10 things you need to know today: December 20, 2014

1. FBI officially blames North Korea for Sony cyberattacks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation formally blamed North Korea for the cyberattacks against Sony Pictures in a statement on Friday. North Korea had denied involvement in the attacks, which were carried out by a group calling itself "Guardians of the Peace." The group made threats against movie theaters that planned to show The Interview, a movie starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, in which the actors attempt to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Those threats ultimately prompted Sony to cancel the film's release.

Reuters

2. U.S. sends four Guantanamo prisoners home to Afghanistan

As part of its push to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Obama administration sent four Afghans home to Kabul early Saturday morning. The prisoners had been held at Guantanamo for more than a decade, and they were released to Afghan authorities, according to U.S. officials. The transfer marked the first of its kind in Afghanistan since 2009.

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Reuters

3. St. Louis prosecutor: Witnesses lied to Ferguson grand jury

St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch told a radio station on Friday that some witnesses clearly lied to the grand jury that heard testimony about the August police shooting of Michael Brown. However, McCulloch said he won't seek perjury charges, because, "I thought it was much more important to present the entire picture and say listen, this is what this witness says he saw," he said. "And it went both directions."

NPR

4. FIFA votes to keep Russia, Qatar as upcoming World Cup hosts

The FIFA executive committee voted on Friday to uphold the next two World Cup hosts' winning bids. The governing body has been criticized for its selection process that led to the choice of Russia and Qatar as host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. A press release from FIFA said that while there were "irregularities" in the bidding process, "it is clear that (they)…are not of an extent that would lead to the bidding process as a whole being qualified as significantly illegal or in contravention of the Statutes."

The Associated Press NPR

5. Internal FBI report finds agents often mishandle, lose evidence

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an internal investigation into its evidence collection and retention processes, and found that agents often mishandle, mislabel, and even lose evidence. In all, the investigation found errors with nearly half of the 41,000 pieces of evidence it reviewed; because that is a sample of the bureau's actual total evidence cache, the real number of mishandled items is likely much higher.

The New York Times

6. T-Mobile agrees to $90 million settlement in cramming case

T-Mobile will pay a total of $90 million in customer refunds, along with fines and penalties, to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against the wireless carrier for cramming. Once commonly abused in the telecom industry, cramming refers to third parties hiding unwanted charges on customer's wireless bills.

Time

7. Wall Street analyst puts Instagram valuation at $35 billion

Citi's Mark May said on Friday that photo-sharing service Instagram could be worth as much as $35 billion, a significant increase from the bank's prior valuation of $19 billion. Owned by Facebook, Instagram announced last week that it had reached more than 300 million unique users, and May attributed that benchmark to his new analysis. If the research is accurate, Facebook's 2012 acquisition of the company was a very good deal; the social-media site paid just $1 billion for Instagram.

Fortune

8. Carly Fiorina reportedly hiring staff members for presidential bid

Republican Carly Fiorina is hiring staff members for an "imminent" presidential campaign, according to sources close to her. Fiorina's campaign could reportedly launch as early as next month, although Fiorina, who formerly held the CEO post at Hewlett-Packard, faces a packed GOP race. One source suggested she knows her odds to win the Republican nomination aren't good, but that she could be positioning herself for a vice-president nod on a ticket.

The National Journal

9. Study finds golden-winged warblers predict extreme weather

A new study published in the journal Current Biology found that golden-winged warblers are able to predict extreme weather events, courtesy of their low-frequency hearing. Researchers made their discovery by accident; they were testing whether the warblers could carry geolocators on their backs, but realized that the birds left Tennessee's Cumberland Mountains more than 24 hours before a major storm hit the area. The scientists believe the warblers knew the storm was coming because of the weather's low-range infrasounds.

BBC News

10. President Obama holds final press conference of 2014

President Barack Obama held his final press conference of 2014 on Friday, and he used it to touch on several key issues of the last few months. He praised America's job creation and falling uninsured rates, emphasized the Affordable Care Act's role in slowing the rising price of healthcare, and thanked American troops while noting that the combat mission in Afghanistan ends in less than two weeks. And while he admitted that he and the GOP-led Congress will "disagree on some things" in 2015, he said he is confident they can reach compromises.

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