Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:
1. 'A FEW PASSENGERS WERE VERY STRONG'
The terrifying string of events on Southwest Flight 1380 brought out acts of bravery among passengers and crew — and drew praise for the pilot who guided the plane safely to the ground.
2. WHO'LL FOLLOW RAUL CASTRO AS CUBAN PRESIDENT
With the Castro era closing, 57-seven-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez is picked as the sole candidate for the post.
3. ONCE AGAIN, ISLAND GOES DARK
An island-wide blackout hits Puerto Rico, which is struggling with an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria.
4. WHY FACT-FINDING MISSION HAS BEEN DELAYED
Assailants open fire at a U.N. security team visiting the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, forcing it to return to its base.
5. BUSH FAMILY EXPRESSES THANKS
Former President George H.W. Bush says the outpouring of love and friendship toward Barbara Bush following her death "is lifting us all up."
6. WITNESS SAYS COSBY ACCUSER SPOKE OF PLOT
The chief accuser at the comedian's sexual assault retrial talked about framing a celebrity before going to police with her allegations, a key defense witness testifies.
7. MAKER OF BUMP STOCKS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS
The announcement by industry leader Slide Fire comes after Trump said his administration would ban the devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to shoot continuously.
8. WHAT'S FRESH REMINDER OF 'RETAIL RACISM'
The handcuffed arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks is the latest example of the different treatment that African-Americans and minorities frequently face at stores and restaurants.
9. PLANET-HUNTING SPACECRAFT LAUNCHED
NASA's Tess spacecraft embarks on a quest to find planets around neighboring stars that might support life.
10. HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER ARRIVES IN RIYADH
Saudi Arabia holds a private screening of "Black Panther" to herald the launch of movie theaters in the kingdom.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.