The regional bureau of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Thursday, March 1, 2018. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. TRUMP: I ‘WILL MISS HAVING HER BY MY SIDE’
Hope Hicks quits as White House communications chief, leaving a void around a president who values loyalty and affirmation.
2. RIFT BETWEEN CORPORATE AMERICA, GUN LOBBY GROWS
Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods have taken steps to restrict gun sales following moves by MetLife, Hertz and Delta Air Lines, which have cut ties with the NRA after the school massacre in Florida.
3. RUSSIAN ELECTION ASSAULT POSES QUANDARY FOR 2018 CAMPAIGNS
Candidates running in midterm elections are doing all they can to prevent email hacks and elaborate misinformation schemes like the ones Moscow used to disrupt the 2016 campaign.
4. HOW ACTIVIST GROUPS ARE BACKING TRANSGENDER TROOPS
They are turning to TV ads to pressure the White House into allowing transgender people to keep serving in the military.
5. STUDENTS FACE FEARS ON RETURN TO SCENE OF SHOOTING
Florida students who returned to school two weeks after a mass shooting say they were haunted by fresh memories, but heartened by an outpouring of support.
6. REPORT: KUSHNER ACCEPTED LOANS AFTER WHITE HOUSE MEETING
The New York Times says that two companies made loans worth more than half a billion dollars to Kushner’s family real estate firm after executives met with Trump’s senior adviser.
7. AFTER OLYMPICS, SOUTH KOREA MULLS REVIVING BULLDOZED FOREST
Seoul faces questions surrounding the long-term environmental consequences of hosting an expensive sports event in one of its poorest, oldest and underpopulated areas.
8. WHAT IS SPORTS BETTING’S BIGGEST WAGER
Even if states are allowed to offer legal gambling, the popularity of daily fantasy sports has created a generation of sports fans more obsessed with player statistics than point spreads.
9. AP-NORC POLL: NEARLY 6 IN 10 AMERICANS SAY TRUMP IS A RACIST
And large numbers of those polled also say they think the president’s policies have made things worse for African-Americans, Hispanics and Muslims.
10. WHO IS INDIA’S NEWEST GOLFING STAR
At just 21 and competing in his first World Golf Championship this week in Mexico, Shubhankar Sharma has replaced Anirban Lahiri as the country’s top golfer.