10 things you need to know today: December 8, 2014

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini))

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1. The U.S. officially ends Afghanistan combat mission
2. A report on CIA interrogation techniques sparks controversy
3. Violent protests continue in California
4. Locals say 11 people died in Yemen rescue attempt
5. Uber shut down in Delhi after rape allegations
6. Typhoon Hagupit weakens as death toll climbs to 21
7. Video-game pioneer Ralph Baer dies at 92
8. Gas prices hit a four-year low
9. Veterans mark Pearl Harbor anniversary
10. Four teams picked for inaugural college football playoff

last updated 13 January 2015

1. The U.S. officially ends Afghanistan combat mission

The U.S. and NATO formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on Monday, with a ceremonial lowering of the flag at NATO's International Security Assistance Force Joint Command. It has been 13 years since the invasion to topple the Taliban and rout al Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The coalition will still keep 13,000 troops — down from the 2011 peak of 140,000 — in the country after January 1 to train and support Afghan security forces, who have led the fight against Taliban insurgents since mid-2013.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, warned Sunday that the impending release of a report on the use of torture by the CIA would cause "violence and death" overseas. "I think this is a terrible idea," he said. Secretary of State John Kerry has also asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is in charge of the report, to be careful about when she releases report, although the Obama administration supports going public with its results.

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Tense demonstrations continued for a second night in California's San Francisco Bay Area, as more than 500 people protesting the fatal police shootings of unarmed black men in New York and Missouri briefly shut down a highway in Oakland. Although the protests in California and across the nation have been mostly peaceful, some of the demonstrators in Oakland threw rocks, bottles, and even explosives at officers clearing the highway. Highway patrol officers responded with tear gas and arrested eight people.

At least 11 people were killed in the U.S.-led attempt to rescue an American photojournalist in Yemen, residents in the area said on Sunday. The dead included a 10-year-old boy and a local al Qaeda leader, as well as the American hostage, Luke Somers, and South African teacher Pierre Korkie. The two Westerners were shot and killed by their al-Qaeda captors during the raid. Korkie reportedly was due to be released within a day, although U.S. officials said they were not aware of a ransom deal negotiated for his freedom.

India's Delhi region banned Uber, the popular smartphone cab-hailing service, on Monday after one of its drivers was accused of raping a passenger. The driver, Shiv Kumar Yadav, had been accused of a similar crime in 2011, but he reached a settlement with the alleged victim and was acquitted. Police said Uber did not do background checks, and that Yadav did not have proper permits. The U.S.-based Uber, which started operating in New Delhi a year ago, said it was cooperating fully with police.

Typhoon Hagupit weakened to become a tropical storm on Monday as it continued to churn over the Philippines. The death toll from the storm rose to 21, far lower than last year's devastating Haiyan, a super typhoon that left more than 7,300 dead or missing. More than a million people have sought refuge in shelters. Hagupit's top sustained winds have decreased from 109 mph to 65 mph. The storm is expected to reach the town of Batangas, 68 miles south of Manila, by Monday night.

Ralph Baer, the man many considered to be the father of home video games, died over the weekend. He was 92. Baer first pitched the idea for games on TVs in 1951, but later said he was told, "Who needs this?" In 1968 he completed work on a prototype console called the Brown Box, and that technology was used to make the Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first commercial home video game console. He also created the first video-game light gun, and in 1978 he invented the memory game Simon.

Gasoline prices have dropped to their lowest level in more than four years, according to a Lundberg survey released Sunday. Prices for a gallon of regular-grade gas declined by 12 cents over the last two weeks to an average of $2.72 per gallon, a full dollar lower than in May. The plunge, similar to those seen during the 2008 recession, was largely due to the combination of slowing demand and rising oil production. Prices might fall a few cents more by Christmas, survey publisher Trilby Lundberg said.

Aging veterans who survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gathered in Hawaii on Sunday to mark the 73rd anniversary of the raid that pulled the U.S. into World War II. About 100 Pearl Harbor survivors and other veterans of the war, many using canes, walkers, or wheelchairs, attended a ceremony at the memorial over the sunken battleship USS Arizona. About 2,000 Pearl Harbor survivors remain. "As the years stretch, the stories of every sailor, soldier, Marine, airman, nurse, or citizen who was at Pearl Harbor grow more precious," Navy Adm. Michelle Howard said.

The College Football Playoff selection committee announced Sunday that it had chosen Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State to play in the first college football playoff, which replaces the old bowl system in determining the year's top team. On Jan. 1, top-seed Alabama will play fourth-seed Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, and second-seed Oregon will play third-seed Florida State in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The winners square off for the national title on Jan. 12.

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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.