AP News Digest 3 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-BIDEN -- President Joe Biden’s warning that the world is at risk of a nuclear “Armageddon” was designed to send an unvarnished message that no one should underestimate the extraordinary danger if Russia deploys tactical nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, administration officials say. By Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani and Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 960 words, photos.
THAILAND-CHILDCARE CENTER SHOOTING — Grief-stricken families prayed at a Buddhist temple filled with children’s keepsakes, flowers and photos of the smiling toddlers who were slain as they napped on blankets at a day care center in northeastern Thailand. Coffins containing the 36 killed, 24 of them children and most of them preschoolers, were released Friday and placed inside Wat Rat Samakee and two other temples in the town nestled among rice paddies in one of Thailand’s poorest regions. By Tassanee Vejpongsa and David Rising. SENT: 660 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-GEORGIA-SENATE — Herschel Walker pitches himself as a politician who can bridge America’s racial and cultural divides because he loves everyone and overlooks differences. Yet Georgia’s Republican Senate nominee has staked out familiar conservative ground on America’s most glaring societal fissures, seemingly contradicting his promises of unity. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,600 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,140 words is also available.
NATIONAL GUARD-STAFFING SHORTAGES — Soldiers are leaving the Army National Guard at a faster rate than they are enlisting, fueling concerns that in the coming years units around the country may not meet military requirements for overseas and other deployments. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 960 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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TV-AMERICA'S-GOT-TALENT — A global version of “America’s Got Talent” that will bring together past contestants from the U.S. show and other countries is coming to NBC. SENT: 130 words, photo.
HURRICANE-IAN-WEDDING-RING — Ashley Garner had given up on ever seeing her wedding ring again. She lost it outside her Fort Myers home just days before Hurricane Ian crashed into the coast of southwest Florida last Wednesday. The family stayed at their home during the storm and went outside to cleanup as soon as it had passed. After about 10 minutes, Garner says her husband spotted the ring on a brush pile next to their garage. SENT: 230 words, photos.
FLOATPLANE-CRASH-BODIES-IDENTIFIED — Seven people including a retired teacher have been identified after their bodies were recovered in the aftermath of a floatplane crash that killed 10 people last month in Washington’s Puget Sound, authorities say.. SENT: 280 words.
FAKE-HEIRESS — A woman whose exploits posing as a German heiress to scam individuals and financial institutions out of hundreds of thousands of dollars inspired a Netflix series is being released from immigration custody. SENT: 240 words.
TRANSGENDER CLINIC-CRITICISM — Officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced Friday that they are pausing gender-affirming surgeries for minors in order to review their practices. SENT: 440 words, photo.
DETAINED SUSPECT-TRAIN CRASH — A police officer in Colorado who arrested a woman who was seriously injured when the parked patrol car she was in was struck by a freight train said he did not realize he had stopped the vehicle on the railroad tracks, according to police body camera video. SENT: 260 words, photos.
TEEN SHOT-OFFICER FIRED-TEXAS — A Texas police officer who shot and wounded a teenager who had been sitting in his car eating a hamburger has been fired, police said. SENT: 310 words.
CALIFORNIA SURFER-SHARK ATTACK — A 31-year-old surfer in Northern California is recovering after a shark attack that left gruesome bites on his right thigh and leg. SENT: 280 words.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russian state-backed media are reporting that a fire has occurred on the bridge linking mainland Russia with the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula. RIA-Novosti and the Tass news agency quoted local Russian official Oleg Kryuchkov as saying an object thought to be a fuel storage tank caught fire and that traffic has been stopped on the bridge. By Adam Schreck and Vasilisa Stepanenko. SENT: 360 words.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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GEORGIA-ELECTION INVESTIGATION — The Georgia prosecutor investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 election filed paperwork Friday seeking to compel testimony from a new batch of Trump allies, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. SENT: 910 words, photo.
ELECTION 2022-SENATE-WISCONSIN — Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and his Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes stuck to their scripts — and their time limits — as they met for a debate Friday evening in a hotly contested race that could determine party control of the U.S. Senate. SENT: 810 words, photos.
ARIZONA GOP CHAIR-SUBPOENA — A federal judge in Phoenix has refused to put on hold her order requiring phone records of the Arizona Republican Party leader to be turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pending an appeal. SENT: 410 words, photos.
BIDEN-TERRORISM-STRATEGY — President Joe Biden has formally issued new guidance curtailing the use of armed drones outside of war zones as part of a new counterterrorism strategy that places a greater priority on protecting civilian lives. SENT: 340 words.
IMMIGRATION-SEPARATING FAMILIES — Parents suing after being separated from their children at the U.S-Mexico border are pushing back against a Justice Department effort to require additional psychological evaluations to measure how much the U.S. policy traumatized them, court documents show. SENT: 530 words, photo.
ELECTION 2022-TRUMP-ADS — Former President Donald Trump is finally opening his checkbook, reserving millions of dollars in airtime for ads to bolster his endorsed candidates in key midterm races just one month before Election Day. SENT: 640 words, photo.
JILL BIDEN — Jill Biden uses the story of how one of her teenage friends ended a pregnancy at a time when abortion was illegal, including being declared mentally unfit, to illustrate what she says is at stake for women in November’s elections. SENT: 620 words, photos.
POSTAL SERVICE-DELAYS — A federal judge has set limits on one of the U.S. Postal Service’s cost-cutting practices that contributed to a worrisome slowdown of mail deliveries ahead of the 2020 presidential election. SENT: 390 words, photo.
NEBRASKA SENATE-RICKETTS — With Ben Sasse apparently ready to resign his Nebraska U.S. Senate seat to become president of the University of Florida, speculation is rampant that his temporary replacement could be Gov. Pete Ricketts. SENT: 630 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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CALIFORNIA-FAMILY KIDNAPPED — The younger brother of a man suspected in the kidnapping and killings of an 8-month-old baby, her parents and an uncle, was arrested on suspicion he helped his brother destroy evidence, authorities say. SENT: 930 words, photos, video.
CALIFORNIA-GOVERNOR-GAS-PRICES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday he will call a special session of the state Legislature in December to pass a new tax on oil company profits to punish them for what he called “rank price gouging.” SENT: 880 words, photos.
ABORTION-ARIZONA — Abortions can take place again in Arizona, at least for now, after an appeals court has blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood law that almost entirely criminalized the procedure. SENT: 800 words, photos.
HEALTH-CARE-DIGITAL-ATTACK — Details of an apparent cyberattack on one of the largest health systems in the U.S. were slow to emerge as security experts on Friday warned that it often takes time to assess the full impact on patients and hospitals. SENT: 520 words, photos.
TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING — Uvalde’s school district suspended its entire police force Friday amid fresh outrage over the hesitant law enforcement response to the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School. The extraordinary move follows the revelation that the district hired a former state trooper who was among hundreds of officers who rushed to the scene of the May 24 shooting. By Paul J. Weber. SENT: 550 words, photos.
ARIZONA-CAMPUS SHOOTING — A former University of Arizona graduate student arrested in the fatal shooting of a hydrology professor was being held without bond Friday after a judge ruled there was enough evidence to try him on charges of first degree murder and aggravated assault. SENT: 480 words, photos.
TRANSGENDER-CLINIC-CRITICISM — Officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has announced that they are pausing gender-affirming surgeries for minors in order to review their practices. SENT: 440 words, photos.
TEEN SHOT-OFFICER FIRED-TEXAS — A Texas police officer who shot and wounded a teenager who had been sitting in his car eating a hamburger has been fired, police say. SENT: 380 words, photos.
SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-DOCTOR-CHARGED — Two New York hospitals have agreed to pay more than $165 million to 147 former patients who have accused a former gynecologist of sexual abuse and misconduct. SENT: 320 word, photos.
MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT — Prosecutors on Friday played secretly recorded audio from a 2020 meeting in the basement of a vacuum shop as they tried to show jurors how a paramilitary group was connected to a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. SENT: 330 words, photos.
NSA-EMPLOYEE-CLASSIFIED — A former National Security Agency employee from Colorado charged with espionage thought he was sending classified information to Russia when he was talking to an undercover FBI agent, according to court documents. SENT: 320 words.
OFFICER-SHOT-ILLINOIS — Another person has been arrested in connection with the killing of one police officer and the wounding of a second at a northern Illinois hotel in late December, Illinois State Police say. SENT: 280 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea has warned the U.S. redeployment of an aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula is causing a “considerably huge negative splash” in regional security, as it defended its recent missile tests as a “righteous reaction” to intimidating military drills between its rivals. SENT: 450 words, photos.
INDONESIA-SOCCER-DEATHS — Indonesia’s president said the country will not face sanctions from soccer’s world governing body after the firing of tear gas inside a half-locked stadium caused a crush at the exits, killing 131 people, including 17 children. SENT: 450 words, photos.
INDIA-BUS-FIRE — A bus caught fire after hitting a truck on a highway in western India early Saturday, killing at least 11 passengers, an official say. SENT: 120 words.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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RIVIAN-RECALL — Electric truck and SUV maker Rivian Automotive said Friday it is recalling almost all the vehicles it has delivered to customers in order to tighten a loose fastener that could potentially affect drivers’ ability to steer. SENT: 250 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BBN--PADRES-METS — Josh Bell and Manny Machado smashed two of San Diego’s four home runs off Max Scherzer, and the Padres romped past the New York Mets 7-1 on Friday night in their playoff opener. Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick. SENT: 890 words, photos.
BBN--PHILLIES-CARDINALS — Philadelphia scored six times in the ninth inning off the stingy St. Louis bullpen, highlighted by a bases-loaded single by Jean Segura, and the Phillies beat the NL Central champion Cardinals 6-3 in the opening game of their National League wild-card series. SENT: 880 words, photos.
BBA--RAYS-GUARDIANS — José Ramírez connected for a two-run homer, Shane Bieber dominated Tampa Bay for 7 2/3 innings and the young Cleveland Guardians played with poise in their postseason debut, beating the Rays 2-1 in the wild-card opener. By Tom Withers. SENT: 895 words, photos.
BBA--MARINERS-BLUE JAYS — Luis Castillo and Andrés Muñoz combined on a shutout, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners won in their first postseason game since 2001, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 in their AL wild-card series opener. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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