AP News Digest 3 a.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All Times EST. 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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VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — The nurses of California are afraid. It’s Christmas Eve, and they aren’t home with their families. They are working, always working, completely gowned up — and worn down. SENT: 690 words, photo

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Threatening to tank Congress’ massive COVID relief and government funding package, President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger aid checks for Americans is forcing Republicans traditionally wary of such spending into an uncomfortable test of allegiance. On Thursday, House Democrats will all but dare Republicans to break with Trump, calling up his proposal for a Christmas Eve vote. A similar story moved in the previous cycle with the slug: Virus Outbreak-Congress-Trump. SENT: 1,080 words, photos. Timing of vote uncertain.

TRUMP-PARDONS — President Donald Trump pardoned more than two dozen people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest wave of clemency to benefit longtime associates and supporters. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 940 words, photos. WITH: TRUMP-PARDONS-GLANCE. A look at the 29 people who received clemency. By Michael Balsamo. SENT: 2,280 words, photos.

IRAQ-RESTORING AUTHORITY — A new agreement aims to bring order to Iraq’s northern region of Sinjar home to the Yazidi religious minority brutalized by the Islamic State group. Since IS’s fall, a tangled web of militia forces have run the area near the Syrian border. Now their flags are coming down, and the Iraqi military has deployed in Sinjar for the first time in nearly 20 years. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.

BREXIT — European Union and British negotiators worked through the night and right into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day. After resolving the remaining fair-competition and fisheries issues on Wednesday, negotiators combed through hundreds of pages of legal text that should become the provisional deal for a post-Brexit relationship after nine months of talks. SENT: 775 words, photos.

TRUMP — President Donald Trump has plunged Washington into chaos once more by mounting another desperate attempt to cling to power while leaving lawmakers scrambling to respond to his threat to detonate Congress’ massive COVID-19 relief and year-end package. By Jonathan Lemire and Jill Colvin. SENT: 900 words, photos. With TRUMP DEFENSE - President Donald Trump has vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his presidency. SENT: 640 words, photo.

HURRICANE RECOVERY — As southwest Louisiana recovers from the back-to-back hurricanes that hammered the region this year, signs of progress compete with lingering evidence of mass destruction. The fallen trees that carpeted neighborhoods have mostly been chopped up and hauled away, but the roofs they devoured are still covered in blue tarps. Piles of debris still line the roads. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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WASHINGTON STATE-TRAIN DERAILMENT — Federal and local authorities were investigating a fiery oil car train derailment north of Seattle near where two people were arrested last month and accused of attempting a terrorist attack on train tracks to disrupt plans for a natural gas pipeline. SENT: 660 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-ELECTIONS APPOINTMENT — Shirley Weber, soon to become the first Black woman to serve as California’s top elections officer, will come to work with a deeply personal perspective about protecting the right to vote: Her grandfather never voted in the rural South decades ago. SENT: 600 words, photo.

FATAL CRASH-YONKERS — A car speeding away from police Tuesday night in suburban New York City barreled into another car, splitting that vehicle in half and killing five people, officials said. SENT: 350 words, photos.

BALLOON BOY-PARDON - A couple convicted of criminal charges in the so-called balloon boy hoax that fascinated the country more than a decade ago were pardoned Wednesday by the governor of Colorado. SENT: 260 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-MICHIGAN THREATS — A woman has been charged with making threats against a Detroit-area Republican election official who received photos of a mutilated body a day after a clamorous meeting at which she initially refused to certify local results in favor of Joe Biden, authorities said Wednesday. SENT: 480 words, photos.

BUILDING EXPLOSION-BALTIMORE — An explosion in a high-rise building in Baltimore injured 23 people Wednesday and temporarily trapped a window washing crew on dangling scaffolding. SENT: 200 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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SMALL BUSINESS STRUGGLES-LA’S OLDEST STREET — The vibrant Mexican marketplace on the oldest street in Los Angeles is a shadow of its former self during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 930 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-SANTA’S GRANDCHILDREN — The holiday spirit has reached a nursing home in northern Italy that was one of the country’s first to shut its doors to visitors when the coronavirus emerged nearby in late February. SENT: 600 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA-STRANDED SAILORS — The crew of the U.S.-owned Horizon Spirit expect to spend Christmas looking after their 800-foot (240-meter) long container ship in a southern Chinese shipyard, barred, like thousands of sailors worldwide, from going ashore due to coronavirus restrictions. SENT: 300 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE POLITICS — Practical imperatives support America’s political leaders being vaccinated early, but there are tricky optics for politicians to navigate, particularly when supplies of the vaccines are exceedingly limited and millions of elderly Americans and essential workers weeks away from being inoculated. By Nicholas Riccardi. SENT: 960 words, photos.

Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-PARDONS-KUSHNER — President Donald Trump pardons his son-in-law’s father in a case that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said involved “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he ever prosecuted as U.S. attorney. By Jill Colvin and Colleen Long. SENT: 670 words, photos.

GEORGIA RUNOFF TURNOUT — Scores of volunteers, civil rights leaders, clergy and celebrities from around the country say they’re pitching in to help Georgians of color prove the voter turnout that narrowly flipped the Peach State from red to blue for President-elect Joe Biden wasn’t a one-time fluke. SENT: 1,190 words, photos.

BIDEN-EDUCATION-CARDONA — President-elect Joe Biden introduced Miguel Cardona as his pick for education secretary on Wednesday, saying Connecticut’s education chief and life-long champion of public schools is the right pick to lead the department as the nation struggles to educate students safely during the pandemic. By Collin Binkley, Alexandra Jaffe and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 700 words, photos.

BLACKWATER-PARDONS — The pardons of four Blackwater contractors convicted in the shooting deaths of more than a dozen Iraqi civilians has prompted outrage from some human rights activists. The shootings at a crowded Baghdad traffic circle in September 2007 set off an international outcry and left a black eye on U.S. operations at the height of the Iraq war. By Eric Tucker and Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

YE-TRUMP-LEGACY-BY THE NUMBERS -- Words matter, but numbers tell stories, too. Presidential historians and others will plumb them as they assess President Donald Trump’s legacy in office. Trump’s presidency is reflected in a broad range of numbers that represent everything from the U.S. death toll during the coronavirus pandemic to the COVID-19 vaccine development he pushed under a compressed timetable to the tens of thousands of tweets he sent during four years in office. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 670 words, photos, graphics.

ELECTION 2020-GEORGIA OSSOFF — Though still chasing his first victory, Jon Ossoff is no stranger to the pressure of campaigning in overtime — this time for one of two crucial U.S. Senate seats that will determine control of the chamber. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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SOUTH SUDAN-HUNGER — After nearly a week of hiding from conflict, Kallayn Keneng watched two of her young children die. “They cried and cried and said, ‘Mom, we need food,’” she said. But she had nothing to give. SENT: 930 words, photos.

NICARAGUA-CONFISCATIONS — Two media outlets and several non-governmental groups said Wednesday that their offices apparently were confiscated by the government of President Daniel Ortega, with placards were posted at the properties reading “Property of the Health Ministry.” SENT: 505 words, photo.

INDIA-A FARMER’S DAY-PHOTO GALLERY — Ram Singh Patel’s day starts at 6 in the morning, when he walks into his farmland tucked next to a railway line. SENT: 490 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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HOLIDAY STORM — A storm that began with snow, strong winds and bitter cold into the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota early Wednesday and began moving east was making travel treacherous and grounded flights on one of the most anticipated air travel days since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 590 words, photos.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-CHICAGO POLICE — A woman who says she was yanked by her hair from a car by Chicago police during a shopping mall encounter has filed a federal lawsuit against the city. SENT: 280 words, photo.

CONGRESSMAN THREATENED — Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a man accused of threatening to kill a member of Congress from Maryland earlier this month if the lawmaker tried to ”mess” with the man’s vote. SENT: 400 words.

JEFFREY-EPSTEIN-ASSOCIATE — Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s onetime girlfriend defended her marriage as a solid reason she would not flee the U.S. as they urged a judge to let her await trial under house arrest, according to court papers made public Wednesday. SENT: 330 words, photo.

POLICE SHOOTING-COLUMBUS — Authorities in Columbus, Ohio, have released police body camera footage showing the moments when an officer on a nonemergency call fatally shot a Black man who was holding a cellphone as he emerged from a garage. SENT: 690 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-AUTOPSIES — The COVID-19 pandemic has helped revive the autopsy. When the virus first arrived in U.S. hospitals, doctors could only guess what was causing its strange constellation of symptoms: What could explain why patients were losing their sense of smell and taste, developing skin rashes, struggling to breathe and reporting memory loss on top of flu-like coughs and aches? SENT: 980 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ANTIBODY PROTECTION — People who have antibodies from infection with the coronavirus seem less likely to get a second infection for several months and maybe longer, two new studies suggest. It’s good news that bodes well for protection from vaccines. SENT 500 words, photo.

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BUSINESS

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CHINA-ALIBABA INVESTIGATION — Chinese regulators on Thursday announced an anti-monopoly investigation of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, stepping up the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to control fast-growing tech industries. SENT: 730 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday after stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the economy. SENT: 650 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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BRITAIN-OBIT-STELLA TENNANT - British model Stella Tennant has died suddenly at the age of 50. Her family said Tennant died Tuesday and asked for privacy while mourning “a wonderful woman and an inspiration to us all.” They did not disclose her cause of death. Tennant rose to fame in the 1990s while walking the runway for Versace, Alexander McQueen and other fashion designers. SENT: 420 words, photos.

OBIT-REBECCA LUKER — Soprano Rebecca Luker, a three-time Tony nominated actor who starred in some of the biggest Broadway hits of the past three decades, died Wednesday. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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THUNDER-ROCKETS-POSTPONED — The James Harden soap opera in Houston now comes with a canceled season opener — and a $50,000 fine for the league’s leading scorer. Houston’s opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night was scrapped after coronavirus cases and Harden’s violation of the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols left the Rockets without the league-mandated eight players available to start a game. By Kristie Rieken. SENT: 990 words, photos.

TOKYO-SPONSOR CONTRACTS — Tokyo Olympic officials said Thursday they have reached a “basic agreement” with all 68 domestic sponsors to extend their contracts into next year to support the postponed Games. SENT: 405 words, photos.

YE—COLLEGE SPORTS — The coronavirus was only one factor in a chain of events that consumed college sports in 2020, and is poised to do more of the same in 2021 and beyond. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

Find more year-end coverage on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Desiree Seals can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (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(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.