AP News Digest 4 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.
——————————
TOP STORIES
—————————-
ELECTION 2022-BIDEN — President Joe Biden’s top political advisers are bracing for big election losses in November. They know the party holding the White House nearly always losses congressional seats in the first midterm election of a new presidency. They also understand that gas prices racing past $5 per gallon on average, inflation exceeding its highest rates in four decades and crime rising in some areas could intensify historic headwinds. So could Biden’s low approval ratings. Some Democrats nonetheless worry the White House hasn’t fully grasped just how bad things may get and so far has been slow to prepare for that possibility. By Will Weissert and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1,810 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,000 words is also available.
MED—VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VACCINES-KIDS — The U.S. has opened COVID-19 vaccines to infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The shots will become available next week, expanding the nation’s vaccination campaign to children as young as 6 months. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the vaccines for the littlest children, and the final signoff came hours later from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the agency’s director. By Mike Stobbe. SENT: 950 words, photos.
APPLE MARYLAND UNION VOTE — Apple store employees in a Baltimore suburb have voted to unionize by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. They join a growing push across U.S. retail, service and tech industries to organize for greater workplace protections. A union statement said the workers voted 65-33 on Saturday to unionize via the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The vote could not immediately be confirmed with the National Labor Relations Board, which would have to certify the outcome. An NLRB spokeswoman referred initial queries about the vote to its regional office, which was closed late Saturday. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment. SENT: 490 words.
CRYPTOCURRENCY-BITCOIN-FALL —Bitcoin has fallen below $20,000 for the first time since late 2020, in a fresh sign that the selloff in cryptocurrencies is deepening. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, dropped under the psychologically important threshold on Saturday. It plunged as much as 9.7% to less than $18,600 by late afternoon East Coast time, according to cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk. The last time bitcoin was at this level was in November 2020. Bitcoin has now lost more than 70% of its value from a peak of nearly $69,000. The cryptocurrency industry has seen turmoil amid wider turbulence in financial markets. By Haleluya Hadero and Kelvin Chan. SENT: 650 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Poppies, the blood-red flowers that cover the battlefields of Europe’s two world wars, were lain in mourning on the coffin of yet another dead soldier, this one killed in yet another European war, in Ukraine. The hundreds of mourners for Roman Ratushnyi, 24, included friends who had protested with him during months of demonstrations that toppled Ukraine’s pro-Russia leader in 2014 and who, like him, took up arms when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor this February. By John Leicester. SENT: 930 words, photos. WITH: GERMANY-G7 — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says the Group of Seven leading democracies will make clear at their upcoming summit that Ukraine can expect to receive the support it needs “for as long as necessary.” SENT: 200 words, photo.
————————-
TRENDING
————————-
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK REOPENING — Yellowstone National Park will partially reopen at 8 a.m. Wednesday, after catastrophic flooding destroyed bridges and roads and drove out tourists. SENT: 240 words, photos.
THAILAND URBAN OASIS — Thailand’s bustling, congested capital has a new park, an oasis of green that is part of a drive to bring shade, peace and quiet to a hot and noisy city and make it a more livable place by 2030. SENT: 670 words, photos.
WARSHIP-CHRISTENING — The christening of the Navy destroyer USS Basilone highlighted the sacrifices of two generations — the ship’s namesake killed in World War II and another Marine who died more than 60 years later. SENT: 380 words, photos.
——————————————————
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
——————————————————-
BIDEN — President Biden fell when he tried to get off his bike at the end of a ride at Cape Henlopen State Park near his beach home in Delaware, but said he wasn’t hurt. “I’m good,” he told reporters after U.S. Secret Service Agents quickly helped him up. He said he got his foot caught in the toe cages. SENT: 215 words, photos, video.
ELECTION 2022-INDIANA SOS — Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan has failed to get the Republican Party’s nomination to run in the fall election. GOP delegates on Saturday instead nominated Diego Morales, who worked in the governor’s office when Mike Pence led the state. SENT: 210 words, photos.
SULLIVAN — White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has tested positive for COVID-19. The White House said Sullivan tested positive for the virus on Saturday. Sullivan has frequent contact with President Joe Biden, and he was last was in contact with the president early in the week. SENT: 130 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-IOWA-GOP — At least a half dozen GOP presidential prospects are planning Iowa visits this summer. The trips aimed at building relationships and learning the political geography in the state scheduled to launch the campaign for the party’s 2024 nomination. By Thomas Beaumont. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-HOUSE-ALASKA — The race for Alaska’s U.S. House seat is taking shape. Republican Sarah Palin is seeking a return to elected office 13 years after she resigned as governor. Two of her rivals, Republican Nick Begich and independent Al Gross, are trying to paint her run as unserious and self-serving. The fourth candidate running, Democrat Mary Peltola, says negative campaigning is one of the most unsavory parts of U.S. politics. SENT: 920 words, photos.
ELECTION-2022-GEORGIA-SENATE — Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker said Saturday that he “never denied” the existence of children he hadn’t publicly disclosed before, telling conservative Christians that his kids “knew the truth.” SENT: 360 words, photo.
NEW MEXICO-DOMINION — Behind the raw public frustration and anger over election security that has played out this week in New Mexico was a hint of something deeper — a growing divide between the state’s Democratic power structure and conservative rural residents who feel their way of life is under attack. SENT: 920 words, photos.
BUTTIGIEG-AIRLINES — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’s pushing airlines to hire more customer-service agents and take other steps to help travelers this summer. SENT: 440 words, photos.
OBIT-MARK SHIELDS — Columnist and political commentator Mark Shields, who shared his insight into American politics and wit on “PBS NewsHour” for decades, died Saturday. He was 85. His “NewsHour” tenure spanned six presidencies. SENT: 440 words, photo.
———————————-
INTERNATIONAL
————————————
FRANCE ELECTIONS — French voters are going to the polls for the final round of key parliamentary elections that will demonstrate how much leg room the electorate are willing to give President Emmanuel Macron’s party to implement his ambitious domestic agenda. In last week’s first vote, the far left, under firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, made a surprisingly strong showing, sending jitters through Macron’s allies. SENT: 510 words, photos.
COLOMBIA ELECTIONS — Voters in Colombia will choose between a leftist former rebel and an unpredictable millionaire Sunday when they vote in a presidential runoff election that promises to reshape the country after a first round of voting that punished the political class. The election in the South American country lacks a front-runner. 790 words, photos.
NORTH MACEDONIA POLITICS — Thousands of supporters of main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE have gathered in the center of North Macedonia’s capital Skopje to pressure the leftist government to call an election two years before the end of its term. SENT: 360 words, photo.
BRAZIL-INDIGENOUS-ACTIVIST — Before disappearing in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, Bruno Pereira was laying the groundwork for a mammoth undertaking: a 217-mile trail marking the southwestern border of the Javari Valley Indigenous territory, an area the size of Portugal. The project, still ongoing, aims to clearly define where Javari territory begins, so that cattle farmers won’t encroach. It was just the latest effort by Pereira to help Indigenous people protect their natural resources and traditional lifestyles. SENT: 1,270 words, photos. WITH: BRAZIL-AMAZON — Brazil’s federal police said that a third suspect in the deaths of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira has been arrested. SENT: 290 words, photos.
NETHERLANDS-SREBRENICA — The Dutch government has formally apologized to soldiers who were sent as U.N. peacekeepers to defend the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica with insufficient firepower and manpower to keep the peace. The soldiers are veterans now. They were overrun by more heavily armed Bosnian Serb forces led by Gen. Ratko Mladic who went on to massacre 8,000 Muslim men and boys in July 1995. An international war crimes tribunal labeled it genocide. SENT: 370 words, photos.
——————————
NATIONAL
——————————
ALABAMA CHURCH SHOOTING — Worship services are set to resume at the Alabama church where a gunman opened fire and killed three senior citizens at a potluck dinner recently. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church announced church members would be gathering Sunday morning to worship after what it called the “unfathomable loss and grief” of Thursday’s shooting. SENT: 360 words, photos.
PHILADELPHIA FIREFIGHTERS — Authorities say a building caught fire and later collapsed in north Philadelphia, killing one firefighter and injuring five other people after all became trapped. Officials said the fire was reported just before 2 a.m. Saturday and had already been put out when the building collapsed at 3:24 a.m. Saturday. SENT: 550 words, photos.
GUNFIRE VIRGINIA MALL — Police say gunfire rang out during a fight at a northern Virginia mall and three people were hurt while fleeing, though no one was shot. Police in Fairfax County tweeted that officers were called Saturday afternoon to Tysons Corner Center for a report of shots fired, but there was no active shooter situation at the Washington-area mall. SENT: 330 words, photos.
FLORIDA-BOATS COLLIED — Officials say two people were killed and 10 others had to be rescued after a nighttime boat collision near Key Biscayne, Florida. The Coast Guard said in a statement that it was notified of the collision around 10:30 p.m. Friday by a person involved. The Coast Guard Station Miami Beach and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue recovered two bodies, according to authorities. SENT: 205 words, photos.
WESTERN-WILDFIRES — Four non-scientific buildings at the Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson were lost in a wildfire, but early indications show other buildings on the property didn’t appear to be damaged, authorities said. SENT: 310 words, photos.
——————————————
ENTERTAINMENT
——————————————
FILM TRIBECA AL SHARPTON — On the eve of Juneteenth, the Tribeca Festival came to a close with the Rev. Al Sharpton documentary “Loudmouth.” The premiere united on stage Sharpton and Spike Lee — two towering New York figures who have each been vilified and celebrated for their championing of racial justice. SENT: 880 words, photos.
MILAN-FASHION WEEK — Denim, fringe and chunky rubber sliders. These are the elements of next year’s summer wardrobe emerging from the second day of Milan Fashion Week menswear previews on Saturday. SENT: 1150 words, photos.
———————-
SPORTS
———————-
HKN-STANLEY-CUP — The Colorado Avalanche overwhelmed the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Valeri Nichushkin scored his seventh and eighth goals of the playoffs. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. SENT: 940 words, photos.
GLF US OPEN — Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick share the lead in a U.S. Open that was more about survival. The wind and cool conditions make Brookline play like a beast. Zalatoris had a 67 for the low round of the day and gets another crack at a major. Fitzpatrick had a 68 and goes for the USGA double at The Country Club. Defending champion Jon Rahm made double bogey from the bunker and went from one shot ahead to one behind. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 960 words, photos.
———————————————
HOW TO REACH US
————————————————
The Nerve Center 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.
