Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Friday, Jan. 13, 2017. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. DEMOCRATS FIND TRUMP’S PICKS MORE REASONABLE THAN TRUMP
If there are going to be fireworks in the Senate over Cabinet nominees, they’re yet to come after nearly one week with various statements from some of the picks contradicting Trump’s own oft-stated positions on issues.
2. DOJ TO RELEASE REPORT ON CHICAGO POLICE ABUSES
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pushed through some reforms over the year, though the report is likely to call for additional, more sweeping change.
3. AL-QAIDA OPERATIVES UNDER SIEGE IN SYRIA
The U.S. is targeting senior commanders of the extremist group at an unprecedented rate, killing more than 50 members and its militant allies in the past two weeks.
4. WHAT’S TRIPPING APPLICANTS AT BORDER AGENCY
Only about one of every three job seekers pass U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s lie detector, AP finds, raising questions about whether qualified candidates are being treated unfairly.
5. ‘WET FOOT, DRY FOOT’ POLICY OVER
Obama’s decision ending automatic legal residency for any Cuban who touches U.S. soil means ordinary citizens have no easy pathway to a new life in America.
6. MILLENNIALS WORSE-OFF THAN BABY BOOMERS
With a median household income of $40,581, they earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same stage of life, an analysis by Young Invincibles finds.
7. NINTENDO SWITCH GAME CONSOLE TO LAUNCH IN MARCH
Players can detach the sides of the remote controller section, use the Switch as a regular handheld, put the display on a table, or use a TV screen as a monitor.
8. ‘WAITER, I’LL HAVE THE FISH AND CHIRPS’
Farmers are raising alternative livestock that they say are more ecologically sound than meat but that are sure to bug some people out: crickets.
9. AVERSE TO TRUMP, POETS FIGHT BACK WITH WORDS
Some, like this weekend’s “Writers Resist” rallies, are overtly in protest; others are merely an attempt to find a little solace and beauty in words.
10. SKI RESORTS HAVE AN UNUSUAL PROBLEM — TOO MUCH SNOW
Some have even had to close down as resorts in Colorado and elsewhere out West are blanketed in.
