This Morning from CBS News, Dec. 17, 2015
Ash Carter
The U.S. Secretary of Defense sits down with CBS News for his first interview since apologizing for having used a personal account to exchange work emails after assuming the role as Pentagon chief. We ask him about that, and the U.S.-backed fight against ISIS, which he's in Erbil, Iraq, to check on.
Brokered convention?
Talk about a brokered Republican convention is heating up. It's what would happen if none of the candidates carries enough delegates heading into the party's pre-election gathering in July, and with a competitive field of 14 still in the running, it's more likely than it has been in decades.
Freddie Gray trial
Freddie Gray's family called for calm after the mistrial was declared -- and they got it. After three days of deliberations, the 12 members of the jury couldn't come up with a verdict in the trial of Officer William Porter, the first of six police officers to be tried for involvement with Gray's death.
Silenced in China
A prominent human rights lawyer went on trial in China this week for social media posts that criticized the ruling Communist party. The lawyer faces up to eight years in prison for his comments on China's equivalent of Twitter. CBS News found out how the government is taking its stranglehold on the digital age to a new level.
Rate hike
In orchestrating a move to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, Fed chief Janet Yellen is presiding over monetary policy at a critical juncture for the U.S. economy. Her legacy, however, will ultimately depend on where the still fragile recovery goes from here.
Market impact
U.S. stock prices surged after the Federal Reserve moved to start hiking interest rates, but that doesn't mean financial markets are out of the woods just yet. We look at why investors should be cautious as the curtain falls on the era of cheap money.
More top news:
U.S.
School seeks to fire prof over Sandy Hook shooting claim
Houston, Miami-Dade school districts receive threats
Tennessee shooting suspect caught in unlikely place
World
Putin: Russia supports U.S. draft resolution on Syria
U.S. helping West African troops fighting Boko Haram
Politics
Obama meets Michael Bloomberg about gun violence
Year-end spending bill includes controversial cybersecurity act
Trump: I don't care if Jeb Bush "never endorses me"
Business
A warning for retired baby boomers looking for work
The nasty economic effects of nice winter weather
Syrians hope U.S. Special Forces can bring peace to region
Science and Tech
Divers work to clean up failed 1970's reef project in Fla.
Facebook tweaks "real name" policy to be more inclusive
Health
Some kids with appendicitis may not need surgery
Entertainment
Sheldon and Amy consummate relationship on "The Big Bang Theory"