JOHN YANG: In the day's other news: The tumult on Wall Street eased a bit, as the market
spent the day trying to get its bearings.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 120 points at the opening bell, then rallied back,
before finally settling lower.
In the end, the Dow lost 19 points, to close at 24893.
The Nasdaq fell nearly 64 points, and the S&P 500 slipped 13.
A top White House aide is resigning after his two ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse,
including punching and choking.
Rob Porter is staff secretary.
He oversees scheduling and document flow in the West Wing.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders praised his job performance.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I can tell you that Rob has been effective in his role as staff
secretary.
And the president and chief of staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities
and his performance.
JOHN YANG: Porter called the allegations against him outrageous and simply false.
He said he will stay on long enough to ensure a smooth transition to his successor.
Reports of sexual assault doubled at West Point in the last school year.
An Associated Press review of records found there were 50 cases at the U.S. military academy,
nearly twice the number from the previous school year.
Officials cited increased efforts to encourage victims to come forward.
Assault reports increased only slightly at the Naval and Air Force academies.
Vice President Pence warned today that North Korea will soon face even more punishing economic
sanctions, although he gave no details.
The vice president spoke in Tokyo at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe.
MIKE PENCE, Vice President of the United States: I'm announcing today that the United States
of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions
on North Korea ever.
And we will continue to isolate North Korea, until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic
missile program once and for all.
JOHN YANG: Mr. Pence is in the region to lead the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremonies
of the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
He has not ruled out meeting with North Korean officials at the Games, but he also said he
will remind the world that North Korea is the most tyrannical and oppressive regime
on Earth.
In South Korea, two days before the opening ceremonies, Olympic organizers are scrambling
to contain an outbreak of the norovirus.
So far, 32 security workers have been treated for the highly contagious virus that causes
vomiting and diarrhea, and 1,200 guards have been quarantined as a precaution; 900 troops
have been brought in to help secure the Olympic venues until the guards are cleared to return
to work.
Germany's ruling Conservative Party clinched a deal today, ending a political deadlock.
They reached an agreement with the center-left Social Democrats on a new coalition government
more than four months after the election.
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the new deal as a new awakening for Europe.
ANGELA MERKEL, German Chancellor (through translator): The people had two justified
demands for us, firstly, do finally form a government, and a stable government.
Secondly, during the negotiations, do consider the needs and interests of the people.
I am convinced the coalition contract which we have agreed upon can be exactly that, the
foundation of a good and stable government which our country needs, and which, by the
way, many in the world expect from us, too.
JOHN YANG: The deal is subject to approval by the Social Democrats' party members.
That process that could take several weeks.
The Los Angeles Times is getting a new owner.
L.A. billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong will buy the paper from Chicago's Tronc, Incorporated.
He's paying $500 million for The Times and several other California publications.
The Times has been beset by budget and staffing cuts recently.
And it now appears the earliest known Britons looked very different from their modern-day
descendants.
Scientists examined DNA from a 10,000-year-old skeleton.
A reconstruction based on that data indicates he had dark skin, curly hair and blue eyes.
The finding underscores the growing evidence that the lighter skin tone of modern-day Europeans
is a relatively recent phenomenon.