The top headliners for today’s local daily all pertain to protecting the innocents. One tells a sad story of a child killed in a fire. Another reads, “Could All Buncombe County Animal Shelters Soon Be ‘No Kill’?” and the third is, “[State Representative Susan] Fisher Calls on State to Protect Abortion Rights.”

The deadline to step up for processing in the system is February 15. Coincidentally, the Mountain Xpress today is all about alternative medicine.