--- description: Sydney in Lockdown Amid Developing Hostage Crisis Heavily armed police fanned out across downtown Sydney on Monday after an unidentified man took an undisclosed number... title: Morning Must Reads: December 15 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Morning Must Reads](/tag/morning-must-reads/) ## Morning Must Reads Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Morning Must Reads: December 15 by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 15, 2014 12:16 PM CUT  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 15, 2014 12:16 PM CUT [Sydney in Lockdown Amid Developing Hostage Crisis](http://time.com/3633134/sydney-hostage-martin-place-lindt-cafe-terrorism/ "undefined") Heavily armed police fanned out across downtown Sydney on Monday after an unidentified man took an undisclosed number of people hostage at a café in the central business district of Australia’s largest city. Five hostages fled the premises in the afternoon [Meet the Sony Exec Tied Up in the Worst Corporate Hack Ever](http://time.com/3631735/amy-pascal-sony-hack/ "undefined") The Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment has been the executive behind successful movies like _Skyfall_ and _Zero Dark Thirty_ [Dick Cheney on CIA Interrogations Order: ‘I’d Do It Again in a Minute’](http://time.com/3632875/dick-cheney-cia-interrogations-senate-report/ "undefined") Former Vice President Dick Cheney fiercely defended the CIA’s brutal, post-9/11 interrogation tactics in an interview [Johnny Manziel Stumbles During Debut Start for Browns](http://time.com/3633120/johnny-manziel-debut/ "undefined") Manziel looked overwhelmed and frustrated in Sunday’s 30-0 loss, throwing several passes too high and finishing with 10 completions in 18 attempts for 80 passing yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and three sacks [Japan’s Ruling Coalition Wins Big in Elections](http://time.com/3632976/japan-shinzo-abe-elections/ "undefined") Japan’s ruling coalition, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, won a resounding victory in lower house elections, firming up Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s hold on power as he prepares to push forward on several politically difficult fronts [Bill Cosby Briefly Breaks His Silence](http://time.com/3632940/bill-cosby-briefly-talks-sex-assault-allegations/ "undefined") The actor and comedian accused of drugging and/or sexually assaulting more than a dozen women briefly explained why hasn’t responded to the claims, saying his lawyers “don’t want me talking to the media” [R&B Icon D’Angelo Releases His First Album in 14 Years](http://time.com/3633069/dangelo-black-messiah/ "undefined") D’Angelo’s first album in 14 years is impressively timely, unveiled as it was at a New York City listening session one day after an estimated 25,000 people in the same city protested police brutality against unarmed black citizens. _Black Messiah_ came out at midnight [One of the World’s 6 Northern White Rhinos Has Died](http://time.com/3633225/northern-white-rhino-dies-san-diego-zoo-angalifu/ "undefined") The world has only five northern white rhinos left, after the sixth, Angalifu, died at the San Diego Zoo on Sunday. He was 44 and zoo officials said he had been refusing food for a week. Decades of wide-scale poaching have driven the rhinos to the brink of extinction [Deal Salvaged at U.N. Climate Talks in Peru](http://time.com/3633025/deal-salvaged-at-u-n-climate-talks-in-peru/ "undefined") A compromise deal salvaged by climate negotiators in Lima early Sunday sets the stage for a global pact in Paris next year, but a consensus could not be reached on nations submitting to a rigorous review of their plans for greenhouse gas emissions limits [Newtown Mom Decries Gun Violence on Anniversary](http://time.com/3633062/newtown-sandyhook-anniversary/ "undefined") The mother of a first-grader killed in the Newtown school shooting rampage spoke out against gun violence on the second anniversary of the massacre, saying it has broken the hearts of other mothers across the country [_Exodus_ Dethrones _Mockingjay_ to Win Weekend Box Office](http://time.com/3632947/exodus-mockingjay-box-office/ "undefined") Ridley Scott’s _Exodus: Gods and Kings_, which tells the Old Testament story of Moses and features Christian Bale, earned $24.5 million to unseat _The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1_ for the top spot at the American box office [Suspect Arrested in Death of Auburn Football Player](http://time.com/3633012/jakell-mitchell-suspect-arrested-auburn-shooting/ "undefined") A suspect in the early morning shooting death of an Auburn University football player was arrested, police said. Markale Deandra Hart, 22, was charged with murder in connection with the death of Mitchell, who was found dead at an apartment near campus [_Get_ TIME_’s_ _The Brief e-mail every morning in your inbox_](http://time.com/politicsemail "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3633341/morning-must-reads-december-15/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3633341/morning-must-reads-december-15/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: December 15","datePublished":"2014-12-15T12:16:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:51:02.647Z","description":"Sydney in Lockdown Amid Developing Hostage Crisis Heavily armed police fanned out across downtown Sydney on Monday after an unidentified man took an undisclosed number...","url":"https://time.com/3633341/morning-must-reads-december-15/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads","NFL","Japan","Sony","sydney"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/morning-must-reads/","name":"Morning Must Reads"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3633341/morning-must-reads-december-15/","name":"Morning Must Reads: December 15"}}]}] ```