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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AP POLL-VIRUS OUTBREAK-RACE — Black and Hispanic Americans remain far more cautious in their approach to the COVID-19 pandemic than white Americans. That’s according to recent polls that reflect diverging preferences on how to deal with the pandemic as federal, state and local restrictions decline. By Annie Ma and Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 1,070 words, photo, graphic.

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TOP STORIES

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — The head of the United Nations said Ukraine has become “an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain” — a description underscored a short time later by the first Russian strike on the capital since Moscow’s forces retreated weeks ago. Russia pounded targets all over Ukraine, including the attack on Kyiv that struck a residential high-rise and another building and wounded 10 people, including at least one who lost a leg, according to Ukraine’s emergency services. By David Keyton and Inna Varenytsia. SENT: 1,130 words, photos, videos. WITH: RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE-LATEST.

INVESTIGATION-TRACKED-CHILD-WELFARE — Child welfare officials in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the cradle of Mister Rogers’ TV neighborhood and the icon’s child-centric innovations, are using an algorithm to support agency workers as they make split-second decisions meant to protect children from neglect. The Associated Press identified several concerns about the technology, including questions about its reliability and its potential to exacerbate racial disparities in the child welfare system. By Sally Ho and Garance Burke. SENT: 1,080 words, photos. An Abridged version is also available.

US-RUSSIA-PRISONER EXCHANGE — A series of factors helped pave the way for Trevor Reed’s release from a Russian prison this week as part of a prisoner exchange. They include a private Oval Office meeting between his parents and President Joe Biden and a secretive Moscow trip by a former diplomat on the cusp of Russia’s war with Ukraine. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 920 words, photos.

ELECTION 2022-NEBRASKA-GOVERNOR — In Nebraska’s crowded Republican primary race for governor, nearly all the state’s GOP leaders have lined up behind businessman Jim Pillen. But Donald Trump is backing his longtime friend Charles Herbster and will hold a rally for him Friday night. By Grant Schulte. SENT: 890 words, photos.

TURKEY-SAUDI-ARABIA-EXPLAINER — The killing by Saudi agents of columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul turned an already tense and shaky relationship between Turkey and Saudi Arabia into complete free-fall. Fast-forward 3 1/2 years later and it appears Turkey and Saudi Arabia are attempting to build a bridge and move on. By Aya Batrawy. SENT: 980 words, photos.

FBN-NFL-DRAFT — In an NFL draft focused early on stoppers, it was the goers — wide receivers — who stole the spotlight Thursday night. Not simply prospects, either. Yes, the first five selections came on the defensive side of the ball, including edge rushers Travon Walker of national champion Georgia to Jacksonville and Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan to Detroit at Nos. 1 and 2. It was the first time in 31 years that no player on offense went in the opening five picks. By Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-SANCTIONS-EXPLAINER — President Biden doesn’t want to just seize the yachts, luxury homes and other assets of Russian oligarchs, he wants to sell off the pricey goods and use the money to help rebuild Ukraine. He’s asking Congress to streamline the process. By Fatima Hussein and Michael Balsamo. SENT: 890 words, photo.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-CONGRESS — The U.S. House gives final passage to legislation that would streamline a World War II-era military lend-lease program to more quickly provide Ukraine and other Eastern European countries with American equipment to fight the Russian invasion. SENT: 770 words, photos.

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VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SOUTH-KOREA — South Korea will ease its outdoor mask mandate starting next week as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations continue to decline. SENT: 340 words, photos.

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TRENDING NEWS

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INDONESIA-LANDSLIDE — Rescuers retrieved a dozen bodies of women buried under tons of mud from a landslide that crashed onto an unauthorized gold mining operation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, police say. SENT: 230 words.

ELDERLY DEATHS-TRIAL — A man charged with killing 18 older women in the Dallas area over a two-year span was convicted Thursday in one of the cases against him after an earlier mistrial. SENT: 580 words, photo.

RODENT INFESTATION-FAMILY DOLLAR — Arkansas is suing Family Dollar over the discovery of more than 1,000 rodents in a distribution facility in the state that prompted the discount retail chain to recall items purchased from hundreds of stores in the South. SENT: 420 words.

CANADA-MEXICO-PARTY-FLIGHT — A group of 37 passengers who were shown on video drinking and partying amid the pandemic on a chartered Sunwing flight from Montreal to Mexico in late December have been fined a total of $46,480. SENT: 130 words.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2022-SENATE-UTAH — Republican Sen. Mike Lee has avoided serious challenge in deeply conservative Utah in the dozen years since he came to power in a tea party wave, but that’s changing this year as he faces two GOP challengers and a newly empowered independent. By Lindsay Whitehurst. SENT: 980 words, photos.

TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE-MANAFORT — The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort — who was convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and later pardoned — seeking to recover nearly $3 million from undeclared foreign bank accounts. SENT: 420 words, photos.

CAPITOL RIOT-TRIAL — A retired New York City police officer charged with assaulting a police officer during the U.S. Capitol riot testifies at his trial that he was trying to defend himself against a “rogue cop” who punched him in the face. SENT: 810 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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SPRING WILDFIRES — Thousands of firefighters continued to slow the advance of destructive wildfires in the Southwestern U.S. but warned they were bracing for the return of the same dangerous conditions that quickly spread the wind-fueled blazes a week ago. SENT: 630 words, photos.

IDAHO-LAWMAKER-RAPE-TRIAL — Jurors in the rape trial of a former Idaho lawmaker were to begin another day of deliberations after a dramatic three-day trial in which the accuser, a 19-year-old intern, fled the witness stand during testimony, saying “I can’t do this.” During closing arguments, the jury of six men and six women were asked to weigh whether the case involves “power in the wrong hands” used to harm a young legislative intern or consensual sex after a dinner date. SENT: 940 words, photos.

GRAIN-TERMINAL-OPPOSITION — Descendants of slaves who lived and toiled in southeastern Louisiana has won a key ruling allowing their legal challenge to go forward against a $400 million grain elevator planned along the Mississippi River, although the company behind the project said it would likely appeal. SENT: 780 words, photos.

PLASTIC-POLLUTION-CALIFORNIA — California’s attorney general has subpoenaed ExxonMobil as part of what he called a first-of-its-kind broader investigation into the petroleum industry for its alleged role in causing a global plastic pollution crisis. SENT: 730 words, photos.

MUSIC-FESTIVAL-DEATHS — The possible impact a documentary might have on the resolution of lawsuits filed following last year’s deadly Astroworld music festival in Houston was being debated ahead of the film’s theatrical release on Friday. Lawyers for Live Nation, which is being sued in its role as the promoter of the music festival, say they’re concerned the documentary could “taint the jury pool” with its release in Texas cities. SENT: 860 words, photos.

GEORGE-FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE — Among the findings of an investigation launched after the police killing of George Floyd is that the Minneapolis Police Department used “covert, or fake, social media accounts to surveil and engage Black individuals, Black organizations, and elected officials unrelated to criminal activity, without a public safety objective” - a determination that echoes those against other agencies found to have secretly surveilled communities and prominent people of color. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ENERGY-EUROPE-PIPELINES — Mountainous and remote, the Greek-Bulgaria border once formed the southern corner of the Iron Curtain. Today, it’s where the European Union is redrawing the region’s energy map to ease its heavy reliance on Russian natural gas. SENT: 820 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Palestinians hurled stones and Israeli police fired rubber-coated bullets at a major Jerusalem holy site that has seen waves of unrest in recent weeks. SENT: 340 words, photos.

INDIA-HEAT WHEAT — An unusually early, record-shattering heat wave in India has reduced wheat yields, raising questions about how the country will balance its domestic needs with ambitions to increase exports and make up for shortfalls due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. SENT: 740 words, photos, video.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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MUSK-TWITTER-STOCK-SALE — Elon Musk has sold 4.4 million shares of Tesla stock worth roughly $4 billion, most likely to help fund his purchase of Twitter. Musk reported the sale in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares were sold over the past few days, at prices ranging from $872.02 to $999.13. By Auto Writer Tom Krisher. SENT: 250 words, photos.

GOOGLE PRIVACY — Google has expanded options for keeping personal information private from online searches. The company said Friday it will let people request that more types of information be removed from search results. SENT: 300 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stocks advanced Friday after Chinese leaders pledged to step up efforts to support the economy as the country weathers its worst outbreaks of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. SENT: 750 words, photos.

OIL — Oil prices also rose while U.S. futures were mixed. SENT: 690 words, photo.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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JAZZ-FEST-NEW-ORLEANS — Once silenced by the pandemic, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival opens for the first time in three years — a long awaited 2022 revival that holds echoes of 2006 when the annual celebration of music and culture went on even after Hurricane Katrina. SENT: 720 words, photos.

DEPP-HEARD-TRIAL — Amber Heard pushed to have details of her marriage with fellow actor Johnny Depp included in an op-ed piece that she wrote about domestic violence, even though her lawyers wanted those passages removed from the article, which is now the subject of a libel lawsuit, according to evidence introduced at the trial. SENT: 740 words, photos.

BLAC CHYNA-KARDASHIANS-TRIAL — Jurors began deliberations in a trial over former reality television star Blac Chyna’s lawsuit against Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, whom she alleges spread false stories of abuse to ruin her television career. SENT: 860 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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FBN--NFL DRAFT — Defense was the focus to start the NFL draft Thursday night, with the first five selections coming on that side of the ball, including edge rushers Travon Walker of national champion Georgia to Jacksonville and Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan to Detroit at Nos. 1 and 2. It’s the first time in 31 years that no player on offense went in the opening five picks. By Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner. SENT: 900 words, photos. With: FBN—Draft Notebook; FBN--NFL Draft-Players Thumbnails (sent). ALSO: Team separates from first-round picks. If a team does not make a pick or a trade, stories only on merit.

FBN—NFL DRAFT-LOOKAHEAD — Among the top players on the board for Round 2 of the NFL draft Friday night is former University of Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean. He watched a half dozen of his former teammates get drafted in the first round. Liberty’s Malik Willis is the top quarterback available and among the best players available on Day 2 is Colorado State tight end Trey McBride. By Football Writer Arnie Stapleton. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 4 a.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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