10 Things to Know for Today: 1-15

1/15/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Heroin-Abuse-Vermont

    FILE - In this June 19, 2013 file photo, Springfield, Vt., resident Susan White looks over booking photos displayed at a Vermont State Police news conference to discuss the arrest of 36 people in the area as part of a large drug sweep. In his State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2014, Gov. Peter Shumlin called for treatment and education in addition to law enforcement as the best way to meet the state's growing challenge from the abuse of heroin and other opiates, which are fueling crime and wrecking lives of families in the state. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

  • Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

    1. NEW SPENDING BILL IS ABOUT MORE THAN MONEY

    “We need to rack up some achievements here,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., says about appeasing disgruntled voters before next fall’s midterm elections.

    2. DEADLY DAY IN IRAQ

    A wave of bombings across Iraq strike busy markets and a funeral north of Baghdad, killing more than 40 people.

    3 REPORT: NSA HAS SURVEILLANCE SOFTWARE IN COMPUTERS AROUND WORLD

    The New York Times says the agency has used the technology on the Chinese army, the Russian military, drug cartels, EU trade institutions and more.

    4. GANG RAPE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN INDIA

    Police say a Danish tourist was attacked after she asked a group of men for directions near a popular shopping area in New Delhi.

    5. HOW GOOGLE’S PURCHASE OF NEST COULD PLAY OUT

    One analyst’s scenario: Digital mapping software could “learn” a house’s layout — then delegate vacuuming to a robot.

    6. NO GOOD OPTIONS FOR FLEEING CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

    Bordering countries like Chad, Congo and South Sudan are desperately poor and unstable too. “I just want to go somewhere there is peace,” one man says.

    7. SUPREME COURT CONSIDERING ABORTION CLINIC BUFFER ZONES

    Justices hear arguments on a Massachusetts law that keeps protesters at least 35 feet from clinic entrances.

    8. WHAT STATE IS FIGHTING A BIG HEROIN PROBLEM

    Tiny Vermont — home of quaint village greens and low unemployment — ranks second in the U.S. for the rate of people being treated for opiate abuse.

    9. MONSTER BEVERAGE GETTING SOME QUESTIONS

    Officials in San Francisco and New York state are looking into whether the company is marketing its highly caffeinated drinks to children.

    10. FUTURE OF MEDIEVAL GOLD AND SILVER TROVE GETTING CLOSER

    A German commission convenes to recommend ownership of the Guelph Treasure, an issue Israel calls of great importance to Holocaust survivors