AP News Digest 3 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONE-YEAR-WHO — When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they’re needed most. By Maria Cheng and Jamey Keaten. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Congress approves President Joe Biden’s landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. The 628-page measure represents Democrats’ effort to bridle the catastrophic pandemic and revive the enfeebled economy. By Alan Fram. SENT: 1,090 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS-HIGHLIGHTS — What’s inside the COVID-19 bill passed by Congress.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE YEAR-BIDEN — Biden will use his first primetime address since taking office to steer the nation toward the hungered-for sentiment of hope in the midst of a pandemic. His aim is to usher the nation into the “next phase” of the fight against the virus that has killed more than 529,000 Americans. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 790 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after 8 p.m. speech.
JAPAN-TSUNAMI-ANNIVERSARY — Japan is marking the 10th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit the northeastern region, where many survivors’ lives are still on hold. People, some carrying bouquets, walked to the coast or graves to pray for relatives and friends washed away by the tsunami. Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga were among those observing a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. — the minute the shaking started. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 660 words, photos. With JAPAN-TSUNAMI-ANNIVERSARY-DAMAGE-PRESERVED-PHOTO-GALLERY — Damage preserved as memorial of Japanese tsunami; JAPAN-TSUNAMI ANNIVERSARY-BY THE NUMBERS; JAPAN-TSUNAMI ANNIVERSARY-TIMELINE.
MYANMAR-IMAGES-AND-IMPACT — The images ricochet across the planet, as so many do in this dizzying era of film it, upload it, tell it to the world: scenes from a protest-turned-government crackdown, captured at ground level by smartphone users on the streets of Myanmar. By Ted Anthony. SENT: 1,220 words, photos. With MYANMAR Myanmar police raid housing for striking railway workers.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE YEAR-VOICES-PHOTO GALLERY — One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen death, economic hardship and anxiety on an unprecedented scale. But it has also witnessed self-sacrifice, courage and perseverance. In India, Brazil, South Africa and other places around the globe, people are helping others and reinventing themselves. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 1,380 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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HEAT-LEONARD SLUR — Miami Heat coach: Leonard’s words were “distasteful and hurtful." SENT: 260 words, photos.
INDONESIA-VOLCANO — Indonesia’s Sinabung volcano unleashes new burst of hot ash. SENT: 260 words, photos.
ALASKA-LAWMAKER-MASK — Alaska Senate takes action against member over virus rules. SENT: 550 words, photos.
TRANSGENDER-SPORTS-MISSISSIPPI — Mississippi governor set to sign transgender sports limit. SENT: 160 words, photo.
ISRAEL-NETANYAHU —Israeli PM’s wife hospitalized ahead of Netanyahu UAE trip. SENT: 220 words.
MALAYSIA-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM — Malaysian court rules non-Muslims can use “Allah." SENT: 220 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL — Brazil’s hospitals are faltering as a highly contagious coronavirus variant tears through the country, the president insists on unproven treatments and the only attempt to create a national plan to contain COVID-19 has just fallen short. SENT: 1,050 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.
US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-VIRUS-FUTURE — Nobody knows for sure how the coronavirus will behave over the long term, but experts say it may be with us for decades or longer. By Science Writer Christina Larson. SENT: 280 words, graphic.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CAMBODIA — Cambodia confirmed its first death from COVID-19 since the pandemic began more than a year ago as it battles a new local outbreak that has infected hundreds of people. SENT: 260 words, photos.
NEW-ZEALAND-VIRUS-TARIFFS — New Zealand is pushing for nations around the world to end tariffs on face masks, syringes and other supplies needed to battle the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 370 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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UNITED STATES-ASIA — A new agreement with South Korea on sharing the cost of keeping U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula is early evidence that Biden is shifting America’s approach to alliances in Asia and beyond. By National Security Writer Robert Burns. SENT: 970 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS-MATERNAL HEALTH — A provision in the COVID-19 relief bill would help mothers during the risky period of childbirth. SENT: 710 words, photo.
VOTING RESTRICTIONS-REPUBLICANS — A quiet sense of discomfort emerges among Republicans on the ground in key states as former President Donald Trump’s allies push forward with a wave of legislation designed to make voting more difficult. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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MEXICO-MARIJUANA — Mexico’s lower chamber approved a marijuana legalization bill, setting the country on the path to becoming one of the world’s largest legal marijuana markets. SENT: 460 words, photo.
ETHIOPIA-MILITARY-CONFRONTATION — Ethiopia’s government faced mounting pressure to withdraw troops from the northern region of Tigray amid growing reports of war crimes in an embattled area that now faces a humanitarian crisis. SENT: 520 words, photos.
SOUTH-KOREA-ABUSIVE-FACILITY — South Korea’s Supreme Court upholds a controversial 1989 ruling that acquitted the owner of a massive institution that housed vagrants, children and the disabled of serious charges despite the enslavement and abuse of thousands of those trapped there in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. SENT: 700 words, photo.
CHINA-CONGRESS — China’s ceremonial legislature plans to endorse the Communist Party’s latest move to tighten control over Hong Kong by reducing the role of its public in picking the territory’s leaders. SENT: 340 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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CUOMO-SEXUAL-HARASSMENT-GROPING — An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he groped her in the governor’s residence, a newspaper reported, in the most serious allegation made yet by a series of women against the embattled Democrat. SENT: 870 words, photos, video.
LOS-ANGELES-HOMELESS-TINY-HOMES — Chandler Street village — a community of 39 tiny homes for homeless people in Los Angeles — was developed and funded by the city as part of an emergency response to its worsening homelessness crisis. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, video.
GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICER-TRIAL — Potential jurors in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial return to continue a selection process moving more quickly than expected. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.
HAWAII FLOODING — Heavy rains are part of the winter wet season in Hawaiian Islands, but the downpours triggering flooding that destroyed homes and bridges and set off mass evacuations on multiple islands this week are also an example of the more intense rainstorms officials and climate scientists say are occurring more frequently as the planet warms. SENT: 740 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Stocks climbed in Asia after a key measure of inflation in the U.S. came in lower than expected, easing worries that price pressures could push interest rates higher. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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ON TENNIS-FEDERER IS BACK — Roger Federer is back on tour after more than a year away and he returned with a victory. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 790 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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