Midday Roundup: Charlie Hebdo's message of forgiveness

Forgiveness. The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, attacked last week by Islamic terrorists, will release its next issue on schedule tomorrow. The cover, unveiled at a news conference today, contains a drawing of Muhammad holding the now ubiquitous “Je suis Charlie” sign, with a tear in his eye. Across the top of the cover are the words “Tout est pardonne,’’ meaning “all is forgiven.” Although the drawing might suggest Muhammad was the one offering forgiveness, it’s the victims who are showing grace. “It is we who forgive, not Muhammad,” magazine editor-in-chief Gérard Biard told France Info. Charlie Hebdo is printing 3 million copies. Already, bidding on eBay for collector’s editions has topped $500. The magazine’s average circulation is 60,000.

Ongoing threat. Security forces in France and across Europe are continuing to hunt for conspirators in last week’s attacks, which left 17 people dead. French officials say as many as six people involved in the attacks may still be at large. The three attackers—brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi and their friend, Amedy Coulibaly—originally were thought to have acted alone. But now security experts say the belonged to a terror cell operating in Paris. At least one member, Hayat Boumeddiene, has escaped to Syria. Officials say she traveled through Turkey earlier this month en route to areas controlled by ISIS terrorists. Boumeddiene is thought to have been romantically involved with Coulibaly. Meanwhile, four victims of Coulibaly’s attack on a kosher market in Paris were buried today in Israel.

National champs. The Ohio State Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff National Championship last night, defeating the Oregon Ducks 42-20. The Buckeyes dominated for most of the game, holding the Ducks and Heisman Trophy–winning quarterback Marcus Mariota to their lowest point total of the season. Despite the disappointing loss, Mariota, a junior and a committed Christian, is still expected to join this year’s National Football League draft. After the game, revelers on Ohio State’s campus in Columbus set about 90 fires and tore down one of the stadium’s temporary goal posts. Police had to use tear gas and pepper spray to disperse large crowds and made a handful of arrests. Officials reported no major injuries.

Sign fight. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case about signage at a church. The Town of Gilbert, Ariz., restricts how certain signs are displayed and for how long. Lawyers for the town say it makes sense not to treat every sign in town the same way. But the Good News Community Church says the town illegally discriminated against its signs and violated its freedom of speech. The town argued it could restrict the church signs because they were providing directional information, not religious information. “That simply doesn’t make any sense to say that your sign is protected speech, but if you add some directional information like an address, you somehow automatically lose your constitutional protection,” said David Cortman of Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the church. The Court’s decision is expected by June.

What ceasefire? Fighting in Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian rebels continues, although it’s no longer making international headlines. Shelling struck a passenger bus in the city of Donetsk today, killing 10 civilians and wounding 13 more. The bus was traveling through a government checkpoint near the airport when the blast hit. The rebels denied responsibility for the attack, claiming the bus was at a checkpoint under their control. The intensified fighting comes amid efforts to implement a four-month-old ceasefire agreement. Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France scrapped plans to hold talks in Kazakhstan later this week to discuss the possibility of calming the conflict that has gripped the region for seven months.

The Associated Press and WORLD Radio’s Carl Peetz contributed to this report.