Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. MORE HEARTBREAK IN HOLLYWOOD
Debbie Reynolds, the mother of Carrie Fisher and star of the 1952 classic ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ dies at 84, one day after Fisher, her son said.
2. JOHN KERRY TEARS INTO ISRAEL
The secretary of state accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging Israel away from democracy and rejects the notion that U.S. abandoned Israel with the recent U.N. vote.
3. DONALD TRUMP TOUTS JOB CREATION PLAN, MAKES NICE WITH OBAMA
The promise to bring 8,000 jobs to the U.S. follows a meeting with Masayoshi Son, a Japanese tech billionaire who owns mobile carrier Sprint. Trump later says he and Obama “had a very nice conservation” after a brief episode of tension between the two.
4. WHO DIDN’T HAVE A STAR ON HOLLYWOOD’S WALK OF FAME
Fans of Carrie Fisher, who is best known for her role as Princess Leia, have created one.
5. OBAMA’S LAST-MINUTE EFFORT TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
The departing president names two national monuments at sites in Utah and Nevada that have become flashpoints over use of public land in the U.S. West.
6. ‘ALEXA, COULD YOU (AND OTHER SMART DEVICES) BE SUBPOENED?’
The hypothetical question is at the center of an Arkansas murder case in which prosecutors are seeking to obtain data from an Amazon Echo smart speaker.
7. WHAT’S NEW IN SYRIA
Syrian opposition factions say Turkey and Russia are discussing the contours of a broader Syrian cease-fire after brokering a deal that evacuated rebel-held Aleppo.
8. HOW A WOMAN SURVIVED A 26-MILE TREK THROUGH SNOWY ARIZONA BACKCOUNTRY
She did so by eating twigs and snow and a desire to rescue her stranded husband and 10-year-old son.
9. THE LATEST IN THE CHARLESTON CHURCH TRIAL
Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof says he won’t call witnesses or present evidence as he represents himself in the death penalty trial.
10. THIS COULD BE USED TO KEEP ASTHMA AT BAY
A new study suggests mothers who took high doses of fish oil late in their pregnancy had children who were less likely to develop asthma and other wheezing problems.
