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Out of the loop today? We've got what you missed.(Photo: AP)
A dark and stormy night is brewing after a day of storms in California
Service to cable cars was cut. The iconic Bank of America, the architectural star of the Towering Inferno movie in 1974, went dark. Power in San Francisco's Financial District, in the heart of the city, went out shortly after 7 a.m. PT, forcing the evacuation of thousands of workers from skyscrapers over several blocks. The city was hammered today as a ferocious a storm brought heavy rain, hurricane-force winds and power outages to California, snarling air travel and generally wreaking havoc. The storm, one of the strongest to hit the West Coast in years, has been fueled by the "Pineapple Express" that is delivering a steady stream of moisture directly from Hawaii to the West Coast. Is it storming where you are? Share your photos with us.
If your name is Angelina Jolie, you had a really bad day
She got hardcore snubbed and publicly dissed, all in a day. Poor Angelina Jolie was passed over this morning for a Golden Globe nod for her grand directorial effort in Unbroken. Also today, Angie had high-powered Hollywood producer Scott Rudin apologizing for leaked e-mails in which he called her "a minimally talented spoiled brat." Ouch. In a statement to trade website Deadline, Rudin said that the private e-mail exchange between him and Sony Pictures entertainment chief Amy Pascal contained jests that weren't meant for public consumption. (He also said some racially insensitive things about President Obama; more here.) The leaked e-mails are the latest embarrassment stemming from the Sony hacking fiasco. But back to the Golden Globes: Birdman led the movie nominations with seven; Boyhood and Imitation Game were next with five each. HBO led the TV nominations with 15. You can find the full list here, and note that Brad Pitt was also passed over. What's the take-away? Gasp! It means there's a good chance Brad and Angie won't even bother showing up at the Golden Globes next month.
CIA chief goes on TV about scathing report, gets real-time rebuttal from senator on Twitter
The normally stealthy CIA went front and center today with an unprecedented 45-minute televised press conference. Director John Brennan mounted a forceful but nuanced defense of the spy agency in response to the damning Senate report on the use of torture during the George W. Bush administration. While Brennan was in front of the TV cameras, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., gave a real-time rebuttal via Twitter. Brennan acknowledged the CIA made some mistakes but disagreed with the report's key conclusions — namely, that the agency's use of torture was ineffective and that the CIA lied about it to Congress. Of note is that he never used the word torture to refer to what he called "enhanced interrogation techniques." The White House is standing behind Brennan.
Poll: This year was bad. Next year, maybe worse
Well, this is depressing. A USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll finds Americans have less optimism about the coming year than at any time in nearly a quarter-century. Three-quarters of those surveyed are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, and just 49% predict 2015 will be better. Jobs and unemployment top Americans' list of the country's biggest problems. Now that we've gotten that out there, take a deep breath and watch this video.
Lion mom Imani at the Cincinnati Zoo cuddles, cleans and loves on her baby cub. VPC
Model shares her Cosby story, and it's sadly similar to others
Beverly Johnson on Nov. 19, 2014 in Hollywood.(Photo: Angela Weiss, Getty Images)
"It's not easy doing the right thing sometimes!!!" Beverly Johnson tweeted. The model shared her Bill Cosby story in a first-person essay in Vanity Fair. Johnson says the star she was enamored with slipped something into her cappuccino. "I knew by the second sip of the drink Cosby had given me that I'd been drugged — and drugged good." Johnson said confronting the comedian/actor was a losing battle. "In the end, just like other women, I had too much to lose to go after Bill Cosby."
Extra Bites
Day in Pictures: Our favorite photo from today's gallery.
A visitor looks down the central spiral stairway at the historic Schloss Hartenfels buildingin Torgau, Germany.(Photo: Peter Endig, European Pressphoto Agency)
Get ready because the mysterious Geminid meteor shower is coming this weekend.
Have you seen the world's most expensive photograph?
You don't need an ocean to ride the waves:
RGJ reporter Jeff DeLong shot this video of surfers trying to ride waves at Tahoe, where 7-foot swells were being reported on Thursday, Dec. 11.
He's the CEO of Porch.com — an "Uber of home maintenance" — and USA TODAY's Entrepreneur of the Year.
The mystery of waiting room magazines, solved?
Meet USA TODAY Sports All-America college football team.
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: Katie Smith, Ann Oldenburg, Donna Freydkin, Maria Puente, Arienne Thompson, Jon Swartz, Gregory Korte, David Jackson, Elizabeth Weise, Susan Page, Doyle Rice, Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
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