day this month that we were actually below average with a high of 42 degrees. 43 yesterday. that w

officials are saying it could be months before those regular flights begin. the lack of direct flights isn't stopping some cubans from coming to the u.s. as al jazeera's heidi zhou castro reports, many are taking a texas detour. >> reporter: we are on the larado international bridge, crossing from mexico into the united states. and these are the very steps that 28,000 cubans took this year here at the busiest port of entry for cubans seeking refugee status in the united states. 43,000 cubans have entered the u.s. under a provision that allows them almost immediate residency. there has been a jump after bt bt announced an opening of ties last december. claudia says cubans are seeing this as a last opportunity to gain legal entrance into the u.s. she traveled by boat from cuba to cancun mexico, then crossed into texas this week. meanwhile about 5,000 cuban refugees in en route to the u.s. are stranded in costa rica, unable to cross north. with the situation there now, a humanitarian crisis, costa rica's president says his country is paying for the u.s.'s immigr

officials say it was nearly $12 billion.reasing trade surplus was the driving force hundred the figure as falling crude oil prices reduced energy imports in value terms. >>> operators of overseas fast food chains are setting their sights on japan. nhk world's akiko okamoto went to find more. >> reporter: employees with one of america's best-known fast food chains recently launched their second outpost in tokyo. staff at taco bell serve quick and cheap mexican cuisine. they offer dishes such as burritos and tacos, popular in the u.s. but unfamiliar to people in japan. taco bell opened stores in the '80s but struggled to market their food so they shut up shop. thgs are different this time. managers have been able to use social media to push their brand. the company has returned at a time when an influx of foreign visitors is helping to globalize japan's fa food industry. and they've come up with a new strategy. they're offering office workers breakfast dishes with ingredients such as sausages and bacon, already popular among j

officials say they'll be monitoring the situation overnight. live in camden, chad mills, wis news 10. the department of natural resources is investigating a drowning at lake wateree. 68-year-old thomas brinson of ridgeway drowned this morning this morning off blackgum lane in kershaw county. the kershaw county coroner says brinson was going down into the lake to try and get a well cover that had fallen in the water. when his wife came outside she couldn't find him. in the area--despite their level of water experience, to use extra caution--especially with the current water levels. again, wis will continue monitoring changing conditions in the area. right now--let's get a check of the current conditions out there. meteorologist ben tanner is in the weather center with the latest update... thursday the rain chance falls to 50% during the day and then down to 30% that night. high: 70. the front will cross the area and settle along the coast by late thursday night. new year's day will be mostly cloudy with only a slight chance of showers and a touc

officials will send out 40 cards next week. dozens of other people have not been approved yet. >> if we don' t get a complete application or if we don' t get an application that has been filled out correctly. it will delay our ability to fill out a card. erin: to learn more about how to apply, you can visit this story at wmur.com. a woman was caught on video shoplifting working with two eight-year-old son. investigators say that she was arraigned for shoplifting on monday, but she went straight to kohl' s, where she began shoplifting. police say the scheme included putting those items into backpacks. >> maybe at some point, this is a rock-bottom and she realizes that she is not going to get away with it any longer. hopefully she can make better choices moving forward for her and her child. erin: police say adelaida jordan also has two other shopping convictions -- shoplifting convictions out of massachusetts. the war of words between donald trump and hillary clinton is ramping up. kenneth: good morning. no supplies -- donald is

officials say the project will begin by drilling an escape tunnel. the main tunnel construction will start in the second half of 2016. the new rail line is expected to bring with it economic growth. however, locals are worried about negative effects on flora and fauna as well as groundwater. railway officials say they will provide detailed explanations to local residents on environmental protections and safety measures. >>> residents of a disaster-hit town in northeastern japan are celebrating the return of something many take for granted. the return of routine life. they lost loved ones, homes, even medical services in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. four and a half years on, they're hailing the reopening of their local hospital. >> reporter: the new hospital is built on higher ground than its predecessor. the modern three-story building consists of ten departments, with 90 beds for inpatients, as well as a nursing care facility. >> translator: it's very convenient to have a hospital in town. and a doctor who can see me immediately when i'm not wel

and officials in l.a. usd in southern california about this tough call that had to be made this morning. what do you make of it now in the light of the few hours of clarity we have had? >> well, there are a few elements of the los angeles e-mail that give it a little bit more credibility. the new york sources are saying that the supposed student misidentified schools or didn't use the right term. this e-mail refers to los angeles unified school district. so that's the way los angeles students and parents would talk. second, this e-mail of course references not only los angeles but san bernardino and bakersfield and san diego as well. i think this e-mail had a little bit more credibility. of course, once you learn that identical e-mails had been sent elsewhere, that diminishes the credibility of the e-mail. people in los angeles were unaware that anyone had received a similar e-mail elsewhere in the country. >> and further, as you indicate, when you see those markers in an e-mail that personalize it, locali

they'll receive official logos. several products including melons and kobe beef are expected to be approved. the certification shows they have met standards for quality and production. they hope to fight lower quality imitations. since june the ministry has examined about 50 regional goods for the certification. that's it for business news. we'll leave you with the markets. >>> a prominent female has gone missing in northern japan. she disappeared monday while climbing the mountain in hokkaido. a team of rescuers, police and climbers are searching for her. police say she was roped together with four other climbers during their ascent. during a break near the summit, she untied herself to step away. police say tracks in the snow suggest she slipped and fell from a cliff. she scaled the world's highest peak mt. everest and climbed mt. mckinley, the highest mountain in north america. she and another japanese climber were the first to ascend the southeast face of india's kamet, becoming the first woman to win the french

jack: the first official what it means relationship with the sun. ((ad lib weather toss)) take sot "tomorrow on good we continue looking at uniques gifts for this parks and rec department may have a way to help those last minute gift givers, saving them a trip to the mall. plus... a look at your forecast ((:04 wx ad-lib)) that's tomorrow on the all-new good morning iowa! "your watching local 5 jack miller, stephanie angleson, we are iowa's most accurate forecast with chief meteorologist brad edwards and local 5 sports with sports director jon schaeffer. this is local 5 news at 10. we are iowa." jack: the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere -- also known as the winter solstice -- begins tonight in the u-s. which means today is the shortest day of the year for sunlight. and it will be followed by the longest night. it is the moment when the northern hemisphere is tilted farthest from the sun. jack: brad brad: today is the first official day of winter, which means that tonight will be our longest night of the year. even though it is official

officials say the firm is expected to post the biggest net loss in its history. toshiba officials said in the wake of the scandal they expect a record net loss of $4.5 billion this fiscal year. they said they will close a center in tokyo for developing televisions and personal computers. they'll also close a plant in indonesia that makes washing machines. the company plans to spin off its personal computer business and consider linking the operation with other manufacturers. toshiba will offer early retirement for job relocation for about 6,800 employees in the home electronics business. it will also cut about 1,000 jobs at its headquarters. >> transtor: with this new action plan, i'll do my very best so toshiba can make a fresh start and regain the trust of stakeholders and customers. >> the company's expected net loss exceeds the previous record of $3.2 billionest posted in march 2009 after the global financial crisis. the company plans to focus its resources on the semiconductor business. investors were unimpressed last friday when the bank of japan announced

and former officials. if there comes a point in time that victims such as those or victims of a different type can come before the court and apply for restitution, we're certainly hopeful that those types of true victims, the constituentses of the soccer organizations and others, can get some of these forfeiture moneys that have been collected to date. ms. lynch: thank you all. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> attorney general loretta lynch will be speaking tonight. earlier today she made remarks at the white house about yesterday's shooting in san bernardino, california. ms. lynch: let me he can o'the words about the tragic events in california yesterday. just before we move on to that. as you may have heard, the department of justice has dispatched the f.b.i., the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms, and the u.s. marshals service personnel

officials made the decision monday. they're adding the yuan, also known as the renminbi to their reserve currency basket. that is from next november. it is an important milestone in china's integration into global finance. it will be into the special drawing rights or sdr basket as a fifth currency with the u.s. dollar, the british pound and the japanese yen. it's a reserve asset used to settle accounts when they have a shortfall of foreign exchange. imf officials review the basket every five years. the yuan will account for more than 10% of the basket, ranking third in weight after the dollar and euro. the move apparently reflects china's huge trade figures and wide acceptance in international transactions. >> the inclusion of it in the basket of currencies is a recognition of the reforms which have been conducted of the significant opening up of the chinese economy, of the financial, more market-driven principles that are being used by the chinese authorities going forward. >> analysts predict countries around the wor

officials in the park administration are facing difficult challenges. they need to gain public approval for the agreement and persuade the group to cooperate in the relocation of the statue. south korean media are divided over the deal. the korea "joongang daily" newspaper offered a measure of support referring to prime minister's abe apology in its headline. it also cited criticism for the support group for the women. the "hankyoreh" criticized the deal, putting a photograph of the women on its front pauj and pointed out the agreement does not hold japan legally responsible. top diplomats in the united states have voiced their support for the deal. secretary of state john kerry said washington welcomes the agreement over what he calls a sensitive historical legacy. he called on other countries to back the deal. national security adviser susan rice said the u.s. looks forward to deepening its work with japan and south korea on a wide range of areas. it's rare for kerry and rice to both issue statements on the same issue. this underscores how the controv

south korean government officials say as many as 70 of these officials have disappeared during the timet kim jong-un has come to power. and they also talked about previous car wrecks that they deemed to be suspect. listen to what one expert is saying in this case. >> most of these fatal traffic accidents affecting senior officials used to happen on the way to or from a party organized by kim jong-il. we've seen the same pattern developing under kim jong un. i think this will be very interesting. and it will be very interesting to see if this accident indeed happened on his way to a party or to his way from an end of the year party. >> tloor some doubting whether he ocould have been killed in a car accident, but there's no way of offering or finding any proof to determine what exactly did happen to him. again, this comes down to the state news reports which have said that he died in a car accident. they've also gone on to heap a lot of praise, calling him a most trued confidant of kim jong un and also a loyal warrior to both of his predecessors. we understand that kim jong un himself cou

have officially joined the columbia city council. it was standing room only as howard duvall, ed mcdowell and moe baddourah were sworn-in to the columbia city council. duvall takes over cameron runyan's at-large seat... and mcdowell now sits in the district two seat formerly held by brain dequincy newman. council members say it's a fresh start, after a year of immense change. 33 it's a shared sentiment as both of the newest members of the council say they are focused on unity... to help move the city forward. the newly-33 inducted councilors will join the others in chamber for the first meeting of the year... january fifth. turning our attention to vote 20-16... there's one less republican presidential hopeful vying for your vote. former new york governor george pataki says he's ending his bid for the republican presidential nomination. the announcement ran in an ad last night.... right here in south carolina... as well as in early voting new hampshire and iowa. pataki never made main stage in any of the g-o- p debates. he was at les

intelligence officials, u.s. counterterrorist officials, have told me and their colleagues that they're concerned about. they would expect someone to do, sadly, what they did on the streets of paris. multiple shooters, multiple fatalities, multiple weapons. now a direct connection to isis here. >> just to be clear, while the shooting was under way, she posted something to facebook? >> that's right. there is precedence of that. isis will ask of followers to do that, make a posting on facebook or twitter while an attack is under way or just before, to pledge allegiance to the group of the leader. we have seen that in previous attacks overseas. that's what investigators fear they've seen take place here. >> major development coming from your sources. thanks so much. there's a lot to talk through now with this huge development and turn in this investigation. let's bring in cnn nan list phil mudd, harry houck, as well as paul cruickshank. as jim said, this is something officials here and abroad -- especially here, hav

officials are briefing the media. we will keep you updated on the mike: commitment 2016, this morning, the republican field is decision to end his bid. aly: this comes as his gop rivals take aim at each other, and nikole killion joins us live from our exclusive washington newsroom. nikole: george pataki is the fifth could drop out. the former new york governor called it quits as the deal the -- as the gop are hitting marco rubio over his senate voting record and donald trump is focusing on a possible general election matchup with hillary clinton, telling reporters that here husband -- that her husband bill is fair game. >> we are going to go right after the ex-president and i feel confident it will come out well for unikole: expect to hear more from donald trump coop plans to spend at least $2 million a week on campaign ads in early voting states like south carolina. aly: thank you. south carolina is an early voting state where he will spend money on ads. he will be in hilton head speaking at 11:00. jeb bush is in lex

sot: caroline ritter n: who's officiating? we have a very good friend that happens to be a celebrant and also a big star n: obi sean? (nats - trailer) "the force awakens" will open on over 4,000 screens this week. ((rewind/scratch tape sfx)) back in 1977, star wars opened on just 32; this one included. an instant hit, darth vader was soon leaving his footprints here outside the chinese theatre? then transition into (video: jason standing in those foot prints.) sot: jason thomas j: george lucas watched the first one from here. are you kidding me? this is the place to be. (nats - from man in line in 1999: "feels great!") in 1999, for "the phantom menace" - the line at the chinese tradition was born. sot: alyse gagne (with baby on her hip) i ended up meeting my husband in line in 1999. n: and this is the result? (points to baby) / a: this is the result. it's a little kid inside me wars glorious nerd-dom, it's right here. now let's take a look at today's top stories now today marks 104-years since explorers first ventured to the s

officials. "the threat was one of the nature of violence to the school and its students," said madison county sheriff, vern hjorth. "so, consequently, the school was shut down." now, madison county has what's called a cirt team - they immediately made their way to newman grove, surrounded the school and began investigating exactly what happened. a short time after their arrival, they took four students into custody, all juveniles, and transported them to the juvenile detention center in madison, which is about 15 miles away. as for the rest of the day, they spent a little time after that sweeping the school just to see if anything was left behind or if anybody else was involved, and by 2:30, it was business as usual. "we are very lucky to have officers in and around our community to help us deal with these types of situations," said newman grove superintendent, mikel shalikow. now parents were alerted that the school had been placed on lockdown. school officials say they'd like to call everybody

officials to go the other way.yet know specifically how many -- what the universe of consultation was here. you talked to the mayor a moment ago but we still don't know the time the decision was made by the school superintendent, whether they knew that this message was sent to at least one other school district in new york and perhaps other school districts in the country, but the point i think you are trying to make here and that we made earlier is these decisions have to be made pretty quickly. you can't wait until 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. to decide whether you are going to open school or not. all this stuff has to be set in motion long before that. and we believe the e-mail was received at about 11:00 last night west coast time. so that left them a matter of hours to try to make this decision based on what limited information they had, given all the recent events, given what the message said would happen. it said there would be bombs concealed in backpacks and packages, it said there would be other acts of violence. wh

ui officials don't think so. in talks with state health officials the school says that may be a ways off. the ui has taken measures to fight the outbreak, but as of yet, , at effort hasn't shown any impact on the spread of the disease. you can't see it on the sidewalks of campus, but mumps continues to spread at the university of iowa.only a handful o ocases showed up at first, back in late september. as of monday, officials confirmed about 160 had mumps at the ui. typically numbers of cases never get anywhere close to that. "in an average year, sometimes you see one or two. the numbers are very low. a really random case here or there, but it doesn't spread."lisa james, the ui's associate director for clinical outreach, said mumps numbers this year are the highest they've been a large outbreak of the contagious disease. a couple hundred cases showed up on campus. nat crowd with numbers again inching that direction, the ui fought back in november with free vaccinatio. about 48-hundred students got a third measles,

officials say the bus collided with an suv. i'm vicki libiakis. scott raits brings us the latest. >> reporter: frightening moments for the people on the tour bus. some of the riders had to go to the hospital. >> 2 cars and this double-check deash bus involved in the crash. a car cut off the double- decker, causing the driver of the bus to brake. that's when a different car hit the back of the bus. police say the bus driver was not at fault. the fire department says 8 people were hurt, 7 of them taken to the hospital with minor injuries. the bus is owned and operated by big bus tours of san francisco. i asked their vice president and general manager how they plan to help those what were hurt. >> we'll help them. that's all ki tell you. >> i was concerned. i thought here's another bus accident. >> reporter: last month, we told you of a different tour bus company hurt in a crash in union square. luckily, this accident wasn't as bad. >> thankfully, insurance deals with this issue. i suspect insurance will reimburse any injuries. >> reporter: the polic

officials saying they have no reports of injuries. as soon as the flames were spotted they began an evacuation of the hotel which witnesses described as an orderly evacuation. so far no injuries reported and the cause of the fire at this point is not known. it started around 9:30 p.m. local time there. as we said the guests were evacuated and we're going to go back right now to john huddy live in our middle east bureau with the very latest for us. hi, john, what can you tell us? >> patti ann, we're hearing some conflicting reports from witnesses about the evacuation efforts, whether there was panic. one guy tweeted out there was panic, people trying to get out of there. others, as you mentioned, that it was orderly. one eyewitness near the hotel fire said, quote, these are people tweeting out, watching, looking at social media. a lot of people posting pictures on twitter, facebook, periscope, live pictures on periscope. one guy said it looks completely gutted now. the fire has been raging for an hour, started early this evening around