1. Conservative resistance dims chances of health bill
President Trump continued pressuring wavering Republican lawmakers to support the House leadership's proposal to repeal and replace ObamaCare ahead of a planned Thursday vote. Conservatives are vowing to oppose the plan because they say it doesn't go far enough in rolling back the Affordable Care Act's provisions, and some moderates are balking because of expectations that millions more Americans will wind up uninsured. Mark Meadows, leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said his group has more than enough votes to defeat the bill. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said enough fence-sitters were getting behind the legislation to pass it. "The count keeps getting stronger for us," Spicer said. "There is no Plan B. There is Plan A and Plan A. We're going to get this done." Some analysts have warned of a possible stock correction if the legislation, which includes some of Trump's promised tax cuts, fails.
2. 17,000 AT&T workers go on strike in California, Nevada
Thousands of AT&T wireline technicians and call center employees went on strike in California and Nevada on Wednesday to protest what they described as disrespectful treatment in contract negotiations. "The company has shown disrespect to the bargaining process by changing the work assignments of workers without bargaining as required by federal law," the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union said in its strike announcement. An AT&T spokesperson said the company always complies "with the law and the terms of our collective bargaining agreements."
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3. Report: U.S. investigating North Korea link to Fed account theft
The U.S. is investigating whether North Korea was involved in the theft of $81 million from a Bangladesh central bank account at the New York Fed, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Investigators believe the perpetrators of last year's theft used hacking tools that also were used in a 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures that the FBI already has linked to North Korea. That hacking occurred after Sony produced the movie The Interview, which ridiculed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. A spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles office decline to comment.
4. Starbucks CEO hands key to successor as departure looms
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz symbolically handed over control of the coffee chain during the annual shareholders' meeting on Wednesday, marking the occasion by giving a key to Starbucks' original location to his successor, president and chief operating officer Kevin Johnson. Johnson officially takes over in April. "That has been in my pocket for 35 years," Schultz said. The handoff, announced in December, was the highest profile sign yet of the leadership transition, and it was a focus in the meeting. Investors brought up other topics, though. A conservative think-tank shareholder asked Schultz to respond to boycotts sparked by his pledge to hire refugees, and Schultz said the matter "unequivocally" had zero impact on the bottom line.
5. Acosta vows to avoid partisanship in Labor Department if confirmed
Alexander Acosta, President Trump's second labor secretary nominee, said in his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would not let partisanship influence his department. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Acosta did not do enough as assistant attorney general to prevent an official under him from "inappropriately" hiring mostly conservative lawyers in DOJ's civil rights division during the George W. Bush administration. Acosta said he would not allow partisan hiring at the Labor Department if confirmed. He also defended a controversial plea deal he struck with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta, now a law school dean, declined to say how he would handle Obama administration rules, such as one expanding the number of workers eligible for overtime pay.
The New York Times The Washington Post
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Australia’s teens brace for social media banIn The Spotlight Under-16s will be banned from having accounts on major platforms
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Labour’s dilemma on workers’ rightsThe Explainer TUC says Employment Rights Bill is ‘essential to better quality, more secure jobs’ but critics warn of impact on economic growth
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Coaches’ salary buyouts are generating questions for collegesUnder the Radar ‘The math doesn’t seem to math,’ one expert said
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Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
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Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
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Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
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Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
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Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
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Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
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China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
