10 things you need to know today: December 28, 2014

1. Indonesia suspends search for missing AirAsia plane

Darkness and poor weather forced Indonesian search crews to postpone their hunt for an AirAsia plane that went missing Sunday morning en route to Singapore. Flight QZ8501, which was carrying 162 people, lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Java Sea after its pilots requested a change of course to avoid stormy weather. Ships will keep scouring the water overnight, but the air search will not resume until Monday morning.

The Associated Press

2. Mourners gather for NYPD officer's funeral

Thousands of police and politicians from around the country turned out Saturday in New York for the funeral of NYPD officer Rafael Ramos, one of two officers ambushed and killed last weekend. Mourners packed several city blocks in Queens and some officers, reflecting a raw rift with City Hall, turned their backs on a videoscreen when it showed Mayor Bill de Blasio delivering his eulogy. The city has been roiled for weeks by protests over recent police killings of unarmed civilians. Alluding to that strife, Police Commissioner William Bratton said Saturday the only way for the city to heal and move forward was for civilians and the the police to "learn to see each other."

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The New York Times

3. U.S. ceremonially ends combat mission in Afghanistan

The United States and NATO on Sunday formally marked the end of the 13-year war in Afghanistan with a ceremony at their military base in Kabul. Though the official mission will end at the close of the year, some 13,500 soldiers will remain behind as a peacekeeping and training force. All American troops were originally scheduled to leave at the start of 2015, but with Afghanistan's security situation as tenuous as ever, the country in October signed a deal to allow a residual foreign force to remain into next year.

The New York Times

4. North Korea blames U.S. for mass internet outage

North Korea on Saturday faulted the United States for allegedly cutting its internet access in retaliation for the Sony cyberattack. "Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," an unnamed government spokesperson said in a statement. The U.S. claims North Korea is behind the massive cyberattack that led Sony to initially scuttle the release of The Interview, a buddy comedy about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The Washington Post

5. Study finds marijuana use increasing in Colorado

Marijuana use is on the rise in Colorado now that the drug is legal there, according to a new federal study. Based on data collected in 2012 and 2013 and published in the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the study found that about one in eight Colorado residents used marijuana in the past month. Only Rhode Island posted a higher usage rate.

The Denver Post

6. Flooding forces 200,000 evacuations in Malaysia

Widespread flooding and the threat of landslides forced Malaysia to evacuate more than 200,000 people over the weekend. At last 10 Malaysians have died in severe flooding caused by annual monsoon rains. Harsh rains and flooding have killed roughly 30 more people in Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Bloomberg CNN

7. Hundreds evacuated from burning Greek ferry

Rescue crews raced on Sunday to pull hundreds of passengers from a ferry that caught fire while en route from Greece to Italy. The ship, the Norman Atlantic, was carrying more than 450 passengers when a fire broke out on its lower deck. Boats and helicopters participating in the rescue mission evacuated more than 150 people within a few hours, though rough seas and bad weather hindered the operation.

The Guardian BBC

8. Hamas scuttles children's peace visit to Israel

Hamas on Sunday barred three dozen children from making a scheduled trip from Gaza to Israel that was intended to foster goodwill following the summer's brutal war. The children, most of whom lost family members in the war, were supposed to spend the week visiting Jewish and Arab communities. A Hamas spokesperson said the cancelation was intended "to protect the culture of our children and our people."

The Jerusalem Post

9. Sony Playstation back online after hack

Sony's Playstation Network went back online Saturday night after being down for three days due to a cyberattack. The company blamed hackers for disrupting online play beginning on Christmas, saying they flooded the network with traffic until it collapsed. Microsoft's Xbox Live network also went down Thursday, though the company has not fingered a culprit.

The Wall Street Journal

10. Jim Harbaugh expected to take Michigan coaching job

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh will reportedly agree to a lucrative contract to return to the collegiate level and coach for his alma mater, the Michigan Wolverines. Harbaugh parlayed a quick turnaround of the Stanford Cardinal into a successful NFL coaching gig in which he led the 49ers to three NFC Championship games in four years. But tension between Harbaugh and San Francisco brass led to yearlong rumors the coach was on his way out, and the speculation only intensified when Michigan, coming off another disappointing season, fired coach Brady Hoke earlier this month.

Sports Illustrated Detroit Free Press