AP News Digest 3 am
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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TROPICAL WEATHER — Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2 million people before aiming for the Atlantic Coast. One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States barreled across the Florida peninsula overnight Wednesday, threatening catastrophic flooding inland, the National Hurricane Center warned. By Curt Anderson. SENT: 840 words, photos, videos. Also see MORE ON TROPICAL WEATHER below.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russia positioned itself to formally annex parts of Ukraine where occupied areas held a Kremlin-orchestrated “referendum” on living under Moscow’s rule that the Ukrainian government and the West denounced as illegal and rigged. Armed troops had gone door-to-door with election officials to collect ballots in five days of voting. The suspiciously high margins in favor were characterized as a land grab by an increasingly cornered Russian leadership after embarrassing military losses in Ukraine. By Jon Gambrell and Adam Schreck. SENT: 980 words, photos.
HARRIS-ASIA — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris capped her four-day trip to Asia with a stop at the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean Peninsula as she emphasized U.S. commitment to the security of its Asian allies in face of an increasingly aggressive North Korea. By Chris Megerian. SENT: 990 words, photos.
MYANMAR-SUU KYI — A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in another criminal case and sentenced Australian economist Sean Turnell to three years in prison for violating Myanmar’s official secrets act, a legal official said. Suu Kyi received a three-year sentence after being tried and convicted with Turnell under the secrets law, the official said. By Grant Peck. SENT: 910 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-MINNESOTA-ATTORNEY GENERAL — Keith Ellison gave up a safe seat in Congress to run for Minnesota attorney general, saying it was his best chance to push back against the policies of Donald Trump. Now Ellison is locked in a tough reelection fight after four tumultuous years. By Steve Karnowski. SENT: 940 words, photos.
CLIMATE MIGRATION-SOMALIA — Two blind men are among hundreds who arrived in a Somalia town recently because of the country’s most alarming drought in more than 50 years. They are part of an unwilling migration that has prompted the flight of more than1 million hungry Somalis. By Cara Anna. SENT: 1,250 words, photos, video.
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MORE ON TROPICAL WEATHER
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TROPICAL WEATHER-HOSPITAL — Hurricane Ian swamped a Florida hospital from both above and below, the storm surge flooding its lower level emergency room while fierce winds tore part of its fourth floor roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there. SENT: 220 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER-CUBA — Cuban officials said they had begun to restore some power after Hurricane Ian knocked out electricity to the entire island while devastating some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it hit the island’s western tip as a major storm. SENT: 510 words, photos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER-INSURANCE — Hurricane Ian is almost certain to further damage Florida’s insurance market, which has strained under billion dollar losses, insurer insolvencies and skyrocketing premiums. SENT: 870 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER-VOICES — Some of the stories and scenes from Florida and beyond, as slow-moving Hurricane Ian affected millions of people in the United States after pummeling Cuba. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER-TAMPA BAY — Water driven back by powerful winds drained from Tampa Bay as Hurricane Ian approached Florida’s Gulf Coast, and some dared to venture out on the exposed bay floor. SENT: 150 words, photo.
TROPICAL-WEATHER-MIGRANT BOAT — Four Cuban migrants swam to shore in the Florida Keys and three others were rescued from the ocean after their boat sank, shortly before Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida. But 20 more people might be missing, officials said. SENT: 130 words.
TROPICAL WEATHER-BIDEN — President Joe Biden warned oil and gas companies against increasing prices for consumers as Hurricane Ian lashed Florida’s southwest coast. SENT: 450 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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BIDEN-WALORSKI — White House: Late congresswoman “top of mind” in Biden flub. SENT: 240 words, photos.
MURDER CHARGE-CAT DISPUTE — California woman charged with killing man over cat dispute. SENT: 280 words, photos.
SWEDEN-ALTERNATIVE NOBEL — Ukrainian activist among winners of “Alternative Nobel." SENT: 290 words, photos.
AMAZON-SLEEP TRACKER — Amazon unveils bedside device that tracks sleeping patterns. SENT: 300 words, photos.
FACEBOOK-META-ROHINGYA — Rohingya seek reparations from Facebook for role in massacre. SENT: 990 words, photo.
POLAND-SCHWARZENEGGER-AUSCHWITZ — Schwarzenegger visits Auschwitz in message against hatred. SENT: 470 words, photos.
MYANMAR-PAGEANT-CONTESTANT — Model fearing Myanmar military heads to asylum in Canada. SENT: 650 words, photo.
FATAL-ACCIDENT-UVALDE — Police: Two killed, 10 injured in three-car crash in Uvalde, Texas. SENT: 110 words.
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NATIONAL
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CHINESE BILLIONAIRE-ALLEGED RAPE-LAWSUIT — Chinese billionaire Richard Liu, the founder and former CEO of e-commerce giant JD.com, is heading to trial in Minnesota to defend himself against a civil lawsuit alleging he raped a University of Minnesota student after a night of dinner and drinks in 2018. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
OAKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING — At least six adults were wounded in a shooting at a school campus in Oakland, California, with at least some of the victims found inside the school, authorities said. SENT: 390 words, photos, video.
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INTERNATIONAL
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ROMANIA FUR FACTORIES — A group of Romanian lawmakers have filed a bill calling for a national ban on fur farming following an undercover investigation carried out by an animal welfare group on chinchilla fur farms. SENT: 560 words, photos.
JAPAN-CHINA-ANNIVERSARY-LOVE-HATE — On the streets of Tokyo and Beijing, the ties between Japan and China remain complicated and often contradictory, 50 years after the two Asian countries normalized relations as part of the process that brought Communist China into the international fold. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
MEXICO-ACTIVISTS KILLED — Mexico has become the deadliest place in the world for environmental and land defense activists, according to a global survey, and the Yaqui Indigenous people of northern Mexico are still mourning the killing of water-defense leader Tomás Rojo found dead in June 2021. SENT: 1,420 words, photos, video. With MEXICO-ACTIVISTS KILLED-REPORT — Report: 200 environmental activists killed globally in 2021.
BRAZIL-SAND DUNE DISPUTE — A vast blanket of white sand overlooking the Brazilian city Salvador became a flashpoint after City Hall began building a plaza at the dune’s base with bathrooms and a welcome center, and soon will start on a staircase leading up the sand. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher after Britain’s central bank moved forcefully to stop a budding financial crisis. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 540 words, photos.
ECONOMY-GDP — The Commerce Department issues its third and final estimate of how the U.S. economy performed in the second quarter of 2022. By Economics Writer Paul Wiseman. UPCOMING: 130 words after 8:30 a.m. release, then expanded, photos.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. By Business Writer Matt Ott. UPCOMING: 130 words after release of report at 8:30 a.m., photo.
MORTGAGE RATES — Freddie Mac reports on this week’s average U.S. mortgage rates. By Business Writer Matt Ott. UPCOMING: 250 words, photo, after 10 a.m. release.
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SPORTS
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YANKEES-JUDGE-61ST HOME RUN — Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season, hitting a tiebreaking, two-run drive for the New York Yankees in the seventh inning that led them over Toronto Blue Jays 8-3. With JUDGE-HR BALL — Fans miss No. 61 homer ball; Jays bullpen coach gets it to Judge. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-COOLIO — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died at age 59, his manager said. By Entertainment Writers Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Andrew Dalton. SENT: 580 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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