AP News Digest 4:05 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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CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION — Donald Trump was told over and over again: There was no voting fraud that could have tipped the 2020 presidential election. But the defeated president relentlessly pushed his false claims of a rigged 2020 election. When that failed, he called the mob to the Capitol on Jan. 6. The House panel investigating the attack is expected to flesh out Trump’s scheme when its hearings resume Monday. By Lisa Mascaro and Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,230 words, photos, video. With CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION-VOTERS — Did the hearings break through in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a vital swing district in suburban Philadelphia?; CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION-WHAT’S NEXT — A snapshot of what the Jan. 6 committee says is ahead; CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION-RATINGS — An estimated 20 million people watched Thursday night’s hearing of the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol (all sent).
GUN CONTROL RALLY — Thousands of protestors are expected to rally in Washington, D.C., and in separate demonstrations around the country as part of a renewed push for nationwide gun control. Protestors say lawmakers must take note of shifting public opinion and finally enact sweeping reforms. By Ashraf Khalil. SENT: 560 words, photos. UPCOMING: 800 words after noon rally.
SUPREME COURT-SECURITY — This week’s incident at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s suburban Washington home, where authorities said a man armed with a gun and knife threatened to kill the Supreme Court justice, reflects a heightened level of potential danger not just for members of the nation’s highest court, but all judges. By Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds into its fourth month, officials in Kyiv have expressed fears that the specter of “war fatigue” could erode the West’s resolve to help the country push back Moscow’s aggression. By Colleen Barry and Yuras Karmanau. SENT: 990 words, photos, video. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE LATEST.
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TRENDING
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SACHA-BARON-COHEN-ROY-MOORE — A lawyer for Roy Moore tried to persuade some skeptical federal appeals judges to revive a $95 million defamation lawsuit that the former Alabama candidate for U.S. Senate brought against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. SENT: 560 words, photos.
PEOPLE-THEY-MIGHT-BE-GIANTS — They Might Be Giants singer-guitarist John Flansburgh was seriously injured in a car crash this week while being driven home from the alternative rock band’s first gig on a pandemic-delayed tour, prompting the postponement of shows at least until late August. SENT: 390 words, photos.
PEOPLE-JUSTIN BIEBER — Justin Bieber says a rare disorder that paralyzed half of the superstar performer’s face is the reason behind his tour postponement. SENT: 190 words, photo.
CANADA-CIGARETTE-WARNING — Canada is poised to become the first country in the world to require that a warning be printed on every cigarette. SENT: 390 words.
MILITARY-AIRCRAFT-CRASH — The U.S. Marine Corps has identified five people who died when their Osprey tiltrotor aircraft crashed during training in the California desert. SENT: 370 words.
MEDIA-POST REPORTER — The Washington Post has fired Felicia Sonmez, who triggered a vigorous online debate this week over social media policy and public treatment of colleagues after she criticized a fellow reporter for retweeting an offensive joke. SENT: 520 words, photo.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VACCINE-KIDS — Parents anxious to finally vaccinate their youngest children against COVID-19, strap in: A lot is set to happen over the next week. On Wednesday, both Moderna and Pfizer will have to convince what’s essentially a science court -- advisers to the Food and Drug Administration -- that their shots work well in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. SENT: 350 words, photos.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-KYIV'S-SAD-SUMMER — With war raging on fronts to the east and south, the summer of 2022 is proving bitter for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The sun shines but sadness and grim determination reign. Canoodling couples cannot be sure that their kisses won’t be their last as more soldiers head to the battlefields. Flitting swallows are building nests as people made homeless by the war weep in blown-apart ruins. Kyiv repelled Russia’s initial invasion force. But the peace in the capital is deceptive. SENT: 750 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DEVELOPMENTS — Russian bombers have likely been launching 1960s-era heavy, anti-ship missiles meant to destroy aircraft carriers with nuclear warheads against land targets in Ukraine, a British military intelligence report says. SENT: 200 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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BIDEN — President Biden visits New Mexico to talk about his administration’s efforts to tackle wildfires as residents smolder with anger over how federal officials allowed planned burns to spread out of control, leading to the largest blaze in recorded state history. By Morgan Lee and Chris Megerian. SENT: 620 words, photos. UPCOMING: 750 words after meeting, timing uncertain.
CAPITOL RIOT-VIDEO -- In launching its case to the American public, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection made a central argument: Look at the tape. The centerpiece of Thursday night’s hearing was a video reconstruction of the attack on the Capitol. Over 10 minutes, it went point by point, showing the rioters overwhelming and beating police officers as the mob broke into the building to stop the certification of Donald Trump’s election loss. SENT: 430 words, photos. With CAPITOL-RIOT-INVESTIGATION-RATINGS — An estimated 20 million people watched Thursday night’s hearing of the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol (sent).
ELECTION-2022-SOUTH-CAROLINA-HARRIS — In her political return to a state where she campaigned heavily ahead of the 2020 election, Vice President Kamala Harris told a gathering of South Carolina Democrats how appreciative the White House is for the key support that ultimately led to the Biden administration. SENT: 550 words, photos.
ELECTION-2022-ALABAMA-SENTATE — Donald Trump endorsed Katie Britt in an Alabama U.S. Senate race, doubling down on the former president’s decision to spurn his previous choice in the Republican primary. SENT: 580 words, photos.
YOUNGKIN-PRIDE-MONTH — Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin hosted a series of events this week marking Pride month. The decision generated some bipartisan surprise in Richmond, given the conservative governor’s position on a range of LGBTQ issues. SENT: 990 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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SOUTH-KOREA-HORROR-HOME-ADOPTIONS — The earliest photo Joo-Rei Mathieson has of herself was taken when she was about four. Her head is shaved, her eyes cast downward. She has just arrived at perhaps the worst place a child could be sent in South Korea. The black-and-white mugshot is from a November 1982 Brothers Home intake document that describes Mathieson as a lost street kid brought in by police. It notes, chillingly for a government-sponsored vagrants’ facility that survivors have told The Associated Press often worked children to death, that she’s “capable of labor.” SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un doubled down on his arms buildup in the face of what he described as an aggravating security environment as he concluded a major political conference that came as outside governments monitor signs of a possibly imminent North Korean nuclear test explosion. SENT: 860 words, photos.
SINGAPORE-ASIA-SECURITY-MEETING — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed American support for Taiwan, suggesting at Asia’s premier defense forum that recent Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatens to change the status quo. SENT: 850 words, photos.
WTO-MINISTERS-MEETING — The World Trade Organization is facing one of its most dire moments, the culmination of years of slide toward oblivion and ineffectiveness. Now may be a chance to turn the tide and reemerge as a champion of free and fair trade — or face a future further in doubt. SENT: 830 words, photo.
IRAN-VENEZUELA — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on his first visit to Iran said the Islamic Republic helped his nation by sending badly needed fuel despite U.S. sanctions and threats. SENT: 350 words, photos.
BOLIVIA-FORMER-PRESIDENT — Former Bolivian interim President Jeanine Áñez was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges linked to her assumption of office in 2019 amid violent protests that led to the resignation and exile of her predecessor, Evo Morales. SENT: 280 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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TRANSGENDER-YOUTH-TEXAS — A Texas judge has temporarily blocked the state from investigating families of transgender children who have received gender-confirming medical care, a new obstacle to the state labeling such treatments as child abuse. SENT: 600 words, photo.
ALASKA-TUNDRA-FIRE — The largest documented wildfire burning through tundra in southwest Alaska was within miles of two Alaska Native villages, prompting officials Friday to urge residents to prepare for possible evacuation. SENT: 630 words, photos.
NRA-LAWSUIT — The New York attorney general’s lawsuit against the National Rifle Association is no mere “witch hunt,” a New York judge has ruled in dismissing the gun rights advocacy group’s claims that the case is a political vendetta. SENT: 560 words, photo.
RAIDERS-RUGGS-FATAL CRASH — Lawyers for ex-Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs are asking a judge to throw out evidence that prosecutors say shows Ruggs had a blood-alcohol level twice legal limit while speeding at 156 mph on a city street before a fiery crash that killed a woman in November. SENT: 530 words, photos.
FLOYD-PROTEST-ARKANSAS-LAWSUIT — An Arkansas attorney who was hospitalized after he was struck by a beanbag fired by police during a protest at the state Capitol over George Floyd’s killing filed a lawsuit against the head of state police and several troopers. SENT: 380 words.
TEXAS-SCHOOL SHOOTING-GOVERNORS — The leaders of the National Governors Association said Friday they’re forming a bipartisan working group to come up with recommendations to stop mass shootings following the Texas school massacre. SENT: 370 words, photos.
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SCIENCE
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ARIZONA-RARE-WETLAND-PLANT — A rare plant that depends on wetlands for survival is now on the federal endangered species list, a designation that environmentalists say will boost efforts to protect the last free-flowing river in the desert Southwest. SENT: 360 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKN--NBA FINALS — Stephen Curry scored 43 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 107-97 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The series returns to San Francisco knotted at two games apiece. Curry added 10 rebounds and made a pair of baskets during a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that turned a four-point Boston edge into a 100-94 Golden State lead. The Celtics missed six straight shots during that span. Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 16 boards for the Warriors, who will host Game 5 on Monday night. By Jimmy Golen. SENT: 980 words, photos.
SOC--GRENADA-US — Jesús Ferreira tied the United States’ international record with four goals to lead the Americans over Grenada 5-0 in a World Cup sendoff, a CONCACAF Nations League match 164 days before their opener in Qatar. Ferreira put the U.S. ahead in the 43rd minute, then added goals in the 54th, 56th and 78th to give him seven in 12 international matches. His four goals matched Landon Donovan, Joe-Max Moore, Buff Donelli and Archie Stark. Paul Arriola added a goal in the 62nd as the Americans stretched their home unbeaten streak to 26, matching the team record set from 2013-15. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, ext. 1900. For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.
