The regional bureau of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. HOW FAST DERAILED TRAIN WAS GOING
Federal officials confirmed an Amtrak train was hurtling 50 mph over the speed limit when it careened off an overpass south of Seattle, spilling cars onto the highway below and killing at least three people.
2. $1.5T FINAL TAX BILL SET FOR FINAL APPROVAL
Republicans in Congress are set to catapult sweeping $1.5 trillion tax legislation through the House, rolling over a dozen GOP defectors from high-tax states.
3. WHO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BLAMES FOR BIG RANSOMWARE ATTACK
President Donald Trump’s administration is publicly blaming North Korea for a ransomware attack that infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide in May and crippled parts of Britain’s National Health Service.
4. WHAT MAY AID ASSAD AS HE EYES SYRIA’S IDLIB
A recent wave of detentions and a spate of violence within al-Qaida have also raised fears of an all-out war between insurgents in the heavily populated province near Turkey as President Bashar Assad’s forces seek to reassert his authority in the only remaining province in Syria where they have almost no presence.
5. CHINA URGES US TO ACCEPT ITS RISE
The Chinese government is criticizing Trump’s decision to label Beijing a strategic rival and called on Washington to “abandon a Cold War mentality.”
6. WHY ORPHANAGES ARE EMPTYING IN SOME COUNTRIES
From Eastern Europe to China to the African nation of Rwanda, intensive efforts are underway to get children out of orphanages.
7. HOW MANY MIGRANTS UN SAYS THERE ARE NOW
A U.N. report says an estimated 258 million people have left their birth countries and are now living in other nations — an increase of 49 percent since 2000.
8. SNOWFALL IMPACTS BOTTOM LINE FOR BUSINESSES AND OLYMPIANS
With winters growing warmer and ski seasons starting later, billions of dollars are at stake for the ski industry.
9. HOW MUSIC COULD DO MORE THAN COMFORT THE SICK
The National Institutes of Health is bringing together musicians, music therapists and neuroscientists to tap into the brain’s circuitry and figure out how.
10. LAKERS RETIRE NOT ONE, BUT TWO BRYANT JERSEYS
The Lakers owner explained the reasoning behind the team’s decision to hang two jersey numbers for Kobe Bryant: “If you separated each of the accomplishments under those numbers, each of those players would qualify for the Hall of Fame.”