AP News Digest 3:10 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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INVESTIGATION-TRACKED-SHOTSPOTTER — In more than 140 cities across the United States, ShotSpotter’s artificial intelligence algorithm and intricate network of microphones evaluate hundreds of thousands of sounds a year to determine if they are gunfire, generating data now being used in criminal cases nationwide. By Garance Burke and Michael Tarm. SENT: 1,300 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-MILITARY AID — Defense leaders gather at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to hammer out future military aid to Ukraine, amid ongoing dissent over who will provide the battle tanks that Ukrainian leaders say they desperately need for future offensives in the war with Russia. By Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp. SENT: 790 words, photo. UPCOMING: 990 words after 4 a.m. opening remarks.
BIDEN-CLASSIFIED-DOCUMENTS — A frustrated President Joe Biden has said there is “no there there” when he was persistently questioned about the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office. By Zeke Miller and Colleen Long. SENT: 560 words, photos.
OBIT-DAVID-CROSBY — David Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, has died at 81, several media outlets report. By Robert Jablon. SENT: 1,500 words, photos, audio.
ABORTION-MARCH FOR LIFE — With the constitutional right to abortion no longer the rule of the land, the anti-abortion March for Life returns to Washington with a new focus. Instead of concentrating their attention on the Supreme Court, the marchers plan to target the building directly across the street: the U.S. Capitol. By Ashraf Khalil. SENT: 800 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after events begin at 11 a.m.
PERU-UNREST — Thousands of protesters have poured into Peru’s capital, clashing with police amid tear gas and smoke and demanding the ouster of President Dina Boluarte. Many came from remote Andean regions, where 55 people have died amid unrest since Peru’s first president from a rural Andean background was removed from office last month. By Daniel Politi and Franklin Briceno. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
NEW-ZEALAND-ARDEN — When Jacinda Ardern announced this week she was stepping down as New Zealand’s prime minister, speculation began almost immediately about what she might do for a second act. When she leaves, she will have accumulated 15 years experience as a lawmaker and five-and-a-half years as leader. She will also be just 42 years old. Observers say she has all sorts of career possibilities open to her. By Nick Perry. SENT: 500 words, photos, video, audio.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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BOSNIA-UKRAINE-ENDURANCE HACKS — Residents of eastern Bosnia’s city of Gorazde do not need imaginations to understand the suffering of Ukraine’s people. Three decades ago, they endured more than three years of extreme hardship as Bosnian Serbs pummeled their city with rockets and artillery from the surrounding hills. SENT: 760 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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BOOKS-PRINCE-HARRY — Prince Harry’s “Spare” sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide after just one week of publication and will likely rank among the bestselling memoirs of all time. SENT: 230 words, photos.
TRUMP-LAWSUITS — A Florida Judge has sanctioned former President Donald Trump and one of his attorneys, ordering them to pay nearly $1 million for filing what he said was a bogus lawsuit against Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton and others. SENT: 300 words, photos.
NYPD-UNION-CHARGES — The former president of one of the nation’s largest police unions has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union to fund a lavish lifestyle that prosecutors say included high-end restaurants and luxury personal items. SENT: 320 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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YELLEN-AFRICA —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen begins a visit to Africa with a stop in Senegal, where she will meet with President Macky Sall and members of his cabinet. By Fatima Hussein. UPCOMING: 500 words, photo by 7 a.m.; meetings begin at 9 a.m.
ELECTION 2024-VIRGINIA-SENATE — Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine holds a media availability in Virginia’s capital city amid speculation that he plans to announce whether he will seek a third term. By Sarah Rankin and Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 390 words, photo. UPCOMING: 750 words after 10 a.m. event.
SUPREME COURT-LEAK-Q&A — Eight months, 126 formal interviews and one 23-page report later, the Supreme Court says it has failed to discover who leaked a draft of the court’s opinion overturning abortion rights. The leak touched off protests at justices’ homes and raised concerns for their security. By Jessica Gresko and Mark Sherman. UPCOMING: 740 words, photo by 5:30 a.m.
ELECTION-2023-KENTUCKY-GOVERNOR — Still fuming over pandemic-era shutdowns, Kentucky Republicans are pushing to obtain behind-the-scenes correspondence that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and his inner circle had about school closures at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. SENT: 780 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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ALASKA-FATAL-POLAR-BEAR-ATTACK — Officials in Alaska say a mother and her 1-year-old boy were killed by a polar bear this week as she walked about 150 yards from a school to a health clinic. Alaska State Troopers say the bear emerged out of a snowstorm to attack the pair in Wales, Alaska. SENT: 800 words, photos.
KANSAS CONGRESSMAN-DEATH THREAT — A federal court jury convicted a Kansas man who insisted that a death threat he made against U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner was a message from God, amid what authorities have said is a sharp rise in threats against members of Congress and their families. SENT: 800 words, photos, audio.
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INTERNATIONAL
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KAZAKHSTAN-UNREST ANNIVERSARY — A year after deadly rioting in Kazakhstan that was the worst unrest in the Central Asian country’s three decades of independence, human rights activists say many government promises of accountability and democratization remain unfulfilled. Human rights activists allege that Kazakh security forces used excessive force, arbitrary detentions and torture on detained protesters. They criticized government lists of the 238 people killed for not clarifying the circumstances of their deaths. SENT: 1,380 words, photos.
SOUTH KOREA-FIRE — A fire destroyed about 60 makeshift homes in a densely packed neighborhood surrounded by some of the wealthiest streets of South Korea’s ultramodern capital. SENT: 620 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-JAPAN — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced plans to downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 to the equivalent of seasonal influenza in the spring, a move that would further relax mask wearing and other preventive measures as the country seeks to return to normalcy. SENT: 440 words, photos.
SCI--LIGHT POLLUTION-STARS -- Every year the night sky grows brighter, and the stars look dimmer. A new study that analyzes data from more than 50,000 citizen scientists, or amateur stargazers, finds that artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10% brighter each year. That’s a much faster rate of change than scientists had previously estimated. By Christina Larson. SENT: 540 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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CHINA-KIDS-ONLINE-GAMES — As the week-long Lunar New Year holidays in China draw near with promises of feasts and red envelopes stuffed with cash, children have another thing to look forward to –- one extra hour of online games each day. SENT: 880 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stock markets rose Friday after Wall Street losses deepened as worries grow that the U.S. economy is headed for recession. SENT: 430 words, photos.
T-MOBILE-HACKED — The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late November and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. SENT: 360 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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ALEC-BALDWIN-SET-SHOOTING-SAFETY — Film production and firearms experts say movie sets probably changed permanently when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the remote New Mexico set of the Western “Rust” 14 months ago, leading to the announcement from prosecutors Thursday that Alec Baldwin and the film’s weapons supervisor will be charged with involuntary manslaughter later this month. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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FBN--BILLS-HAMLIN — Remarkable as Damar Hamlin’s recovery has been, the Buffalo Bills safety still faces a lengthy rehabilitation some three weeks after going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati, his marketing representative told The Associated Press. SENT: 580 words, photos.
TEN--AUSTRALIAN OPEN — American title favorites Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff had convincing third-round wins Friday at the Australian Open. SENT: 485 words, photos. Will be updated.
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HOW TO REACH US
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