Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers.
1. WHY OBAMA CHIDES SENATORS
The president is challenging Republicans to live up to their avowed adherence to the Constitution and agree to vote on his nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia.
2. GOP CANDIDATES IN HIGH-STAKES MATCH IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Marco Rubio are strategically moving money and other campaign resources around in a bid to pull ahead in the Republican primary race.
3. APPLE REJECTS ORDER TO SHARE IPHONE INFORMATION
CEO Tim Cook says his company will resist a federal magistrate’s order to hack its own users in connection with the investigation of the San Bernardino, California shootings.
4. TAIWAN SAYS CHINA DEPLOYS MISSILES IN DISPUTED SOUTH CHINA SEA
The Chinese foreign minister accuses the media of hyping the issue and says more attention should be paid to “public goods and services” provided by Beijing’s development of its maritime claims.
5. WHO FINDS REFUGE ‘NORTH OF THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE’
About 100 asylum-seekers in the world’s northernmost refugee shelter are trying to adapt to the darkness, extreme climate and unfamiliar customs of northern Norway, The AP finds.
6. WHERE SIEGE WARFARE REVIVES DEBATE OVER ANCIENT TACTIC
Images of emaciated civilians in besieged areas in Syria prompt global outrage, and the U.S. says Assad is violating the rules of war with a policy of “surrender or starve.”
7. POPE CONCLUDES MEXICO TRIP
Francis wraps up his visit with some of his most anticipated events: stops at a Juarez prison just days after a deadly riot in another lockup and at the Texas border.
8. STOMACHS AS LATEST FRONT IN STANDOFF BETWEEN THE KOREAS
Seoul asks South Koreans not to eat at the North Korean-run restaurants in cities around the world in a bid to stop money from helping fund Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
9. VARIETY OF FACTORS PREVENT EMPLOYEES FROM WORKING LONGER
Health is perhaps the most obvious explanation, but layoffs, business closings and family factors also lead to early retirement.
10. CJ THE GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER WINS WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW
“It’s exactly like what I imagined,” co-owner, breeder, and handler Valerie Nunes-Atkinson says.
