AP News Digest 3 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II — Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a symbol of stability in a turbulent era that saw the decline of the British empire and disarray in her own family, died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. She was 96. The palace announced she died at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, where members of the royal family had rushed to her side after her health took a turn for the worse. By Danica Kirka, Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui. SENT: 2,690 words, photos. A 1,500-word abridged version has also moved. With BRITAIN-QUEEN-THE-LATEST; BRITAIN-QUEEN-ELIZABETH-NEW-KING — Prince Charles has been preparing to be king his entire life. Now his moment has arrived (both sent). See additional coverage below and in QUEEN ELIZABETH II, ADVISORY and https://newsroom.ap.org/page/QueenElizabethII.
BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-PRESIDENTS — Joe Biden has the distinction of being the 13th and final American president to meet with Queen Elizabeth II. Their third and final meeting happened in 2021. The queen had met every U.S. president since Dwight Eisenhower, except Lyndon Johnson, since ascending to the throne in 1952. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 1,440 words, photos, video.
BRITAIN-QUEEN-ELIZABTH-REACTION — Queen Elizabeth II was much more than Britain’s monarch. She was sovereign to another 14 nations and a rare figure on the world stage who was almost universally admired. Her reach cut through hemispheres, generations, social divisions and politics. The widespread tributes that followed her death came not only from United States President Joe Biden but also from Russian President Vladimir Putin. They came from other monarchs, leaders, dignitaries and rock stars. SENT: 1,410 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-GEORGIA — The shadow of Donald Trump’s tampering with the 2020 election in Georgia lands differently for the various Republicans running for office in 2022. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has little choice but to defend his decision to defy Trump, but the GOP’s headliner candidates aren’t saying much about Trump at all. By Bill Barrow and Jeff Amy. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.
BIDEN — President Biden wants to put the spotlight on a rare bipartisan down payment on U.S. manufacturing. He is visiting Ohio for the groundbreaking of a new Intel computer chip facility. By Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani and Andrew Welsh-Huggins. SENT: 960 words, photo. UPCOMING: 990 words after 12:15 p.m. remarks.
TEN-PRISON-TENNIS — Every corner of the yard at San Quentin State Prison is filled with activity and energy. There, you’ll find a single tennis court, a handful of regulars and some competitive fun against outsiders. Some of the men learned to play before being imprisoned and others have honed their skills inside. It’s a chance for these men to forget life behind bars for a little while. By Sports Writer Janie McCauley. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE DEATH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II
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BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-A LIFE — On her 21st birthday in 1947, Princess Elizabeth made a promise. In a radio broadcast from South Africa to Britain and the Commonwealth nations, she pledged that “my whole life, whether it be short or long, will be devoted to your service.” Over her very long life, Queen Elizabeth II fulfilled that vow. SENT: 2,300 words, photos.
BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-TIMELINE — Key milestones in Queen Elizabeth II’s life. SENT: 500 words, photos.
BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-10 THINGS TO KNOW — 10 things to know about Queen Elizabeth II’s life. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-ACCESSION RULES — The queen is dead, long live the king. Transition from queen to king was instantaneous, but formalities follow. SENT: 340 words, photos.
BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-LINE OF ACCESSION — Order of succession after Charles becomes king. SENT: 200 words, photos.
BRITAIN-QUEEN ELIZABETH II-CHARLES' MILESTONES — Key dates in the life of Britain’s new king. SENT: 270 words, photos.
BRITAIN-QUEEN-CAMILLA — Charles’ wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will be known as Queen Consort — a title that came with Queen Elizabeth II’s blessing after years of contention, dating back to the days before she even married Prince Charles. SENT: 780 words, photos.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II-SPORTS — Horse racing was Queen Elizabeth II’s big sporting love. SENT: 620 words, photos.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II ELTON JOHN — Elton John paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at his final concert in Toronto on Thursday night, saying he was inspired by her and is sad she is gone. SENT: 200 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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BRAZIL-BOAT SINKS — A passenger boat operating without proper licenses sank in a bay off the Atlantic in the northern Brazil state of Para and at least 11 people died, authorities say. SENT: 120 words.
NEW-ORLEANS-POLICE — Hoping to beef up a dwindling police force amid a rise in violent crime, New Orleans officials announced a three-year $80 million plan Thursday offering raises for all officers, free health care and $30,000 in incentive payments for new hires. SENT: 470 words, photos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER — Tropical Storm Kay dumped heavy rains on a sparsely populated peninsula on Mexico’s Pacific coast as it weakened while curling out to sea, and it was expected to bring rain to southernmost California by the weekend. SENT: 480 words, photo.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — The head of Ukraine’s atomic energy operator accused Russia on Thursday of trying to “steal” Europe’s largest nuclear plant by cutting it off from the Ukrainian electricity grid and leaving it on the brink of a radiation disaster. SENT: 1,045 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-WESTERN WEAPONS — Russia dismissed claims that modern Western weapons supplied to Ukraine can lead it to victory as “empty fantasies,” insisting that the Russian army is destroying Ukraine’s old and new weapons and will “finish” the war as President Vladimir Putin vowed. SENT: 690 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-IRAN — The U.S. Treasury Department says it is levying sanctions against four Iranian companies that it says were involved in sending drones to Russia last month for use in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. SENT: 350 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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SUPREME COURT-ROBERTS — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is set to make his first public appearance since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, speaking at a judicial conference in Colorado. By Colleen Slevin. SENT: 400 words, photo. UPCOMING: 800 words after 10:15 p.m. event.
ELECTION-2022-MICHIGAN-ABORTION — Voters will decide whether to place abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution, the state Supreme Court has declared, settling the issue a day before the fall ballot must be completed. SENT: 360 words, photo.
YELLEN — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen presses the case for Democratic economic policies during a visit to Ford’s Rouge electric vehicle assembly plant in election-year battleground Michigan. SENT: 410 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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SEPT-11-KHALID-SHAIKH-MOHAMMED — Nearly two decades after his capture in Pakistan, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks is still in a legal limbo. As the 21st anniversary of the terror attacks approaches Sunday, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other men accused of 9/11-related crimes continue to sit in a U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Their planned trials before a military tribunal have been ceaselessly postponed. The latest setback came last month when pretrial hearings scheduled for early fall were canceled. The delay was one more in a string of disappointments for relatives of the nearly 3,000 victims of the attack. SENT: 1,280 words.
JOURNALIST-KILLED-CHASING-CORRUPTION — Investigative reporter Jeff German took on the powerful in four decades of writing about the Las Vegas underworld and government corruption. But police say it was one of his latest targets, a county administrator, who fatally stabbed German last weekend. The killing came months after German had written about bullying, favoritism and an inappropriate relationship within an obscure public office. Authorities said Thursday that DNA at the crime scene linked Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles to the killing. SENT: 920 words, photos.
SENTENCING-LAW-TENNESSEE — The high-profile killings rattling Memphis this week have added fuel to calls by some politicians for stricter sentencing laws throughout the U.S., sparking alarm among criminal justice reform advocates who say that approach is outdated and ineffective. SENT: 900 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA-CLIMATE-CHANGE — Californians sweated it out amid a record-breaking heat wave entering its 10th day Friday that has helped fuel deadly wildfires and pushed energy supplies to the brink of daily power outages. SENT: 900 words, photos.
PALLBEARER-KILLED — The family of a West Virginia man is seeking answers after authorities fatally shot him at a funeral. Loved ones say that after Jason Owens placed his father’s casket in a hearse, members of a fugitive task force called out his name and shot him Aug. 24 in Nutter Fort. The U.S. Marshals Service says Owens had a gun, which family and friends refute. Owens’ cousin, Mandy Swiger, says Owens had committed a parole violation for not checking in with authorities but promised to turn himself in after the funeral. A state police investigation is trying to sort things out. SENT: 860 words, photos.
R KELLY — An ex-business manager for R. Kelly and his co-defendant at the singer’s federal trial in Chicago expressed doubts on the witness stand Thursday about Kelly’s insistence in the 2000s that he never sexually abused minors — testifying a day after the former employee told jurors he had had no reason to doubt his boss was telling the truth. SENT: 850 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — Firefighters on Friday struggled to control raging California wildfires that have grown explosively during extreme heat and forced thousands of residents to flee mountain communities at both ends of the state. SENT: 810 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed his country will never abandon the nuclear weapons it needs to counter the United States, which he accused of pushing to weaken the North’s defenses and eventually collapse his government, state media says. By Kim Tong-Hyung. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
EUROPE-ENERGY-CRISIS-GLASSMAKER-SHUTDOWN — For the glassmakers at iconic French tableware brand Duralex, the mornings have become a horror show. Daily updates from energy traders drop into their email inboxes, showing the asphyxiating upward climb of prices for the natural gas and electricity that power their energy-devouring business. SENT: 620 words, photos.
PAKISTAN-FLOODS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the world to help Pakistan after arriving in the country Friday to see damage from the record floods that have killed hundreds and left more than half a million people homeless and living in tents under the open sky. SENT: 500 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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CLIMATE-TIPPING-POINTS — Even if the world somehow manages to limit future global warming to the strictest international temperature goal, four Earth-changing climate “tipping points” are still likely to be triggered with a lot more looming as the planet heats more after that, a new study said. SENT: 880 words, photos.
NASA-MOON ROCKET — NASA is replacing leaky seals in its moon rocket at the pad in hopes of launching it on its first test flight by the end of this month. SENT: 500 words, photos.
WILDFIRES-INTENTIONAL BURNS — The U.S. Forest Service is resuming its practice of intentionally lighting fires to clear brush and small trees from forested areas nationwide after a three-month hiatus to review the risks of runaway wildfires under increasingly severe climate conditions, the agency announced. SENT: 530 words.
MONKEYPOX — U.S. officials are considering broadening recommendations for who gets vaccinated against monkeypox, possibly to include many men with HIV or those recently diagnosed with other sexually transmitted diseases. SENT: 450 words, photo.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian benchmarks rose Friday, cheered by gains on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve chairman assured markets over expected interest rate increases. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% in afternoon trading to 28,242.31. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to 6,894.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.6% to 19,339.03, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.8% to 3,261.34. Trading was closed in South Korea for a holiday. SENT: 660 words, photos.
TRUMP-MERGER-DEAL-VOTE — A key decision over whether Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social will merge with a cash-rich company and get $1.3 billion to take on Twitter has been put off for another month. SENT: 650 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-BERNARD-SHAW — Bernard Shaw, former CNN anchor and a pioneering Black journalist remembered for his blunt question at a presidential debate and calmly reporting the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991 from Baghdad as it was under attack, has died. He was 82. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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FBN—BILLS-RAMS — Josh Allen passed for 297 yards and accounting for four touchdowns, Von Miller had two of Buffalo’s seven sacks and the Bills stamped themselves as a clear contender for Los Angeles’ Super Bowl crown with a 31-10 victory over the Rams. By Greg Beacham. SENT: 900 words, photos.
TEN--US OPEN — Getting to a Grand Slam final is no longer new to Ons Jabeur. She figures it’s time to add a major trophy to her list of groundbreaking accomplishments. And she’s sure she is more ready to do it at the U.S. Open than she was at Wimbledon two months ago. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 930 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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