NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Intelligence director: Former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats has been sworn in as the nation’s top spy chief. Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office after the Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Coats’ nomination by a vote of 85-12. Coats will be President Trump’s top intelligence official overseeing 16 other intelligence agencies. Coats will be the fifth person to serve as director of national intelligence, a job the U.S. created after the 9/11 attacks. He succeeds James Clapper, who retired just before Trump took office.
2 No criminal charges: Federal and state prosecutors who have been conducting separate investigations into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fundraising practices said on Thursday that they would not be bringing criminal charges against him or his aides. However, the mayor did not escape unscathed. The state prosecutor, the Manhattan district attorney, criticized de Blasio, saying his effort to help state Democrats appeared to violate the intent and spirit of the law. The federal inquiry involved a broad examination of whether de Blasio or his administration or campaign aides exchanged favorable city action for donations to his 2013 campaign or his now-defunct political nonprofit.
3 Pentagon No. 2: The White House announced Thursday that President Trump has nominated senior Boeing executive Pat Shanahan as deputy secretary of defense. After a rocky start between the new administration and the aerospace and defense giant, the nomination of Shanahan, now senior vice president for supply chain and operations at Boeing, is the latest sign of an increasingly cozy relationship. Shanahan, 54, has no military or political experience. He is, however, familiar with defense procurement from the business side. If Shanahan’s nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he’ll be chief deputy to Defense Secretary James Mattis.
4 Lawmaker surrenders: Oklahoma prosecutors on Thursday filed child prostitution charges against a Republican state senator after police found him in a hotel room with a 17-year-old boy. Ralph Shortey, 35, surrendered to authorities on charges of engaging in child prostitution, transporting a minor for prostitution and engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of church. His bond was set at $100,000. The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, but Oklahoma’s prostitution statute applies to any person under 18 years old.
5 Pastor charged: The Rev. Rowland Foster, a pastor in a fundamentalist Christian sect in Mechanicsburg, Pa., that rejects doctors and drugs, has been charged in the death of a child — his own granddaughter — from medical neglect. The novel prosecution is raising hopes among some advocates that it might spur change in a church that has resisted it. Faith Tabernacle Congregation has long told adherents to place their trust in God alone for healing. As a result, dozens of children, mostly in Pennsylvania, have died of preventable and treatable illnesses.