AP News Digest 3:20 a.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. 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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RUSSIA-VENEZUELA-SANCTIONS — Politically connected billionaires from Russia and Venezuela are at the center of a 49-page criminal indictment that reads like a how-to guide on circumventing U.S. sanctions. Charges were unveiled this week in New York against seven individuals who allegedly used a complex network of Hong Kong shell companies, cryptocurrency and cash drop offs to sidestep the western financial system. Prosecutors allege the conspiracy’s aim was to purchase sensitive U.S. military technology, smuggle illicit Venezuelan oil and launder tens of millions of dollars on behalf of wealthy Russian businessmen. By Joshau Goodman. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

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BRITAIN-POLITICS — British Prime Minister Liz Truss quit Thursday after a tumultuous and historically brief term marred by economic policies that roiled financial markets and a rebellion in her political party that obliterated her authority. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 1,110 words, photos. With BRITAIN-POLITICS-EXPLAINER — Why was Truss’ tenure so short — and now what?; BRITAIN-POLITICS-TIMELINE -- Tory troubles: A brief timeline of UK political upheavals; BRITAIN-POLITICS-REACTION — Britain’s political turmoil shatters its pragmatic image; BRITAIN-POLITICS-TRUSS — Liz Truss promised UK a shakeup — but was forced out instead (all sent).

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-GENERAL — The general carrying out President Vladimir Putin’s new military strategy in Ukraine has a reputation for brutality — for bombing civilians in Russia’s campaign in Syria. He also played a role in the deaths of three protesters in Moscow during the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union. By Sabra Ayres. SENT: 960 words, photos.

ELECTION 2022-GEORGIA — Eager Republican volunteers are knocking on doors in Georgia, trying to persuade reluctant conservatives and supporters of Donald Trump to register to vote in next month’s midterm elections. It’s painstaking work in battleground Georgia, as the former president’s lies of a rigged 2020 election have created a new constituency of election deniers. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONLINE-LEARNING-REGRETS — As the harmful effects of extended pandemic school closures become more apparent, some educators and parents have regrets. They’re questioning decisions in cities across the U.S. to remain online long after clear evidence emerged that schools weren’t COVID-19 super-spreaders — and months after life-saving adult vaccines became widely available. Talking about “learning loss” is controversial, but the casualties of Zoom school are real. The scale of the problem and the challenges in addressing it were apparent in Associated Press interviews with nearly 50 school leaders, teachers, parents and health officials, who struggled to agree on a way forward. By Bianca Vazquez Toness and Jocelyn Gecker.

EMMETT TILL STATUE — A Mississippi community with an elaborate Confederate monument plans to unveil a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till, decades after white men kidnapped and killed the Black teenager for whistling at a white woman in a country store. The 1955 lynching became a catalyst for the civil rights movement after Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago so the world could see the horrors inflicted on her 14-year-old son. Jet magazine published photos of his mutilated body, which had been pulled from the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi. By Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 880 words, photos.

NCAA-CONCUSSION-LAWSUIT — The widow of a former University of Southern California football player suing the NCAA for failing to protect her husband from repetitive head trauma is taking what could be a landmark case to a Los Angeles jury. Matthew Gee died in 2018 from permanent brain damage caused by countless blows to the head he took while playing linebacker for the 1990 Rose Bowl winning team, according to the wrongful death suit filed by Alana Gee. By Brian Melley. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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EUROPE-ENERGY — European Union leaders struggled to find immediate practical solutions on how to deal with the energy crisis but avoided an open rift between Germany and France that would have exposed a divided bloc as it confronts Russian President Vladimir Putin over his war in Ukraine. SENT: 880 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-EUROPE — European Union leaders are gathering to take stock of their support for Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia is trying to spark a refugee exodus by destroying his war-ravaged country’s energy infrastructure. SENT: 330 words, photos.

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TRENDING

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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-KEVIN SPACEY — A jury sided with Kevin Spacey on Thursday in one of the lawsuits that derailed the film star’s career, finding he did not sexually abuse Anthony Rapp, then 14, while both were relatively unknown actors in Broadway plays in 1986. SENT: 890 words, photos.

AUSTRALIA-BELGIUM-BACKPACKER-DEATH — The disappearance of a young Belgian backpacker in Australia has confounded authorities for more than three years, and his fate remained a mystery after an inquest concludes. SENT: 430 words, photo.

ANNA-MAY-WONG-COIN — More than 60 years after Anna May Wong became the first Asian American woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the pioneering actor has coined another first, quite literally: newly minted quarters bearing her face. SENT: 940 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-BURIED-CAR — Police are digging into why someone buried a car in the yard of a multi-million dollar Northern California home in the 1990s and left unused bags of concrete inside. SENT: 180 words.

TROPICAL-WEATER — Newly formed Tropical Storm Roslyn gained strength off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, and forecasters expected it to be a hurricane when it makes a likely weekend landfall between the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. SENT: 150 words.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION-2022-NEVADA-SENATE — A frenzied race for Nevada’s U.S. Senate seat is shaping up to be one of the closest in the country and both candidates hope their messages on abortion, immigration, inflation or public safety will tip the balance in their favor. SENT: 860 words, photos.

ELECTION-2022-CALIFORNIA-CONTROLLER — In their quest to win back statewide office in deep-blue California, Republicans have set their sights — and money — on controller candidate Lanhee Chen. The race usually attracts little attention compared to other statewide offices, but this year, without an incumbent in the running, contributions to Chen and Democratic candidate Malia Cohen have far outpaced the last election cycle. SENT: 850 words, photos.

PENTAGON-ABORTIONS — The Pentagon will provide travel funds and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal. SENT: 590 words, photo.

WATER-WOES-MISSISSIPPI — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the state’s majority-Black capital city by refusing to fund improvements for its failing water system. SENT: 360 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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STUDENT-LOAN-DEBT — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed an effort by six Republican-led states to block the Biden administration’s plan to forgive student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey in St. Louis wrote that because the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — failed to establish they had standing, “the Court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case.” SENT: 590 words, photos.

UCLA-GYNECOLOGIST-SEX-ABUSE —A former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles was found guilty Thursday of five counts of sexually abusing female patients, in a criminal case that came after the university system made nearly $700 million in lawsuit payouts. SENT: 590 words, photo.

RADIOACTIVE WASTE-MISSOURI SCHOOL — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct new testing at a Missouri grade school to learn more about the level of radioactive contamination in the school and on its playground, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush says. SENT: 490 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-PARTY-CHINA-CONGRESS — As China’s ruling Communist Party holds a congress this week, many Beijing residents are focused on an issue not on the formal agenda: Will the end of the meeting bring an easing of the at times draconian “zero-COVID” policies that are disrupting lives and the economy? SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

MYANMAR-CONFLICT — The decapitated body of a high school teacher was left on grotesque display at a school in central Myanmar after he was detained and killed by the military, witnesses said Thursday, marking the latest of many abuses alleged as the army tries to crush opposition to military rule. SENT: 980 words, photos.

GREECE-MOUNT ATHOS-MANUSCRIPTs — A church bell sounds, the staccato thudding of mallet on plank summons monks to afternoon prayers, deep voices are raised in communal chant. And high in the great tower of Pantokrator Monastery, a metal library door swings open. There, deep inside the medieval fortified monastery in the Mount Athos monastic Orthodox Christian community, researchers are for the first time tapping a virtually unknown treasure — thousands of Ottoman-era manuscripts that include the oldest of their kind in the world. SENT: 830 words, photos.

UNITED NATIONS-WOMEN, PEACE, SECURITY — The trampling of women’s rights and “deeply ingrained misogyny” are connected in many ways to today’s global challenges, from the proliferation of conflicts to increasing assaults on human rights, the U.N. deputy secretary-general say. SENT: 590 words.

JAPAN-AUSTRALIA — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is traveling to Australia for talks with his counterpart Anthony Albanese, says he wants to bolster military and energy cooperation between the two countries amid their shared concerns about China. SENT: 470 words, photos.

UNITED-NATIONS HAITI — The U.N. Security Council planned to vote Friday on a resolution that would demand an immediate end to violence and criminal activity in Haiti and impose sanctions on a powerful gang leader. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares were mostly lower in muted trading, as investors kept an eye on inflation and awaited the outcome of a Communist Party congress in China. Benchmarks fell in most regional markets but rose in Mumbai. SENT: 710 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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MUSIC-REVIEW-TAYLOR-SWIFT — Each Taylor Swift album seems to encompass a theme, and her new record “Midnights” brings dark and electric songs inspired by the quiet and thoughtfulness of night. Sleepless nights give a deeper insight to ideas she’s grown up writing about — love, loss, childhood, fame. The Associated Press’ Elise Ryan says in her review the collection of songs are self-aware and at times self-deprecating, but she carries the best of her pop experiments with her. The moonlight moments marry her signature lyrical musings with pop-forward, electronic beats. SENT: 740 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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BBA--ALCS--YANKEES-ASTROS — Alex Bregman hit an early three-run homer, Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and the Houston Astros edged the New York Yankees 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series. By Kristie Rieken. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. With: BBA-ALCS-Altuve-Fan. (Sent)

FBN-PANTHERS-49ERS TRADE — The San Francisco 49ers have acquired star running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers for a haul of draft picks. The Panthers announced the deal that sends McCaffrey back to the Bay Area where he starred in college at Stanford. By Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow. SENT: 500 words, photos.

FBN--SAINTS-CARDINALS — Marco Wilson and Isaiah Simmons scored touchdowns on two pick-6s late in the first half and used that stunning change in momentum to lift the Arizona Cardinals over the New Orleans Saints 42-34. By David Brandt. SENT: 750 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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