December 16, 2015 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2015 San Bernardino attack
- Neither Syed Rizwan Farook nor his wife Tashfeen Malik made open posts on social media regarding radical Islamic jihad or martyrdom prior to the attack, according to FBI Director James B. Comey. There were, however, direct, private messages to each other that did reflect this commitment. (Los Angeles Times)
- 2015 Chattanooga shootings
- FBI Director Comey also announces the five military shooting deaths last July in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are now officially classified as a terrorist attack. The shooter, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, was inspired and motivated by foreign terrorist propaganda. U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announces the Navy will award the Purple Heart to the four Marines and one sailor who were killed, and the one Marine who was injured. (AP via ABC News) (Los Angeles Times)
Business and economics
- In a widely expected move, the United States Federal Reserve Board raised the federal funds interest rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, from the 0-.25% range to the .25-.50% range. U.S. stock markets rallied on the news. (CNNMoney) (Consumer Affairs)[permanent dead link]
Disasters and accidents
- An Air India aircraft maintenance technician is killed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in India after being sucked by an Air India Airbus A319's aircraft engine during pushback. (Press Trust of India via Business Standard) (CNN)
Health and medicine
- A study published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association reports children with simple appendicitis who started with antibiotic treatment instead of immediate surgery, often recovered without ever needing surgery. They also had a shorter recovery and a smaller healthcare bill. (Reuters) (WebMD) (JAMA)
International relations
- Cuba–United States relations
- The United States and Cuba reach an understanding on restoring regularly scheduled commercial flights. Currently, the only option available is charter flights. (AP via The Washington Post)
- NATO leadership signs an agreement with the Ukrainian government to assist the country's modernization of its defense industry and capabilities. (UPI)
- Taiwan–United States relations, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The United States announces a deal to sell $1.83 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, which includes two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, Assault Amphibious Vehicles, and surface-to-air missiles. China has also expressed its disapproval over the deal, claiming it would affect their internal affairs. (BBC News) (Financial Times) (RT)
- Islamic Military Alliance
- Pakistan says it was surprised to learn of the country's inclusion in Saudi Arabia's so-called "Islamic anti-terrorist alliance", and that Pakistan was not consulted before inclusion in the alliance by the Saudis. Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry says he has asked the country’s ambassador in Riyadh to get a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter. Malaysia has also denied any involvement in Saudi Arabia’s military coalition to counter terrorism. (BBC) (DAWN)
- Latvia–Russia relations
- Latvia's State Border Guard begins the construction of a border fence that will cover almost a third of the Latvia–Russia border in an effort to keep out migrants who attempt to illegally cross the border from Russia. (Business Insider)
- As many as 53 members of the World Trade Organization sign an agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, to remove import tariffs on 201 information technology products that account for trade of $1.3 trillion annually. (Reuters) (The Financial Express)
Law and crime
- Japan's Supreme Court upholds a 19th-century law that requires married couples to have the same surname, but struck down another law that barred women from remarrying within six months of a divorce as unconstitutional. (The Guardian)
- The North Korean (DPRK) supreme court convicts and sentences South Korea-born Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim to hard labor for life for trying to overthrow the DPRK and undermine the country's social system. Lim's relatives said he's traveled to North Korea more than 100 times since 1997, to help people, but not for any particular political purpose. Lim, from the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, has been in custody since February. (Reuters) (Xinhua News Agency) (The Guardian)
- A bank in Minnesota (U.S.) is robbed by the same person a second time while an Iowa television station was doing a live update on the first robbery. The robber was arrested shortly afterwards. (Associated Press)
- After the jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, a Baltimore, Maryland, judge declares a mistrial in the trial of police officer William Porter, the first officer to be charged in the death of Freddie Gray. (NBC News) (ABC News)
- About 100 men in more than 50 machine gun-mounted trucks kidnap at least 26 Qataris, including members of the royal family, from a hunting camp in Iraq near the Saudi border. (Sky News)
Politics and elections
- Members of the U.S. Congress reach a spending deal that, once passed by both houses, will prevent a year-end government shutdown and will fund Fiscal Year 2016 federal government operations. President Barack Obama signs a separate bipartisan bill that extends government funding through Tuesday, December 22. (USA Today) (The Washington Post) (The Jerusalem Post)
- Spanish general election, 2015
- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is punched in the face by a teenager during a People's Party campaign event in the city of Pontevedra. (The Guardian)