10 things to know for today, Dec. 31

Published 7:59 am Wednesday, December 31, 2014

By The Associated  Press

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

1. WHAT’S HINDERING INDONESIA PLANE CRASH RECOVERY

Bad weather is slowing efforts to find victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 — 7 bodies have so far been recovered — and rough seas are sending wreckage drifting away from the crash site.

2. WORLD BEGINS RINGING IN NEW YEAR

Auckland, New Zealand counts down the new year with a huge fireworks display launching at midnight. In the wings, more than 1 million people are expected to flock to Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, and New York will drop its trademark Waterford crystal ball.

3. PALESTINIANS MAY SEEK INT’L CRIMINAL COURT MEMBERSHIP

The Palestinians have long vowed to join the ICC in order to press charges against Israel for alleged war crimes.

4. NINE DEAD, INCLUDING TWO CHILDREN, IN RAMPAGE IN CANADA

Edmonton’s police chief blames a domestic dispute for the “senseless mass murder.”

5. CHILD ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTS, KILLS MOTHER AT WAL-MART

The little boy reached into Veronica J. Rutledge’s purse and her concealed gun fired, according to the Kootenai County, Idaho, sheriff’s department.

6. HOW EBOLA OUTBREAK MAY HAVE BEGUN

Researchers tentatively trace the outbreak’s origin to a hollow tree where infected bats lived in a small village in Guinea.

7. RED SQUARE RALLY LEADS TO ARRESTS

Demonstrators were protesting the court conviction of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his brother.

8. WHO MAKES DEBUT AT SAN DIEGO ZOO

A four-day-old baby gorilla, as yet unnamed, is shown to the public as his mother cradles and nurses him.

9. HOW SOUTH KOREAN ACTIVIST PLANS TO SEND ‘THE INTERVIEW’ NORTH

Park Sang-hak says he will launch balloons carrying DVDs of the controversial comedy toward North Korea, where it’s banned.

10. RAVENS SECURITY DIRECTOR FACES SEX OFFENSE CHARGE

Darren Sanders is charged with fourth-degree sexual offense, related to an incident that occurred Dec. 14, court records show.