AP News Digest 3:50 am
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ONLY ON AP
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AP POLL-BIDEN LEADERSHIP — Americans have yet to rally around President Joe Biden’s leadership. Concern about Russia has swelled and support for a major U.S. role in the conflict strengthened in the last month. But Biden’s negative approval rating has not budged, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. By Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 850 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy called on people worldwide to gather in public to show support for his embattled country as he prepared to address Biden and other NATO leaders gathered in Brussels on the one-month anniversary of the Russian invasion. Zelenskyy, whose riveting video messages have captured the world’s attention, said in his remote address to NATO members he would ask the alliance to provide “effective and unrestricted” support to Ukraine, including any weapons the country needs to fend off the Russian onslaught. By Nebi Qena and Cara Anna. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, videos. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE LATEST; RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THINGS TO KNOW.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-US-EUROPE — Biden and Western allies are gathering in Brussels to grapple with Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and its global reverberations. More sanctions on Russia are expected, plus debate over making European nations less reliant on Russian energy. By Chris Megerian, Lorne Cook and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,280 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,350 words after 5 a.m. speech.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-THE MONTH IN REVIEW — Now a month in, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II, has killed thousands, reduced entire cities to rubble, turned millions into refugees and upset the international security order. SENT: 1,520 words, photos. Also see MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR below. For full coverage.
SUPREME COURT-NOMINATION — Legal experts and other interest groups weigh in on Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate Judiciary Committee wraps up four days of hearings on her historic nomination to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. By Mary Clare Jalonick and Mark Sherman. SENT: 940 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 990 words after hearings resume at 9 a.m. With SUPREME COURT-NOMINATION-BOOKER — “You are worthy": Sen. Booker draws tears at Jackson hearing.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE INEQUITY — COVAX, the company behind a COVID-19 vaccine touted as a key tool for the developing world, has sent tens of millions of doses to wealthy nations but provided none yet to the U.N.-backed effort to supply poorer countries. The inaction is a sign that inequity persists in the global response to the pandemic. By Maria Cheng and Aniruddha Ghosal. SENT: 850 words, photos.
OBIT-ALBRIGHT-A LIFE — Madeleine Albright fled the Nazis as a child and climbed to the summit of diplomacy and foreign policy in the United States. She broke the glass ceiling as the first female secretary of state and set the pace for other women to follow. Albright’s family said she had died of cancer at age 84. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, video; OBIT-ALBRIGHT-REACTION — World leaders eulogize Albright.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-STOCK EXCHANGE — The Russian stock market resumed limited trading under heavy restrictions almost one month after prices plunged and the market was shut down following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. SENT: 500 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-TOURISM — Countries from Turkey to Thailand, Egypt and Cuba are bracing for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian tourists just as their travel sectors were looking to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. UPCOMING: 970 words, photos by 7 a.m.
HUNGARY-UKRAINE-WAR CIRCUS — More than 100 young students of circus schools in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine have fled the war and found safety in Hungary’s capital, where they have been taken in by those that share their passion for performance. UPCOMING: 530 words, photos by 7 a.m.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-UN-HUMANITARIAN — The U.N. General Assembly votes on a resolution backed by over 90 countries that blames Russia for the escalating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and demands an immediate halt to hostilities, especially attacks on civilians and their homes, schools and hospitals. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NYC VACCINE MANDATE — New York City’s mayor will announce that he’s exempting athletes and performers from the city’s vaccine mandate for private workers, a move that will allow Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play home games and unvaccinated baseball players to take the field when their season begins. SENT: 580 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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HOME DEPOT-WORKSHEET ON PRIVILEGE — Home Depot: Worksheet on privilege gone viral not authorized. SENT: 180 words, photo.
URBAN PARACHUTING DEATH — Police: Man dies parachuting from San Diego high-rise. SENT: 200 words.
ARIZONA MALL SHOOTING — Police: Five people injured in shooting at Arizona outlet mall. SENT: 460 words, photos, video.
CARIBBEAN-BRITAIN ROYAL VISIT — Jamaica prime minister tells royal couple island will seek independence. SENT: 450 words, photo.
STUDENTS KILLED-OKLAHOMA — Six students killed in Oklahoma crash were in car that seats four. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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CENSUS-PANDEMIC MIGRATION — In the first full year of the pandemic, the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago metro areas had the greatest population losses in the nation. U.S. Census Bureau data also showed Sunbelt metros like Dallas, Phoenix and Houston had the biggest gains. SENT: 750 words, photos. With CENSUS-PANDEMIC-GROWTH-GLANCE.
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT — A man who pleaded guilty in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her abduction could have been the “ignition” for a U.S. civil war involving antigovernment groups, possibly before the 2020 election. SENT: 670 words, photos. UPCOMING: Trial resumes at 8:30 a.m.
TRUMP-LEGAL TROUBLES — A prosecutor who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last month said in his resignation letter that he believes the former president is “guilty of numerous felony violations” and he disagreed with the Manhattan district attorney’s decision not to seek an indictment. SENT: 790 words, photos.
HIGH FROM HEMP — Licensed growers in legal-marijuana states say they’ve been following expensive regulations to participate in the industry, but now they’re being undercut by THC derived from hemp. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, video.
TRANSGENDER SPORTS-VETOES — Republican governors in two states this week rejected legislation to ban transgender players from girls sports — signs that there are some remaining fractures among GOP leaders over how to navigate gender’s reemergence as a culture war issue. SENT: 980 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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CHINA PLANE CRASH — The search area was expanded for the second black box from a China Eastern passenger jet that crashed in southern China with 132 people on board earlier this week, state broadcaster CCTV said. SENT: 320 words, photos.
KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea test-fired a suspected long-range missile toward the sea, its neighbors’ militaries said. SENT: 490 words, photos.
NEW ZEALAND-AUSTRALIA-REFUGEES — Australia has finally agreed to a longstanding New Zealand offer to resettle some of the refugees that Australia has been housing on Nauru and elsewhere. SENT: 500 words, photos.
CARIBBEAN-DEPORTED HAITIANS — Human Rights Watch released a report demanding the U.S. and other countries stop deporting Haitians to their homeland, calling it “unconscionable” and warning that they are putting people’s lives in danger. SENT: 690 words, photos.
SKOREA FORMER PRESIDENT — South Korean former president Park Geun-hye, who was freed in December after nearly five years in prison, leaves the hospital in Seoul for her new home in Daegu. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks were mixed in Asia following a retreat on Wall Street as crude oil prices rose sharply. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 680 words, photos.
JAPAN-TOSHIBA— Shareholders of embattled Japanese electronics and energy giant Toshiba Corp. voted down a major restructuring plan, in a setback for the company’s management. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 520 words, photo.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. By Business Writer Matt Ott. UPCOMING: 130 words after release of report at 8:30 a.m., photo.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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CLIMATE CHANGE-INDIA’S ENERGY CHALLENGES — No country will see its demand for electricity grow more in the next 20 years than India. How the South Asian nation meets this demand will have an outsized impact on the world and its climate goals. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
QATAR FALCON HOSPITAL — It could be any other top-notch hospital in Doha, the capital of Qatar. There are radiology and operation rooms, and all the the high-tech tools of modern surgery on hand. But there's just one difference: it's for falcons. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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WINNING THE OFFSEASON — What is winning baseball’s offseason even worth? An AP study shows it’s a mixed bag. By Baseball Writer Jake Seiner. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
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