BC-AP News Digest 3 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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ONLY ON AP

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHILD BRIDES — Marriages of underage girls are on the rise as the coronavirus pandemic deepens poverty around the world, threatening to undo years of work by activists trying to stop the tradition in countries such as Sierra Leone. The United Nations estimates that hardships resulting from COVID-19 will drive 13 million more girls to marry before the age of 18. This year alone, Save the Children estimates nearly half a million more girls underage girls are at risk of being married off worldwide, most in Africa and Asia. In most cases, needy parents receive a dowry for their daughter — a bit of land or livestock that can provide income, or cash and a promise to take over financial responsibility for the young bride. By Krista Larson. UPCOMING at 3:15 a.m.: 2, 430 words, photos. WITH Abridged version of 980 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY'S HEROES- PHOTO GALLERY — Eight months later, they allow themselves a faint, forced smile. The tired terror in their eyes has faded. But for the doctors and nurses who have been on the front lines of Italy’s coronavirus battle since the start, the passage of time has taken a toll. The Associated Press went back to photograph the 16 health care workers whose portraits, taken on the single deadliest day of Italy’s first wave of infection, came to epitomize the sacrifice of the world’s medical personnel during the pandemic. BY Luca Bruno, Antonio Calanni and Domenico Stinellis. SENT: 740 words, 18 photos.

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TOP STORIES

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ELECTORAL COLLEGE — Presidential electors are meeting across the United States on Monday to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 470 words, photos. Will be updated throughout the day. WITH: ELECTORAL COLLEGE-EXPLAINER — Voters cast their ballots for president more than a month ago, but the votes that officially matter will be cast Monday. That’s when the Electoral College meets. Some questions and answers about the Electoral College. By Jessica Gresko and Mark Sherman. SENT: 840 words, photos, audio; EXPLAINING ELECTION 2020-ELECTORAL COLLEGE — For a compromise that has lasted more than 200 years, the Electoral College doesn’t get a lot of love. SENT: 360 words, photos; ELECTORAL-COLLEGE-EXPLAINING-OTHER-COUNTRIES — How do other democratic nations select leaders? SENT: 810 words, photos.

Find the AP’s full coverage plan for Monday’s Electoral College vote here.

VIRUS OUTBREAK— The first of many freezer-packed COVID-19 vaccine vials made their way to distribution sites across the United States on Sunday, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approached the horrifying new milestone of 300,000. By Marth Irvine and Morry Gash. SENT: 920 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-EXPLAINING-VACCINE-SHIPMENTS — How much COVID-19 vaccine will be shipped in US? SENT: 660 words, photos; VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP — President Donald Trump says he’s reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19 while public distribution of the shot is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. SENT: 580 words, photos; VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE LATEST (sent.)

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOME WORRY — After 110,000 deaths ravaged the nation’s nursing homes and pushed them to the front of the vaccine line, they now face a vexing problem: Skeptical residents and workers balking at getting the shots. Being first has for some come with fears that the vaccines were rushed into development, that their effects have not been fully studied, and that the frail and those who care for them will essentially be test subjects. Federal health officials say testing has uncovered no serious side effects and they are launching a $250 million ad campaign to sway skeptical people to get the vaccines. By Bernard Condon and Matt Sedensky. SENT: 1, 230 words, photos;

FEDERAL AGENCIES HACKED — U.S. government agencies were ordered to scour their networks for malware and disconnect potentially compromised servers after authorities learned that the Treasury and Commerce departments were hacked in a monthslong global cyberespionage campaign discovered when a prominent cybersecurity firm learned it had been breached. By Eric Tucker, Frank Bajak and Matt O'Brien. SENT: 1, 100 words, photos.

SAUDI-ARABIA — An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen. The Singapore-flagged BW Rhine saw all 22 sailors on board escape without injury, the BW Group said in a statement. The company warned it was possible some oil leaked out from the site of the blast. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 360 words, photos.

BRITAIN-OBIT-LE-CARRE — John le Carre, a spy turned novelist who became the preeminent writer of espionage fiction in English, has died at age 89. His fiction included “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.” By Jill Lawless. SENT: 1,430 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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CATHEDRAL SHOOTING — A man was fatally shot by police on the steps of a landmark New York City cathedral Sunday after he began firing two semiautomatic handguns at the end of a Christmas choral concert, police said. SENT: 510 words, photos.

INDIANS-NAME-CHANGE — The Cleveland Indians are changing their name after 105 years. Citing three people familiar with the decision, The New York Times reported that the team is moving away from a name considered racist for decades. The Indians have been internally discussing a potential name change for months. SENT: 430 words, photos.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS — Holocaust survivors honored with online event amid pandemic. SENT: 170 words, photos.

OBIT-NETTERS — The Rev. James L. Netters Sr., a civil rights advocate who was one of the first Black members of the Memphis City Council, has died at 93. SENT: 260 words, photos.

CHINA-MOON-PROBE — Chinese capsule with moon rocks begins return to Earth. SENT: 320 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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RACING FOR A REMEDY-NEXT PANDEMIC — Teams of researchers around the globe are now racing to study the places and species from which the next pandemic may emerge. Even as the world struggles with the devastation of COVID-19, scientists say this pandemic likely won’t be the last. It’s no coincidence that many scientists are focusing attention on the world’s only flying mammals — bats. Viruses that emerge from bats are more lethal in humans than those from other species. SENT: 1, 810 words, photos. WITH Abridged version of 930 words (sent.)

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NONPROFITS — The American spirit of generosity this holiday season may be no match for the coronavirus. Despite record amounts of charitable donations this year, the effects of the pandemic are suffocating nonprofits across the country as organizations face soaring costs and demand for help, yet are largely without their own support systems. SENT: 960 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY — The German government called on citizens Monday to forgo Christmas shopping, two days before the country heads into a hard lockdown that will shut most stores, tighten social distancing rules and close schools across the country. SENT: 360 words, photos.

Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-DEFENSE BILL — President Trump comes up with a new rationale to threaten a veto of the annual defense policy bill that covers the military’s budget and pay raises for service members: China. He’s not saying what his concerns are, but Republican lawmakers have said the bill would deter Chinese aggression and needs to become law as soon as possible. The legislation has passed Congress by margins large enough to override a potential veto. SENT: 530 words, photos.

SENATE-GEORGIA-TRUMP — Many Republican voters in Georgia are angry. They’re convinced that widespread voter fraud — claims that are baseless — cost President Donald Trump the election to Democrat Joe Biden. But will those concerns put them on the sidelines for runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine party control of the U.S. Senate? Interviews with voters and party activists in the state reveal little sign that Trump’s voters are planning to stay home in protest. By Ben Nadler and Bill Barrow. SENT: 870 words, photos. With SENATE-GEORGIA-LOEFFLER — The campaign of Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is disavowing a photo circulating on social media of her posing with a longtime white supremacist, saying she didn’t know who he was. SENT: 470 words, photo.

ELECTION 2020-GEORGIA — President Trump has lost his latest legal challenge seeking to overturn Georgia’s election results. SENT: 370 words, photo.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY-THREATENED — Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species. By . By John Flesher and Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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RACIAL-INJUSTICE-SAVING-BLM-MURALS — During protests after George Floyd’s death, the streets of countless major cities became temporary galleries of artwork conveying collective pain and anger. But as these ephemeral artworks began to come down or be wiped from walls, patchworks of artists and activists rushed to preserve them. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

FRESH-FOOD-INITIATIVES — Arizona nonprofits have joined other groups around the U.S. working to bring fresh produce and healthy food options to residents in low-income and racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods. The efforts have grown increasingly important with hunger on the rise amid the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

CLERGY ABUSE-PENNSYLVANIA-FEDERAL PROBE — Two years ago, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia joined the long line of ambitious prosecutors investigating the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of priest-abuse complaints. But as U.S. Attorney William McSwain’s tenure likely nears its end with President-elect Joe Biden set to take office next month, there’s no sign that any sweeping church indictment is afoot. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR-RECALL — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had a rough year. The next one might be even tougher as a recall effort appears to be gaining momentum, fueled partly by outrage over the first-term Democrat dining with friends at an opulent restaurant while telling state residents to spurn social gatherings and stay home. By Michael R. Blood. SENT: 950 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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INDIA-FARMER PROTESTS — Tens of thousands of protesting Indian farmers have called for a second national strike in a week to press for the quashing of three new laws on agricultural reform that they say will drive down crop prices. The farmers are camping along at least five major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi and have said they won’t leave until the government rolls back what they call the “black laws.” SENT: 460 words, photo.

BREXIT — Teetering on the brink of a no-deal Brexit departure, Britain and the European Union stepped back from the void and agreed to continue trade talks, although both downplayed the chances of success. SENT: 930 words, photos.

IRAN — Iran summoned the German envoy to Tehran after the European Union condemned the execution of an Iranian journalist whose work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017, Iranian state media has reported. SENT: 440 words, photos. With IRAN-BRITAIN — Iran has sentenced a British-Iranian anthropologist to nine years in jail and fined him over $700,000 in cash. SENT: 380 words.

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SPORTS

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FBC-T25-COLLEGE-FOOTBALL-POLL — The first top-10 shakeup in more than a month pushed Coastal Carolina to No. 9 in The Associated Press college football poll. Alabama was a unanimous No. 1, followed by Notre Dame, Ohio State, Clemson and Texas A&M as those teams held their spots for a sixth straight week. SENT: 530 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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