Dorothy Abernathy, The Associated Press bureau chief for West Virginia and Virginia, shares the 10 things you need to know Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items, upcoming events and stories in West Virginia newspapers.
1. ART DIDN’T IMITATE LIFE – SENATE REPORT SAYS TORTURE DIDN’T HELP BIN LADEN HUNT
Investigators discredit long-held CIA assertion, which was also depicted in the film “Zero Dark Thirty,” that so-called enhanced interrogation techniques helped locate the al-Qaida leader.
2. OBAMA STRUGGLES TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM BUSH LEGACY
The Senate CIA report brings the brutal practices under the former president back into the public domain, overshadowing the current administration’s moves to curb torture.
3. WHOSE VERDICT CAN BE APPEALED
A South African judge gives the go-ahead for prosecutors to appeal the acquittal of double-amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius on murder charges.
4. EBOLA PATIENT ZERO BRINGS STIGMA TO GUINEAN VILLAGE
A two-year-old boy was the first victim of the current outbreak in West Africa. His hometown is struggling with the grief, poverty and desertion that the disease has brought.
5. FINAL HOURS FOR HONG KONG DEMOCRACY PROTEST CAMP
Demonstrators vow to stay until the last minute before authorities clear them from their encampment in a busy business district.
6. CONGRESS TESTS SPENDING BILL
A massive $1.1 trillion proposal would avert a government shutdown. But both Democrats and Republicans have misgivings about its details.
7. WHERE JOB CREATION IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE
France’s Socialist-led government is struggling to stem the rise of unemployment, which has crossed the 10% threshold.
8. HUMPBACKS FLOCKING TO NYC WATERS
Naturalists are marveling at the frequent sightings of one of the biggest species ever to live on the planet within miles of the Empire State Building.
9. HOW PRINCE WILLIAM REACTED TO BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF NYC
“Wow, this is great!” the monarch says after stepping out of the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building.
10. NFL’S CAM NEWTON INJURED
The Panthers quarterback suffers fractures to his lower back in a two-vehicle crash near the team’s stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
