AP News Digest 3:30 am
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ONLY ON AP
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THE AP INTERVIEW-WIFE OF EX-INTERPOL PRESIDENT — Shedding her anonymity in an interview with The Associated Press, the wife of the former president of Interpol who disappeared and was imprisoned in China has now chosen for the first time to show her face. Grace Meng agreed to be filmed and photographed without the dark lighting that she previously insisted on so she could speak openly and in unprecedented detail about her husband, herself and the cataclysm that tore them apart. Her husband, Meng Hongwei was purged in a stunning fall from grace. His wife is alone with their twin boys in France, a political refugee under round-the-clock French police protection after a suspected kidnapping attempt. By John Leicester. SENT: 970 words, photos, video.
FACEBOOK-PAPERS-MYANMAR-HATE — Years after coming under scrutiny for contributing to ethnic and religious violence in Myanmar, internal documents viewed by The Associated Press show that Facebook continues to have problems detecting and moderating hate speech and misinformation on its platform in the Southeast Asian nation. By Sam McNeil and Victoria Milko. SENT: 1,760 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,140 words is also available.
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TOP STORIES
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BIDEN-NORTH AMERICAN SUMMIT — As President Joe Biden Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Lopez Obrador prepare to meet at the White House, the three North American allies find themselves with substantive differences on migration, climate and trade. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 800 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after meeting begins at 1:15 p.m.
KENOSHA PROTEST-SHOOTINGS — The jury in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial was to move into a third day of deliberations, even as its request to re-watch video in the case sparked a fresh bid from his attorneys for a mistrial. Judge Bruce Schroeder did not immediately rule on the request, which stemmed from the defense team’s assertion that it received an inferior copy of a potentially critical video from prosecutors. By Michael Tarm, Scott Bauer and Amy Forliti. SENT: 930 words, photos, videos. With KENOSHA-PROTESTS-SHOOTINGS-ROSENBAUM — Rittenhouse trial arguments worry mental health advocates; KENOSHA-PROTEST-SHOOTINGS-EXPLAINER-MISTRIAL — What’s behind Rittenhouse mistrial requests?
AHMAUD ARBERY-GEORGIA TRIAL — The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery faces cross-examination by prosecutors, while a large group of Black ministers planned to rally outside the courthouse in support of Arbery’s family. Travis McMichael returns to the witness stand a day after testifying that Arbery forced him to make a split-second “life-or-death” decision by attacking him and grabbing his shotgun. By Russ Bynum and Jeffrey Collins. SENT: 360 words, photos, video. With AHMAUD-ARBERY-GEORGIA-BLACK-PASTORS — Call to remove Black pastors adds to agony in Arbery’s town.
BORDER-MIGRANT CAMPS — A nighttime operation to erect chain-link fencing and impose a registry may have been the beginning of the end for a migrant camp in Tijuana, Mexico, that blocks a major pedestrian crossing to the United States. But there may be more camps to follow. First lady Jill Biden sharply criticized a similar camp in Matamoros, Mexico, on a 2019 visit, saying, “It’s not who we are as Americans.” The Biden administration touted its work closing that camp in March, but new ones have sprung up in Tijuana and Reynosa. By Elliot Spagat. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
SOUTH-CHINA-SEA — Chinese coast guard ships blocked and sprayed a powerful stream of water on two Philippine ships carrying supplies to troops at a disputed South China Sea shoal, prompting a warning to Beijing that the vessels are covered by a mutual defense treaty with the United States, Manila’s top diplomat says. By Jim Gomez. SENT: 760 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH KOREA — South Korea reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic as hundreds of thousands of masked students flocked to schools for the country’s highly competitive college entrance exam amid growing concerns about the delta-driven spread. By Kim Tong-Hyung. SENT: 420 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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CONGRESS-GOSAR — House censures Rep. Gosar for violent video in rare rebuke. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
RAPPER-KILLED-YOUNG-DOLPH — Rapper Young Dolph fatally shot at Tennessee cookie shop. SENT: xxxx words, photos.
CAPITOL-BREACH-COSTUMED-RIOTER — Jan. 6 rioter who carried spear, wore horns, draws 41 months. SENT: xxx words, photos.
SPACEX-STARSHIP — SpaceX’s Musk: First Starship test flight to orbit in January. SENT: xxxx words, photos.
RESTRAINED MAN DIES-ARIZONA — Phoenix to pay $5 million in lawsuit over man’s death during arrest. SENT: 730 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON
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SUPREME COURT-ABORTION — More than two weeks have passed since the Supreme Court’s extraordinarily rushed arguments over Texas’ unique abortion law without any word from the justices. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
BIDEN-BANKING REGULATOR-HEARING — Biden's nominee to be the comptroller of the currency appears at a Senate nomination hearing. UPCOMING: Developing from 9:30 a.m. hearing.
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NATIONAL
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OKLAHOMA EXECUTION-JONES — Julius Jones whose claims of innocence have drawn the attention of athletes and entertainers across the country, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection for the 1999 slaying of an Oklahoma businessman during a carjacking when Jones was 19. SENT: 720 words, photos. UPCOMING: Execution scheduled for 5 p.m. With OKLAHOMA EXECUTION-JONES-EXPLAINER — Doubts raised as execution nears for Jones.
MALCOLM X — Two men who for decades steadfastly maintained their innocence in the 1965 assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X are set to be exonerated, after a nearly two-year-long re-investigation. SENT: 280 words, photos.
NORTHWEST-STORM — Residents of the small U.S. city of Sumas along the Canadian border were assessing damage from flooding that hit an estimated three quarters of homes, as Washington state and British Columbia tried to dry out from an intense, days-long rainstorm that cut off key roadways and forced hundreds of evacuations. SENT: 870 words, photos, video.
REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS — Incoming Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says his victory in a strongly Democratic state showed a winning path for Republicans to talk about education, an issue for which he said the GOP has “historically been a bit on our heels.” SENT: 600 words, photo.
UNITE THE RIGHT RALLY-TRIAL — Jurors in the Unite the Right civil trial are set to hear closing arguments in a case that seeks to hold white nationalists responsible for the violence that erupted in Charlottesville in 2017. SENT: 300 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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CUBA-PROTESTS-FOREIGN-MINISTER — Cuba’s top diplomat tells the AP that the fizzled attempt by young activists to encourage anti-government protests this week was a failure in political communication by the organizers, who he again accused of being supported by U.S. interests. By Andrea Rodriguez. SENT: 650 words, photos.
TAIWAN-US-F-16S — Taiwan has deployed the most advanced version of the F-16 fighter jet in its air force, as the self-ruled island steps up its defense capabilities in the face of continuing threats from China, which claims it as part of its territory. SENT: 570 words, photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — A video has emerged showing an Israeli soldier lining up school-aged Palestinian children and photographing them in a nighttime raid on their home. SENT: 480 words.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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DEERE-CONTRACT — Deere & Co. workers approved a new contract that will deliver 10% raises immediately and end a monthlong strike for more than 10,000 employees. By Business Writers Josh Funk and Tom Krisher. SENT: 540 words, photos.
OFF THE CHARTS-FOOD PRICE INFLATION — A wide range of companies could feel a tighter squeeze on their profits from rising food prices if inflation keeps running hot. By Business Writer Damian Troise. UPCOMING: 440 words, photo by 8:30 a.m.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. By Economics Writer Paul Wiseman. UPCOMING: 130 words after release of report at 8:30 a.m., then expanded, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian shares mostly declined after stock indexes shuffled lower on Wall Street. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 540 words, photos.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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NATIONAL-BOOK-AWARDS — Jason Mott’s “Hell of a Book,” a surreal meta-narrative about an author’s promotional tour and his haunted past and present, has won the National Book Award for fiction — a plot twist Mott did not imagine for himself. By National Writer Hillel Italie. SENT: 840 words, photos.
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