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AP News Digest 3:20 am

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 23 March 2022 01:35 EDT

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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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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukrainian leaders accused Russia of seizing 15 rescue workers and drivers from a humanitarian convoy trying to get desperately needed food and other supplies into the bloodied port city of Mariupol, which also came under naval attack after weeks of air and land strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy estimated that 100,000 civilians remained in Mariupol, scene of some of the war’s worst devastation, as Russia presses a nearly month-old offensive by bombarding cities and towns. Those made it out described a shattered city. By Nebi Qena and Cara Anna. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, videos. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE LATEST; RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THINGS TO KNOW.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-BIDEN — The future of Europe hanging in the balance, President Joe Biden will huddle with key allies in Brussels and Warsaw this week as the leaders try to prevent Russia’s war on Ukraine from spiraling into an even greater catastrophe. By Chris Megerian and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 890 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after 9 a.m. departure; arrival in Brussels scheduled for 3:50 p.m. Also see MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR below. For full coverage.

SUPREME COURT-NOMINATION — Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson faces another day of questions from senators, following a marathon session in which she forcefully defended her record as a judge and pushed back against Republican assertions that she was soft on crime. By Mary Clare Jalonick and Mark Sherman. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,100 words after hearing resumes at 9 a.m. With SUPREME COURT-JACKSON’S FAITH — Jackson invokes her Christian faith, stays mum on specifics.

SEVERE WEATHER — A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. Officials confirmed that one person was dead and multiple others were injured in the suburb. Other tornadoes spawned by the same storm system hit parts of Texas and Oklahoma, killing one person and causing multiple injuries and widespread damage. By Gerald Herbert and Rebecca Santana. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, videos.

CHINA PLANE CRASH — The search for clues into why a plane made an inexplicable dive and crashed into a mountain in southern China has been suspended as rain slicks the debris field and fills the red-dirt gash formed by the plane’s fiery impact. Earlier, searchers had used hand tools to comb the slopes for the black boxes, a well as any human remains. Crews also worked to pump water from the pit created when the plane hit the ground, but their efforts were suspended around midmorning because landslides were possible. By Ng Han Guan. SENT: 470 words, photos.

AFGHANISTAN-MUSIC SILENCED — The music has stopped in a historic quarter of Kabul’s old city. Gone are the instruments that lined the storefronts. Their owners packed them and left, putting a centuries-old Afghan musical tradition at risk of vanishing. Six months since the Taliban’s blitz takeover of Afghanistan, silence has replaced the sonorous tunes that once echoed along the narrow alleyways of Kucha-e-Kharabat, the musician’s quarter in the Afghan capital. By Samya Kullab. SENT: 770 words, photos.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-ENERGY PRICES — Across Europe, governments are slashing fuel taxes and doling out tens of billions in aid to help truckers, farmers and other businesses cope with spiking energy prices made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. By Business Writer Kelvin Chan. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 5 a.m.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-SPAIN-REFUGEES — The tiny Spanish town of Guissona, known as “Little Ukraine,” has now welcomed over 250 refugees and solidarity is spreading to residents in neighboring communities opening their houses to host entire families fleeing war. UPCOMING: 810 words, photos by 7 a.m.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-PHILANTHROPY — As staggering as the immediate humanitarian need is for the more than 10 million displaced Ukrainians refugees, the leader of Open Society Foundations says their long-term needs will be even larger if they aren’t also addressed now. By Business Writer Glenn Gamboa. SENT: 710 words, photo.

RUSSIA-OPPOSITION — Russia has unleashed a harsh crackdown on dissent over the past year by imprisoning opposition leader Alexei Navalny and silencing his supporters and his organization. SENT: 960 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-UN-HUMANITARIAN — The United Nations will face three resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine after Russia decided to call for a vote on its Security Council resolution that makes no mention of its attack on its smaller neighbor. SENT: 860 words, photos. UPCOMING: General Assembly meets at 10 a.m.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW ZEALAND — New Zealand will remove many of its COVID-19 pandemic mandates over the next two weeks as an outbreak of the omicron variant begins to wane. SENT: 380 words, photo.

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TRENDING NEWS

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TIGER ATTACK-FLORIDA — Deputies: Man mauled by tiger at Florida airboat attraction. SENT: 180 words.

AMANDA BYNES-CONSERVATORSHIP — Judge ends lengthy conservatorship for actor Amanda Bynes. SENT: 460 words, photo.

DISNEY WALKOUT — Disney in balancing act as some workers walk out in protest. SENT: 1,050 words, photos, video.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-HILLARY CLINTON — Hillary Clinton tests positive for COVID; Bill quarantining. SENT: 110 words, photo.

CARIBBEAN-BRITAIN-ROYAL VISIT — Protesters in Jamaica spurn royals ahead of official visit. SENT: 630 words, photos, video.

NEW ZEALAND-NEW YORK FLIGHTS — Airline offers 17-hour flights from New York to New Zealand. SENT: 400 words, photos.

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ELECTION 2022

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ELECTION 2022-REPUBLICANS — Accusations that Missouri Senate Republican candidate Eric Greitens physically assaulted members of his family add fresh urgency to a GOP push to ensure the party doesn’t nominate candidates who are so damaged that they put otherwise safe seats in play. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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IRAQ-LGBT — A report by Human Rights Watch, in collaboration with an Iraqi LGBT rights organization, accuses armed groups in Iraq of abducting, raping, torturing, and killing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with impunity. SENT: 820 words.

INDIA FIRE — A major fire in a scrap warehouse killed at least 11 people and injured four others in India’s southern Hyderabad city, police and officials said. SENT: 110 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares rose, following a rally on Wall Street led by technology companies, although investors remain concerned about the war in Ukraine and inflation. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BARTY RETIRES — Ash Barty surprisingly retired from tennis at age 25 while ranked No. 1 and less than two months after winning the Australian Open for her third Grand Slam singles title. By Sports Writer Dennis Passa. SENT: 990 words, photos.

NBA AT 75-2000s-JAMISON’S PERSPECTIVE — Antawn Jamison shares his thoughts with the AP on what it was like to take the court in the decade of the 2000s with what he calls “greatness” and offers his opinion on who ranks where in the sport’s pantheon. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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FASHION-RALPH LAUREN — In his first show since 2019, Ralph Lauren transformed a long room at the Museum of Modern Art into a cozy salon to debut a moneyed collection of mostly black and white for men and women. SENT: 560 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Wally Santana (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.

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