AP News Digest 3 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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DEBT LIMIT — An upbeat President Joe Biden says a deal to resolve the government’s debt ceiling crisis seems “very close,” even as the deadline for a potentially catastrophic default is pushed back to June 5 and seems likely to drag negotiations between the White House and Republicans into another frustrating week. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 990 words, photos, video. With DEBT LIMIT-NEW X-DATE — When will the U.S. run out of cash? SENT: 500 words, photos.
TEXAS-ATTORNEY-GENERAL-INVESTIGATION — Texas’ GOP-led House of Representatives was set to hold historic impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday as the scandal-plagued Republican called on supporters to protest a vote that could lead to his ouster. SENT: 720 words, photos, audio. TEXAS-ATTORNEY-GENERAL-IMPEACHMENT-EXPLAINER — Why Texas’ GOP-controlled House wants to impeach the state’s Republican attorney general (sent).
SOUTH SUDAN-STRANDED AT THE BORDER — Tens of thousands of exhausted people are heading home to the world’s newest country, South Sudan, from a civil war in neighboring Sudan. That’s creating a bottleneck near the dusty border. The international community and the government are scurrying to help, worried about a prolonged conflict. Fighting between Sudan’s military and a rival militia killed at least 863 civilians before a seven-day ceasefire began Monday night. By Sam Mednick. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
GREEN-SHIPPING — It’s among the world’s busiest container shipping routes — a stream of vessels packed with furniture, automobiles, clothing and other goods, traversing the Pacific between Los Angeles and Shanghai. If plans succeed, this corridor will become a showcase for slashing planet-warming carbon emissions from the shipping industry, which produces nearly 3% of the world’s total. That’s less than from cars, trucks, rail or aviation but still a lot — and it’s rising. SENT: 1,340 words, photos.
TEENS-SUMMER-JOBS — Teens have long been vital to filling out the summertime staffs of restaurants, ice cream stands, amusement parks and camps. Now, thanks to one of the tightest labor markets in decades, they have even more sway, with an array of jobs to choose from at ever higher wages. By Steve LeBlanc. SENT: 1.100 words, photos.
ARGENTINA-LGBT — Anastasia Domini and wife Anna are part of an increasing number of Russians from the LGBTQ+ community who have decided to leave their homeland to escape discrimination and settle in Argentina, where same-sex marriage has been legal for more than a decade. The Dominis changed their last names in Russia so they could more convincingly pretend to be sisters. A recent Saturday stroll holding hands in Argentina’s capital exemplified how much their life had changed since they moved to the country last year. By Natacha Pisarenko and Debora Rey. SENT 960 words, photos.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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MEXICO-VOLCANO WATCHER — When the Popocatepetl volcano reawakened in 1994, Mexican scientists needed people in the area who could be their eyes and ears. State police helped them find Nefi de Aquino, a farmer then in his 40s who lived beside the volcano. From that moment on, his life changed. SENT: 680 words, photos, video.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Authorities say Russia’s southern Belgorod region that borders Ukraine came under attack from Ukrainian artillery fire hours after two drones struck a Russian city in a region next to the Crimea Peninsula. SENT: 660 words, video, photos.
SOC-UKRAINE-TITLE-DECIDER — Two soccer teams exiled from cities in war-battered eastern Ukraine will play each other Sunday in the safer western part of the country with the league title at stake. The showdown between competition leader Shakhtar Donetsk and second-place Dnipro-1 at Arena Lviv can be decisive in a season finishing on schedule in remarkable circumstances during Russia’s war on Ukraine. SENT: 780 words, photos,
RUSSIA-US-DETAINED REPORTER — Russian court data shows that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is appealing a three-month extension of his detention on espionage charges. SENT: 280 words, photo.
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MORE NEWS
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SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-DANNY-MASTERSON — Jurors have deliberated for more than a week without reaching a verdict in the rape retrial of “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, and will have to return and resume talks after the long holiday weekend. SENT: 260 words, photos.
WEST-POINT-KAMALA-HARRIS — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to become the first woman to deliver a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy, an institution that has made slow progress diversifying its ranks in the four decades since the first class of female cadets graduated. SENT: 230 words, photos.
GRADUATION-MEXICAN-SASH — A federal judge has ruled that a rural Colorado school district can bar a high school student from wearing a Mexican and American flag sash at her graduation this weekend after the student sued the school district. SENT: 580 words, photos.
BLACK LIVES MATTER-FINANCES — A national Black Lives Matter nonprofit, whose philanthropic fortunes grew almost overnight during historic racial justice protests three years ago, raised just over $9 million in its last fiscal year, new IRS tax filings show. SENT: 550 words, photo.
ATHLETICS-LAS-VEGAS — A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature would give the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million for a potential 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip. SENT: 520 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CHINA-FALUN-GONG-PLOT — U.S. authorities have arrested two suspected Chinese government agents in connection with an alleged plot by Beijing to disrupt and ultimately topple the exiled anti-communist Falun Gong spiritual movement. SENT: 700 words, photos.
BIDEN-COLLEGE BASKETBALL — President Joe Biden appeals for more support for female athletes during a White House event celebrating Louisiana State’s championship women’s basketball team. Biden also welcomes the UConn men’s championship basketball team. SENT: 700 words, photos..
JILL BIDEN — Jill Biden will promote women and youth empowerment — and attend a Jordanian royal wedding — during an upcoming trip to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. SENT: 330 words, photo, audio.
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NATIONAL
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THERANOS-FRAUD-ELIZABETH-HOLMES — As Elizabeth Holmes prepares to report to prison next week, the criminal case that laid bare the blood-testing scam at the heart of her Theranos startup is entering its final phase. The 11-year sentence represents a comeuppance for the wide-eyed woman who broke through “tech bro” culture to become one of Silicon Valley’s most celebrated entrepreneurs, only to be exposed as a fraud. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
SUMMER VIOLENCE-RESPONSE — Mayors and police officials around the U.S. are rolling out familiar strategies in response to an expected bump of violent crime during summer months, The push for more police and community involvement comes despite a continuing decline in homicides and other violent crimes that spiked in 2020. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
OGLALA-SAFETY-CRISIS — A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government has a treaty obligation to support law enforcement on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, but declined for now to determine whether the Oglala Sioux Tribe is entitled to as much funding as it’s seeking. SENT: 700 words, photos.
GABBY PETITO-LETTER — The mother of the man who authorities say killed Gabby Petito told her son in an undated letter that she would “dispose of a body” if needed because she loved him so much, shows a copy of the hand-written note shared this week by attorneys for Gabby Petito’s parents. SENT: 660 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA-PLANE-CRASH — A Navy contractor’s aircraft caught fire before it crashed off the California coast earlier this month, killing three people on board, federal investigators say, SENT: 370 words, audio.
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INTERNATIONAL
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GUATEMALA-PROSECUTOR-ARRESTED — Guatemalan police have arrested the country’s prosecutor for crimes against migrants, accusing him of alleged abuse of authority. SENT: 220 words, photo.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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EUROPE-TWITTER-DISINFORMATION — Twitter has dropped out of a voluntary European Union agreement to combat online disinformation, a top EU official says. SENT: 260 words, photo.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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CANNES-AWARDS — After 21 world premieres, nearly two weeks of red-carpet parades and hundreds of thousands of camera flashes, the 76th Cannes Film Festival concludes Saturday with the presentation of its top prize, the Palme d’Or. SENT: 390 words, photos. With PHOTO-GALLERY-CANNES-FESTIVAL-STANDOUT-MOMENTS — See standout moments of glamour, humor and reunion as the festival draws to a close (sent).
CANNES-NATALIE-PORTMAN-TODD-HAYNES — Todd Haynes’ “May December” is a delicious and disquieting drama laced with comedy and camp that premiered over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival. Natalie Portman stars as an actor researching an upcoming film that’s to dramatize a scandal from 20 years earlier. She comes to Savannah, Georgia, to spend time with a woman who years earlier become tabloid fodder for a sexual relationship with a 7th grader. SENT: 730 words.
TV-SUCCESSION FINALE-PREVIEW — There’s no Iron Throne, but the stakes feel just as high. “Succession,” the critically acclaimed drama chronicling a Murdoch-esque feuding billionaire family, wraps its four-season run on Sunday with a highly anticipated 88-minute finale. SENT: 830 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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CAR—INDY 500-SAFETY EVOLUTION — The 1973 Indianapolis 500 was supposed to be about cracking the 200 mph barrier. It turned into a milestone race for a different reason -- safety. After a month in which three drivers and a pit crew member died and more than a dozen fans were burned, series officials and drivers made immediate changes in the name of safety. UPCOMING: 880 words, photos by 7 a.m.
BKN--CELTICS-HEAT PREVIEW — The Boston Celtics are halfway to history, and that alone has gotten them entry into a very small club. Of the first 150 teams that trailed a best-of-seven series 3-0 in NBA history, just 14 of them found a way to extend the matchup to Game 6. Most are usually eliminated by now. Not the Celtics. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 900 words, photos.
HKN--STARS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS PREVIEW — The Dallas Stars stayed alive Thursday night, but now the Vegas Golden Knights return home to try to close out the Western Conference Final for the second time. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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