AP News Digest 3:45 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.

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ONLY ON AP

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CHINA-POOR COUNTRY DEBT — A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world’s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China. An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia and Mongolia — found payments on the debt are consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to provide basic services. By Bernard Condon. SENT: 2,980 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

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G7-SUMMIT — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Hiroshima as he prepared to welcome world leaders to a Group of Seven meeting in the western Japanese city that was the site of the world’s first atomic bomb attack. The Japanese leader planned to hold separate meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later in the day, before the wider summit kicks off Friday. The G-7 leaders are expected to touch on a range of issues during their three-day meeting, with Russia’s war in Ukraine likely to be high on the agenda. By Adam Schreck. SENT: 650 words, photos. With G7-JAPAN-EXPLAINER — G-7 Hiroshima summit: Who’s attending, what will be discussed? Also see MORE ON G-7 SUMMIT below.

ABORTION — South Carolina became the latest state to move toward a near total abortion ban with legislation that if enacted would leave Virginia an outlier in the South as a place where women have unrestricted access to abortions amid a rapid rise in restrictions in the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned. By Kimberlee Kruesi, Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie. SENT: 1,140 words, photos, video. With ABORTION PILL — Abortion pill case moves to appeals court; ABORTION-THINGS TO KNOW.

TRANSGENDER RIGHTS-THINGS TO KNOW — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has highlighted efforts by Republican governors and statehouses across the country to embrace proposals limiting the rights of transgender people, signing new restrictions as he moves closer to a presidential bid. By Andrew DeMillo. SENT: 680 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russia launched cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital and the Odesa region, officials said, in an escalation ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive. Most of the missiles were shot down, and one death was reported from the attacks. By Susie Blann. SENT: 460 words, photos.

BRITAIN-HARRY AND MEGHAN-CAR CHASE — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were trailed in their car by photographers as they left a New York City charity event Tuesday night, briefly taking refuge at a police station before being whisked away in a yellow taxicab. By Michael R. Sisak, Bobby Caina Calvan and Danica Kirka. SENT: 1,210 words, photos, videos.

LEARNING TO READ — The COVID-19 pandemic upended learning across the United States. And now that students are back together in class, some are much more behind than others. In Richard Evans' classroom in Niagara Falls, New York, the approach is one that mirrors a best practice for the nation. He is tailoring his instruction depending on individual students' needs. By Carolyn Thompson. SENT: 1,840 words, photos, video.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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MIGRATION FRANCE AFRICAN ISLAND — Facing a migration quagmire on the French island of Mayotte off Africa’s east coast, France’s government has sent in 2,000 troops and police to carry out mass expulsions, destroy slums and eradicate violent gangs. But the operation has bogged down and raised concerns of abuse, and is triggering tensions and exposing deep inequalities. By Gregoire Merot. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.

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MORE ON G-7 SUMMIT

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G7 SUMMIT-BIDEN — President Joe Biden arrived in Japan with plans to meet privately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of the larger Group of Seven summit — a sign of how the economic and national security alliance between the two countries has strengthened. SENT: 870 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,100 words after morning meeting, time uncertain.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DIRECTOR — The show must go on, even when its Ukrainian director is drafted by the army weeks before opening night. SENT: 420 words, photos.

CHINA-UKRAINE-EMBASSY DISPLAYS — Foreign embassies in Beijing were asked by the Chinese government to avoid displaying what it calls propaganda in an apparent response to shows of support for Ukraine. SENT: 480 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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BEST BEACHES — A Florida Panhandle beach tops “Dr. Beach's" list as the nation’s best beach for 2023. SENT: 650 words, photos.

STOLEN RUBY SLIPPERS — Man indicted in theft of “Wizard of Oz” ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland. SENT: 540 words, photos.

CONGRESS-SANTOS — GOP votes to send Santos measure to Ethics Committee. SENT: 560 words, photo.

HEAT-CELTICS — Jimmy Butler scores 35, Heat rally to beat Celtics in East finals opener. SENT: 830 words, photos.

TIKTOK BAN-MONTANA — Montana becomes first state to enact complete TikTok ban. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.

LA STRIPPERS TO UNIONIZE — Dancers at L.A. bar to become only unionized strippers in U.S. SENT: 830 words, photos.

TIGER WOODS-LAWSUIT — Judge rejects attempt by Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend to throw out NDA. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2023-DEMOCRATS-CRIME — The Democrat who will almost certainly become Philadelphia’s next mayor wants to hire hundreds of additional police officers. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

DEBT LIMIT — Biden declared he is confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video.

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NATIONAL

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LEAKED DOCUMENTS-INVESTIGATION — Prosecutors say that superiors of the Massachusetts Air National guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information. SENT: 710 words, photos.

CENSUS-METRO AREAS — U.S. metropolitan areas grew by almost half a percent last year in another sign that flight from urban areas during the first year of the pandemic either slowed or reversed in its second year as people flocked to Sunbelt metros in Texas and Florida by the tens of thousands in 2022. SENT: 590 words, photo.

NEW MEXICO-SHOOTING — A high school student who killed three women in northwestern New Mexico with an indiscriminate spray of gunfire left a cryptic note presaging “the end of the chapter” and wore a bulletproof vest that he discarded before being shot to death by police, authorities said. SENT: 670 words, photos, video.

BIKE PATH ATTACK — An unrepentant and defiant Islamic extremist received 10 life sentences and another 260 years in prison for killing eight people with a truck on a bike path in Manhattan on Halloween in 2017, as a judge decried his “callous and cowardly” crimes. SENT: 920 words, photos.

BORDER PATROL-CUSTODY DEATH — U.S. authorities say an 8-year-old girl died in Border Patrol custody in Harlingen, Texas, a rare occurrence that comes as the agency struggles with overcrowding. SENT: 270 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israel deployed over 2,000 police for a march by flag-waving Jewish nationalists through the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City, a contentious event that comes as tensions are already running high. SENT: 850 words, photo.

AFGHANISTAN — A U.K.-based rights group launched an interactive map documenting rampant human rights abuses and violence against civilians since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan nearly two years ago. SENT: 580 words, photos.

PAKISTAN-POLITICS — Pakistani police kept up their siege around the home of Imran Khan as a 24-hour deadline given to the former premier to hand over suspects allegedly sheltered inside was about to expire. SENT: 500 words, photos, video.

CHINA-FISHING BOAT CAPSIZING — A Chinese envoy asked Australian authorities to increase efforts to find survivors in an Indian Ocean search for 39 crew members missing from a capsized Chinese fishing boat. SENT: 470 words, photo.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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BRAZIL-AMAZON-OIL DRILLING — Brazil’s environmental regulator has rejected a license for a controversial offshore oil drilling project near the mouth of the Amazon River that drew strong opposition from activists who warned of its potential for damaging the area. SENT: 690 words, photo.

CLIMATE-CARBON CAPTURE — The Biden administration announced $251 million for carbon capture and storage projects in seven states, aiming to reduce planet-warming pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities. By Science Writer Drew Costley. SENT: 690 words, photo.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on hopes U.S. political leaders can reach agreement to avoid a potentially disastrous default on government debt. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 550 words, photos. With JAPAN-TRADE — Japan racks up trade deficit although exports gradually rebound.

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SPORTS

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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP — Oak Hill is tough enough in any conditions. Throw in biting colder temperatures on the eve of the PGA Championship and it was a reminder that this major figures to be a strong test. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 860 words, photos. UPCOMING: Play begins at 7 a.m.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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CANNES-FRANCE-INDIANA JONES — Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford will swing into Cannes for the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in one of the most anticipated events of the French Riviera festival. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT: 200 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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