10 things you need to know today: January 7, 2015

1. Gunmen kill 12 at French satirical magazine

Twelve people were killed and 10 wounded by two gunmen who entered the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and opened fire, police said Wednesday. The attackers reportedly escaped in two vehicles after the shooting. Charlie Hebdo's offices were firebombed in 2011 after it published cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad on its cover.

Time Reuters

2. Boehner keeps his job as House speaker

Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) fought off challenges from two hardline conservatives on Tuesday to hold onto his job as speaker of the House for a third term. Two dozen Republicans voted against Boehner, a rare upwelling of dissent compared to other such votes in recent years. The tweak came on the day Republicans assumed control of both houses of Congress for the first time in eight years after taking back the Senate in last year's midterms.

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The New York Times

3. Former Virginia governor McDonnell sentenced to two years in prison

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell (R) to two years in prison for using his office to help a dietary-supplement tycoon in exchange for $177,000 in loans and gifts. Prosecutors initially pushed for McDonnell to serve more than a decade, but defense lawyers wanted him sentenced to community service rather than prison. McDonnell's wife, Maureen, was also convicted, but she has yet to be sentenced. The judge ordered McDonnell to report to prison on Feb. 9.

The Washington Post

4. White House threatens Keystone XL oil pipeline veto

The White House said Tuesday that President Obama would veto a bill introduced by Republicans in the Senate that would approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. The proposal is the first piece of legislation introduced after Republicans officially took control of the Senate as the new Congress convened on Tuesday. All 54 GOP senators and six Democrats back the bill. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "premature to evaluate the project before something as basic as the route of the pipeline has been determined."

The Associated Press

5. Divers confirm location of AirAsia jet's tail

Indonesian authorities confirmed Wednesday that they had found part of the tail of AirAsia Flight 8501 at the bottom of the Java Sea. The country's search-and-rescue agency, Bambang Soelistyo, said divers had managed to take pictures of the wreckage and would investigate further. The find could lead to the recovery of the plane's flight data recorders, or black boxes, which are located in the tails of jetliners. So far, the bodies of 40 of the 162 people who were on the plane have been recovered.

The Wall Street Journal

6. Car bombing kills 31 outside Yemeni police school

A car bomb blast killed 31 people and wounded 64 more outside a police college in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Wednesday. "The situation is catastrophic," a paramedic said. "We arrived to find bodies piled on top of each other." The attack came less than a week after a suicide bombing south of the city. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has stepped up its bombings and shootings since Shiite Muslim Houthi militia seized the capital in September.

Reuters

7. 220-year-old Boston time capsule opened

Boston Museum of Fine Arts conservators on Tuesday night opened a time capsule placed under the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House in 1795 by then-governor John Adams, and Paul Revere. The contents of the box were no secret, as they had been cleaned and carefully cataloged by workers who made emergency repairs to the building's foundation in 1855. The box contained five newspapers, 23 coins dating as far back as 1652, and other artifacts.

The Boston Globe

8. U.N. accepts Palestinians' request to join the International Criminal Court

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late Tuesday that he had accepted the documents Palestinian officials submitted ratifying the International Criminal Court, clearing the way for the Palestinians to join the war-crimes tribunal in April. That, in theory, would give Palestinian leaders the ability to pursue war-crimes charges against Israel, although Palestinians could be accused, too. The U.S. opposed the move, saying it would be hurt the chance of peace.

The Associated Press

9. Kepler spots its 1,000th Earth-like planet

NASA's Kepler spacecraft has detected its 1,000th potentially life-sustaining planet, and the latest finds include what appear to be the most Earth-like planets yet. Those worlds are called Kepler 438 b and Kepler 442 b. They are both orbiting within the habitable zones surrounding their stars, where the temperature would be just right for liquid water, and life. These finds, along with the detection of six other small exoplanets, were announced Tuesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle.

Scientific American

10. Johnson, Martinez, Smoltz, and Biggio elected to baseball's Hall of Fame

Former ace pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, along with star hitter Craig Biggio. The three pitchers earned nine coveted Cy Young Awards among them, with Johnson leading the pack with five. Biggio had 3,060 hits in 20 seasons with the Houston Astros. Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz all ended their careers in 2009, winning entry in their first year of eligibility. It was the first time in 60 years that four players were chosen in the same year.

The New York Times