The 6 stories PR pros need to know on Monday morning, 12.7.2015

Obama’s prime time terrorism address
President Barack Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office, the third time he’s done so, on Sunday night, giving an update on the San Bernardino shooting, explaining his strategy for fighting the Islamic State, and urging viewers to be tolerant of Muslim-Americans.

How the speech played in the media
NYT: Obama’s speech on threat is a plea for patience, national unity; Washington Post: White House insists it has a plan to fight Islamic State and that it’s working; ABC News: Obama seeks to remove fear – though not politics – from ISIS fight; Politico: Obama’s not-so-peppy pep talk.

How it played on the campaign trail
Over the weekend, Hillary Clinton called for social networks including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to contribute to the fight against the Islamic State by stifling extremist propaganda. On Sunday night, the Republican candidates, predictably, all panned Obama's speech.

Cynical public awaits Volkswagen CEO’s update
Volkswagen CEO Mathias Muller is scheduled to deliver a report on Thursday about the company’s internal investigation into its emissions scandal, its first public update on the crisis. A cynical public, both in Germany and abroad, is waiting for his comments.

GE scraps Electrolux deal
General Electric is abandoning its deal to sell its appliance business to Sweden-based Electrolux for $3.3 billion. US regulators had threatened to block the transaction for anti-trust reasons. Electrolux’s shares were down the most in four years on Monday morning.

Who won Twitter in 2015?
You might be surprised…Or maybe not. Messages from the boy band One Direction were the most circulated tweets of the year, beating out President Obama’s comments on the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on gay marriage and other more newsworthy topics.