The regional bureau of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. WHAT THE PONTIFF KNEW AND FOR HOW LONG
Pope Francis received a victim’s letter in 2015 with details about sexual abuse at the hands of a priest and a cover-up by Chilean church authorities, challenging his insistence that he has “zero tolerance” for such matters, The AP exclusively learns.
2. WHO GUIDED HIS TEAM TO AN UNPRECEDENTED VICTORY
Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to a comeback 41-33 win over the New England Patriots, capping a season he began as a backup and ended as Super Bowl MVP.
3. CIVIL RIGHTS HERO SEEN AS WRONG CHOICE FOR AUTO AD
A Ram truck ad that used a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., is drawing a backlash. Viewers and ad experts alike say it forges too tenuous a connection with the slain Nobel Peace Prize winner.
4. U.S. SOLDIERS MOVING ON AFTER HARD-FOUGHT BATTLES
American troops have started to draw down and are being transported from Iraq to Afghanistan following Baghdad’s declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year.
5. TRIAL BEGINS FOR ONLY SURVIVING SUSPECT OF 2015 PARIS ATTACKS
Salah Abdeslam is on trial in his hometown of Brussels on charges of attempted murder and the court hearing on Monday was his first appearance in public since his arrest nearly two years ago.
6. WINTER GAMES COULD ASSIST DEFROSTING RELATIONS
North Korea’s titular head of state, Kim Yong Nam, is coming to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Olympics. After one of the worst years in an acrimonious relationship, even ceremonial heads of state will help.
7. AS WASHINGTON DITHERS, LOCALS TAKE ACTION ON GUN CONTROL
A handful of states and some cities are moving ahead with bans on bump stocks, the device that allowed the Las Vegas shooter’s semi-automatic rifles to mimic the rapid fire of machine guns.
8. TRUMP’S DEPUTY TAKING WASN’T THERE APPROACH TO PROBLEMS
With a full schedule of political and international travel for the rest of 2018, Vice President Pence is managing to avoid some of the biggest controversies of the Trump administration.
9. MORE US TEENS IDENTIFY AS TRANSGENDER
New research suggests that far more U.S. teenagers are transgender or gender nonconforming than previously thought.
10. ONE MORE COURT APPEARANCE FOR ABUSIVE PHYSICIAN
Former sports doctor Larry Nassar, on trial again for his serial sexual abuse of girls and young women, will be given his final sentence in the case that has shaken Michigan State University and elite sports associations.
