10 things you need to know today: January 16, 2015

(Image credit: AP Images/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

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1. Raid foils alleged terror strikes in Belgium
2. Obama administration eases Cuba travel restrictions
3. France arrests a dozen people linked to Paris gunmen
4. Obama gives federal workers six weeks of family leave
5. Mormon critic faces excommunication for supporting gay marriage and ordination of women
6. Judge tells Michigan to respect 300 gay marriages performed before its ban was reinstated
7. Duke reverses plan to allow Muslim call to prayer from cathedral
8. Oklahoma executes first inmate since bungled 2014 lethal injection
9. Colts' Josh McNary accused of sexual assault
10. Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel top Oscar nominations

last updated 20 January 2015

1. Raid foils alleged terror strikes in Belgium

Belgian security forces killed two people who opened fire on them at a suspected terrorist hide-out on Thursday, and arrested 13 in a night of anti-terror raids. Authorities said the suspects belonged to a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State that was on the verge of launching major attacks. "We've averted a Belgian Charlie Hebdo," a police officer said. The clash 80 miles southeast of Brussels came as Europe went on heightened alert following last week's deadly attacks in Paris.

The U.S. on Friday will begin easing decades-old restrictions on travel to Cuba, the Obama administration announced. Under the new regulations, Americans will be able to go to the communist-ruled Caribbean nation for a dozen reasons without a special U.S. government license, and some companies will find it easier to do business in Cuba. The rules don't explicitly authorize tourism, but Cuba expert Julia E. Sweig said, "This is basically the end of the travel ban."

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French police have arrested a dozen people suspected of helping the three Islamist militant gunmen who attacked the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery in Paris, prosecutors said Friday. The terrorist attacks left 17 victims and the three gunmen dead. Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in France for talks on counterterrorism. The visit came after the Obama administration conceded it should have sent higher-ranking officials to a Sunday unity march attended by 40 world leaders.

President Obama used executive actions on Thursday to extend six weeks of paid leave to federal workers after the birth or adoption of a child. New parents also will be eligible for six additional weeks of unpaid leave. The rules also apply to federal workers caring for sick relatives. Obama also is calling on the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a proposal to let other U.S. workers earn up to seven days of paid sick leave. Some business and GOP leaders said the mandates would discourage hiring.

The Mormon Church is excommunicating the prominent host of a website called Mormon Stories for doubting the faith. Church leaders say they will kick out the online forum's leader and founder, John P. Dehlin, unless he disavows his support for same-sex marriage, the ordination of women, and other positions contrary to church teaching. "I would prefer for them to leave me alone," Dehlin said, "but if given the choice between denying my conscience and facing excommunication, I'd much rather be excommunicated."

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Michigan to recognize the marriages of 300 same-sex couples who wed in March when the state's gay marriage ban was briefly lifted, before being upheld by a federal appeals court. "In these circumstances, what the state has joined together, it may not put asunder," U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith wrote, ruling in favor of eight same-sex couples legally married in the one-day window. The state is putting up a strong fight to preserve the ban, which was approved by voters in 2007 and is headed to the Supreme Court.

Duke University on Thursday reversed a decision that would have allowed a weekly Muslim call to prayer from its cathedral bell tower. The initial decision was criticized by some evangelical Christians, including evangelist Franklin Graham, who said it was wrong to use a Christian church "as a minaret." A Duke spokesman said the school reversed course because "an effort to unify" backfired, but Duke "remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant, and welcoming campus for all of its students."

Oklahoma on Thursday night executed Charles Warner, the first inmate put to death in the state since a botched lethal injection more than eight months ago. Warner, convicted of raping and murdering an 11-month-old girl, had been scheduled to die the same night as Clayton Lockett. His execution was postponed after Lockett bucked on the gurney, taking 40 minutes to die and prompting revisions to the state's lethal injections. Warner showed no signs of distress, but said, "My body is on fire," after receiving the first drug.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary, 26, has been charged with an alleged Dec. 1 rape, according to court papers filed Wednesday. The alleged victim told Indianapolis police that she went to bars with co-workers after work, then went to an apartment with an "unknown male." She says she got into a fight with the man and he sexually assaulted her. She left with his cellphone and called police. McNary, whose team plays the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship on Sunday, denied the allegations.

Boyhood, Birdman, and The Grand Budapest Hotel led the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards, which were released on Thursday. American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, made a surprisingly strong showing, too, garnering six nominations including one for best picture. The list of nominees was also notable for some stunning snubs. Selma, for example, got a nod for best picture, but director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo, who starred as Dr. Martin Luther King, were overlooked.

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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.