News at noon: Turkey shoots down Russian jet; Chicago cop charged; Cruz surges; Tech Data; Good Dinosaur; and Einstein

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has defended Turkey's shooting down of a Russian fighter jet at the border with Syria, a long-feared escalation that could further strain relations between Russia and the West.

The downing of that jet is sure to complicate the conversation between President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande, who is at the White House now to get the U.S. and other nations to bolster efforts to destroy the militant group that has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.

A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times has been charged with first-degree murder ahead of a deadline for the city to release a squad-car video of the shooting.

In The Buzz, Ted Cruz has surged ahead of Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush in the latest Quinnipiac Poll of Iowa likely Republican caucus participants. The senator from Texas is virtually tied with Donald Trump.

As state economic recoveries go, Florida's is rebounding well. Just not as robust as some states are doing these days. Three numbers help tell the story.

Earnings at Pinellas County's Tech Data held steady in the third quarter, missing Wall Street expectations as sales continued to slump. Tampa Bay's largest public company by revenue notched profits of $41.9 million, up a hair from this time last year.

Politics, religion, sports: Talk around the Thanksgiving dinner table can easily drift into dangerous territory. Here are five stories that will help you turn the talk back to topics that are easier on the digestive process.

Movie review: The Good Dinosaur is Disney-Pixar's obligation gift for the holidays, hoping moviegoers remember it's the thought that counts. The result? It's there in the title. Not great but good.

TV recap: Fargo turned its attention to tragedy with episode 7, titled Did You Do This? No, You Did It! The characters still alive weighed their paths and fates.

And today in Lonely Thanksgiving: Think going to a concert alone is lame? Not a chance. Here are five shows to consider . If leaving the house is just way too much effort, check out these six movies that will help you embrace the solitude and relish the fact that no one will get on your nerves today.

Times files

Albert Einstein changed how we look at everything with his theory of relativity.

Times files

Albert Einstein changed how we look at everything with his theory of relativity.

On Nov. 25, 1915, Albert Einstein set down the equation that rules the universe. As compact and mysterious as a Viking rune, it describes space-time as a kind of sagging mattress where matter and energy, like a heavy sleeper, distort the geometry of the cosmos to produce the effect we call gravity, obliging light beams as well as marbles and falling apples to follow curved paths through space.

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