Danielle Paquette

The military raid resulted in the death of two French soldiers late Thursday during a confrontation in Burkina Faso.

The New York Police Department said this week that 2015 was the "safest year" in the city's modern history. One indicator: The number of reported sexual assaults spiked from 1,352 to 1,439.

The last-minute case has highlighted a subtle but unavoidable fact of life for alleged rape victims: Their cases have legal expiration dates that vary widely across states and create pressure to build a prosecutable case with sometimes limited evidence.

The rampage that claimed at least 14 lives in San Bernardino, California, isn't today's first mass shooting. Here's news you probably missed: A gunman in Savannah, Georgia, shot four people early Wednesday, killing a woman and injuring three men.