AP News Digest 7:07 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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BIDEN-ASIA — President Joe Biden has opened his Asia trip by highlighting the computer chip shortage that has bedeviled the world economy, touring a Samsung computer chip plant that will serve as model for a $17 billion semiconductor factory the Korean electronics company plans to open in Texas. By Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak. SENT: 670 words, photos. With BIDEN-ASIA-THEMES — Among the issues for Biden: rethinking national security aims, launching a new trade framework and improving the availability of computer chips. SENT: 1,350 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — With the number of defenders left holed up in a Mariupol steel factory dwindling, Russian commanders will be coming under increasing pressure to reallocate troops from the strategic southern port city to bolster their offensive in eastern Ukraine, Britain’s Defense Ministry says. By Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan. SENT: 910 words, photos, video. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE-LATEST.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-EUROPE-INFLATION — Edoardo Ronzoni inspects a construction site near Milan that he shut down in March as costs for materials skyrocketed. He can’t complete a half-built roundabout at an intersection known for fender-benders because asphalt, cast-iron pipes and concrete are too expensive — prices exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. By Business Writer Colleen Barry. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
DISINFORMATION BOARD-ONLINE ABUSE — The former head of a widely-criticized disinformation board faced a torrent of sexist profanities on social media and menacing emails filled with rape or death threats. Nina Jankowicz is not alone. Women around the globe who have risen to powerful government positions have faced an overwhelming crush of online harassment, stalking and abuse. By Amanda Seitz. SENT: 650 words, photo.
ABORTION-RELIGIOUS-DIVIDE — The loudest voices in the abortion debate are often characterized along a starkly religious divide, the faithful versus not. But the reality is much more nuanced, both at an Alabama abortion clinic and in the nation that surrounds it. The clinic’s staff of 11 — most of them Black, deeply faithful Christian women — have no trouble at all reconciling their work with their religion. And as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to dismantle the constitutional right to an abortion, they draw on their faith that they will somehow continue. By Claire Galofaro. SENT: 1,660 words, photos. An abridged version is also available.
BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET SHOOTING-BLACK LIVES — The nation’s oldest civil rights organization said it will propose a sweeping plan meant to protect Black Americans from white supremacist violence, in response to a hate-fueled massacre that killed 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York last weekend. In a plan first shared with The Associated Press, the NAACP suggests a three-pronged policy approach to stopping future acts of anti-Black domestic terrorism. By Aaron Morrison and Kat Stafford. SENT: 1,295 words, photos. With BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET SHOOTING — After Buffalo, civil rights leaders pitch anti-hate plans (sent).
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-CONGRESS — The Senate whisks a $40 billion package of military, economic and food aid for Ukraine and U.S. allies to final congressional approval. SENT: 820 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-FOOD-AND-CONFLICT — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia on Thursday of weaponizing food and holding grain for millions of people around the world hostage to help accomplish what its invasion of Ukraine has not -- “to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people.” SENT: 720 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-FAMILY-SURVIVES — The explosions started in the middle of the night, shaking the house to its foundations. Roof timbers splintered and windows shattered, sending shards of glass hurtling above three sleeping children into the opposite wall. SENT: 420 words, photos.
EU-G7-UKRAINE — The Group of Seven leading economies are set to agree on more than $18 billion in aid for Ukrainian defense efforts as meetings of finance ministers close, Germany’s finance minister told Bloomberg Television. SENT: 250 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK-KID BOOSTER — Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday. If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees, as expected, it would open a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids — just like what is already recommended for everybody 12 and older. By Lauren Neergaard. SENT: 580 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH-KOREA — North Korea has said that nearly 10% of its 26 million people have fallen ill and 65 people have died amid its first COVID-19 outbreak, as outside experts question the validity of its reported fatalities and worry about a possible humanitarian crisis. SENT: 820 words, photo.
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TRENDING NEWS
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NORWAY-STABBINGS — A suspect was arrested in Norway after at least three people were stabbed with a sharp object, leaving one critically injured, police say. SENT: 370 words, photos.
CHICAGO-SHOOTING — Two people are dead and another eight wounded following a shooting near a fast food restaurant in Chicago that sent bystanders scattering, authorities say. SENT: 70 words, photos.
PEOPLE-RIHANNA BABY — Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed a baby boy, according to multiple reports. SENT: 160 words, photo.
BUSH-IRAQ — Former President George W. Bush mistakenly describes the invasion of Iraq — which he led as commander in chief — as “brutal” and “wholly unjustified,” before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. SENT: 500 words, photo, video.
GREECE-OBIT-VANGELIS — The Greece-born electronic composer who wrote the Academy Award-winning score for “Chariots of Fire” and music for dozens of other movies, documentaries and TV series, has died. The composer professionally known as Vangelis was 79. SENT: 890 words.
TESLA-DEADLY CRASH — The driver of a Tesla operating on autopilot must stand trial for a crash that killed two people in a Los Angeles suburb, a judge rules. SENT: 430 words, photo.
CAPITOL RIOT-CALIFORNIA MAN — A California man who stormed the U.S. Capitol, opened the doors to other rioters and sat in the Senate chair of then-Vice President Mike Pence pleaded guilty to a federal charge. SENT: 400 words.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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PUERTO RICO-STATEHOOD — A group of Democratic congress members, including the House majority leader, on Thursday proposed a binding plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a state or gain some sort of independence. SENT: 540 words, photo.
CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION — The congressional committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection sends a letter to another House Republican in an effort to learn more about a tour he led of the building the day before the attack. SENT: 530 words, photo.
ELECTION 2022-PENNSYLVANIA-SENATE — Vote counting in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary drags into a third day as Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick remain essentially tied. SENT: 560 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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TIMES-SQUARE-CRASH-TRIAL — The screaming people, car tires screeching and an engine revving are sounds that still haunt them. Those recollections are central to victims’ testimony at the ongoing trial of Richard Rojas, the man behind the wheel of a car that killed one and injured more than 20 others in Times Square in 2017. The 31-year-old Rojas has pleaded not guilty to murder, assault and other charges. SENT: 680 words, photos.
ABORTION-KENTUCKY — A federal judge has extended an order blocking key portions of a new Kentucky abortion law that had forced the state’s two clinics to temporarily halt abortions. SENT: 500 words, photos.
HYUNDAI-GEORGIA — A year after the state of Georgia and local government partners spent $61 million to buy a sprawling tract of land for future industrial development, Gov. Brian Kemp planned to travel to the site for what his office would only describe as a “special economic development announcement.” SENT: 360 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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AUSTRALIA-POLITICS — Australians will go to the polls on Saturday following a six-week campaign that has focused on pandemic-fueled inflation, climate change and fears of a Chinese military outpost being established less than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) off Australia’s shore. SENT: 920 words, photos. With AUSTRALIA-POLITICS-INCUMBENT — Morrison first recent Australian leader to survive 3 years; AUSTRALIA-POLITICS-CHALLENGER — Australia’s would-be PM Albanese shaped by humble start; AUSTRALIA-VOTING-EXPLAINER —How does Australia’s election process work?; AUSTRALIA-ELECTION-ISSUES-EXPLAINER — How do Australian parties differ on key issues? (all sent).
SRI-LANKA-DEBT-CRISIS — China says its initiative to build ports and other infrastructure across Asia and Africa, paid for with Chinese loans, will boost trade. But in a cautionary tale for borrowers, Sri Lanka’s multibillion-dollar debt to Beijing threatens to hinder efforts to resolve a financial crisis so severe that the Indian Ocean nation cannot import food or gasoline. SENT: 1,110 words, photos. With SRI-LANKA — Sri Lanka closes schools, limits work amid fuel shortage (sent).
SOUTH CHINA-SEA — The Philippines has established three coast guard outposts on three islands in the disputed South China Sea to monitor ship movements and promote safety, coast guard officials say, amid increasing maritime tensions with China. SENT: 420 words, photos.
CHINA-MILITARY-EXERCISES - China is holding military exercises in the disputed South China Sea coinciding with U.S. President Joe Biden’s visits to South Korea and Japan that are largely focused on countering the perceived threat from Beijing. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Global stock markets rose after Wall Street fell closer to bear territory, China cut a key interest rate and Japanese inflation edged higher. London opened higher while Frankfurt retreated. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney gained. Oil prices declined. SENT: 570 words, photos.
GERMANY-CLIMATE-VOLKSWAGEN — A German court on Friday is set to begin hearing a case brought against Volkswagen by a farmer who claims the automaker is partly responsible for the impact that global warming is having on his family business. SENT: 340 words.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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TV-Q&A-ELLEN-DEGENERES — Ellen DeGeneres relishes what her daytime show has given viewers in its nearly two-decade run, a blend of the silly, sometimes earnest and, particularly in the last few years, a respite from hard times. By Television Writer Lynn Elber. SENT: 860 word, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKN--CELTICS-HEAT — Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each scored 24 and the Boston Celtics dominated the first half to roll past the Miami Heat 127-102 and tie the Eastern Conference finals at a game apiece. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 950 words, photos.
GLF--PGA CHAMPIONSHIP — Rory McIlroy has the lead at the PGA Championship after the first round, shooting a 5-under 65 at Southern Hills. McIlroy has a one-shot lead over Tom Hoge and Will Zalatoris. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods had his worst start to the PGA Championship since 2015, shooting a 74. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 960 words, photos. With GLF--PGA-Scheffler; GLF—PGA Notebook; GLF—PGA-Key Hole; GLF—PGA-Glance (sent).
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HOW TO REACH US
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