Dorothy Abernathy, The Associated Press bureau chief for West Virginia and Virginia, shares the 10 things you need to know Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items, upcoming events and stories in West Virginia newspapers.
1. SUICIDE BOMBER NEAR BAGHDAD KILLS 22
At least 15 of the dead were Sunni militiamen and the rest were soldiers, while 55 others were wounded, police say.
2. OFFICER IN MISSOURI SHOOTS, KILLS MAN WHO PULLS GUN, POLICE SAY
The officer fired several shots, striking and fatally wounding the man a few miles from Ferguson, Mo., where Michael Brown was shot and killed in August.
3. WHAT COULD SNARL HOLIDAY TRAVEL
Forecasters expect thunderstorms in the Gulf Coast to travel north and drop rain and snow across the Midwest, East Coast and South.
4. SONY ATTEMPTS TO CHART THE RIGHT COURSE WITH ‘INTERVIEW’ RELEASE
The studio’s flip-flop on putting the film in theaters shows it is working furiously to try to navigate through political and public-opinion minefields.
5. FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE HW BUSH IN HOSPITAL
Bush, 90, was taken by ambulance to Houston Methodist Hospital as a “precaution” after experiencing shortness of breath.
6. FATAL STORMS SLAM SOUTHERN US
Severe storms in Mississippi kill four people and injure several more, with some trapped in the rubble of damaged homes in one county.
7. COLD WAR-ERA FUGITIVES COULD BE POINT OF CONTENTION BETWEEN US-CUBA
Legal experts say that without a functioning extradition treaty, the U.S. has to depend on Cuba to kick them out or deny them entry.
8. WHY SOME ACTIVISTS SAY EASING OF BLOOD DONATIONS BAN BY GAY, BISEXUAL MEN ISN’T ENOUGH
The new policy would require men who have sex to be celibate for a year before donating, something advocates say creates a stigma.
9. CALIFORNIA JUDGE JUST SAYS NO TO WEED ON WHEELS
The judge issued an injunction against a mobile phone app that facilitated medical marijuana delivery in Los Angeles.
10. WHO’S TRACKING SANTA AS HE’S COMIN’ TO TOWN
Volunteers at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, are all set to track St. Nick’s sleigh and notify watchful kiddies via social media of his current location.
