5 Things to Know This Friday Dec. 7

1. Tsunami Alert Lifted After 7.3 Magnitude Quake Rattles Japan

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan on Friday in the same area that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami last year. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Tsunami warnings have all been lifted.

2. Clinton Talks Syria with U.N., Russian Officials

Diplomatic efforts to end Syria's civil war moved forward on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joining Russia's foreign minister and the U.N. peace envoy to the Arab country for talks about Syria's future. The talks suggested that Washington and Moscow may finally unite behind a strategy as the Assad regime weakens.

Software tycoon John McAfee has been released from a hospital in Guatemala and sent back to the immigration detention center. McAfee was hospitalized on Thursday after he was denied political asylum in Guatemala.

4. Man Found Dead After Leaving Girlfriend in Car After Snowstorm

A man who left his vehicle to search for help after he and his girlfriend got stuck in a snowstorm in Sierra has been found dead but his girlfriend survived. Paula Lane was found walking along a highway on Wednesday night. She is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

5. U.S. Students Weak on Vocabulary

U.S. students knew only about half of what they were expected to on a new vocabulary section of a national exam, according to new research on the nation's reading education. Eighth grade students scored an average of 265 out of 500 in vocabulary on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress.