To Finish Up Year, Obama Will Hold A Press Conference

President Obama will close out 2014 with his traditional end-of-year press conference.

The press conference is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET., and it's bound to be eventful because Obama has a lot to talk about.

Among the news events that will likely come up:

— The normalization of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

— Obama's unilateral actions to delay the deportation of some 4 million immigrants.

— The Sony hack and whether North Korea had anything to do with it.

— The fight against the Islamic State.

— The end of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of the year.

— The protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

— The political realities of a Senate and House controlled by the GOP.

— His views on the Senate's "torture report."

NPR will air live coverage of the press conference and we'll blog it. Afterward, Obama will head to Hawaii for a vacation with his family.