Local– Governor Mark Dayton has appointed Emily Piper as the new Human Services Commissioner for Minnesota, but missed the press conference on the topic as he was in surgery here in Rochester at Mayo Clinic for his back. MPR News

National– On Dec. 2, 2015 14 people were killed in San Bernardino, CA in what the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been treating as a terrorist attack. According to the Los Angeles Times, the FBI discovered on Monday Dec. 7 that the couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who committed the attack, had been radicalized for some time. This attack has lead to President Obama, and many other Democrats, pressing for gun control laws and authorization to attack the Islamic State.

International– Due to the terrorist attacks that occurred in and around Paris on Nov. 13, 2015 the country’s far right party has surged ahead in the polls and its leader now has a serious shot at the presidency in 18 months. According to the New York Times, the National Front lead by Marine Le Pen has become a serious threat to the republican and socialist parties due to its use of the attacks to highlight its anti-immigration policies and its core values to the French only.

History– On Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor occurred causing the U.S. to enter World War II on the Allied side against the Nazis.