Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Friday, March 11, 2016. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. WHAT TRUMP IS SAYING TO GOP RIVALS
The Republican front-runner uses the latest presidential debate to send a message to a party still wary of his insurgent candidacy: “Be smart and unify.”
2. OBAMA TRIP TO CUBA SHOWS MOVE AWAY FROM DISSIDENTS
The U.S. president is betting detente will do more to foment democracy than a half-century of support for critics of its single-party government.
3. TEARS, PRAYERS AS JAPAN MARKS TSUNAMI ANNIVERSARY
The disaster five years ago killed more than 18,000 people and left a devastated coastline along the northeast that has still not been fully rebuilt.
4. NANCY AND RONALD REAGAN, INSEPARABLE IN LIFE, TOGETHER AGAIN
The former first lady will be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, next to her husband.
5. HOW U.S. GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO COMBAT ZIKA
The spread of the virus in Latin America is boosting a British biotech firm’s proposal to deploy a genetically modified mosquito to try to stop transmission of the disease.
6. WHY PRESIDENT IS ADDRESSING TECH FESTIVAL IN TEXAS
Obama will encourage civic engagement and using technology to solve problems when he appears at the South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin.
7. FEDS SEEK RULES FOR SWIMS WITH HAWAII DOLPHINS
Scientists say human interest in the mammals is depriving them of rest, which can make them more vulnerable to predators and less efficient when seeking food.
8. LUCK OF THE IRISH TAKES NEW MEANING
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Ancestry.com says it’s making available 10 million Catholic parish records from Ireland — some dating to 1655 — for free to help people trace their Irish heritage.
9. TEDDY BEAR OFF ‘THREATENED’ LIST
The Louisiana black bear, the animal behind the “teddy’s bear” inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt, rebounds enough to pull it off the list of federally protected species.
10. ‘BUBBLE WATCH’ A NERVOUS TIME FOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Selection Sunday is just around the corner and a handful of teams will be sweating it out if they don’t manage to win their conference tournaments.