AP News Digest 4:05 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD SHIP — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is building a massive new support ship near the strategic Strait of Hormuz as it tries to expand its naval presence in waters vital to international energy supplies and beyond, satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press show. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 1,110 words, photo.
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TOP STORIES
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TEXAS SCHOOL-SHOOTING — Texas authorities say the gunman who massacred 21 people at an elementary school was in the building for over an hour before he was killed by law enforcement officers. The amount of time that elapsed has stirred anger and questions among family members, who demanded to know why authorities did not storm the place and put a stop to the rampage more quickly. By Jake Bleiberg, Jim Vertuno and Elliot Spagat. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, videos.
TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-NRA — Former President Donald Trump and other leading Republicans are scheduled to address the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston, three days after the deadly shooting of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. By Juan Lozano and David A. Lieb. SENT: 930 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after events begin at 9 a.m.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Moscow pressed the West to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis that has been worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products while under attack. By Ricardo Mazalan and Elena Becatoros. SENT: 1,250 words, photos, videos. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-US-COMMANDER — US general: No need to add ground forces in Sweden, Finland (sent).
BABY-FORMALA-SHORTAGE-RACIAL-DISPARITIES — A massive safety recall and supply disruptions have swept many leading formula brands off store shelves. Many parents are having problems finding formula, but some experts point out systemic inequities contribute to lower rates of breastfeeding among Black and Hispanic women, making their babies more dependent on formula. By Jacquelyn Martin, Adriana Gomez and Terry Tang. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NORTH-KOREA-DEATH-RATE — According to North Korea, its fight against COVID-19 has been impressive: About 3.3 million people have been reported sick with fevers, but only 69 have died. If all are coronavirus cases, that’s a fatality rate of 0.002%, something no other country, including the world’s richest, has achieved against a disease that has killed more than 6 million people. By Hyung-Jin Kim. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
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MORE ON TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING
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TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-CONGRESS — A bipartisan group of senators is trying to find a compromise on gun legislation after Democrats’ attempt at responding to the back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, fails in the Senate. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. With TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-CONGRESS-GLANCE — A look at the proposals under consideration, and others that are not. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-SOCIAL MEDIA — The 18-year-old man who slaughtered 19 children and two teachers in Texas left a digital trail, posting an Instagram photo of a hand holding a gun magazine. But such images hardly stick out on an endless grid of Instagram posts that feature semi-automatic rifles, handguns and ammunition. By Amanda Seitz. SENT: 700 words, photo.
TEXAS-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-COUPLE — The family of a fourth grade teacher was already reeling from her death in the school shooting that targeted her classroom in Uvalde, Texas. Then, just two days after Irma Garcia was killed, her grieving husband collapsed and died at home from a heart attack. That’s according to a family member who spoke to The New York Times. Joe Garcia was 50. SENT: 440 words, photos.
TEXAS-SCHOOL SHOOTING-SHOOTER’S MESSAGES — The Texas school shooter sent out a series of hidden, cryptic social media messages in the leadup to his deadly assault — including to apparently random teenage girls in California and Germany he began chatting up online — but authorities say none provided enough of a specific warning to stop the carnage. SENT: 830 words, photos.
TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-BIDEN — The Texas school shooting, coming less than two weeks after another shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., has refocused Joe Biden’s presidency on one of the greatest political challenges of his career — the crusade for gun control. SENT: 1,240 words, photos, video. With TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-BIDEN VISIT — President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday to console families and honor victims of Tuesday’s school shooting. SENT: 260 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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BTS-APPLE-MUSIC — BTS will reveal their gradual journey to becoming K-pop superstars through a new Apple Music weekly limited series. The streaming service announced that BTS will launch their new show “BTS Radio: Past & Present” on Apple Music 1. The three-episode limited series will air weekly, leading up to the release of the band’s new album “Proof,” which arrives on June 10. SENT: 220 words, photos.
OBIT-ALAN WHITE — Alan White, the longtime drummer for progressive rock pioneers Yes who also played on projects with John Lennon and George Harrison, has died. He was 72. SENT: 450 words, photo.
OBIT-ANDY FLETCHER — Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, keyboardist for British synth pop giants Depeche Mode for more than 40 years, has died at age 60. SENT: 330 words, photo.
CAR-INDY 500-GRAND MARSHAL — Blake Shelton will lend his voice to the Indianapolis 500 as the grand marshal for Sunday’s race. SENT: 230 words, photos.
DEPP-HEARD-TRIAL — A jury is scheduled to hear closing arguments Friday in Johnny Depp’s high-profile libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. SENT: 180 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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ELECTION-2022-LOS-ANGELES-MAYOR — Many voters in heavily Democratic Los Angeles are seething over rising crime and homelessness and that could prompt the city to take a turn to the political right for the first time in decades. One of the leading candidates for mayor is Rick Caruso, a pro-business billionaire Republican-turned-Democrat who sits on the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and is promising to expand spending on police, not defund them. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
ELECTION-2022-OREGON-BLURRED-BALLOTS — Voters in an Oregon county where a ballot-printing error has delayed primary results for nearly two weeks have elected the same county clerk five times in the past 20 years despite missteps that impacted two previous elections and cost taxpayers at least $100,000. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
SUPREME-COURT-ABORTION-TERRITORIES — Women from the remote U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands will likely have to travel farther than other Americans to terminate a pregnancy if the Supreme Court overturns a precedent that established a national right to abortion in the United States. SENT: 980 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-CLIMATE CHANGE COST — The Supreme Court allows the Biden administration to use a higher estimate than Republican-led states want for calculating damages to people and the environment from greenhouse gas emissions. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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ONE-LAST-WAVE — Rhode Island surfer Dan Fischer created the One Last Wave Project to use the healing power of the ocean to help families coping with a loss. He etches their loved one’s name onto one of his surfboards and takes them out into the ocean, in spirit anyway, for “one last wave,” as a way to memorialize them in a place that was meaningful to them. He started the project in January while coping with the loss of his father and his beloved dog. SENT: 830 words, photos.
BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET-SHOOTING — A mother and sister known for baking decadent pastries. A restaurant worker buying his 3-year-old’s birthday cake. A father of six who worked as a school bus aide. These three victims of the racist attack on a Buffalo supermarket will be laid to rest Friday, in a week filled with goodbyes for family and friends. SENT:490 words, photo.
SOUTHERN-BAPTIST-SEX-ABUSE — In response to an explosive investigation, top Southern Baptists have released a previously secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse. 680 words, photos.
MANSON-FOLLOWER-PAROLE — A California parole panel recommended the release of Patricia Krenwinkel for the first time, more than five decades after she and other followers of cult leader Charles Manson terrorized the state and she wrote “Helter Skelter” on a wall using the blood of one of their victims. SENT: 580 words, photos.
WORLD-WAR-II-MISSING-SAILORS — Navy Seaman 2nd Class George David Payne was just 17 years old when a Japanese submarine torpedoed his ship in the last weeks of World War II, sinking the vessel and killing him along with more than 800 other U.S. sailors. For decades, his family thought he was missing in action. But now the Navy says newly analyzed documents show he was actually buried at sea. SENT: 600 words, photos.
DOCTOR-SEXUAL ABUSE- FBI — The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday it will not pursue criminal charges against former FBI agents who failed to quickly open an investigation of sports doctor Larry Nassar despite learning in 2015 that he was accused of sexually assaulting female gymnasts. SENT: 390 words, photos.
CELEBRATING SPARKY CHARLES SCHULZ AT 100 — New exhibits at museums in Ohio and California are celebrating the upcoming centenary of the birth of Charles “Sparky” Schulz, the man who created the comic strip Peanuts. At its height Peanuts ran in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide. SENT: 900 words, photos.
TRIBAL REGALIA-GRADUATIONS — Native American students in southern Utah donned beaded caps and eagle feathers at high school graduations this week, months after the state passed a law enshrining their right to wear tribal regalia at the ceremonies. Utah is among a growing list of states where lawmakers have responded to reports of Native American students being barred from wearing beaded caps or eagle feathers at graduation by passing laws to stop school districts from banning them. SENT: 700 words, photos.
DECAPITATED MAN — A jury on Thursday convicted a New Hampshire man of first-degree murder for killing his wife’s coworker after he discovered they were texting, and then forcing her to behead him. SENT: 680 words, photo.
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INTERNATIONAL
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COLOMBIA-ELECTION — Last year, Fabian Espinel helped organize roadblocks where young people protested against police violence and government plans to increase taxes on lower income Colombians. Now, as Colombia heads into its presidential election Sunday, Espinel walks the streets of working class sectors in Bogota handing out flyers for front-running candidate Gustavo Petro and helps paint murals in support of the leftist politician. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
PACIFIC ISLANDS-CHINA — China’s foreign minister on Friday arrived on the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati, where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake. The planned four-hour visit by Wang Yi was his second stop on an eight-nation tour that comes amid growing concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the South Pacific region. SENT: 720 words, photos.
SPAIN-MONKEYPOX-PRIDE — With one of Europe’s largest gay pride celebrations right around the corner, Spain’s LGBTQ community is worried that the outbreaks of monkeypox on the continent could lead to an increase in homophobic sentiment based on misunderstandings of the disease. SENT: 870 words, photos.
NETHERLANDS-POLICE-RACISM — A documentary about discrimination within the ranks of Dutch police has sparked a national conversation in the Netherlands about racism, with many officers and others hoping it will finally bring about change. SENT: 740 words, photos,
FIJI-SUPERYACHT-RUSSIA — The United States on Friday won the latest round of a legal battle to seize a $325-million Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji, with the case now appearing headed for the Pacific nation’s top court. SENT: 620 words, photos.
JAPAN-CAPSULE-BUILDING — Nakagin Capsule Tower, a building tucked away in a corner of downtown Tokyo that is made up of boxes stacked on top of each other, is an avant-garde honeycomb of science-fiction-era housing long admired as a masterpiece. It’s now being demolished in a careful process that includes preserving some of its 140 capsules, to be shipped to museums around the world. SENT: 850 words, photos.
INDONESIA-ELEPHANT — A pregnant Sumatran elephant was found dead of suspected poisoning near a palm plantation in Indonesia’s Riau province on the island of Sumatra, officials say. SENT: 370 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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SUMMER-TRAVEL-HEADACHES — Airlines and tourist destinations are expecting monster crowds this summer as travel restrictions ease and pandemic fatigue overcomes lingering fear of contracting COVID-19 during travel. By Airlines Writer David Koenig. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares gained as investors cheered a strong set of earnings from retailers that has sent U.S. shares higher. Benchmarks were rising in early trading across the region, including Japan, China, Australia and South Korea. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 840 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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CANNES-FILM-AMFAR-GALA — Robert De Niro was the honored guest at the 28th annual amfAR Gala Cannes, where one lucky guest won an auction to have lunch with the actor and a piece of his family history. One of the most anticipated events of the Cannes Film Festival, over 800 guests attended Thursday’s exclusive dinner, auction and after party at the Hôtel du Cap, Eden Roc in Antibes where guests were entertained with performances from Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin and Charli XCX. SENT: 430 words, photos.
FRANCE-CANNES-BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO GALLERY — The Cannes Film Festival is one of the most colorful spectacles in the world — all Cote d’Azur sunshine, palm trees and glittering ballgowns. But the soul of Cannes will always exist in black and white. For the 75th edition of Cannes, which wraps Saturday with the presentation of the Palme d’Or, Associated Press photographer Petros Giannakouris has stalked the red carpet and paced the Croisette seeking glimpses of classic Cannes. In his images past and present eras collide, evoking the timeless allure of the world’s largest film festival. SENT: 200 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKN--WARRIORS ADVANCE — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green picked up where they left off last time they were healthy in the postseason. The star trio that has been the core of a dynasty for Golden State got the Warriors back to the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years by beating Dallas 120-110 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. By Josh Dubow. UPCOMING: 680 words, photos. With BKN—Mavericks-Warriors (sent).
HKN—OILERS-FLAMES — Connor McDavid scored at 5:03 of overtime and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-4 to win the second-round playoff series in five games and advance to the Western Conference finals. SENT: 900 words, photos.
HKN—RANGERS-HURRICANES — Vincent Trocheck buried a short-handed goal, Teuvo Teravainen had a rare power-play score for Carolina and the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the second-round playoff series. By Aaron Beard. SENT: 700 words and photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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