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[h=4]5 things you need to know Thursday[/h]The biggest, most buzzworthy news to start your morning.
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The winners of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet members, sign the guest book inside the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Dec. 9, 2015.(Photo: Hakon Mosvold Larsen, AFP/Getty Images)
Nobel laureates gather for awards ceremony
This year's Nobel Prize winners, who created drugs to save lives and chronicled lives lost in great tragedies, will receive their awards from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Thursday, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Among this year's winners are Princeton economist<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Angus Deaton for his "analysis of consumption, poverty<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and welfare" and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for its efforts to bring democracy to the country. The complete list of 2015's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>winners were announced in October.
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Princeton's Angus Deaton wins Nobel economics prize for his study of consumer economics. VPC
Volkswagen executives<span style="color: Red;">*</span>discuss investigation into cheating on diesel emissions
Volkswagen investigators have determined that engineers cheated U.S. emissions tests in part because they could not figure out how to meet the standards, the company said Thursday. Volkswagen Group<span style="color: Red;">*</span>chairman Hans-Dieter Potsch told reporters that engineers erred by developing manipulative software to fool regulators because they "quite simply could not find a way to meet the tougher" limits for nitrogen oxide pollutants<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the U.S.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"We are not talking about a one-off mistake,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but a whole chain of mistakes," he said at a press conference in Germany that was live-streamed online and translated into English.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The automaker held the press conference to provide an initial update on its investigation into its emissions scandal, which affects more than 11 million<span style="color: Red;">*</span>cars worldwide<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is expected to cost the company tens of billions of dollars.
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U.S. dealerships reported a 25% decline in sales of Volkswagen brand vehicles in November, despite heavy discounts and a strong month for the overall auto industry.
Jared Fogle's right-hand man to face judge
Russell Taylor, the former head of Jared Fogle’s charitable foundation, will plead guilty on Thursday to producing and distributing child pornography. His sentencing will mark the end of an Indiana child pornography<span style="color: Red;">*</span>case that attracted international attention because of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Fogle’s previous ties to Subway.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>For years, the two married fathers were partners in crime who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>outwardly promoted healthy lifestyles and helped young people, but secretly sought out strippers and profiteers, drank heavily and were involved in the seamy world of child pornography.
Russell Taylor, 44, the former head of Jared Fogle's charitable foundation, has agreed to plead guilty to 12 counts of producing child porn and one count of distributing it.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Indiana State Police)
Walmart's mobile-payment system debuts
Walmart wants to make checking out in stores just a tad easier. On Thursday, it starts rolling out a new feature in its app called Walmart Pay, which allows customers to link payment types —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a credit card, debit card, gift card, prepaid card —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to the app and then check out in stores by launching the app, selecting Walmart Pay and scanning a QR code displayed on the payment terminal.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Until now, Walmart hasn’t accepted any type of mobile wallet such as Apple Pay.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Walmart Pay<span style="color: Red;">*</span>could link up with mobile wallets like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay in the future, executives said.
A screenshot of the Walmart Pay function in the Walmart app, which prompts users to scan a QR code at store registers in order to pay for purchases.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Walmart)
President to sign bill overhauling K-12 education policy
President Obama will overhaul K-12 education policy and end more than a decade of strict federal control over schools by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>signing the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Every Student Succeeds Act<span style="color: Red;">*</span>into effect<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Thursday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the White House says. The bill, which the House passed last week and Senate approved Wednesday, replaces the expired No Child Left Behind law and focuses less on standardized testing, making states once again responsible for fixing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>under-performing schools. It’s the first major rewrite of elementary and secondary school policy since President<span style="color: Red;">*</span>George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind in 2001.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (left), and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., talk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, before a meeting of House and Senate negotiators trying to resolve competing versions of a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
Bonus: The Golden Globe nominations will be announced this morning, starting at 8:15 a.m. ET. Follow @USATODAYLife for the latest.
And, the essentials:
Weather:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>More rain, snow and wind will pelt the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Pacific Northwest<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on Thursday as mild weather continues for most of the eastern U.S.
Stocks:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>U.S. stock futures pointed higher Thursday, after Wall Street fell for a third day.
TV tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Toy Story at 20, Michael Buble's Christmas in Hollywood and Bones.
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