AP News Digest 3:10 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-DOCUMENTS — Virtually everything was going right for President Biden to open the year. His approval ratings were ticking up. Inflation was slowing. But Biden’s rosy political outlook veered into uncertainty after the Department of Justice appointed a special counsel to investigate his handling of classified documents. By Steve Peoples and Jill Colvin. UPCOMING: 1,160 words, photos by 5:15 a.m. With BIDEN-WILMINGTON — Biden’s Delaware home is now a player in document drama (sent).
SEVERE WEATHER-TORNADO — A massive storm system whipping up severe winds and spawning tornadoes cut a path across the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Georgia and Alabama, where a twister damaged buildings and tossed cars in the streets of historic downtown Selma. By Kim Chandler and Jeff Martin. SENT: 880 words, photos, video.
OBIT-LISA-MARIE-PRESLEY — Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley and a singer-songwriter dedicated to her father’s legacy, died after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. She was 54. By Kristin M. Hall and Hillel Italie. SENT: 1,260 words, photos. With OBIT-LISA MARIE PRESLEY-REACTION — John Travolta, Rita Wilson pay tribute to Lisa Marie Presley (sent).
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — As Russian troops wage a ferocious house-to-house fight for control of strongholds in eastern Ukraine, a parallel battle is unfolding in the top echelons of military power in Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin reshuffling his top generals while rival camps try to win his favor. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
JAPAN-ABE-SHOOTING-SUSPECT — Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder, sending him to stand trial, a Japanese court says. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 520 words, photos.
MLK-RACIAL-INJUSTICE — Annual tributes and commemorations of the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which begin nationwide, typically include a mix of politics, faith and community service. By Aaron Morrison. SENT: 970 words,
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TRENDING
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NAACP-IMAGE-AWARDS — “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” earned 12 NAACP Image Awards nomination, while “The Woman King” and “Abbott Elementary” will enter next month’s ceremony as other top nominees. SENT: 330 words, photos.
TRUMP-COLUMNIST LAWSUIT — Lawyers for a longtime advice columnist who says Donald Trump raped her a quarter century ago in a department store dressing room told a judge that the former president’s fall deposition should be made public. SENT: 340 words.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CONGRESS-HOUSE — Republican Kevin McCarthy wrapped his first full week as House speaker in the most outwardly orderly way. But the semblance of House GOP unity is all but certain to be temporary as Congress faces more difficult questions ahead around spending cuts and the federal debt limit. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-JAPAN — President Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prepare to hold wide-ranging talks at the White House as Japan looks to build security cooperation with allies amid growing concerns about provocative Chinese and North Korean military action. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 880 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after 11:15 a.m. arrival at White House.
NURSES-NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE — Even as 7,000 nurses return to work at two of New York’s busiest hospitals after a three-day strike, colleagues around the country say it’s just a matter of time before frontline workers at other hospitals begin walking the picket line. By Amanda Seitz. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
TRUMP-LEGAL-TROUBLE — The stiffest penalty Donald Trump’s company could receive when it is sentenced Friday by a New York judge for helping its executives dodge taxes is a $1.6 million fine — not even enough to buy a Trump Tower apartment. SENT: 770 words, photos.
FOREIGN SURVEILLANCE — A top U.S. intelligence official urges Congress to renew sweeping powers granted to American spy agencies to surveil and examine communications. SENT: 720 words, photo.
TAX SEASON BEGINS — The official start date of the 2023 tax filing season is Jan. 23, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2022 returns. SENT: 250 words, photo.
PENTAGON-UFOS — The U.S. has now collected 510 reports of unidentified flying objects, many of which are flying in sensitive military airspace. While there’s no evidence of extraterrestrials, they still pose a threat. SENT: 260 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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FEMA-ALASKA-NATIVE-WRONG-TRANSLATION — After tidal surges and high winds from the remnants of a rare typhoon caused extensive damage to homes along Alaska’s western coast in September, the U.S. government stepped in to help residents — largely Alaska Natives — repair property damage. SENT: 970 words, photos.
ASYLUM-BAN-EXEMPTIONS — The Biden administration has launched an online appointment system as the only way for migrants to get exceptions from pandemic-era limits on asylum — the U.S. government’s latest major step in eight days to overhaul border enforcement. SENT: 810 words, photos, audio.
MIGRANTS-FLORIDA — The Coast Guard returned another 177 Cuban migrants who were caught at sea off Florida to the island on Thursday, while a group of about two dozen Haitians swam ashore in Miami. SENT: 430 words, photos, audio.
FIRE THREATS — Fires, often sparked by new technologies increasingly found in U.S. homes, are burning faster and becoming deadly at the same time that fire departments are struggling to recruit new hires. SENT: 600 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA STORMS — Atmospheric river storms pounding California since late last year have blanketed mountains with a winter’s worth of snow and have begun raising reservoir levels. Experts say it will take much more precipitation to reverse the effects of years of drought. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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ISRAEL-PALESTINANS-CHILD-ARRESTS — The Israeli military arrested and interrogated hundreds of Palestinian teenagers in 2022 in the occupied West Bank without ever issuing a summons or notifying their families. That’s according to an upcoming report by the Israeli rights group HaMoked. Children as young as 14 were yanked out of bed, bundled into military jeeps and interrogated while sleep-deprived and disoriented. SENT: 1010 words, photos.
BOLIVIA-OPPOSITION PROTESTS — Trucks are snarled and people in the Santa Cruz region have to find ways to skirt blockades that opposition leaders set up across the area considered to be Bolivia’s economic engine to protest the detention of Gov. Luis Fernando Camacho late last year on “terrorism charges.” Prices in markets in the capital of La Paz have increased as opposition leaders demand the release of Camacho, who prosecutors accuse of leading what they call a coup in 2019. Camacho and the opposition dispute those allegations. SENT: 890 words, photos.
JAPAN-FUKUSHIMA — Japan has revised the timing of a planned release to the sea of treated but still radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear power plant to “around spring or summer,” indicating a delay from the initial target of this spring, after factoring in the progress of a release tunnel and the need to gain public support. SENT: 500 words, photo.
UNITED NATIONS-RULE OF LAW-THREATS — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that the rule of law is at grave risk of becoming “the Rule of Lawlessness,” pointing to a host of unlawful actions across the globe from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and coups in Africa’s Sahel region to North Korea’s illegal nuclear weapons program and Afghanistan’s unprecedented attacks on women’s and girls’ rights. SENT: 870 words, photos.
SOUTH KOREA-CROWD CRUSH — South Korean police are seeking charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials, including law enforcement officers, for a lack of safety measures they said were responsible for a crowd surge that killed nearly 160 people. SENT: 720 words, photos.
UNITED-NATIONS-LEBANON-HARIRI-TRIBUNAL — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has extended the mandate of the international tribunal that investigated the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri until the end of the year to complete non-judicial functions so it can cease operation. SENT: 420 words.
PERU-UNREST — A 16-year-old shot during a protest in the southern Peruvian region of Puno has died, bringing the death toll to 49 in more than a month of unrest following the ouster of President Pedro Castillo. SENT: 410 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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CHINA-TRADE — China’s trade surplus swelled to a record $877.6 billion last year as exports rose 7% despite weakening U.S. and European demand and anti-virus controls that temporarily shut down Shanghai and other industrial centers. SENT: 760 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares advanced in Asia after news that U.S. consumer inflation slowed last month pushed Wall Street benchmarks higher. SENT: 640 words, photos.
JAPAN-TOYOTA — To accelerate the global move toward sustainable vehicles, Toyota is suggesting simply replacing the inner workings of vehicles already on the roads with cleaner technology like fuel cells and electric motors. SENT: 460 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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FBN--BILLS-MCDERMOTT — Bills coach Sean McDermott is drawing praise for showing vulnerability, poise and compassion while guiding his team through an emotionally draining week after safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. His approach was not a surprise to Jimmye Laycock, who saw leadership qualities in McDermott while coaching the former safety at William & Mary 30 years ago. By John Wawrow. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
CAR--NASCAR-HARVICK RETIRING — Kevin Harvick received the same answer nearly every time he asked another athlete how they decided to retire: Harvick would just know it was time. The driver thrust onto the global stage when he was named Dale Earnhardt’s replacement just days after Earnhardt’s fatal 2001 crash will make this 23rd season his last in NASCAR. By Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. SENT: 1,420 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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