10 Things to Know for Thursday December 26, 2013

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

  1. RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS SAY YASSER ARAFAT DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES  They say there is no indication that the Palestinian leader was poisoned by radioactive polonium.   RUSSIA-ARAFAT'S DEATH

2. WHY JAPAN LEADER'S WORLD WAR II SHRINE VISIT IRKS ASIAN NEIGHBORS  China and South Korea say it glorifies Japan's militaristic past.   JAPAN-YASUKUNI

3. SILENT NIGHT, DARK NIGHT FOR SOME IN U.S., CANADA  Thousands of people left without electricity due to ice storms might not get power restored until Friday.   ICE STORM-POWER

4. ANNIVERSARY OF MAO'S BIRTHDAY MARKED IN CHINA  Communist Party leaders pay tribute to Mao Zedong, and censors work to remove criticism of him from social media.   CHINA-MAO ANNIVERSARY

5. HOW AMERICANS ARE FEELING ABOUT 2013  A new AP poll indicates that 46 percent of respondents feel 2013 was about the same for them as 2012, 20 percent say it was worse, and 32 percent say it was better.   POLL-NEW YEAR'S EVE

6. ABDUCTED DEVELOPMENT WORKER'S PLEA FOR HELP  Warren Weinstein, the elderly American kidnapped from Pakistan in 2011, has appeared in a new video asking President Obama to negotiate his release.   PAKISTAN-AMERICAN ABDUCTED

7. WHICH ETHNIC TRADITIONS AMONG MYANMAR'S TRIBES ARE DISAPPEARING  As Myanmar opens up after decades of military rule, tribes like the Chin and Maun give up customs like facial tattooing and use of tribal dialects.   MYANMAR PORTRAITS-TRIBES IN TRANSITION

8. WHAT REPUBLICANS AGREE ON ABOUT THE HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL'S POTENTIAL  The GOP wants to use the overhaul's bumpy trajectory as leverage in 2014 midterm elections, but can't agree on a strategy for opposing it.   HEALTH CARE-GOP PRIMARIES

9. SENEGAL CHILD BEGGARS EXPLOITED BY TEACHERS  Authorities have yet to arrest anyone months after a fire killed eight children crammed into a room where they were living as Islamic religious pupils often forced to beg.   SENEGAL-CHILD BEGGARS

10. WHO IS TRYING TO BROKER PEACE IN SOUTH SUDAN  The presidents of Kenya and Ethiopia will meet with South Sudan's president, hoping to mediate an increasingly deadly conflict.   SOUTH SUDAN-VIOLENCE