AP News Digest 3:25 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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KENOSHA-PROTEST-SHOOTINGS — Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all charges after testifying he acted in self-defense in the deadly Kenosha shootings that became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S. By Michael Tarm, Scott Bauer and Amy Forliti. SENT: 1,550 words, photos, video. With KENOSHA PROTEST-SHOOTINGS-MEDIA — A defining image: Rittenhouse nearly crumbles out of picture; RITTENHOUSE-PROTEST-PORTLAND — Rittenhouse protest in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot (both sent).
UNITED STATES-RUSSIA-UKRAINE — Some Republican lawmakers have been pressing the Biden administration to step up military support for Ukraine. But that risks turning what may be mere muscle-flexing by Russian President Vladimir Putin into a full-blown crisis. Still, a weak U.S. response carries its own risks. By Nomaan Merchant. SENT: 1,110 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-EUROPE — This was supposed to be the Christmas in Europe where family and friends could once again embrace holiday festivities and one another. Instead, the continent is the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic as cases soar to record levels in many countries. By RAF CASERT and KAREL JANICEK, SENT: 860 words, photos.
CONGRESS-PELOSI — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to have mastered the art of legislating better than most. On Friday she advanced President Joe Biden’s roughly $2 trillion domestic policy package through the House after weeks of grueling negotiations. The vote not only boosts momentum for Biden’s signature bill, it’s a career milestone for Pelosi. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 970 words, photos.
CHINA-ATHLETE-POWER — Some of the world’s most famous tennis players, distraught by the disappearance of colleague Peng Shuai, are challenging China’s Communist Party to get answers. So far it’s a standoff with little visible impact as tennis players like Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic — joined by tennis governing bodies, human rights groups, retired players, and several athletes’ lobbies— try to turn their profiles into power. By Sports Writer Stephen Wade. SENT: 990 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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ZAC-STACEY-ARREST — Former NFL running back Zac Stacy has been arrested after the mother of his child showed detectives video of him attacking her at her. SENT: 240 words, photos,
SCHOOL-BUS-CRASH-TEXAS — 3 killed, none of them students, in school band bus crash. SENT: 190 words.
OBIT-FUNSPOT-OWNER — Bob Lawton, owner of world’s largest arcade, dies at 90. SENT: 180 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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BIDEN-THANKSGIVING — President Biden pardons two turkeys at the White House, saying they were selected based on their “temperament, appearance and, I suspect, vaccination status.” SENT: 470 words, photos.
NATIONAL PARKS-DIRECTOR — The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles “Chuck” Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency. Some conservationists hailed Sams’ confirmation Thursday night as a commitment to equitable partnership with tribes, the original stewards of the land. SENT: 717 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NATION’S CAPITAL — The decision to relax mask requirements in the nation’s capital sparks a public debate about timing, with the majority of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s own council pleading with her to reconsider. UPCOMING: 500 words, photo by 7 p.m.
SUPREME COURT-FIRST OPINION — The Supreme Court could rule as soon as Monday on Texas’ ban on abortion after roughly six weeks. SENT: 380 words, photo.
CONGRESS-BUDGET-GOLDEN — Rep. Jared Golden of Maine is the only House Democrat to vote against President Biden’s expansive social and environment bill. SENT: 410 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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RAPPER-KILLED-YOUNG-DOLPH — Friends and associates of slain rapper Young Dolph handed out Thanksgiving turkeys at a neighborhood church Friday in Memphis, Tennessee, two days after he was gunned down in broad daylight inside his favorite bakery. SENT; 840 words, photos.
OKLAHOMA EXECUTION — After a six-year moratorium on the death penalty following a series of botched lethal injections, Oklahoma officials announced in August they would seek execution dates for seven condemned men. By the next month, their executions were scheduled, leading some death penalty supporters to believe the state’s executions would resume posthaste. SENT: 570 words, photos.
NEW-YORK-FEDERAL-PROSECUTOR — With Attorney General Merrick Garland looking on, Manhattan’s new U.S. attorney said Friday he’s establishing a civil rights unit in his office’s criminal division to concentrate greater resources on problems worsening in “troubled times.” SENT: 580 words, photos.
ELDERLY DEATHS-TRIAL — A Texas judge declared a mistrial Friday in the first murder case against a man charged with killing 18 older women in the Dallas area over a two-year span. Judge Raquel Jones issued the ruling when a jury deadlocked after deliberating since Thursday afternoon in the capital murder case charging Billy Chemirmir, 48, with the death of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. SENT: 775 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-ELIJAH MCCLAIN-LAWSUIT — The Denver suburb of Aurora has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the parents of Elijah McClain a Black man who died after suburban Denver police stopped him on the street and put him in a neckhold two years ago, the city and a family attorney have announced. SENT: 583 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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BAHRAIN-MANAMA DIALOGUE — America’s top defense official vowed Saturday to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast, a pledge coming as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran’s tattered atomic deal with world powers. SENT: 570 words, photo.
BRAZIL-AMAZON-DEFORESTATION — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and Environment Minister Joaquim Leite both knew the Amazon region’s annual deforestation rate had surged before the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, but kept results quiet to avoid hampering negotiations, according to three Cabinet ministers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. SENT: 800 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-PEACEKEEPING CHALLENGES — The more than 66,000 United Nations peacekeepers are confronting greater threats today because conflicts have become more complex and are driven by an increasing number of factors ranging from ethnic tensions and the impact of organized crime to illegal exploitation of resources and terrorism, the U.N. peacekeeping chief says. SENT: 790 words, photo.
SERBIA-CHINA-WORKERS'-PLIGHT — Vietnamese workers helping construct the first Chinese car tire factory in Europe say they’re shivering in barracks without heat, going hungry and stuck in a plainland in Serbia because their passports have been taken by their Chinese employer. The Associated Press visited the construction site in northern Serbia where some 500 of the workers are living in harsh conditions. SENT: 700 words, photos.
THAILAND-FESTIVAL FLOATS — Thais have flocked to release small floats adorned with flowers and candles in an annual festival honoring the goddess of water, with many of the hundreds of thousands of floats ending up clogging and polluting the country’s waterways. SENT: 690 words, photos.
MEXICO-IMMIGRATION — Mexican authorities discovered more than 400 migrants transiting the country in the back of two semi-trailers, not far from where two migrant caravans were more visibly, and slowly, making their way north. SENT: 490 words, photos.
MALAYSIA-STATE-ELECTION — Voters wearing masks cast their ballots in a Malaysian state election that pits Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Malay party against its allies in the government for the first time amid a widening rift. SENT: 450 words, photos.
CANADA-MUDSLIDES — The British Columbia government announced Friday it is limiting the amount of fuel people can purchase at gas stations in some parts of the province and is restricting non-essential travel as highways begin to reopen following torrential rains that caused floods and mudslides. SENT: 440 words, photos.
INDIA-RAINS — At least 17 people have died and dozens are reported missing in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after days of heavy rains, authorities say. SENT: 260 words, photo.
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BUSINSS/ECONOMY
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CHINA-ANTI-MONOPOLY — Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings were fined Saturday for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. SENT: 190 words, photos.
THERANOS-HOLMES-TRIAL — The government rested its case Friday in the trial of fallen Silicon Valley star Elizabeth Holmes after spending more than two months trying to prove she bamboozled investors and patients into believing that her startup, Theranos, would reshape health care. SENT: 892 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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LAKERS-CELTICS — Jayson Tatum scored 37 points and the Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles 130-108 in LeBron James’ return to the Lakers’ lineup. James had missed eight games with an abdominal strain. SENT: 750 words, photos.
FBC--T25-WEEKEND PREVIEW — With two weeks left in the regular season, top-ranked Georgia is the only Power Five team to have clinched a spot in its conference championship game. More tickets to title games should be punched this weekend. By College Football Writer Eric Olson. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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