10 things you need to know today: January 8, 2015

(Image credit: (Marc Piasecki/Getty Images))

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1. Manhunt continues for two suspects in Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack
2. "Je suis Charlie" demonstrations go viral
3. Dollar rises to an 11-year high
4. AirAsia says families of crash victims will receive $124,000 in compensation
5. FBI hunting person of interest in NAACP blast
6. Judge strikes down California's ban on foie gras
7. UVA reinstates fraternity social functions
8. Kirby Delauter apologizes for widely mocked swipe at press freedom
9. Robert Downey Jr. leads the pack of winners at People's Choice Awards
10. FSU's Jameis Winston says he will enter NFL draft

last updated 13 January 2015

1. Manhunt continues for two suspects in Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Thursday that police had arrested and interrogated several people overnight in connection to the murder of 12 people at the editorial offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. One of the three suspects — 18-year-old Hamid Mourai — turned himself in. Police launched a manhunt for the other two — brothers Said Kouachi, 34, and Sherif Kouachi, 32. Charlie Hebdo was targeted for publishing cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, investigators said.

Thousands of people joined demonstrations across France in support of press freedom and the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, where 12 people were killed by suspected Islamist terrorists angered by cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Online, social media users around the world replaced their profile pictures with the declaration "Je Suis Charlie," or "I Am Charlie," in support. In Paris, the apparently unconnected fatal shooting of a policewoman intensified emotions around the terror attack.

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The dollar hit an 11-year high against rival currencies on Thursday as investors bet that the U.S. economy would be stronger than rivals around the world in 2015. The rally came after a confident statement from the Federal Reserve raised hopes that the U.S. central bank would raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade this summer as the economy improves. The Fed's moves come as the European Central Bank is expected to take bolder stimulus measures following the news that euro zone prices are falling.

AirAsia say it will pay $124,000 in compensation to families of passengers who died in the crash of the airline's Flight 8501, which went down in the Java Sea on Dec. 28 on the way from Indonesia to Singapore. There were 162 people on board, and none survived. Search divers reportedly have found the plane's tail section, but have yet to locate its flight recorders, which could reveal what caused the crash. The plane had hit violent weather, and the pilots requested permission to climb higher shortly before the crash.

The FBI is searching for a person of interest in connection with a small explosion at a building that houses the NAACP office in Colorado Springs. Nobody was injured in the Monday incident. The homemade device damaged the sidewalk beside the building, but did not ignite a canister of gasoline placed next to it. The Denver chapter of the NAACP said the blast appeared to be a "cowardly" hate crime. "This is proof that racism is still alive," the civil rights group said in a statement.

A California judge on Wednesday struck down the state's ban on foie gras, saying the restriction illegally trampled on the federal government's regulatory authority. The ruling will allow California restaurants to serve the delicacy, made with fatty liver from force-fed ducks and geese, for the first time in two years. "It goes on the menu tonight," said Ken Frank, chef and owner of La Toque in Napa. Lawmakers approved the ban in 2004 on the grounds that the process was inhumane, but the measure didn't take effect until eight years later.

The University of Virginia has reinstated Greek social life, after shutting down fraternities on Nov. 21 following a Rolling Stone article on an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house. The article has been partially discredited since then, but the school is imposing new rules after reexamining the Greek system. Fraternities will no longer be allowed to serve pre-mixed drinks, they will have to provide security at the doors, and they will have to have at least three "sober brothers" at all functions, with keys to all rooms.

Frederick County, Maryland, council member Kirby Delauter (R) apologized Wednesday for threatening to sue a local newspaper for using his name in print stories without his permission. The bluster made Delauter the butt of two days of non-stop jokes on blogs and social media. The newspaper he threatened, The Frederick News-Post, responded to the threat with an editorial using Delauter's names dozens of times. "I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong," Kirby Delauter said.

Robert Downey Jr. won big at the People's Choice Awards on Wednesday night, taking home the trophies for Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor and Favorite Movie Actor for his work in The Judge and Iron Man. "This is perfect for me because I love people, I'm crazy about movies, and I prefer people who love my movies," Downey said. Other big winners were sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which won multiple honors, and comedy legend Betty White, 93, who won for Favorite TV Icon.

Florida State's star quarterback, Heisman Trophy-winner Jameis Winston, has decided to skip his last two years of college eligibility and go pro in the 2015 NFL draft. "I reached this very difficult decision after careful consideration and long thought, realizing how difficult it would be to say goodbye to my family at Florida State," Winston wrote in a statement released by The Legacy Agency on ESPN Wednesday. Winston, who fought a rape charge while in school, is expected to be among the first players drafted.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.