Dorothy Abernathy, The Associated Press bureau chief for West Virginia and Virginia, shares the 10 things you need to know Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items, upcoming events and stories in West Virginia newspapers.
1. WEBSITE OF BIG BITCOIN EXCHANGE GOES OFFLINE
The page’s disappearance follows reports that the exchange based in Japan suffered a significant theft – a possible fatal blow to efforts to gain legitimacy for the virtual currency.
2. MEDICAL SLEUTHS ON TRAIL OF RARE, POLIO-LIKE SYNDROME
Doctors aren’t sure if it’s a virus or something else that’s caused more than a dozen children in California to suffer paralysis to one or more limbs.
3. WHO’S A WANTED MAN IN UKRAINE
The interim government issues a warrant for the arrest of fugitive President Yanukovych in the killing of protesters last week in Kiev.
4. MEXICO ANGLING TO TRY DRUGLORD FIRST
Authorities set in motion a legal process that makes it unlikely Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman will face charges in the U.S. anytime soon.
5. WHY DEFENSE CHIEF WANTS TO DOWNSIZE ARMY
Hagel says the U.S. can afford a smaller military so long as it retains its technological edge.
6. CONGRESS’S LONGEST-SERVING MEMBER EVER IS CALLING IT QUITS
Eighty-seven-year-old John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, says he’s relinquishing the seat he’s held since 1955.
7. RED FLAG RAISED ON TESTOSTERONE DRUGS
A consumer group calls on the FDA to add a warning label to the popular medicines because there’s evidence they can increase the risk of heart attack.
8. WHAT’S NEXT CHALLENGE FOR SOCHI
With the Olympics over, the city needs to make sure the expensive stadiums used for the games don’t turn into white elephants.
9. SETH MEYERS DEBUTS AS HOST OF NBC’S `LATE NIGHT’
AP Television Writer Frazier Moore reports that the comic suffered a few opening-night butterflies, then found his stride as the show went on.
10. HAROLD RAMIS, CREATOR OF COMEDY CLASSICS, DIES AT 69
The writer-director-actor created a hugely influential body of work, including such films as “Caddyshack,” “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “Ghostbusters” and “Groundhog Day.”
