Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. BUSH STRONG IN GOP DEBATE BUT IT MAY NOT MATTER
With little more than six weeks before voting begins, the former Florida governor is struggling for relevancy in a presidential election.
2. FEARING REVENGE IN IRAQI TOWN BRUTALIZED BY EXTREMISTS
The Islamic State militants who stormed into Sinjar last year, massacring members of the Yazidi minority, are gone. But for Sunni Muslims who lived there for generations the nightmare is far from over.
3. WHAT EMAILED THREATS TO NY, LA HIGHLIGHT
The divergent responses from the nation’s two biggest K-12 public school systems show that deciding whether or not a threat is credible is hardly a mathematical process.
4. FEDERAL RESERVE RATE INCREASE FINALLY COMING
The central bank will deliver Wednesday a policy statement, economic forecasts and a news conference by Chair Janet Yellen.
5. WHO WILL GIVE STAMP OF APPROVAL TO CLINTON
When billionaire Warren Buffett joins a rally with the candidate, a question humming in the background will be whether he will throw more of his fortune behind her.
6. BALTIMORE ON EDGE AS JURY STRUGGLES TO FIND VERDICT
After announcing a deadlock nine hours into deliberations, jurors are resuming their work in the trial of one of six police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.
7. EXECUTIONS AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1991
This is because states impose fewer death sentences and defendants in capital cases get access to better legal help.
8. ‘STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS’ IS FUN FAN SERVICE
From the opening scroll to the sequel-setup ending, J.J. Abrams manages to hit each beat of its 38-year-old predecessor.
9. WHOSE DOWNFALL TOPS GOOGLE’S LIST OF 2015 SEARCHES
The interest in Lamar Odom’s being found unconscious in the Nevada “Love Ranch” eclipses January’s lethal attacks in France at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
10. MISSY FRANKLIN LEARNS FROM DISAPPOINTMENTS
“I’ve had a lot of stuff thrown at me and I’ve just kept fighting,” says the four-time Olympic gold medalist.
