Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Monday, March 6, 2017. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. ANGRY WEEKEND COMPOUNDS TRUMP’S FRUSTRATIONS
Exasperated by leaks, errant messaging and his attorney general landing in hot water, the president fires off a series of tweets that only ensure more distractions.
2. NEW TRAVEL BAN APPEARS IMMINENT
The White House is expected to release a revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries and halting the nation’s refugee program.
3. NORTH KOREA FIRES FOUR MISSILES INTO THE SEA
The launch is an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.
4. HOW NORTH CAROLINA CHURCH THWARTED INVESTIGATORS
Several times, authorities probed reports that members of a secretive evangelical church were being beaten. And each time, church leaders ordered congregants to lie, the former members tell the AP.
5. MALAYSIA EXPELS NORTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR
It’s the latest sign of fraying relations between the countries over the poisoning of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader.
6. WHAT’S MISSING AMID POMP IN BEIJING
Well out of sight during the annual gathering of the Chinese parliament are the lawyers, rights activists and others whose detentions point to the country’s increasingly restrictive atmosphere.
7. $2.3B DEAL REALIGNS EUROPE’S AUTO INDUSTRY
French automaker PSA is buying General Motors’ money-losing European car business, creating Europe’s No. 2 automaker after Volkswagen.
8. WHO’S WOOING, WINNING PAKISTAN
The U.S. ally is being drawn deeper into China’s embrace and its promise of $46 billion in energy, infrastructure and industry investments.
9. EX-COP LINKS PHILIPPINE LEADER TO KILLINGS
A retired Philippine officer, testifying during a nationally televised Senate inquiry, links President Duterte, when he was a mayor, and his men to nearly 200 killings.
10. WHICH FLICK TOPPED WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
“Logan,” the R-rated “X-Men” starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, rakes in $85.3 million — among the biggest March openings ever.