NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Whale protection: The federal government is asking Atlantic Ocean vessels to slow down in an area off Massachusetts because about oneeighth of the worldwide population of an endangered whale has been spotted nearby. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 50 North Atlantic right whales were seen south of Nantucket Island on Jan. 31. The government is encouraging mariners not to travel faster than 11.5 mph. Collisions with vessels are a major concern for the animals, which are also threatened by entanglement in fishing gear. There are only about 400 of the whales left in the world.
2 Bloomberg endorsement: Billionaire presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg snagged his first endorsement from a governor on Wednesday, as Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo called him the right leader to take on President Trump. Raimondo, a longtime political ally of Bloomberg, will also act as a national campaign cochair. Bloomberg launched his campaign in late November, saying he wanted to “defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America.”
3 Sex abuse: A former employee of a New Hampshire youth detention center continued working with children in a state job for nine months after police began investigating allegations that he held a boy down while colleagues raped him in 1998. James Woodlock went on leave from his position as a juvenile probation and parole officer in November 2017, well after David Meehan told police he had been abused in the 1990s at what was then called the Youth Development Center in Manchester, the state’s only juvenile detention center, the state attorney general’s office said. Officials won’t say whether his leave is voluntary, whether he is being paid or what, if any, action they took before he went on leave.
4 Winter storm: A powerful winter storm in the central United States dropped snow as far south as El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday while areas of the Deep South were at risk of severe weather including tornadoes and torrential rains, forecasters said. Winter storm warnings or advisories were in effect from eastern New Mexico to the St. Louis metropolitan area, the National Weather Service said. The Storm Prediction Center said storms that could generate hail, 60 mph winds and twisters were possible across much of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The threat of tornadoes extended into border regions of Tennessee and Georgia, and forecasters said bad weather could continue after dark.
5 Sheriff jailed: ExLos Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca reported to prison to begin serving a threeyear prison sentence on Wednesday for a corruption conviction. Baca, 77, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, had been free on bail since appealing his obstruction of justice conviction three years ago. The U.S. Supreme Court declined his final appeal and Baca was ordered to begin serving his term Wednesday. Baca was convicted of lying to the FBI and trying to thwart the agency’s investigation into corruption in the nation’s largest jail system.