Cyber Spat: The US has slapped new sanctions on North Korea in retaliation for the hacking attack on Sony Pictures …. despite doubts among private sleuths that North Korea was actually behind it. The sanctions target 10 public officials and several defense industries. In the case of the business sanctions it’s a toothless punishment … they’re already under international sanctions.

AirAsia: Sonar has located four major pieces of the AirAsia jet that plunged into the Java Sea, but the water is too rough for recovery. The biggest part is 59 feet long. Forty-six bodies have been pulled from the water and investigators suspect many more may be trapped in the fuselage.

Lord Jim: Coast guard vessels have recovered a 240-foot ship carrying 450 migrants after the crew abandoned its passengers and ship in the Ionian Sea. It’s the second time in a week this has happened. Three days earlier another ship carrying 796 migrants was similarly ditched by its crew. Some reports say the ships are set on autopilot on a crash course for the coast. Investigators believe Turkish smugglers are buying junk cargo vessels, charging immigrants high fees, then abandoning them to fate.

Nation: A Libyan man accused of being one of the plotters of the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania has died in custody of the effects of hepatitis C. A team of Delta Force soldiers had grabbed Abu Anas al-Libi off the street in Tripoli. He was supposed to go to trial Jan. 12. He had the disease when he was captured.

Political Fall: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid fell off a piece of exercise equipment yesterday, breaking some ribs and bones in his face. Reid was at home using a device with a stiff rubber band, which snapped, hitting him and knocking him over. The 75-year-old Reid was released from the hospital in Las Vegas and says he’ll be at work in Washington on Tuesday.

Ticket to Ride: Long lines wrapped around motor vehicle offices in California yesterday as illegal immigrants for the first time were allowed to apply for drivers’ licenses. The licenses will be marked as unacceptable for federal identification such as getting on an airplane. The legislature passed the law to make sure that all California drivers are tested, licensed, and insured.

NooYawk’s Finest: New York Police Chief William Bratton has finally spoken up and told his cops not to turn their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio at today’s wake and Sunday’s funeral for a murdered officer. The cops say de Blasio has fed an anti-police attitude. Bratton wrote in a memo, “I remind you that when you don the uniform of this department, you are bound by the tradition, honor and decency that go with it.”

The Royals: Britain’s Prince Andrew has been named in a lawsuit by an American woman claiming she was forced to have sex with him when she was a minor. It’s part of many years of litigation involving US financier Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of Andrew’s, who had a taste for underage women. Andrew is the younger brother of Charles, The Man Who Would Be King. The palace denies Andrew’s involvement, but if it’s true … finally, that guy has made himself interesting.

The Obit Page: Donna Douglas, the buxom blonde who played Elly May Clampett in the 1960s sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” has died at age 82. Douglas filled the role of the simple country girl as well as a tight shirt and jeans. Despite its insufferable folksiness, the show ran from 1962 to 1971.

The Darwin Files: A couple of Florida drug addicts spent three days in a janitor’s closet on the campus of Daytona State College’s Marine and Environmental Science Center believing they were locked in. Finally they called 911 and when the police arrived they found that the door doesn’t lock.

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