AFN NEWS

Thursday, January 17, 2019　

1) From ABC News, I’m Scott Goldberg. U.S. officials now conform a suicide blast in northwestern Syria has killed four Americans. ABC’s Luis Martinez has details from the Pentagon. “Two were U.S. military service members, one is a DOD civilian and another a contractor. Three other U.S. service members were injured in the suicide bomb blast that has been claimed by ISIS. It’s the deadliest ISIS attack against U.S. troops in Syria since they arrived in late 2015.” Last month, President Trump announced he was pulling U.S. troops out of Syria and that ISIS had been defeated.

2) A day after five gunmen attacked a hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya, the death toll has risen to 21. The assault started with the explosion of three cars and the detonation of a suicide bomb vest setting off the near stampede. “Some left from the windows, others hid in the dirt, falling over each other in the panic to escape e explosions and gunfire echoing into early Wednesday morning as antiterror police moved room to room to clear the hotel. ABC’s Ian Pannell.

3) President Trump has now signed the bill that ensures federal workers will get back pay once the partial government shutdown is over. Republicans are responding after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested the President postpone his State of the Union Address until the shutdown is over, citing security concerns. “Minority Whip Steve Scalise has tweeted that Pelosi’s move shows (quote) ‘Democrats are only interested in obstructing. And Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen tweets they are (quote) ‘wholly prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.” ABC’s Lana Zak.

4) The new bill has been introduced that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next five years. Tiffany Lowe works in fast food, “My first job was in fast food, I made 6.50 an hour. Eighteen years later, I am here at KFC and I make 7.65 an hour. That’s less than a dollar more in a decade.” Right now the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

5) The Dow gained 140 points today. You’re listening to ABC News.

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From the Fox Business Network; the major averages closing in the green, following some strong earnings results from major banks. Among gainers today, financials with Goldman Sachs leading the Dow after an upbeat earnings support. The Dow laggards include Verizon and Pfizer with the Dow closing up 142 points, NASDAQ up 11, S&P 500 up 6. // And Airbus expanding its industrial presence in the U.S. and breaking ground on a new assembly plant for the A2-20 in Mobile, Alabama. The European plane maker said it would invest $300 million and create 400 jobs in the new facility. // And shares of Ford tanking over 6% today after the automaker said its profit for 2018 will fall short of Wall Street expectations. Ford declining to give a specific forecast for this year, which is the sign of the challenges ahead as the automaker embarks on a major restructuring amid uncertainty in the global auto-market. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Hilarie Barsky.