Dorothy Abernathy, The Associated Press bureau chief for West Virginia and Virginia, shares the 10 things you need to know Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items, upcoming events and stories in West Virginia newspapers:
1. LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR JAN. 1 HEALTH CARE
Today’s 24-hour extension allows Americans more time to enroll for insurance plans that start on New Year’s Day.
2. UTAH TURNS TO HIGHER COURT IN BID TO END GAY MARRIAGE
Hundreds of couples rush to wed as the state tries again to win a court order halting same-sex marriage.
3. EGYPT LABELS BROTHERHOOD A `TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’
The interim government accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating a deadly bomb attack on a police complex north of Cairo.
4. HOLIDAY SHOPPING SLOWS
Sales at U.S. stores have fallen for three consecutive weeks, putting pressure on retailers to lift last-minute sales.
5. NEWLY FREED PUSSY RIOT MEMBER SPEAKS OUT
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova calls her early release by Putin a stunt, and urges a boycott of the Winter Olympics.
6. GAY CODE-BREAKER GIVEN ROYAL PARDON
Briton Alan Turing cracked Nazi codes to help win WWII, yet his sexuality led to a criminal conviction and subsequent suicide.
7. DESIGNER OF AK-47 RIFLE DIES AT 94
Mikhail Kalashnikov created what has become the world’s most popular firearm.
8. WHAT WAS THE TOP STORY OF 2013
AP’s poll of U.S. news editors puts the troubled `Obamacare’ rollout at number one, followed by the Boston bombing and the papal handover.
9. AUBURN’S GUS MALZAHN NAMED AP COACH OF THE YEAR
He has the No. 2 Tigers in the national championship game after directing one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history.
10. HOW MANY VIDEO GAMES ZAP THE WORLD RECORD
A New York man’s collection of 10,607 titles earns him the new Guinness record.
