AP News Digest 3 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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ISRAEL-POLITICS — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary is facing mounting opposition as the country’s ceremonial president urged for an immediate halt to the legal changes, universities countrywide shut their doors and trade unions were expected to call for a general strike. The overhaul has sparked one of Israel’s gravest domestic crises, drawing widespread opposition from business leaders, legal officials and even the country’s military. Tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country on Sunday night in a spontaneous show of anger at Netanyahu’s decision to fire his defense minister who had called for a pause to the overhaul. By Ilan Ben Zion. SENT: 700 words, photos, video.
BANK COLLAPSE — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says it has agreed on the sale of troubled Silicon Valley Bank to North Carolina-based First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. The sale involves the sale of all deposits and loans of SVB to First-Citizens. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank rattled the banking industry and led the FDIC and other regulators to act to protect depositors to prevent wider financial turmoil. SENT 300 words, photos. Developing.
SEVERE-WEATHER — Poverty is adding to the challenges of recovering from a massive tornado that pushed through Mississippi. Two of the counties hit by the Friday storm are Sharkey and Humphreys. They are among the most sparsely populated in the state. They have only a few thousand residents in communities scattered across wide expanses of cotton, corn and soybean fields in the flatlands of the Delta. Many people live paycheck to paycheck working jobs in agriculture. Sharkey’s poverty rate is 35%, and Humphreys is 33%. That compares to about 19% for Mississippi and under 12% for the entire U.S. By Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 600 words, photos, video. WITH: SEVERE WEATHER-CHURCHES — Congregations whose church buildings were damaged by storms gather. SENT: 600 words, photos.
RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR — Ukraine’s government has called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to “counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail” after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus. One Ukrainian official said Sunday that Russia “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.” But Moscow said it was making the move in response to the West’s increasing military support for Ukraine. By Karl Ritter. SENT: 760 words, photos.
SENATE-IRAQ WAR — For U.S. lawmakers who cast votes to authorize war with Iraq two decades ago, a Senate vote aimed at repealing the authorization prompts a mixture of sadness, regret and reflection. Thousands of U.S. troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died during the war. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1,520 words, photos. An abridged version is also available.
BKC--FINAL FOUR LOOKAHEAD — Everyone’s heard of UConn. The rest of the participants in next weekend’s Final Four may need name tags. When they travel to Houston to play for the national title, Florida Atlantic, San Diego State and Miami will all be making their first appearances at the Final Four. By National Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-INDUSTRIAL DAMAGE — The damage to Ukraine’s metal industry has crippled a lucrative sector and key employer needed to support an economy cratered by war. Efforts to restore production and get goods moving again to customers worldwide will be crucial to helping the country rebuild. That is true at a steel plant near the southwestern front line in Zaporizhzhia, which is running below full capacity and a third of its 10,000 workers are idle. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video.
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MORE NEWS
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TWITTER-SOURCE-CODE-LEAK — Some parts of Twitter’s source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing that was first reported by The New York Times. SENT: 210 words, photos.
ITALY-US-DAVID SCULPTURE — A Florence museum and the city’s mayor are inviting parents and students from a Florida charter school to visit and see Michelangelo’s “David.” The invitation comes after the school principal was forced to resign following parental complaints that an image of the nude Renaissance masterpiece was shown to a sixth-grade art class. SENT: 730 words, photos.
CHOCOLATE FACTORY EXPLOSION — All seven bodies have been recovered from the site of a powerful explosion at a chocolate factory in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, officials said. West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said in a statement that none of the victims will be named until officials are certain that all families have been contacted. SENT: 500 words, photos, audio.
ADELE — Adele has announced that she’s extending her Las Vegas residency with 34 more dates between June and November and also plans to release a concert film. SENT: 160 words, photo.
TRUMP LEAGAL TROUBLE-MOVIE — Crews for the “The Joker” sequel have been facing the possibility that filming in New York could be disrupted by real-life protests over the Trump case. Police kept watch as a protest of extras gathered at the steps of Gotham’s courthouse Saturday, chanting for freedom for their fictional embattled hero and only dispersing when the director called “cut.” SENT: 550 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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HARRIS AFRICA — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris begins her first full day in Africa on Monday as she meets with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo. The meeting is a show of support for the West African leader who is facing rising discontent over inflation and fresh concerns about regional security. One fear is that the Russian mercenary group known as Wagner will expand its footprint in the region, something that Akufo-Addo said would be “unsettling.” SENT/DEVELOPING: 500 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-DESANTIS-TRUMP — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence in his White House prospects as former President Donald Trump’s legal woes mount even though a collection of Republican officials and MAGA influencers are raising concerns about the governor’s readiness for the national stage. By National Political Writer Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,270 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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CHEMICAL-SPILL-WATER — Philadelphia residents are being told that they may want to drink only bottled water following a chemical spill into the Delaware River in neighboring Bucks County. SENT: 350 words, photos.
WRIGHT-BROTHERS-FACTORY-FIRE — An early morning fire damaged a commercial building complex housing an historic airplane factory founded by the Wright Brothers in Ohio on Sunday, authorities said. SENT: 320 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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FRANCE-SEETHING STREETS — Protesting is a rite of passage in France and again the rage. The country that taught the world about people power with its revolution of 1789 is seething. French President Emmanuel Macron has ignited a firestorm of anger with unpopular pension reforms that he rammed through parliament. Young people are joining protests against him. Some of them are first-time demonstrators. Violence is also picking up. Freshly spray-painted slogans in Paris streets reference the 1789 French Revolution. Regular strikes and demonstrations are threatening to make Macron’s second and final term as president even more difficult than his first. Macron’s predecessor says anger and resentment is at levels he’s rarely seen. SENT: 900 words, photos.
KOREAS-TENSIONS — A nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier and its battle group have begun exercises with South Korean warships hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent protest of the allies’ expanding drills. SENT: 900 words, photos.
CHINA-TAIWAN-MA — Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou departed for a 12-day tour of China Monday, a day after Taiwan lost another of its 14 diplomatic partners to China. The ex-president is visiting in a private capacity, bringing a delegation of academics and college students for exchanges, as well as members of his family, but the trip is loaded with political meaning. SENT: 600 words, photos.
CUBA ELECTIONS — Cubans are voting in National Assembly elections with attention focused on voter turnout amid a deep economic and migratory crisis. With 470 candidates running for the legislature’s 470 seats, and no opposition challengers, the election’s outcome is a foregone conclusion. Voters essentially will do no more than endorse a slate of candidates vetted by Communist Party officials, critics say. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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BUSINESS
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares are mixed in Asia after stocks on Wall Street shook off a weak start to end higher last week. Worries about banks on both sides of the Atlantic still weigh on markets but there was a lull in fresh news of troubles over the weekend. SENT: 600 words, photos.
CRYPTO-MINORITY INVESTORS — Many Black and Latino investors were drawn to crypto by its promise to be pathway to wealth-building outside of a traditional financial system with long history of racial discrimination and indifference to the needs of low-income communities. Crypto’s spectacular crash over the past year has complicated that picture, fueling debate between those who continue to believe in its promise and skeptics who say misleading advertising and celebrity-fueled hype drew vulnerable people to a risky and unproven asset class. SENT: 1,600 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKO--NCAA-SHOES-GOING LOW — One look at the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments and you’ll see that high-top basketball shoes have fallen out of fashion, and low-tops are in. This era of players prefer kicks that are light and sleek — especially since there’s little definitive proof that high tops better prevent rolled or sprained ankles. By Pat Graham. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 3 p.m.
BKW-NCAA-MIAMI-LSU — Angel Reese had 18 rebounds and LSU returned to the women’s Final Four for the first time in 15 years by beating Miami 54-42. SENT: 890 words, photos.
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