Your Thursday morning catch-up

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

TOP STORY - California Shooting

At least two heavily-armed attackers who opened fire on a banquet at a California social services centre for the disabled, killing 14 people and seriously wounding more than a dozen others, looked "as if they were on a mission" authorities have said. About four hours later, police hunting for the killers riddled a black SUV with gunfire in a shoot-out two miles from the late-morning carnage and a man and woman with assault rifles, handguns and "assault-style clothing" were killed.

IRELAND

Sending your child to a creche has no negative impact on their development, according to a major study to be published today. The survey of 9,000 children found no overall difference in vocabulary and reasoning abilities at age five between those cared for at home and those cared for outside the home, either by grandparents, childminders, or in a creche from the age of three.

Gardaí in Dublin are investigating after a man was targeted in a gangland style shooting in Tallaght last night.

The man who murdered Irish nurse Karen Buckley has dropped his appeal against the length of his sentence.

The largest ever study of transgender people in Ireland claims 40% have attempted suicide at least once.

At least one person has been taken to hospital after a fire at a guest house in north Dublin.

WORLD

Anti-war protesters have reacted with anger and disappointment to the decision by British MPs to bomb Islamic State in Syria. A crowd of about 100 people gathered outside Westminster to hear the outcome of the controversial vote. As the verdict came in, there were loud boos and chants of “shame on you.”

SPORT

Two officials from football’s world governing body FIFA have been arrested this morning on suspicion “of accepting bribes of millions of dollars”, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) has announced. Police have swooped on the Baur au Lac hotel, the luxury establishment used by FIFA officials, for the second time this year.

Liverpool cruised into the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup as fit-again Daniel Sturridge inspired a stunning 6-1 win at Southampton last night.

BUSINESS

Irish Cement will burn used tyres at temperatures higher than those in a volcano in a bid to cut costs and secure jobs at its Limerick plant.

Corporate taxes continued to flood into the exchequer’s coffers last month, compounding a mystery about their source and raising doubts about whether a future government can rely on the company receipts after the election.

ANALYSIS

We may be a small brick in the wall against climate change but if we fall we destabilise the structure, writes Victoria White

LIFESTYLE

Can you no longer put off buying a new laptop or have you been given a gentle hint that a loved one would love a new one for Christmas? Noel Campion has gone through what’s out there and has advice on what laptop will best suit your needs

VIDEO

The Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at The Mardyke Arena, UCC in aid of the Irish Wheelchair Association, hosted by Sports Studies & Physical Education UCC.

See more pics of the event here

VIRAL

Lisa Sarber Aldrich is receiving a lot of love online for her story of accepting the writing on her cake from the bakery in a local grocery shop in the US state of Michigan.

What would a 64-year-old man and a seven-year-old have to talk about? Des sat down with young Seán to share stories and advice across their 57 years and the result is a surprisingly lovely watch.

TECHNOW

GAMING: Monument Valley is free - you should download it right now.

MOVIES: Bill Murray is a prince among men, and you can spend Christmas with him thanks to this new special, A Very Murray Christmas.

TECH: Virtual Reality is set to become a major new sector in the very near future, with commercially available headsets landing in early 2016. And I just got eyes on with one of the leading models, the HTC Vive.

SHOWBIZ

Harrison Ford has described working on the set of Star Wars as “just another day in the office”. The Hollywood star will reprise his role as hero Han Solo in the eagerly anticipated Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

MOST READ RIGHT NOW

Not to send you into a meltdown or anything but octopuses are basically ‘aliens’ – according to scientists.