15 Alexa News Skills to Stay in the Know

Alexa lets you stay abreast of the day's news with its included default Flash Briefing skill, which you can customize to your liking. But beyond that, there are more defined skills that offer in-depth looks at certain topics. From politics to sports to weather, here are the best news skills to add to Alexa.

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Alexa's default news skill is pretty convenient. Just say, "Alexa, what's my Flash Briefing?" to get a customized audio news report. You can pick from worldwide and local news sources, including NPR, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and more. In most cases, the sources get added to your Flash Briefing, and you can arrange the order in which you hear them.    

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Many news stations and newspapers offer skills so you can hear your local news in your Flash Briefing, whether you live in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, or anywhere else.    

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While Alexa can tell you the weather, it doesn't provide the detailed forecasts of Big Sky. This skill offers forecasts based on your street address, and can tell you what's expected on an hourly basis. You have to link your Big Sky account with Alexa for it to work.    

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Let the crew at Digg comb the Internet for the most interesting articles of the day, then give it to you as part of your Flash Briefing. You can pick from politics, tech, entertainment and sports.    

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Get science news from those who know what they're talking about. DNews is produced by Discovery News, and covers everything from technology breakthroughs to climate change.

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The Associated Press skill delivers a scan of the headlines in your Flash Briefing. It covers 11 categories, including world news, politics and health.    

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If you're a fan of Slate's take on the news, this weekly 90-second podcast focuses on two things you need to know and one thing you didn't need to know from the worlds of politics, culture and more.    

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