10 Things to Know for Today: 2-19

2/19/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Sochi-Olympics-The-Accessibility-Factor

    Fans take photos with an Olympic mascot in a wheelchair seating section at the Bolshoy Ice Dome during an ice hockey match at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014. While the section has is enough room for a wheelchair, the space for a companion is very tight. Nearly 1,500 athletes are coming to the Paralympics right after the Olympics, and issues remain for an infrastructure that won't be fully tested until the athletes and their supporters arrive. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

  • Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

    1. UKRAINE PRESIDENT BLAMES OPPOSITION LEADERS FOR ERUPTION OF VIOLENCE

    Yanukovych says he has tried to compromise with protest leaders; EU calls emergency meeting as death toll rises to 25.

    2. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STRUGGLING FOR NEW STRATEGY ON SYRIA

    As peace talks falter and civil war drags on, U.S. is reconsidering old ideas, including more help for Western-backed rebels.

    3. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT TO GET FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES

    Energy Department to approve $6.5 billion for plant in Georgia. When finished around 2018, it will be first in the U.S. in more than 30 years.

    4. HOW INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE WOULD AFFECT EMPLOYMENT

    Rise to $10.10 an hour by 2016 would give 16.5 million people a raise but cost about 500,000 jobs, Congress’ nonpartisan analysts say.

    5. SOCHI NOT ALWAYS ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

    AP’s Oskar Garcia finds that with Paralympics less than three weeks away, Olympic Park and its venues not entirely barrier-free.

    6. WHERE CULTURE OF “ANYTHING GOES” ON THE ROAD IS BEING REINED IN

    Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is installing stoplights, road signs for the first time in effort to end traffic lawlessness.

    7. WHAT IS WORSE THAN SNOW FALLING FROM THE SKY

    City dwellers dealing with icicles, chunks of frozen snow raining down from skyscrapers. Architects say energy-efficient new buildings may be the worst.

    8. NEW PRESIDENT WANTS TO SAVE IRAN’S BIGGEST LAKE

    The tourist attraction and rest stop for birds has shrunk 80 percent in a decade because of expanded irrigation and construction of dams.

    9. READ OUR 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT POWERBALL JACKPOT

    Here’s one: The odds of winning tonight’s $400 million drawing, which are 1-in-175 million, don’t change as the jackpot grows.

    10. JIMMY FALLON’S DEBUT A RATINGS WINNER FOR NBC

    “The Tonight Show” drew 11.3 million viewers Monday night, but fell short of the 14.6 million when Jay Leno signed off Feb. 6