The regional bureau of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. TRUMP LINKS DRUGS, CRIME TO LACK OF BORDER WALL
In a televised plea from the Oval Office, the president urges congressional Democrats to fund his border wall, but Democrats accused the Republican of appealing to “fear, not facts.”
2. AUSTRALIA WILL ASSESS RUNAWAY SAUDI WOMAN FOR SETTLEMENT
The move comes as 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun was deemed a refugee by the United Nations.
3. KIM JONG UN HEADS HOME FROM BEIJING
The North Korean leader’s trip to China — his fourth in the past 10 months — was believed to be an effort to coordinate with his only major ally ahead of a possible second summit with Trump.
4. WHERE A STRIKE SEEMS INEVITABLE
Teachers in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest school district, are ready to walk out over a contract dispute.
5. WHAT TRUMP SAID WENT ‘VERY WELL’
Financial markets rally as U.S. and Chinese envoys wrap up three days of talks designed to end a protracted tariff war.
6. CHINA ALLOWING ETHNIC KAZAKHS TO LEAVE XINJIANG
The move is a sign that Beijing may be starting to feel a backlash against its sweeping crackdown on Muslims in the far west region.
7. AUSTRALIA POLICE EXAMINING PACKAGES LEFT AT CONSULATES
Several foreign missions are evacuated in Melbourne and Canberra after they received suspicious packages.
8. KURDS’ AMBITIONS CAUGHT IN POWER GAMES
The ethnic group has gotten close to setting up their own state or autonomous regions on several occasions only to have their dreams shattered by world powers, and now Turkey is bearing down on them in northern Syria where the U.S. allies helped rout the Islamic State group.
9. SEATTLE BRACES FOR HISTORIC TRAFFIC SQUEEZE
A major thoroughfare for commuters along the downtown waterfront is shutting down for good, ushering in a painful traffic period for the booming Pacific Northwest city.
10. NETWORKS FACT-CHECK TRUMP SPEECH
TV pundits move swiftly to correct or challenge Trump following his Oval Office speech on the proposed border wall.
