AP News Digest 3:25 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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UKRAINE-MATERNITY HOSPITAL AIRSTRIKE — A woman on the verge of giving birth with her leg flayed open by shrapnel. A shockwave that shattered the glass and ceramic lining of a room with medical waste. A nurse who suffered a concussion. Three Ukrainian doctors and a paramedic spoke with The Associated Press to offer new details from a March 9 airstrike at a Mariupol maternity hospital. Their testimony, along with AP reporting, AP footage from the scene and interviews with munitions experts who analyzed the size of the shell crater, directly contradicts Russian claims that there was no airstrike. UPCOMING, text, photos, video.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — Ukrainian leaders predicted there would be more gruesome discoveries in the days ahead after retreating Russian forces left behind crushed buildings, streets strewn with destroyed cars and mounting civilian casualties that drew condemnation from across the globe. By Adam Schreck and Andrea Rosa. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, videos. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE-LATEST.
SUPREME COURT-JACKSON CONFIRMATION — Ketanji Brown Jackson will join a Supreme Court that is both more diverse than ever and more conservative than it’s been since the 1930s. She’s likely to be on the losing end of a bunch of important cases, including examinations of the role of race in college admissions and voting rights that the high court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, will take up next term. By Mark Sherman and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 770 words, photos.
BIDEN-SUPREME COURT — President Joe Biden will celebrate the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to reach the Supreme Court, in what will mark the pinnacle of her legal career and bring his political story full-circle. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 500 words, photos. UPCOMING: 900 words after 12:15 p.m. event.
ISRAEL SHOOTING — Israeli security forces hunted down and killed a Palestinian man who had opened fire into a crowded bar in central Tel Aviv, killing two and wounding over 10 in an attack that caused scenes of mass panic in the heart of the bustling city. By Ariel Schalit and Joseph Kraus SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
BOSTON-MAYOR-INTERVIEW — When she was elected mayor of Boston in November, Michelle Wu transformed the image of the city’s chief executive. Now the Chicago-born daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and 37-year-old mother of two is facing a raft of challenges, including making good on key campaign promises. By Steve LeBlanc. SENT: 990 words, photos, video.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-GRIFFITHS — The United Nations’ humanitarian chief said Thursday he’s not optimistic about securing a ceasefire to halt the fighting in Ukraine following high-level talks in Moscow and Kyiv that underscored how far apart the two sides are. SENT: 650 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DAY IN PHOTOS —Day 43: Gathering the dead and clutching to life. SENT: 170 words, photos.
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MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — The decision by U.S. lawmakers to drop nearly all funding for curbing the virus beyond American borders, a move many health experts describe as dangerously short-sighted. Experts warn the suspension of COVID-19 aid for poorer countries could ultimately spur the kind of unchecked transmission needed for the next worrisome variant to emerge. SENT: 1,100 words.
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TRENDING NEWS
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MALAYSIA-MISSING DIVERS — Malaysian authorities resumed search for a third day for three Europeans, including two teenagers, who disappeared while diving off a southern island. SENT: 250 words, photos.
OREGON-COVID-TESTING-LAWSUIT — The state of Oregon accused owners of an Illinois-based COVID-19 testing company of stealing millions of dollars in federal funds and insurance money in a lawsuitand said they boasted about buying a mansion and expensive sports cars. SENT: 460 words, photo.
POLICE-CUSTODY-DEATH — No criminal charges will be filed against officers who pinned an Oakland man to the ground during an arrest a year ago that ended in his death, the Alameda County district attorney’s office announces. SENT: 450 words, photos.
ANGEL STADIUM-BOY INJURED-LAWSUIT — A 6-year-old boy suffered a fractured skull and brain damage when he was accidentally hit by a baseball thrown by a Los Angeles Angels player who was warming up before a game at the team’s home stadium in 2019, according to a lawsuit that blames the injury on the team’s negligence. SENT: 700 words, photos.
COSTA RICA-PLANE CRASH — A DHL cargo jet slid off the runway and broke in half while landing at San Jose’s international airport Thursday, shutting down the airport, but not injuring crew. SENT: 275 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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BIDEN-ECONOMY — The Biden White House is betting the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand the threats to growth posed by inflation and the war in Ukraine. But there are growing fears of a coming economic slump among voters and some Wall Street analysts. By Josh Boak. SENT: 800 words, photos.
CHINA SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS — A “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” TV star, a Paralympic swimmer and a self-described “brand king” were among the Instagram and TikTok influencers who were paid by Chinese officials for a discreet campaign that promoted the Beijing Winter Olympics, new Justice Department documents reveal. SENT: 700 words, photos.
FAKE FEDERAL AGENTS — One of two men accused of impersonating federal agents and giving actual Secret Service agents gifts and free apartments in Washington has claimed to have ties to Pakistani intelligence and had visas showing travel to Pakistan and Iran, federal prosecutors said Thursday. SENT: 625 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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SACRAMENTO-MASS SHOOTING EARLY RELEASE — A suspect arrested in connection with last weekend’s mass shooting outside bars near the California state Capitol served less than half his 10-year sentence because of voter-approved changes to state law that lessened the punishment for his felony convictions and provided a chance for earlier release. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.
ALASKA-SENATORS-DEATH-THREATS — A rural Alaska man who threatened to assassinate both of Alaska’s U.S. senators in a series of profane messages left at their congressional offices is scheduled to be sentenced. SENT: 660 words, photo.
COLLEGE-ADMISSIONS-BRIBERY — A former Florida prep school administrator who took college entrance exams for students in exchange for cash to help wealthy parents get their kids into elite universities is facing sentencing. SENT: 400 words, photos.
LOUISIANA POLICE DEATH-FEDERAL PROBE — No longer waiting for a federal investigation that has so far taken two and a half years, a state prosecutor said Thursday that he intends to pursue his own possible charges against the Louisiana troopers involved in the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene. SENT: 740 words, photos.
TRANSGENDER YOUTH BILLS — Alabama lawmakers approved sweeping legislation Thursday to outlaw gender-affirming medications for transgender kids and advanced a separate measure prohibiting early classroom instruction on sexual and gender identity, a bill critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” SENT: 700 words, photos.
PUERTO RICO-ABORTION BILL — Powerful lawmakers in Puerto Rico are joining conservatives in states across the U.S. mainland in attempting to set tighter restrictions on abortions, alarming feminist groups and others on the island. SENT: 830 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea is demolishing a South Korean-owned hotel at a North Korean resort that was one of the last symbols of inter-Korean engagement, according to Seoul officials who called for the North to stop the “unilateral” destruction. SENT: 460 words, photos.
FRANCE ELECTIONS-HOW IT WORKS: French voters in Sunday’s presidential election will use the same system that’s been used for generations. They will cast paper ballots that are counted by hand. Despite periodic calls for more flexibility or modernization, France doesn’t do mail-in voting, early voting or use voting machines en masse like the United States. SENT: 500 words, photos.
UNITED-NATIONS-MALI — The top U.N. envoy in Mali has demanded that the country’s military leaders allow U.N. peacekeepers to visit a town where Human Rights Watch says the Malian army and foreign soldiers suspected to be Russian recently killed an estimated 300 men, one of several alleged rights abuses denounced by the U.S., Britain and France. SENT: 870 words, photo.
RUSSIA EDITOR ATTACKED — Nobel Peace Prize-winning Russian newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov said he was attacked on a Russian train Thursday by an assailant who poured red paint over him, causing severe discomfort to his eyes. SENT: 340 words, photos.
CONGO-BAR EXPLOSION — An explosion at a military camp bar on the outskirts of eastern Congo’s largest city killed at least eight people Thursday night, a government spokesman said. SENT: 200 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI-METHANE-INCREASE — Global atmospheric levels of the potent but short-lived greenhouse gas methane increased a record amount last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, worrying scientists because of the large role methane has in climate change. By Seth Borenstein. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares reversed course to finish mostly higher Friday as investors eyed the war in Ukraine and what the world’s central banks might do to keep inflation in check. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 640 words, photos.
JAPAN-NISSAN — Nissan is working with NASA on a new type of battery for electric vehicles that promises to charge quicker and be lighter yet safe, the Japanese automaker says. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 460 words, photos.
JET-BLUE-SPIRIT — Spirit Airlines say it will talk to JetBlue Airways about its $3.6 billion bid to combine the two airlines, which appeared to leapfrog an earlier offer by Frontier Airlines. By Airlines Writer David Koenig. SENT: 340 words, photos.
FEDERAL RESERVE-INFLATION INEQUALITY — As the Federal Reserve intensifies its efforts to tame high inflation, its top officials are casting their aggressive drive in a new light: As a blow against economic inequality. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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NBA AT-75-OVERTIME — Nobody knows for certain where the NBA will be in 25 years, when it’ll be celebrating its 100th anniversary. The only safe bet is that things will be very, very different. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 770 words, photos.
GLF--MASTERS-DAY 1 — Of all the 6,576 shots that were officially struck at Augusta National on Day 1 of the Masters, only one truly mattered. It didn’t go in the hole. It wasn’t down the center of the fairway. Nothing special about it at all, really. Except for the fact that it was off a club swung by Tiger Woods. With his opening tee shot at 11:04 a.m. Thursday, the Masters was truly back to normal. The full allotment of patrons watched a man who could have lost a leg, or his life, in a car crash 15 months ago return to the spot of his past glory. SENT: 855 words, photos. With GLF--MASTERS-TIGER TRACKER; GLF--MASTERS-SMITH (both sent).
BBO--OPENING DAY RDP — It’s opening day in Major League Baseball and a new season has brought a new look. The Cleveland team took the field for the first time as the rechristened Guardians. Some players wore patches with No. 21 to honor the late Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. The National League moved full-time into the realm of the designated hitter. And an umpire announced a replay review decision to the crowd for the first time. The season began with a game at Wrigley Field when the Chicago Cubs hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. Andrew McCutchen got the first hit of the year and also scored the first run. SENT: 960 words, photos.
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