Dorothy Abernathy, The Associated Press bureau chief for West Virginia and Virginia, shares the 10 things you need to know Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items, upcoming events and stories in West Virginia newspapers.
1. POLICE CASES CONVERGE TO STIR NATIONAL DEBATE
Thousands of diverse demonstrators protest for a second night around the U.S. after a New York grand jury cleared a white police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.
2. EXPERTS: CAMERAS WORN BY POLICE NO SURE THING
Police officers in one of every six departments around the country wear tiny cameras. Yet even with video evidence, experts say grand juries usually side with officers.
3. NASA LAUNCHES NEW SPACECRAFT
Orion streaks toward orbit on a high-stakes test flight meant to usher in a new era of human exploration leading ultimately to Mars.
4. IN KENYA, POLICE KILL SUSPECTS WITH NEAR-IMPUNITY
Evidence is mounting that many ordinary cops on the beat have turned into killers — doling out death to terror suspects, civilians, even children.
5. ARRESTS MADE IN BALKAN WAR MASSACRE
Police in Serbia and Bosnia detain 15 people in an atrocity that traumatized the region and came to symbolize a culture of impunity.
6. DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE BRINGS DIFFERENT OUTLOOK
AP’s Robert Burns says how Ashton Carter would pursue Obama’s defense agenda — or use his influence to bend it in new directions — is not readily apparent.
7. ABUSED WOMEN FACE LONELY STRUGGLE IN PAKISTAN
Domestic violence in the Muslim-majority country is still widely seen as a private matter, with police and prosecutors showing little interest in pursuing perpetrators.
8. ‘OBAMACARE’ COSTS GOING UP, ADMINISTRATION WARNS
Premiums for the most popular type of plan will rise an average of 5 percent in many states this year — and another 5 percent in 2015.
9. BILL COSBY COUNTERS SEX-ASSAULT CLAIM
A California woman’s lawsuit was filed only after her lawyer failed to extort $250,000 from the TV icon, the entertainer’s attorney says.
10. HOW ‘BOUT THEM COWBOYS
DeMarco Murray runs for 179 yards and a touchdown, Tony Romo throws for three scores and Dallas beat the Chicago Bears 41-28.
