10 Things to Know for Thursday December 19, 2013

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

1. WILL OBAMA REIN IN NSA SPYING  A White House report says phone snooping should be limited, but the President doesn't have to act on it. OBAMA NSA SURVEILLANCE

2. SENATE DEAL ON GUANTANAMO TRANSFERS  Up to half the 160 terror suspects held there could be sent home under a bill likely to pass the Senate today. OBAMA GUANTANAMO

3. U.S. EXECUTIONS NEAR 20-YEAR LOW  High-profile legal mistakes and a shortage of lethal drugs may be behind the decline, with only 39 inmates executed this year.   EXECUTIONS DECLINE

4. INDIAN DIPLOMAT IN 'BLACKMAIL' CLAIM  The latest twist in the diplomatic row: Indian officials say their New York deputy consul had accused her maid of blackmail.  INDIA US DIPLOMAT

5. WHO IS VISITING THE HERMIT KINDGOM  Days after a leadership purge, Dennis Rodman flies into Pyongyang to meet Kim Jong Un and train the national basketball team.  NKOREA RODMAN

6. OBAMA'S LATE FATHER 'WAS ABUSIVE'  President's China-based half-brother details domestic abuse claims in his new autobiography.  CHINA-OBAMA BROTHER'S BOOK

7. WHY WOMEN ARE LEADING ISLAMIC PROTESTS IN CAIRO  A crackdown by Egypt's new rulers has forced many male members of the Muslim Brotherhood into hiding.  EGYPT MUSLIM SISTERHOOD

8. WHAT NEW GUIDELINES MEAN FOR PEOPLE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE  Many older adults may not need to take as many pills for the condition, an expert panel concludes.  BLOOD PRESSURE

9. WHERE IS THE MYSTERY MILLIONAIRE  Georgia's Ira Curry will collect half the $636 million Mega Millions jackpot, but the California winner is yet to come forward.  MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT

10. GAY SLURS SINK 'DUCK DYNASTY' STAR  Patriarch Phil Robertson is off the reality show after slamming homosexuals as sinners in a magazine interview.  DUCK DYNASTY