Dorothy Abernathy, The Associated Press bureau chief for West Virginia and Virginia, shares the 10 things you need to know Thursday, June 18, 2015. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items, upcoming events and stories in West Virginia newspapers:
1. SOUTH CAROLINA CHURCH SHOOTING DESCRIBED AS HATE CRIME
A white man opens fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in Charleston, killing nine people including a state senator who was also the pastor. The shooter is still on the loose.
2. IS CREATES NATION OF FEAR IN IRAQ, SYRIA
AP reporters find that inside the Islamic State’s “caliphate,” the paper testifying that you have “repented” from your heretical past must be carried at all times — it can be the difference between life and death.
3. FBI REASSURES LAWMAKERS ON SURVEILLANCE
The agency assured Congress that its plane spy program is a by-the-books operation short on HD cameras and rarely tracks cellphones from the sky.
4. WHY U.S. BELIEVES CHINA RESPONSIBLE FOR HACKING
AP’s Ted Bridis reports that none of the data has been credibly offered for sale on underground markets popular among identity thieves, signifying espionage as the motive.
5. HONG KONG LAWMAKERS REJECT BEIJING-BACKED ELECTION PLAN
The rules were defeated in the legislature but the vote came to a confusing anticlimax as pro-establishment lawmakers accidentally failed to vote for it.
6. WHAT A PRIEST FOUND AMONG IRISH MOURNERS
Families are focused on reuniting with the victims rather than on the cause of the fatal balcony collapse in Berkeley, California.
7. TREASURY SAYS WOMAN WILL BE PICKED FOR $10 BILL
Jacob Lew announces that a redesign of the $10 will feature the first female on the nation’s paper money in 100 years.
8. ‘SUPERSIZED’ BURGER CHAIN SLIMMING DOWN
For the first time in more than 40 years, and perhaps ever, McDonald’s says its number of restaurants in the U.S. is shrinking.
9. REPORTS: WILLIAMS OUT AS ‘NIGHTLY NEWS’ ANCHOR
Brian Williams won’t return to his nighttime post at NBC after his suspension ends for misrepresenting his role in a news story.
10. TRAINS, TREE AND BROWN GREENS
The first U.S. Open in the Pacific Northwest will look like no other when golf’s second major gets underway at Chambers Bay.
