AP News Digest 3:15 a.m.

Friday 21 May 2021 03:15 EDT

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Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.

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ONLY ON AP

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CONGRESS-STOCK TRADING — New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski has scolded those looking to capitalize on the once-in-a-century pandemic. But the two-term Democrat is not heeding his own admonition. Records show he’s bought or sold as much as $1 million of stock in medical and tech companies that had a stake in the virus response. By Brian Slodysko. SENT: 1,870 words, photo. An abridged version of 980 words is also available.

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TOP STORIES

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Palestinians rallied by the thousands early Friday after a cease-fire took effect in the latest Gaza war, with many viewing it as costly but clear victory for the Islamic militant group Hamas over a far more powerful Israel. By Josef Federman and Fares Akram. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. With: ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-THE-LATEST.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-BIDEN — Hours to go before a cease-fire technically went into effect, U.S. and Israeli officials were worried that Hamas could fire another barrage of rockets and sink the agreement. By the deadline passed, and President Biden’s first prolonged foreign policy crisis ended before it could have gotten much worse. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 990 words, photos, video. With BIDEN-MIDDLE EAST — Surges in violence and scenes of civilian suffering are testing Biden’s resolve to wrench America’s foreign policy focus and troops away from the Middle East and Afghanistan. SENT: 930 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK — Hospitals in Osaka, Japan’s third-biggest city and only 2 1/2 hours by bullet train from Summer Olympics host Tokyo, are overflowing with coronavirus patients. About 35,000 people nationwide — twice the number of those in hospitals — must stay at home with the disease, often becoming seriously ill and sometimes dying before they can get medical care. Some see the crisis Osaka as a warning for what could happen to the rest of the country at a time when officials — and the world — are focused on the Olympics. By Mari Yamaguchi and Kantaro Komiya. SENT: 1,260 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.

UNITED STATES-SOUTH KOREA — South Korean President Moon Jae-in is hoping Friday’s White House meeting with President Joe Biden will lead to a renewed diplomatic urgency by the U.S. to curb North Korea’s nuclear program. The White House, however, is signaling that it is taking a longer view. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 890 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after 12:35 p.m. arrival.

LEBANON-ISAEL-HEZBOLLAH'S SHADOW — Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militant group has stayed out of the fighting between Israel and Hamas. It has had compelling reasons not to get involved, wary of sparking a repeat of the devastation Israel wreaked in southern Lebanon during their last war in 2006. Lebanon is also struggling with an unparalleled financial collapse and can ill afford another clash with Israel. Still, Hezbollah’s shadow has loomed large over the conflict, and Israel is keeping a close on eye on its northern border. Hezbollah’s arsenal of tens of thousands of sophisticated missile is far greater than that of Gaza’s Hamas rulers. By Zeina Karam. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-18-CENTURY-SMALLPOX — Newly digitized records from the 18th century are shedding fresh light on devastating outbreaks of smallpox that hit the Boston area starting in 1721. The records include a minister’s diary held by the New England Historic Genealogical Society and scanned and posted online by Boston’s Congregational Library and Archives. The documents reveal some surprising similarities between how Bostonians coped with smallpox and how we’re navigating the coronavirus pandemic. By William J. Kole. SENT: 610 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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TV-PRIMETIME-LINEUP — The shows that will be on network TV in primetime this fall. SENT: 360 words, photos.

GLOBAL-CORPORATE-TAX-RATE — US proposes 15% minimum tax on global corporate profits. SENT: 210 words, photo.

HIP-HOP-MUSEUM — Legends come out for hip-hop museum groundbreaking. SENT: 150 words, photos.

MEDIA-CUOMOS — CNN says it was inappropriate for news anchor Chris Cuomo to be involved in phone calls with the staff of his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo SENT: 630 words

EUROVISION-SONG-CONTEST — U.S. rapper Flo Rida helps San Marino reach Eurovision final. SENT: 580 words, photos.

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MORE ON ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-DIPLOMACY — The Palestinians’ top diplomat said a cease-fire in Gaza will enable 2 million Palestinians to sleep Thursday night but it’s “not enough at all” and the world must now tackle the difficult issues of Jerusalem’s future and achieving an independent Palestinian state. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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CAPITOL BREACH-COMMISSION-EXPLAINER — An independent commission to study the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection would be modeled after a similar panel that studied the 9/11 terrorist attacks and has long been hailed as a bipartisan success. But bipartisanship isn’t always popular these days. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

ELECTION-2020-ARIZONA-AUDIT — Voting machines from Arizona’s most populous county should not be used in the future after state Senate Republicans forced officials to give them access for an audit of 2020 election results, the state’s top elections official say. SENT: 650 words, photos.

BIDEN-ASIAN HATE CRIMES — President Biden signs bipartisan legislation intended to curtail a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 400 words, photos, video.

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NATIONAL

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TEXAS-EXECUTION — While officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are blaming miscommunication for preventing reporters from witnessing the state’s first execution in nearly a year, legal and death penalty experts worry it’s another example of what they see as a lack of transparency and competency in how the death penalty is carried out in the U.S. SENT: 950 words, photos.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT-INVESTIGATION — Eighteen electronic devices taken during raids last month on Rudy Giuliani’s home and his law firm in a probe of his dealings in Ukraine belong to Giuliani and employees of his firm, Manhattan prosecutors reveal. SENT: 730 words.

BLACK-MAN'S-DEATH-MISSOURI — The family of a 19-year-old Black man are questioning official accounts of how he ended up shot to death during a party at the rural Missouri home of a middle-aged white man with a history of bigoted social media postings. They don’t believe the findings of a preliminary investigation indicating that Derontae Martin took his own life inside the attic of that home. SENT: 720 words, photos.

POLICE-SHOOTING-WISCONSIN-KENOSHA — Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois man accused of killing two people during the chaotic protests that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, is due to make his first in-person court appearance.

JILL-BIDEN-DREAMERS — First lady Jill Biden on Thursday told young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children that she feels “inspired” by them because they didn’t just receive a college education, they “fought for it.” SENT: 480 words, photo.

SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-DANNY-MASTERSON — An attorney for actor Danny Masterson on Thursday repeatedly challenged a woman on the witness stand over why she agreed to go to Masterson’s house on the night she said he raped her. By Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton. SENT: 680 words, photos.

GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR — From COVID-19 to a budget shortfall, or George Floyd’s death to the recent death of a 6-year-old girl from gun violence, the mayor of Minneapolis says his city has experienced one trauma after another this past year — and the Black community has felt the most pain. SENT: 650 words, photos, video. With GEORGE FLOYD-OTHER OFFICERS — Appeals court hears case of 3 ex-cops charged in Floyd death (sent).

ADVANCED-TEST-REACTOR-OVERHAUL — Scientists in Idaho this summer plan to remove the 62,000-pound (28,100-kilogram) stainless steel lid on one of the world’s most powerful nuclear test reactors for a rare internal overhaul. SENT: 750 words.

NEVADA-EXECUTION-LEGAL-CHALLENGES — A federal judge says he may order Nevada prison officials to disclose the type of drugs they would use for the first lethal injection of a condemned prisoner in the state in 15 years, even if they haven’t finalized a plan for how the execution would be carried out. SENT: 500 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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MIGRATION-MOROCCAN BORDER TOWN — An extraordinary surge of migrants seeking to leave Morocco for Spain this week has left a border town suffering under the strain. More than 8,000 people sought to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries, and more than half were forced back into Morocco. Now, those who failed to make it are sleeping in parks or outside mosques in the town of Fnideq, some of them begging for food. That has strained the already-limited resources of the Moroccan town that is overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 970 words, photos.

FIJI-MISSING-FISHERMEN — Authorities say they feared for the lives of five people who leapt from their fishing boat near Fiji earlier this week after alleged violence on board. SENT: 410 words, photo.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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CLIMATE-CHANGE-CROPLANDS — Farming techniques that are good for the soil may also play an important role in fighting climate change. A growing number of U.S. farmers are planting winter cover crops, reducing tillage and taking other steps that keep carbon underground instead of releasing it to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the primary gas causing global warming. President Joe Biden’s administration is encouraging government programs and private markets that pay farmers to use the carbon-trapping methods. By Environmental Writer John Flesher. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.

CHINA-OBSERVATORY-GAMMA-RAYS — With a pencil and a notebook, artist Edilberto Jiménez walks the streets of Lima and cities in the Andes mountains collecting stories and images about the coronavirus health crisis that has devastated Peru. SENT: 610 words, photos, video.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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APPLE-APP STORE ON TRIAL — Apple CEO Tim Cook will take the witness stand Friday to defend the company’s iPhone app store against charges that it has grown into an illegal monopoly — one far more profitable than his predecessor Steve Jobs envisioned when it opened up 13 years ago. By Technology Writer Michael Liedtke. SENT: 740 words, photo.

FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian shares were mixed after a rebound on Wall Street broke a three-day losing streak. Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Taipei and Sydney but fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 600 words, photos.

CRUISE-LINES-ALASKAN — Congress has voted to let large cruise ships sail directly from Washington state to Alaska without stopping in Canada, a step that could clear the way for cruises later this year. The legislation approved by the House on Thursday goes to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it. SENT: 380 words, photo.

PHILANTHROPY-ASIAN-AMERICAN-DONATIONS — A foundation launched by prominent Asian American business leaders earlier this month says it has raised more than $1 billion to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. SENT: 430 words, photo.

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ENTERTAINMENT/MEDIA

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HARRY-AND-OPRAH-MENTAL=HEALTH — For Harry, returning to London to attend Prince Philip’s funeral last month meant once more facing a place where he felt trapped and hunted by cameras. It would be a test of his ability to cope with the anxiety that was bubbling up again. SENT: 990 words, photos, video.

MEDIA-CUOMOS — CNN says it was “inappropriate” for anchor Chris Cuomo to have been involved in phone calls with the staff of his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, where strategies on how the governor should respond to sexual harassment allegations were allegedly discussed. By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 690 words, photo.

TV-NEW-SEASON-ROUNDUP — Everything old is new again on network television, and without apology. As the TV industry rushes into the future with streaming services, traditional broadcasters unveiled 2021-22 schedules that rely heavily on familiar series brands and reboots of decades-old shows. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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GLF--PGA CHAMPIONSHIP — Opening Day at the PGA Championship essentially wound up a draw. Good shots were rewarded, bad ones predictably punished and the Ocean Course — backed up by stiff breezes off the Atlantic — came out of it looking like anything but a pushover. By Jim Litke. SENT: 800 words, photos.

PACERS-WIZARDS — Russell Westbrook nearly had a triple-double and Bradley Beal scored 25 points in just 29 minutes to help the Washington Wizards reach the NBA playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed by overwhelming the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the play-in round. Washington led by as many as 38 points and advanced to face Joel Embiid and the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. By Howard Fendrich. SENT: 800 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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