North Korea launched four short-range missiles Thursday, purportedly in response to U.S.—South Korean military exercises in South Korea. The launches come at a time when both North and South Korea are attempting to complete peaceful trade ties between them. Amidst tensions, the U.S. State Department is closely monitoring the situation and urged North Korean officials to exercise military restraint.

Six Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity members from the University of Akron were charged Thursday with hazing and assault. University of Akron police said that a 22-year-old man told investigators he was beaten with paddles repeatedly over the course of three weeks in January during the fraternity’s pledge process. University officials said they have shut down the fraternity and said the university does not tolerate hazing.

The Academy Awards ceremony will take place Sunday, March 2 in Los Angeles. The directors of Egypt’s first Oscar-nominated film “The Square” will be walking the red carpet despite the fact that the film has yet to be shown within Egypt. The filmmakers have said the film was blocked from theatres because of the realistic portrayals of the countries militant leaders during the Tahrir Square uprising from 2001 through August 2013. (Read full story.)

Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus were named finalists cities to host the 2016 Republican National Convention. The committee chairman Reince Priebus named the three Ohio cities on Twitter, along with Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett said, “I’m in favor of (the convention) coming to the Midwest anyway, because Ohio is a battleground state.” No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio and it’s been over 50 years since a Democrat won the presidency without Ohio. (Read full story.)

—Information is from the Associated Press