The regional bureau of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. BLACKFACE SCANDAL UNDERLINES “FESTERING WOUND” OF RACISM
The crisis engulfing involving Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam came on the first day of Black History Month and as Virginians prepared to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the settlement of Jamestown.
2. TOM BRADY AND BILL BELICHICK DO IT AGAIN
In a Super Bowl only New England could love, the Patriots won their sixth title by lumbering their way to a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
3. VOWS, PLEDGES AND PROMISES
President Trump whiffed on some lofty goals laid out in last year’s State of the Union address, like his call for an overhaul of immigration laws and a “great wall on our southern border,” but scored victories on prison and sentencing overhauls and in giving terminally ill patients more treatment options.
4. VENEZUELA OPPOSITION LEADER GETS BOOST FROM EUROPE
Germany, Spain, France, the U.K. and Sweden have announced that they are recognizing Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president and are urging him to hold a new presidential election.
5. PONTIFF’S HISTORIC TRIP TO MUSLIM NATION IN GULF
Francis’ speech to a gathering of faith leaders will be the highlight of his brief, 40-hour visit to Abu Dhabi, the first to the Arabian Peninsula by a pope.
6. FIVE KILLED IN CALIFORNIA AIRCRAFT INCIDENT
The male pilot — the only person in the twin-engine Cessna — and four people in a house that caught fire died, after the plane apparently came apart, raining debris across the Yorba Linda neighborhood.
7. WILL PRESIDENT’S RE-ELECTION BID HAVE REPUBLICAN COMPETITORS
Worried about a potential Republican primary challenge, Donald Trump’s campaign has launched a state-by-state effort to prevent an intraparty fight that could spill over into the general-election campaign.
8. WHERE CRUCIAL AFGHANISTAN NEGOTIATIONS STAND
The U.S. and the Taliban are reportedly close to a deal to withdraw U.S. forces after 17 years of war. There are still plenty of obstacles to an agreement.
9. A PERSONAL VIEW OF BRAZIL’S BREACHED DAM DISASTER
Photographer Leo Correa traveled to Brumadinho on assignment for The Associated Press on the day a mining dam collapsed and spent nearly a week documenting the tragedy.
10. RENOWNED SWISS CONDUCTOR BACK DESPITE SCANDAL
Charles Dutoit has returned to a major world stage for the first time since 10 women accused him of sexual assault and harassment — and he earned repeated ovations from the awed Paris audience.
