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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama heads out today for a State of the Union road trip to tout progress under his leadership and goals for his final year in office. Obama is to be in Omaha, Nebraska, today and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, tomorrow. The White House notes that unemployment in the pair of Republican-leaning states has fallen significantly since Obama took office.
TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — Another report is due today on a blast at a California refinery that injured four contractors and coated neighboring homes and cars with white ash. An update from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board says the blast last February came very close to being much worse. Debris from the explosion landed near, but didn't pierce a nearby tank holding tens of thousands of pounds of a toxic acid. The plant is located in a densely populated area of the city of Torrance.
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is bringing in more help to distribute bottled water, filters and other supplies in Flint, which remains in the midst of an ongoing water crisis. Snyder has called out members of the National Guard, some of whom could start as early as today. Flint's tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply to the Flint River in 2014.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian prosecutor's office says physical evidence of the suspects were found at two of three sites now identified as having been used to prepare the deadly attacks in Paris in November. Belgian investigators trying to piece together the actions of the group that killed 130 people say the evidence includes fingerprints and DNA.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Today could be the day of freedom for 10 U.S. Navy sailors detained in Iran. The sailors were taken into custody after their two boats drifted into Iranian waters. State TV quotes the Navy chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard as saying an investigation discovered "mechanical problems in their navigation system."
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