Happening Today: LIRR Crash, Macy's, Obamacare, Facebook Live

What to Know

  • Federal officials said it will take days to figure out what caused an LIRR train to derail in Brooklyn on Wednesday; more than 100 were hurt
  • Police were still searching for a man believed to be armed and dangerous Thursday following a shootout with police on Staten Island
  • The fight over the future of President Obama's signature health care law is already underway in Washington

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LIRR Crash Probe to Take Days

Federal investigators said it will take three to seven days to investigate what caused a Long Island Rail Road train to derail at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched investigators to the scene. They’ll work to determine the cause of the crash, which happened during Wednesday's busy morning rush. More than 100 people suffered minor injuries when the train hit a bumping block at the end of a track. An NTSB spokesman says the train's event recorders have been recovered and that the train's engineer has undergone drug testing. 

Healthcare Law Front and Center in D.C.

The messaging battle is over on repealing and replacing President Barack Obama's health care law, and the balance of power in Washington may be at stake. For Democrats and Republicans both, the repeal-and-replace fight represents a risky and unexpected do-over nearly seven years after Democratic majorities in the House and Senate passed the law on a party-line vote. A voter backlash helped send Democrats into the minority in the House in the 2010 midterms, but in November's elections, Donald Trump and GOP House and Senate candidates ran on promises to repeal the law and replace it with something better.

Macy’s to Close Dozens of Stores

Macy's announced Wednesday it is shutting down 65 stores in 2017 and eliminating an estimated 10,000 jobs as it battles slowing sales and growing online competition. The closures are part of a previously planned shutdown of about 100 stores, out of its 730, that the company announced in August 2016. Macy’s already shuttered three stores in the middle of 2016. On Wednesday, Macy’s said it will close 63 locations in early spring 2017 and another two mid-year.

Disturbing Facebook Live Video Surfaces

Chicago police said Wednesday night that four teens are being held and questioned in connection with a Facebook Live video showing a group of people beating and cutting a teen who appeared bound and gagged as they shouted “F--- Donald Trump.” Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson called the video a "brutal act" that was "broadcast for the entire world to see. 

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