AP News Digest 3:18 a.m.
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is now losing 60 to 100 soldiers each day in combat. Just short of 50 American soldiers died per day on average in 1968 during the Vietnam War’s deadliest year for U.S. forces by way of comparison. Concentrations of Russian artillery are causing many of the casualties in the eastern regions that Moscow has focused on since its initial invasion launched Feb. 24 failed to take Kyiv. By John Leicester and Hanna Arhirova. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE-LATEST. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-KEEPING-THE-LIGHTS-ON — As the fighting in eastern Ukraine inches forward, Russian attacks are knocking out power, water and gas to entire towns and cities — and the utility crews sent to repair the smashed transmission lines and pipes are finding themselves in the middle of the shelling. By Elena Becatoros. SENT: 550 words, photos.
GUNS-ONLINE EXTREMISM — As Americans reel from mass shootings, law enforcement officials and experts on extremism are taking increasing notice of the sprawling online space devoted to guns and gun rights. That includes gun forums, tactical training videos, websites that sell unregistered gun kits and social media platforms where far-right gun owners swap practical tips and talk of dark plots to take their weapons. By David Klepper. SENT: 900 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-LGBTQ POLITICS — Democratic political candidates are struggling to counter a barrage of GOP attacks targeting LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people. Democrats in some cases are making measured responses, but some LGBTQ people say they feel abandoned as Democrats largely avoid direct confrontations. By Jeff McMillan. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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MISSING-TEACHER-GEORGIA — Two weeks after a jury acquitted a south Georgia man of murdering a teacher in 2005 — but convicted him of a lesser charge — the man was indicted on new charges in a neighboring county. A grand jury indicted Ryan Duke on six counts including concealing a death, hindering apprehension of a criminal, concealing facts and evidence tampering in the death of Tara Grinstead of Ocilla. SENT: 550 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA-HOSPITAL-STABBING — A man stabbed a doctor and two nurses inside a Southern California hospital emergency ward and remained inside a room for hours before police arrested him, authorities say. SENT: 390 words, photos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER — Tropical storm warnings were issued for much of the Florida peninsula, Cuba and the Bahamas as a system that battered Mexico moves through the Gulf of Mexico, killing at least two in Cuba and bringing threats of heavy rain and wind for the weekend. SENT: 670 words, photos.
REMOTE-AIR-TRAFFIC-CONTROL-CENTER — A company is seeking to build the country’s first-ever remote air traffic control center, which could handle traffic for multiple airports, on the site of an old Air Force base in Alabama, a newspaper reports. SENT: 520 words.
YELLOWSTONE BISON — A wildlife agency will further study whether Yellowstone National Park bison should be given protections under the Endangered Species Act after losing key court rulings. SENT: 410 words.
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MORE ON THE TEXAS SHOOTING
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TEXAS-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-INVESTIGATION — The state agency investigating the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde has determined that the commander facing criticism for the slow police response was not carrying a radio as the massacre unfolded, a Texas state senator said. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-ZELENSKYY-100 SPEECHES — As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells it, when Russia invaded 100 days ago, no one expected his country to survive. “But they didn’t know us,” he said. No one knew how a 44-year-old man who had catapulted himself from the world of entertainment into the presidency would respond to an invasion by one of the biggest armies in the world. By Lynn Berry. SENT: 750 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CAPITOL RIOT-CONTEMPT — Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro is indicted on charges that he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but the Justice Department spares two other advisers, including the ex-president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, from criminal prosecution. By Michael Balsamo, Eric Tucker and Farnoush Amiri. SENT: 950 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-PENNSYLVANIA-SENATE-MCCORMICK — Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick concedes the Republican primary in Pennsylvania for U.S. Senate to celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. McCormick ended his campaign Friday night as he acknowledged an ongoing statewide recount wouldn’t give him enough votes to make up the deficit. By Marc Levy. SENT: 640 words, photos.
VOTING-MACHINES — The nation’s leading cybersecurity agency has released a final version of an advisory it previously sent state officials on voting machine vulnerabilities in Georgia and other states that voting integrity activists say weakens a security recommendation on using barcodes to tally votes. SENT: 950 words, photo.
ELECTION-2022-MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR — Two candidates for Michigan governor, including a business consultant willing to spend personal millions, lost their final appeals Friday and will remain off the ballot in the Republican primary, the result of phony petition signatures that left them short of the 15,000 threshold. SENT: 440 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-SENATE-PENNSYLVANIA-FETTERMAN — John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, who is recovering from a stroke, said that he almost died from the episode after ignoring warning signs for years and a doctor’s advice to take blood thinners. In a separate statement released through his campaign, Fetterman’s cardiologist disclosed that Fetterman has cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged. SENT: 500 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-NEW-YORK-HOUSE-JACOBS — Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs said Friday he will not run for another term in Congress amid backlash over his support for new gun control measures. SENT: 310 words, photo.
UNITED STATES-KUWAIT-PRIDE TWEET — A U.S. Embassy tweet of a rainbow-flag-festooned message by President Biden in support of Pride Month draws a diplomatic protest from Kuwait. SENT: 390 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-DEMOCRATS-IOWA — In a last-ditch effort to salvage their leadoff presidential selection position, Iowa Democrats are proposing two key changes that they hope will increase participation and avoid the chaos that marred their 2020 caucuses. SENT: 380 words, photos.
DRUG-PROSECUTION-NAVY-OVERDOSES — A man from Canada and a man from the United Kingdom have been indicted in Georgia on charges that they sent fentanyl to two U.S. Navy petty officers who died from overdoses in October 2017. SENT: 280 words.
BIDEN-ETHANOL — The Biden administration on Friday set new requirements that increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply but reduce previous ethanol-blending requirements due to a plunge in fuel demand during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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BILL COSBY — A woman testified that she was 14 when Bill Cosby took her into a trailer on a movie set in 1975, grabbed her so she couldn’t move her arms, and kissed her. The woman, now 61, says she was shocked and struggled to get away from Cosby. Her testimony Friday in a lawsuit filed by another woman is the first time she has told the story in a public venue.
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INTERNATIONAL
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BRITAIN-PLATINUM-JUBILEE-DIVERSITY — As Clary Salandy pushes open the kitchen door at a nondescript community center in west London, her visitors pause, astonished by what they find. A dozen giraffe heads, in shades of orange and brown with top hats and flowing eyelashes, smile in a tidy row, while a herd of zebras peer out from near the refrigerator. That sense of surprise is what Salandy hopes people experience on Sunday, when the giraffes and zebras join a troupe of dancing elephants and flamingos outside Buckingham Palace as part of the pageant that will cap four days of festivities celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. SENT: 780 words, photos.
MEXICAN-CHURCH-LEADER-CHILD-RAPES — Naasón Joaquín García, the leader of Mexican megachurch La Luz del Mundo, who had been facing child rape and other charges, admitted just days before trial that he sexually abused three girls, California state prosecutors say. SENT: 970 words, photos.
HONG KONG-TIANANMEN — Dozens of police officers patrolled Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on Saturday after authorities for a third consecutive year banned public commemoration of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. SENT: 750 words, photos.
UNITED-NATIONS-LIBYA — The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution extending the authorization for countries and regional organizations to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected of violating the U.N. arms embargo on the troubled north African nation. SENT: 420 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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CHINA-SPACE — China is preparing to launch a new three-person mission to complete work on its permanent orbiting space station, the country’s China Manned Space Agency says. SENT: 260 words, photo.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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EMIRATES-BOLLYWOOD-AWARDS — Indian celebrities and Bollywood stars walked a green carpet at the start of the International Indian Film Academy awards in Abu Dhabi. The ceremony had been twice canceled in the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the famous of Bollywood arrived in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, excited to be a part of the ceremony. SENT: 300 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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HKN--LIGHTNING-RANGERS — Mika Zibanejad and the high-flying New York Rangers look to build on their series lead as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Rangers have won seven straight at home. The Lightning lost Game 1 after a nine-day layoff. By Vin A. Cherwoo. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 8 p.m.
TEN--FRENCH OPEN — Rafael Nadal was locked in a tight, compelling and lengthy French Open semifinal Friday when his opponent, third-seeded Alexander Zverev, ran to his right to chase a shot and twisted his right ankle. Zverev crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony and clutching at his lower leg. The sudden end allowed Nadal to become, on his 36th birthday, the second-oldest men’s finalist in French Open history. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. With: TEN—French Open-The Latest; TEN—French Open Glance.
BBN—PHILLIES-GIRARDI FIRED — Joe Girardi was fired by the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday after his team’s terrible start, becoming the first major league manager to lose his job this season. Philadelphia said bench coach Rob Thomson will become interim manager for the rest of the season. Expected to contend for an NL East title, the Phillies are 22-29 and 12 games behind the first-place New York Mets. By Dan Gelston. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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