AP News Digest 3 am
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TOP STORIES
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BIDEN-CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS — President Joe Biden’s legal team has discovered additional documents containing classification markings in a second location, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The revelation comes days after an attorney for the president said Biden’s lawyers had discovered a “small number” of classified documents at his former office space in Washington. The person who spoke to the AP did not say when or where the material was found or specific details about the level of classification of the documents. By Michael Balsamo and Zeke Miller. SENT: 620 words, photos. With BIDEN-CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS-EXPLAINER — A side-by-side look at the Trump, Biden classified documents.
IT’S CLASSIFIED — For years, problems with classified materials have been a shortcut to controversy in Washington. Hillary Clinton got in trouble for her use of a private email server. Donald Trump risked criminal charges for refusing to return top secret records. And now President Joe Biden faces a political headache over documents with classified markings found at an old office. By Chris Megerian. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-THE AILING POWER PLANT — When Ukraine was at peace, its energy workers were largely unheralded. War made them heroes. They're proving to be Ukraine's line of defense against repeated Russian missile and drone strikes targeting the energy grid and inflicting the misery of blackouts in winter. By Hanna Arhirova. SENT: 800 words, photo.
FAA-OUTAGE — Thousands of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed Wednesday after a system that offers safety information to pilots failed, and the government launched an investigation into the breakdown, which grounded some planes for hours. The Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary indications “traced the outage to a damaged database file.” The agency said it would take steps to avoid another similar disruption. By Business Writers David Koenig and Michelle Chapman. SENT: 870 words, photos, videos. With FAA OUTAGE-NOTAM-EXPLAINER — How NOTAM caused widespread flight disruptions.
CONSUMER PRICES — The U.S. inflation report for December could provide another welcome sign that the worst bout of spiking prices in four decades is slowly weakening. Or it could suggest that inflation remains persistent enough to require tougher action by the Federal Reserve. Most economists foresee the more optimistic scenario. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 800 words, photos. UPCOMING: Report at 8:30 a.m.
AFGHANISTAN-NGO WOMEN’S BAN — The Taliban’s ban on women working for non-governmental organizations is already starting to hurt the massive humanitarian aid campaign that is keeping Afghanistan alive, aid workers say. By Riazat Butt. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. With AFGHANISTAN — IS claims responsibility for Kabul attack that killed five.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — The fate of a devastated salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine hung in the balance in one of the bloodiest battles of Russia’s invasion, while Ukraine’s unflagging resistance and other challenges prompted Moscow to shake up its military leadership again. SENT: 1,290 words, photos, video.
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TRENDING
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BILLS-HAMLIN — Going home: Bills’ Hamlin released from Buffalo hospital. SENT: 670 words, photos, video.
OSAKA-PREGNANT — Naomi Osaka says she’s pregnant, plans tennis return in 2024. SENT: 280 words, photos.
JILL BIDEN — White House: Jill Biden has two cancerous lesions removed. SENT: 600 words, photos.
BOOKS-PRINCE HARRY-SALES — Prince Harry’s memoir opens at a record-setting sales pace. SENT: 290 words, photo.
OBIT-FASHION-TATJANA PATITZ — Tatjana Patitz, supermodel of ’80s and ’90s, dies at 56. SENT: 280 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON
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ELECTION 2024-DESANTIS — The influx of Cuban migrants coming to Florida offers insight into Gov. Ron DeSantis’ leadership as he eyes a presidential primary campaign against former President Donald Trump. UPCOMING: 1,200 words, photos by 6 a.m.
ASH CARTER-MEMORIAL — President Biden and other past and present U.S. officials are honoring the late defense secretary, Ash Carter, who opened the way for women to fight in combat and for transgendered personnel to serve. SENT: 330 words, photos. UPCOMING: 800 words after 11 a.m. ceremony.
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NATIONAL
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SCHOOL SHOOTING-METAL DETECTORS — The shooting of a first-grade teacher by a 6-year-old boy has plunged the nation into uncharted waters of school violence, with many in the Virginia shipbuilding city where it happened demanding metal detectors in every school. But experts warn there are no easy solutions when it comes to preventing gun violence in schools. SENT: 1,310 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA STORMS-MISSING BOY — The mother of a 5-year-old boy missing in floodwaters from California’s epic winter storms says she thought it was safe to drive across a creek flowing over the road she drove to school every day. SENT: 1,240 words, photos, video.
FOUR DEAD-UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO — The man accused in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students is expected to appear in court, a day after classes resumed for undergraduates, many of whom until recent days were stricken by fear over the case. SENT: 770 words, photos.
OKLAHOMA EXECUTION-EIZEMBER — Oklahoma plans to execute a man who was convicted of killing an older couple and committing other crimes before authorities caught up to him in Texas 20 years ago. SENT: 590 words, photos. UPCOMING: Execution scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
LOS ANGELES POLICE SHOOTINGS — The Los Angeles police chief said he is concerned about two recent fatal police shootings, including one in which officers failed to call for a specially trained mental health team during an interaction with a man in crisis. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
BORDER-PURSUIT POLICY — U.S. border authorities announced changes to their policy for pursuing smugglers and other crime suspects, following an extensive review and criticism by immigrant advocates who pointed to cases in which passengers died when drivers fled law enforcement. SENT: 580 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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HUMAN RIGHTS — Widespread opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrates the strength of a unified response against human rights abuses, and there are signs that power is shifting as people take to the streets to demonstrate their dissatisfaction in Iran, China and elsewhere, a leading rights group said. SENT: 840 words, photos.
BRAZIL-CAPITAL UPRISING-BIG TECH — The rioters who stormed Brazil’s capital buildings on Sunday used coded language on social media to coordinate and carry out their plans in plain view. SENT: 980 words, photos.
COP28-EMIRATES-PRESIDENT — The United Arab Emirates named a veteran technocrat with experience in both renewable energies and the oil business as the president of the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai, highlighting the balancing act ahead for this crude-producing nation. SENT: 950 words, photos.
INDIA-DEVELOPING NATIONS — India has convened a virtual summit of more than 100 developing countries to evolve a uniform strategy for a redress of their economic woes from the developed world with “the world in a state of crisis.” SENT: 240 words, photo.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares were mixed ahead of a closely watched report on U.S. inflation that is viewed as a good indicator of whether Wall Street’s recent rising optimism is warranted or overdone. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 650 words, 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.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-JEFF BECK — Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, has died. He was 78. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 920 words, photos. With OBIT-JEFF BECK-REACTION — Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart pay tribute after death of Jeff Beck.
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