5 things you need to know Monday
1. Missing AirAsia jet likely at 'bottom of the sea,' search chief says
Southeast Asia was mourning its third airline catastrophe of the year after an AirAsia jet with 162 people aboard vanished in violent weather. The search for Flight 8501 resumed at dawn on Monday, but Indonesia's chief rescue official, Henry Bambang Soelistyo, did not offer much hope those aboard might be rescued. "Based on the coordinates that we know, the evaluation would be that any estimated crash position is in the sea, and that the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," he said at a press conference.
2. Gay marriage heroine Edie Windsor feels pride in progress
Smarter. Faster. More colorful. As the year ends, USA TODAY recognizes people in the news who embody these qualities. Today we highlight the work of same-sex marriage pioneer Edie Windsor. Upset at facing a $363,000 federal tax bill following the death of her spouse, Windsor, now 85, filed a lawsuit seeking recognition of her marriage to Thea Spyer. In a 2013 decision, the Supreme Court ruled "the principal purpose and the necessary effect of this law are to demean those persons who are in a lawful same-sex marriage," swinging the tide in favor of legal same-sex marriage. Today gay marriage is legal in 35 states, nearly double the total of states allowing the unions at the end of 2013. You can catch up on the rest of the series here.
3. NFL coaches await the axe on 'Black Monday'
Black Monday: The day of the year when the most NFL coaches get fired. The purge usually begins after the final game of the regular season. Among those who are expected to surrender their parking passes are Jets general manager John Idzik, Jets head coach Rex Ryan, Falcons coach Mike Smith, Bears coach Marc Trestman and Bills general manager Doug Whaley. The 49ers and coach Jim Harbaugh didn't wait for Monday, announcing Sunday they had "mutually agreed to part ways."
4. Evacuation of burning Greek ferry continues
Nearly 200 passengers and crew remained trapped on a burning ferry and adrift in rough seas between Italy and Albania early Monday after enduring a second night of smoke, frigid temperatures and gale-force winds. A cargo ship with 49 evacuees from the Greek vessel arrived in the Italian port of Bari on Monday, the first big group to reach land. At least one person died and two were injured in the risky rescue operation.
5. Calif. high school basketball teams barred from tournament for 'I can't breathe' shirts
The athletic director at Fort Bragg High School in a coastal community north of San Francisco said that neither boys nor girls teams from Mendocino would be allowed to participate in a three-day tournament hosted by Fort Bragg that starts Monday out of concerns the players would wear T-shirts printed with the words "I can't breathe." Members of the Mendocino High School girls basketball team plan to rally outside the Fort Bragg High School for what a poster said would be a peaceful exercise of free speech rights.
And the essentials:
Weather: The national weather forecast for Monday includes snow across the Northwest and rain throughout the South.
Stocks: U.S. stock futures were higher Monday.
TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at Mike & Molly and Major Crimes.
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Contributing: The Associated Press