Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Thursday, July 21, 2016. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. IT’S TRUMP’S MOMENT TO TALK TO THE NATION — AND GOP DOUBTERS
The most important speech of his presidential campaign will bring down the balloons on a convention marked by divided loyalties and unwanted distractions.
2. CRUZ JEERED AS HE REFUSES TO ENDORSE TRUMP
The Texas senator tries to link arms with Republicans at the party’s national convention but is booed lustily by delegates when he ended his speech without offering the New York billionaire his endorsement.
3. TURKISH LAWMAKERS SET TO APPROVE STATE OF EMERGENCY
The declaration will give the government sweeping powers to expand a crackdown that has already included mass arrests and the closure of hundreds of schools.
4. APPEALS COURT ORDERS TEXAS TO FIX ITS VOTER ID LAW
The court ruled that the law discriminates against minorities and the poor and must be weakened before the November elections.
5. FLORIDA MOSQUITOES BEING TESTED FOR ZIKA TO CONFIRM CASE
Mosquitoes trapped in the Miami area could determine whether a woman with the virus is the first person infected by a bite in the continental United States.
6. HOW BATON ROUGE GUNMAN DESCRIBED HIS ACTIONS
Gavin Long, who ambushed and killed three law enforcement officers in Louisiana, purportedly described his actions as a “necessary evil” in a handwritten manifesto.
7. ISRAEL TAKES ON SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS
A new law in the works aims to force Facebook and other platforms to take down content Jerusalem deems as fueling violence.
8. A DISASTROUS BITTER WINTER FOR PERU’S ALPACA FARMERS
Sub-zero temperatures are killing thousands of alpacas that are the only livelihood for millions of poor families in the Andes.
9. COMIC-CON LAUNCHES WITH PREVIEW NIGHT, ‘STAR TREK’ PREMIERE
Zombies, Stormtroopers, superheroes and Starfleet officers begin crawling, marching, flying and beaming into San Diego for that other big convention this week.
10. RUSSIA LOSES APPEAL AGAINST TRACK AND FIELD BAN
The Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds the sanctions imposed by the IAAF following allegations of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups.