TODAY'S TALKING POINTS 08-11-15

TODAY'S TALKING POINTS

Pakistan launched an investigation into widespread child sexual abuse cases. Officials say a 20-person gang made and sold sex videos involving at least 280 children, and used the recordings to extort money from their parents. Seven people were arrested so far. Pedophilia and child abuse are taboo topics in Pakistani culture even though experts suggest they are widespread problems.

A state of emergency was declared in Ferguson, Missouri. The announcement came hours after Tyrone Harris, 18, was charged with assaulting law enforcement officials for firing at officers during a Sunday night protest. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said he made the call because of “the potential for harm to persons and property.” It’s leaving people wondering what has actually changed in the the area in the wake of Michael Brown’s death a year ago.

Google Inc. announced its future as Alphabet. Company executives announced a surprising overhaul to the company's corporate structure Mondaythat would place Google and other potentially life-changing projects under the umbrella of a new outfit called Alphabet. Of course, the new URL for the company is abc.xyz.

Greek officials agreed upon terms for a third bailout deal. After marathon talks that ended early Tuesday, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said only "two or three small issues" still needed to be ironed out. Officials are crossing their fingers that the deal, which is expected to provide up to 86 billion euros in aid in exchange for austerity measures, will be ratified later this week so the country can make a 3.2 billion euro debt payment to the European Central Bank by August 20.

Japan restarted its first nuclear reactor since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The reactors were taken offline after a tsunami sparked by an earthquake crashed into the plant, causing a meltdown. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for a return to heavier reliance on nuclear energy, but the public has been actively protesting it.