News Wrap: Putin vows West won’t ‘defang’ Russia

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• HARI SREENIVASAN:

  Stocks made a sharp surge today, extending Wall Street's best day of the year. Tech stocks led the way and built on yesterday's gains, when the Federal Reserve pledged to be patient on boosting rates. The Dow Jones industrial average had its biggest gain in three years, rising 421 points to close at 17,778. The Nasdaq rose 104 points to close at 4,748. The S&P 500 was up 48 points to close at 2,061. And the price of oil dropped yet again to $54 a barrel.

  There's word today that American airstrikes have killed three senior Islamic State military leaders. That's according to General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He's told The Wall Street Journal that the airstrikes happened in Iraq in recent weeks. He says, "These are high-value targets, senior leadership."

  In Nigeria, suspected Islamic extremists have killed 35 people and kidnapped at least 185 more. It happened Sunday in a remote northeastern village near the town where Boko Haram militants seized 276 schoolgirls in April. The news took days to get out because the militants destroyed communications towers.

  Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed today that his country's economy and the ruble will bounce back within two years. In a three-hour news conference, he blamed falling oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine and Russia's dependence on exporting oil and gas.

• PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russia (through interpreter):

  Of course, the current situation has been caused primarily by external factors. But, also, much of what was planned to be done and what we said we should do hasn't been done with regards to the diversification of our economy over a period of nearly 20 years.

• HARI SREENIVASAN:

  Putin also remained defiant, vowing that the West will never defang Russia. His approval rating amongst Russians still stands at 81 percent.

  Back in this country, an independent external review of the Secret Service is recommending new leadership from outside the agency. That's according to a panel appointed by the Homeland Security Department after a number of security lapses. They recommend greater accountability at the agency and a higher security fence around the White House, among other things.

  The suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing returned to federal court today for the first time since being arraigned in July of 2013. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared at a final pretrial hearing. The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty in the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. Jury selection is set to begin January 5. Tsarnaev could face the death penalty.

  And Ford Motor Company expanded a recall involving air bags today to make it nationwide. Another 447,000 vehicles have to be checked for faulty inflators that can cause driver-side bags to explode. The air bags were made by Japan's Takata Corporation. Before now, the recall was limited to states with high humidity, mostly along the Gulf Coast.