AP News Digest 7 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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REL-VATICAN-BENEDICT-XVI — The health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has worsened due to his age, and doctors are constantly monitoring the 95-year-old’s condition, the Vatican said. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis, who asked the faithful earlier Wednesday to pray for Benedict, went to visit his predecessor in the monastery on Vatican grounds where the retired pontiff has lived since retiring in February 2013. By Frances D’Emilio. SENT: 415 words, photos.

ELECTION 2023 -- Much of the focus on politics in 2023 will be on the emerging presidential race. But voters in some states will be weighing in on lower-profile contests that will nonetheless provide fresh insight into their priorities. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be asking voters for a second term leading one of the nation’s biggest cities. Republicans will try to take full control of the Virginia Legislature. Governors’ mansions are up for election in Louisiana and Mississippi, and a Democratic governor in red-state Kentucky will try to hang on for another term. By Michelle L. Price. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.

WINTER-WEATHER-TRAVEL — Southwest Airlines scrubbed thousands of flights again in the aftermath of the massive winter storm that wrecked Christmas travel plans across the U.S., and the federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged so far behind other carriers. A day after most U.S. airlines had recovered from the storm, Southwest called off 2,500 more flights on the East Coast by midday Tuesday. The FlightAware tracking service reported that those flights accounted for more than 80 percent of the 3,000 trips that got canceled nationwide Tuesday. The chaos seemed certain to continue. The airline also scrubbed 2,500 flights for Wednesday and nearly 1,000 for Thursday. By David Koenig. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presented new plans to further bolster his military power next year at a meeting of the nation’s political officials. Kim’s comments reported by state media indicate he’ll continue provocative weapons tests after a record run of missile launches this year. Some observers say the new goals that were not disclosed publicly could be related to Kim’s push to expand his nuclear arsenal and acquire high-tech weapons systems such as multi-warhead missiles, a spy satellite and advanced drones. SENT: 600 words, photos.

BENIN-GROWING-JIHADI-THREAT -- Violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which has wracked much of West Africa’s inland Sahel region for more than seven years, is spreading to the region’s coastal states and Benin is the hardest hit. According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, attacks have spiked more than tenfold between July and December compared to the same period last year — from 2 to 25. Analysts say if the violence escalates and spreads it could have far-reaching geopolitical consequences. They say the violence in Benin is largely coming from neighboring Burkina Faso. They say the attacks, initially confined to the border between eastern Burkina Faso and Benin in the W and Pendjari National Parks, are expanding. By Sam Mednick and Virgile Ahissou. SENT: 800 words, photos.

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TRENDING

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STORE-OWNER-SHOOTS-SUSPECT-DEATH — An 80-year-old Southern California liquor store owner who opened fire with a shotgun and wounded a would-be armed robber this summer has died, the store reported. SENT: 300 words, photo.

THAILAND-TOURIST-DEATH — Police in Thailand say an Irish tourist has died after falling out of a moving train. SENT: 205 words.

PHILIPPINES-FLOODING — Philippine officials say the death toll from heavy rains and floods over the Christmas weekend has risen to 25, with 26 others still missing. SENT: 290 words, photos.

GERMANY-NAZI-TRIAL -- A 97-year-old woman is appealing her conviction in Germany of being an accessory to more than 10,000 murders when she was a secretary to the commander of the Nazis’ Stutthof concentration camp during World War II. SENT: 265 words, photo.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — France’s defense minister has arrived in Kyiv to discuss further military support for Ukraine. French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu laid a wreath at a heroes’ monument in Ukraine’s capital on Wednesday. He was scheduled to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and army officials. While France has been less vocal about its military support for Ukraine than the United States and Britain, the country has sent a steady supply of weapons since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24. SENT: 685 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-TECHNOLOGY -- The Ukrainian government minister in charge of technology says his country is developing combat drones that attack the ones Russia has used during its invasion of Ukraine. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov described Russia’s war in Ukraine as the first major war of the internet age. He credited drones and satellite internet systems like Elon Musk’s Starlink with having transformed the conflict. SENT: 815 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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BIDEN — President Joe Biden traveled to a place very familiar to him — the U.S. Virgin Islands — to enjoy some downtime and warmer weather and to ring in a new year with family. SENT: 490 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT -- Prosecutors are recommending a life prison sentence for a co-leader of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s governor. They’ve reminded a judge that social media posts and secretly recorded conversations revealed a chilling desire by Barry Croft Jr. to spark a “reign of terror” in 2020. Barry Croft Jr. is due in federal court Wednesday, a day after key ally Adam Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison after prosecutors also recommended a life sentence for him. SENT: 620 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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AFGHANISTAN-WOMEN — The U.N. Security Council and the U.N. human rights chief have decried increasing restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan, urging the country’s Taliban rulers to reverse them immediately. The rights chief pointed to “terrible consequences” of a decision to bar women from working for non-governmental organizations. Last week, Taliban authorities stopped university education for women, sparking international outrage and demonstrations in Afghan cities. SENT: 350 words, photos.

ISRAEL-POLITICS — Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming hard-line government has put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its list of priorities a day before it’s set to be sworn into office. Netanyahu’s Likud party released the new government’s policy guidelines on Wednesday, the first of which is that it will “advance and develop settlement in all parts of the land of Israel — in the Galilee, Negev, Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria” — the Biblical names for the West Bank. SENT: 615 words, photos.

ETHIOPIA-TIGRAY-FLIGHTS RESUME -- Ethiopian Airlines has resumed scheduled flights to Tigray’s capital, Mekele, as the result of a peace agreement signed between the federal government and Tigray officials in November. The resumption of flights came a day after a federal government delegation led by the speaker of Ethiopia’s parliament visited Mekele paving the way for more engagement between the two sides that have fought a deadly war for two years in which hundreds of thousands of people have died. SENT: 300 words.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CHINA — China says it will resume issuing passports for tourism in another big step away from anti-virus controls that isolated the country for almost three years. That sets up a potential flood of millions of Chinese going abroad for next month’s Lunar New Year holiday. The announcement adds to abrupt changes that are rolling back some of the world’s strictest anti-virus controls as President Xi Jinping’s government tries to reverse an economic slump. SENT: 750 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-HONG-KONG — Hong Kong will scrap some of its COVID-19 restrictions, including PCR tests for inbound travelers and vaccination requirements to enter certain venues, the city’s leader said. SENT: 265 words, photos.

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ECONOMY/TECH

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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares are mostly lower in Europe and Asia as markets count down to the end of a painful year for investors, with no end in sight to uncertainties stemming from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Shares fell in Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai but rose in London and Hong Kong as the Chinese government took further steps to reopen to foreign travel after relaxing its stringent “zero-COVID” policies. SENT: 685 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BKN--KNICKS-MAVERICKS — Luka Doncic had a franchise-record 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a historic triple-double, including the tying basket off his intentionally missed free throw to force overtime as the Dallas Mavericks rallied for a wild 126-121 victory over the New York Knicks. SENT: 750 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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