10 things you need to know today: December 28, 2015

1. Japan agrees to compensation for World War II "comfort women"

Japan agreed Monday to put $8.3 million in a compensation fund for Korean "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese military brothels in the first half of the 20th century, ending a decades-long dispute with South Korea. Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, said his country's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, had expressed "apologies and remorse from his heart." Several surviving former comfort women dismissed the deal as insufficient, saying Japan should accept "legal responsibility" for using them as World War II sex slaves.

The New York Times

2. Death toll climbs from tornadoes and flooding

The death toll from storms that battered seven southern and central U.S. states over the Christmas holiday reached 41 people on Sunday. At least 11 were killed by tornadoes that struck the Dallas area. Eight others died over the weekend in flash flooding, including four international soldiers temporarily stationed at Fort Leonard Wood for training. They drowned after their car was swept off a flooded road in Missouri. More rain and flooding is expected across the state on Monday.

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Reuters CNN

3. Iraqi military says it has retaken Ramadi from ISIS

An Iraqi military spokesman said Monday that the country's armed forces had retaken the city of Ramadi, which the Islamic State has held since May. Earlier, an Iraqi general had said government forces had only regained control of a strategic government complex, but Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool announced Monday that the city, the capital of Anbar province, had been "fully liberated." The Iraqi military began a long-promised campaign to retake the city last week, but snipers and booby traps hampered progress.

The Associated Press

4. Chicago families demand change after latest fatal police shooting

On Sunday, the families of two black Chicago residents killed by police accused officers of excessive force. Police were called to the home of the father of Quintonio LeGrier, 19, after the male college student reportedly threatened his father with a metal baseball bat. Police shot the younger LeGrier seven times. A neighbor, 55-year-old Bettie Jones, was fatally shot "accidentally" through a door, police said. Relatives and activists criticized Mayor Rahm Emanuel's response to police shootings and demanded a change in officers' treatment of black Chicagoans.

Reuters Los Angeles Times

5. Chinese regulator commits suicide a week after deadly landslide

A former Chinese official once responsible for regulating a waste heap that collapsed into a Shenzhen industrial park has committed suicide by jumping from a building, local police said Monday. The regulator, Xu Yuan'an, was the head of the City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau for Shenzhen's Guangming New District as recently as July 2015. At least seven people died in the landslide, and dozens more remain missing a week later. Police have detained 12 people, including at least one executive from the company that ran the dump.

CNN Reuters

6. British Army sent to help flood victims in northern England

Members of the British Army were dispatched Sunday to help evacuate hundreds of people stranded by floods across the country. Parts of the cities of York, Leeds, and Manchester are under water. The military joined police and mountain rescue teams working on getting people out of York, and boosting flood defenses with sandbags, as flooding approached the ancient city's historical buildings.

The New York Times

7. China officially ends one-child policy

Chinese lawmakers on Sunday formally approved the Communist Party's decision to end China's controversial "one-child" policy. Effective Jan. 1, Chinese couples will be allowed two children. The Communist Party announced in October that the restrictions, imposed in 1980 to slow population growth, would be changed. China says the law resulted in 400 million fewer births and helped pull millions of people out of poverty, but it began easing the policy in 2013.

USA Today

8. Falcons end Panthers' perfect season

The Carolina Panthers' bid for a perfect season ended Sunday when they lost 20-13 to the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers entered the game 14-0, just two victories short of a perfect regular season. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, the frontrunner for the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award, struggled throughout the game, failing to complete any third-down passes for the first time in his career. He was stripped of the ball with just over a minute left, and the Falcons recovered the fumble, ending the Panthers' last chance to tie the game.

ESPN

9. Former Harlem Globetrotters star Meadowlark Lemon dies at 83

Meadowlark Lemon, a beloved former leader of the Harlem Globetrotters, died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Sunday. He was 83. Lemon joined the comedic basketball troupe in 1954, and served as one of its key showmen until 1978. He was often called the "Clown Prince" of basketball during his more than 16,000 games with the Globetrotters. Lemon, born in Wilmington, North Carolina, was also a minister.

New York Daily News

10. The Force Awakens reaches $1 billion in global ticket sales in record time

Star Wars: The Force Awakens reached $1 billion in global ticket sales on Sunday, accomplishing the feat faster than any film in history. It was the movie's 12th day in release. The previous record holder — Jurassic World — took 13 days to reach the milestone. The new Star Wars film, directed by J.J. Abrams, hauled in $153.5 million in the U.S. over the Christmas weekend, bringing its domestic box office total to $544.6 million. "Everybody wants to be part of something that has become a cultural phenomenon," said Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis.

The Hollywood Reporter