AP News Digest 3:20 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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ETHIOPIA-FOOD THEFT — Millions of Ethiopians were starved by a two-year war. Now, even after peace, they are going hungry again. That’s after the discovery earlier this year of a massive theft of donated food aid in Ethiopia. It has led the United States and the United Nations to take the dramatic step of pausing the delivery of food aid to Ethiopia countrywide. By Ellen Knickmeyer and Cara Anna. SENT: 1,370 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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TITANIC-TOURIST SUB — The U.S. Coast Guard says a Canadian aircraft has detected underwater noises during the search for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. As a result of the noises detected by the Canadian P-3 aircraft, search efforts have been relocated. Those searches had not found anything, but are continuing. Rescuers have been racing against the clock because even under the best of circumstances the vessel could run out of oxygen by Thursday morning. By Patrick Whittle and Holly Ramer. SENT: 960 words, photos, video. With TITANIC-TOURIST SUB-LAWSUIT — Company’s insufficient testing of Titanic sub put passengers in “potential extreme danger.” SENT: 720 words, photos; TITANIC-TOURIST SUB-EXPLAINER — What we know about the missing Titanic-bound submersible; TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB-PASSENGERS — A Titanic expert, an adventurer, and a father and son are among the passengers on missing submersible.
ELECTION 2024-BIDEN — Democrats, already anxious about President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects, are seeking to downplay — or ignore altogether — revelations that the president’s son has entered into a plea deal with federal prosecutors over tax offenses and a gun charge. And as Democrats dodge, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies seized on the extraordinary legal development to tighten his grip on the GOP and deflect from his own legal shortcomings. By National Political Writer Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,140 words, photos. With BIDEN-THE PRESIDENT’S SON; HUNTER BIDEN-EXPLAINER.
TRUMP-CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS — In his first televised interview since his arraignment on federal charges, Trump acknowledged that he delayed turning over boxes of documents despite being asked to do so, drew factually incorrect parallels between his case and classified document probes concerning other politicians, and claimed he didn’t actually have a Pentagon attack plan that the indictment says he boasted about to others. Those comments could complicate his lawyers’ work and give the Justice Department compelling, and admissible, insight into the former president's state of mind as the case moves forward. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 970 words, photos.
BIDEN-MODI — No one would mistake them for best of friends, but Biden, the son of blue-collar Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who rose from tea seller’s son to premier, have developed a relationship based on mutual respect of their scrappy backgrounds and a pragmatism about the shared challenges their two countries face. By Aamer Madhani and Krutika Pathi. SENT: 1,080 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after 6:50 p.m. White House visit. With UNITED STATES-INDIA.
HONDURAS-PRISON RIOT — Inmates had complained for weeks they were being threatened by gang members at a women’s prison in Honduras. The gang fulfilled those threats, slaughtering 41 women, many of them burned, shot or stabbed to death. President Xiomara Castro said the riot in Tamara, northwest of Honduras’ capital, was “planned by maras (street gangs) with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities.” By Marlon Gonzàlez. SENT: 810 words, photos, video.
TRANSGENDER-HEALTH-ARKANSAS — A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions. U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18. By Andrew DeMillo. SENT: 830 words, photo.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR
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UKRAINE-RECOVERY CONFERENCE — Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine, a mammoth task whose cost is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion. SENT: 670 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-COSTS — The Pentagon said that it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years — about double early estimates — resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages. SENT: 620 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukrainian officials say the country’s air defenses downed 32 of 35 Shahed exploding drones that Russia launched overnight. Most were taken down in the Kyiv region. SENT: 980 words, photos.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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PALESTINIANS-THREATENED VILLAGE — Generations of Palestinians have worked the terraced hillsides of the West Bank farming village of Battir, southwest of Jerusalem, growing olives, fruits, beans and exquisite eggplants in a valley linked to the biblical King David. But residents fear their ancient way of life could soon be in danger as Israel’s far-right government moves ahead with a settlement project on a nearby hilltop. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES-EDUCATION — Advocates say schools across the U.S. are removing students with disabilities from the classroom, often in response to challenging behavior, by sending them home or cutting back on the days they’re allowed to attend. Schools say the move can be necessary to keep students and teachers safe. But parents and advocates argue the shortened days amount to discrimination and violations of students’ civil rights. SENT: 1,190 words, photos, video.
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MORE NEWS
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BRITAIN-STONEHENGE-SUMMER SOLSTICE — Summer solstice brings druids, pagans and thousands of curious people to Stonehenge. SENT: 540 words, photos, video.
IDAHO-FATAL SHOOTING — Idaho man charged with four counts of murder in shooting deaths of his neighbors, including two teens. SENT: 550 words, photos.
ROMANIA-ANDREW-TATE — Romanian prosecutors say social media personality Andrew Tate has been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women. SENT: 510 words, photos.
RAPPER-GANG-CHARGES — Rapper Quando Rondo jailed on drug, gang charges in Georgia. SENT: 140 words, photo.
TROPICAL WEATHER-BRET — Tropical Storm Bret spins toward eastern Caribbean as forecasters warn of heavy rainfall. SENT: 490 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE-REPUBLICANS — As Trump faces a federal indictment, House Republicans are using the report from a special counsel to renew their argument that federal law enforcement is tainted by political bias. SENT: 820 words, photos. UPCOMING: 900 words after 9 a.m. hearing.
CHINA-US-RIVALRY — Biden, speaking at a fundraiser for his 2024 reelection, said Chinese President Xi Jinping had been “embarrassed” by the spy balloon Biden ordered shot down over U.S. airspace, an incident that prompted his secretary of state to cancel an earlier trip to China. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 980 words, photos. With CHINA-US-MILITARY CONTACTS-EXPLAINER.
JILL BIDEN-ABORTION — Jill Biden said that the consequences for women of losing the constitutional right to an abortion “go far beyond the right to choose” as she hosted a conversation with four women, including a Texas doctor, who shared emotional stories of being denied necessary reproductive care. SENT: 790 words, photo.
TRUMP-INVESTIGATIONS-EASTMAN — Attorney John Eastman, the architect of a legal strategy aimed at keeping Trump in power, concocted a baseless theory and made false claims of fraud in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election, a prosecutor said in arguing that Eastman be disbarred. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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BIBLE BAN-UTAH SCHOOL — Bibles will return to the shelves in a northern Utah school district that provoked an outcry after it banned them from middle and elementary schools last month. SENT: 600 words, photos.
ELECTION 2023-CENTRAL PARK FIVE — Some consider Yusef Salaam a folk hero as a member of the “Central Park Five,” the group of teenagers wrongly convicted of raping a white jogger in a brutal attack 34 years ago. Now he is banking on his painful past to help win a seat on the New York City Council. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
EDUCATION-TEST SCORES — Math and reading scores among America’s 13-year-olds fell to their lowest levels in decades, with math scores plunging by the largest margin ever recorded, according to the results of a test known as the nation’s report card. SENT: 680 words, photo.
WISCONSIN-ALCOHOL LAWS — Wisconsin lawmakers are poised to approve a massive overhaul of the laws governing the state’s multibillion-dollar liquor industry, a proposal supported by the smallest craft brewers to the largest national brewers, bar owners and alcohol distributors. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a restaurant and gas station near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, killing four Israelis and wounding several other people before they were shot dead, authorities said, as violence roiled the occupied territory the day after a deadly Israeli military raid. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.
POLAND-TRANSGENDER RIGHTS — Parents of trans children are mobilizing in Poland seeking acceptance after the country’s leader mocked trans people last year during Pride season. Poland has been ranked as the worst country in the European Union for LGBTQ+ rights. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
MIGRATION-GREECE — Nine men suspected of crewing a migrant smuggling ship that sank off Greece leaving more than 500 missing were ordered held in pretrial custody, as new accounts emerged on the sinking and the appalling conditions on the trip from Libya towards Italy. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FEDERAL RESERVE-POWELL — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will begin two days of hearings before Congress that will likely focus on the question that consumed the central bank last week: How far and how fast will the Fed raise its key interest rate from here? By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 700 words, photos.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Shares were mostly lower in Asia after Wall Street benchmarks retreated following the S&P 500’s rise to its highest level since the spring of last year. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 640 words, photos
CHINA-FOREIGN BUSINESS — Foreign companies are shifting investments and their Asian headquarters out of China as confidence plunges following the expansion of an anti-spying law and other challenges, a business group said. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 660 words, photos
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