10 Things to Know for Today: 12-24

12/24/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Russia-Obit-Kalashnikov-4

    FILE- In this Wednesday, Oct. 29, 1997 file photo Mikhail Kalashnikov shows a model of his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle at home in the Ural Mountain city of Izhevsk, 1000 km (625 miles) east of Moscow, Russia. Kalashnikov, whose work as a weapons designer for the Soviet Union is immortalized in the name of the world’s most popular firearm, died Monday at the age of 94 in a hospital of the city of Izhevsk where he lived. The AK-47 has been favored by guerrillas, terrorists and the soldiers of many armies. An estimated 100 million guns are spread worldwide. (AP Photo/Vladimir Vyatkin, File)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

    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.