AP News Digest 3:30 am
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TOP STORIES
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UKRAINE-TENSIONS — The Kremlin and the West held out the possibility of a diplomatic path out of the Ukraine crisis, even as Russia appeared to continue preparations for a potential invasion, including moving troops and military hardware closer to its neighbor. By Vladimir Isachenkov and Yuras Karmanau. SENT: 840 words, photos, video. With UKRAINE TENSIONS-THINGS TO KNOW. Also see UKRAINE TENSIONS-CONGRESS below.
RUSSIA WAR SKEPTICISM — While the U.S. warns that Russia could invade Ukraine any day, the drumbeat of war is all but unheard in Moscow, where pundits and ordinary people alike don’t expect President Vladimir Putin to launch an attack on its ex-Soviet neighbor. SENT: 800 words, photos. With AUSTRALIA-CHINA-UKRAINE — Australia urges China to denounce Russia over Ukraine. By Vladimir Isachenkov. SENT: 990 words, photos. For more on Ukraine.
AFGHANISTAN-SIX MONTHS ON — Six months after the Afghan capital of Kabul was ceded to the Taliban with the sudden and secret departure of the country's U.S.-backed president, residents say a calm has settled over the country. By Kathy Gannon. SENT: 500 words, photos.
TRUMP-LEGAL-TROUBLES — The accounting firm that prepared former President Donald Trump’s annual financial statements says the documents, used to secure lucrative loans and burnish Trump’s image as a wealthy businessman, “should no longer be relied upon” after New York’s attorney general said they regularly misstated the value of assets. By Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 900 words, photo.
DOPING-THE DISTRACTION — Those first few days of the Beijing Olympics, the questions came hard and fast: Uyghurs. The closed loop. Jack Ma. Appeasing a dictatorship. Then came the Russian doping scandal. Now, the IOC is buried in details about drug tests and legal procedure. Was the dog wagged? By Sports Writer Stephen Wade. UPCOMING: 930 words, photo by 6 a.m.
GU’S CHOICE — She is an exceptional athlete who has already won gold and silver in the Beijing Olympics. But the deep fascination and even obsession with Eileen Gu’s origin story has threatened to overshadow anything she does on the slopes. The frenzy to “explain” Gu’s choice may reflect biases and misunderstandings in the United States about Asian American identity. The 18-year-old athlete has genuinely strong connections to China. That aligns her with a growing trend among Chinese Americans that are taking advantage of opportunities and resources both in the Western countries where they grew up and in an increasingly wealthy mainland China. By Janie Har and Sarah DiLorenzo. SENT: 1,390 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE OLYMPICS
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WOMEN’S SHORT — Worn out after a grueling doping hearing, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva says she is happy nonetheless after being allowed to skate in the women’s short program at the Beijing Olympics. By Sports Writers Dave Skretta and James Ellingworth. SENT: 790 words, photos. UPCOMING: Competition starts 5 a.m. With BEIJING-OLYMPICS-THE-LATEST.
BEIJING-ATHLETE ACTIVISTS -- Around the world, athletes are throwing their support behind political and social causes, part of a wave of sports activism that has flourished in the years since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began taking a knee during games to protest police brutality against Black people. SENT: 990 words, photos.
BEIJING-THE SPECTATORS — Skiing, skating and other competitions take place before a global TV audience, but few see them in person. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH KOREA — South Korea reported its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a month as U.S. health authorities advised Americans to avoid traveling to the country grappling with a fast-developing omicron surge. SENT: 450 words, photo.
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TRENDING NEWS
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PALIN-NY TIMES — Judge to dismiss Sarah Palin’s libel suit against New York Times. SENT: 410 words, photos.
DOWNED-AIRCRAFT-SEARCH — Plane with eight aboard crashes off North Carolina; one body found. SENT: 470 words.
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WASHINGTON
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CONGRESS-STOCK TRADING — Pressure is building for Congress to pass legislation that would curtail lawmakers’ ability to speculate on the stock market. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
REDISTRICTING-TENNESSEE — Voters in Nashville face the potential of congressional representation mostly at odds with their political views thanks to a new Republican-drawn map that will split the liberal city into three districts. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
UKRAINE TENSIONS-CONGRESS — The U.S. Senate is considering a resolution in support of Ukraine’s independence while stopping short of legislation to impose sanctions on Russia. By Lisa Mascaro and Farnoush Amiri. SENT: 620 words, photo.
SENATE-NEVER EASY — The House last week easily approved bills that would avoid a government shutdown and relieve much of the financially strapped Postal Service’s huge debt. SENT: 710 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS — Federal prosecutors rested their case against three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights, setting the stage for two of the officers to soon take the stand as part of their defense. SENT: 670 words, photos.
AHMAUD ARBERY-HATE CRIMES — Prosecutors were to begin calling witnesses in the federal hate crimes trial of three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.. SENT: 260 words, photos.
SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS-RECALL — Voters in a special election will decide whether to recall three members of the school board, after officials were criticized for focusing on renaming schools rather than trying to get children back into classrooms during the pandemic. SENT: 700 words, photos.
GUNS TO GARDEN TOOLS — A Colorado-Springs-based nonprofit that draws inspiration from the Bible and turns firearms into garden tools has disabled more than 1,000 firearms across the country since its inception in 2013. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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PALESTINIANS-GENERATIONAL DIVIDE — Ramy Shaath, who was released from an Egyptian jail last month, is an outspoken opponent of Arab dictatorship and Israeli rule over the Palestinians, and is part of a generation of activists who see them as two sides of the same coin. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
HONDURAS-CORRUPTION — After years of speculation in Honduras, the United States formally requested the arrest and extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernández less than three weeks after he left office. SENT: 600 words, photo.
SOUTH KOREA-POLITICS — Candidates for South Korea’s presidential election began their formal campaigns in a race tainted by intense political strife over allegations involving the main candidates and their families. SENT: 420 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-HORN OF AFRICA — Drought in the Horn of Africa has killed more than 1.5 million livestock and drastically cut cereal production, “and we are most definitely now sitting on the brink of catastrophe,” a senior official for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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3G-SHUTDOWN-EXPLAINER — As telecom companies rev up the newest generation of mobile service, called 5G, they're shutting down old networks — a costly, years-in-the-works process that's now prompting calls for a delay because many products out there still rely on the old standard, 3G. By Technology Writer Tali Arbel. UPCOMING: 1,030 words, photos by 6 a.m.
PRODUCER PRICES — The Labor Department releases the Producer Price Index for January. By Economics Writer Paul Wiseman. UPCOMING: 130 words, photo after 8:30 a.m. release, then updated.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares were mostly lower, echoing a decline on Wall Street, amid concerns about a potential Russian military invasion of Ukraine. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 670 words, photos. With JAPAN-ECONOMY — Japan economy grew last quarter on better spending, exports.
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SPORTS
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DJOKOVIC-VACCINATION — Novak Djokovic said in an interview that he is prepared to skip the French Open and Wimbledon if vaccination against the coronavirus is required for him to play. SENT: 530 words, photo.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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NY FASHION WEEK-LAQUAN SMITH — Julia Fox, fresh from her breakup with the artist formerly known as Kanye West, opened LaQuan Smith’s New York Fashion Week show in black as the designer honored his beloved late mentor, Andre Leon Talley, with a moment of silence inside a century-old private club. SENT: 710 words, photos, video.
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HOW TO REACH US
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