AP News Digest 2 p.m.
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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE — U.S. officials say the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning. The announcement kicks off a massive logistical operation involving the federal and state governments, private companies and health care workers to quickly distribute limited vaccine supplies throughout the U.S. Initially, about 3 million shots are expected to be shipped nationwide. It was unclear exactly who would receive the first doses of the vaccine, though health workers and nursing home residents were the priority. SENT: 800 words photos.
TRUMP-ANALYSIS — The 2020 election is over. But President Donald Trump’s baseless efforts to undermine it, and the consequences of those undemocratic actions, will linger in America for far longer. It’s clear there’s no fact, piece of evidence or court ruling that will dissuade him from trying to mislead Americans about President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. And numerous Republicans have stood with him or stood by silently. That lays the predicate for politicians to question the integrity of any election if the results don’t go a party’s or candidate’s way, further eroding Americans’ trust in government and testing the durability of democratic institutions. A News Analysis by Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace. SENT: 960 words, photos.
TRUMP-LEGAL CHALLENGES-ANALYSIS — It didn’t take the Supreme Court long to make short work of what President Donald Trump called “the big one.” Not even Trump’s three high court appointees were willing to rise to the defense of the president. For all Trump’s predictions that the court and his justices would make things right, he and his supporters were lacking one basic element: a strong legal argument that might plausibly attract some sympathy on a court now dominated by conservative justices. A News Analysis by Mark Sherman. SENT: 910 words, photos.
SUDAN-ETHIOPIA-THE MASSACRE — The only thing the survivors can agree on is that hundreds of people were slaughtered in a single Ethiopian town. Witnesses say security forces and their allies attacked civilians in Mai-Kadra with machetes and knives or strangled them with ropes. The stench of bodies lingered for days during the early chaos of the Ethiopian government’s offensive in the defiant Tigray region last month. By Fay Abuelgasim, Nariman El-Morty and Cara Anna. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
CLIMATE-PARIS ANNIVERSARY — U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the Paris climate accord on the first day of his presidency as world leaders staged a virtual gathering to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the international pact aimed at curbing global warming. By Frank Jordans and Jeff Schaeffer. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE-POPULAR VOTE — When the Electoral College meets Monday, its detractors hope it marks the beginning of the end for a system that twice this century has vaulted the loser of the popular vote to the presidency. This year’s presidential race provides the latest motivation for change to supporters of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It would compel member states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. This story is the Sunday Spotlight. With ELECTORAL COLLEGE-EXPLAINER — Some questions and answers about the Electoral College. SENT: 880 words, photos, audio.
Find the AP’s full coverage plan for Monday’s Electoral College vote here.
YE—IN OTHER NEWS — The coronavirus, the U.S. election and protests over racial injustice overshadowed many other dramatic developments this year. Among them: China’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy; an apocalyptic explosion in Beirut; the shocking helicopter-crash death of basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter. By David Crary. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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VIRGIN GALACTIC-TEST FLIGHT — A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely as the spacecraft’s rocket motor failed to ignite and it then glided down safely to its landing site in southern New Mexico. SENT: 380 words, photos.
BRITAIN-BANKSY — Banksy’s latest mural is delaying a homeowner’s plans to sell in Bristol, England after it recently appeared on the house’s exterior wall. SENT: 250 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-ROYALS — Prince William thanks pandemic workers at Christmas show. SENT: 180 words, photos.
MEXICO-VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE — For the first time in decades, Mexico’s Roman Catholics had to abandon a massive religious pilgrimage in which millions visit Mexico City’s Basilica of Guadalupe. SENT: 590 words, photos.
CHINA-FLYING-FLAMETHROWER — Flamethrower drone incinerates wasp nests in China. SENT: 180 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY’S TOLL — Italy could soon reclaim a record that nobody wants — the most coronavirus deaths in Europe — after the health care system again failed to protect the elderly and the government delayed imposing new restrictions. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
VIRUS-FRANCE-CARE HOMES — The French government is giving care home residents more freedom for the end of year holidays, allowing them out to spend time with their families and receive visits even if they are positive for COVID-19. SENT: 220 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-ONE COMMUNITY — The coronavirus is spreading rapidly in California’s San Joaquin Valley and filling its hospitals. It has the fewest available intensive care unit beds of any region in California, a frightening reality that health officials hope will convince more people to wear masks and socially distance. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SNOWBIRDS — Many so-called “snowbirds” who live part time in warmer climates to escape cold weather won’t be flocking south this winter because of the virus. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN-FESTIVAL TRIAL — Five hundred music fans eager for a live show without social distancing are volunteering to test the effectiveness of same-day coronavirus screening at a concert in Barcelona. SENT: 720 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — South Korea has reported another 950 coronavirus cases, its largest daily increase since the emergence of the pandemic, as fears grow about overwhelmed hospitals in the greater capital area. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH KOREA — Eight mainly Western nations accused North Korea of using the pandemic “to crack down further on the human rights of its own people,” pointing to reports of an uptick in executions related to the coronavirus and strict controls on movements in and around the capital. SENT: 510 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL HOSPITAL — Across Brazil, many hospitals are filling up again with COVID-19 patients. On Friday, an Associated Press team visited the intensive care unit in the public Oceanico hospital in the Brazilian city of Niteroi. SENT: 430 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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BIDEN-CONGRESS GANGS-ANALYSIS — Senators laboring to break an impasse on a virus aid and economic relief package hoped to show that the old ways of doing business in Washington — in good faith, across party lines — could still succeed. But a resolution has proved out of reach so far. For President-elect Joe Biden, it’s a cautionary tale of how difficult it will be to govern from the center when members of Congress, and the country at large, are divided. A News Analysis by Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 990 words, photos.
TRUMP-RALLIES — Several thousand supporters of President Donald Trump return to Washington for rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost to Joe Biden. They want to give a show of force just two days before the Electoral College meets to formally elect Biden as the 46th president. SENT: 350 words, photos. UPCOMING: 550 words, photos by 4:30 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN — A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in Wisconsin, the latest in a string of defeats in the extraordinary attempts to undo his loss. Trump’s attorneys have turned their attention to Wisconsin with rare Saturday arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. SENT: 600 words. Developing. With ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN RECOUNT — The Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee is withholding reimbursements to two counties for their election recount costs. SENT: 290 words.
VETERANS AFFAIRS-WILKIE INVESTIGATION — The nation’s largest veterans organization and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are joining the growing calls for the ouster of President Donald Trump’s Veterans Affairs chief. SENT: 720 words, photos.
BIDEN-HOMELAND SECURITY — The last time Alejandro Mayorkas faced Senate confirmation, not a single Republican voted for him because there was an open investigation into his management of the U.S. immigration agency under President Barack Obama. Now, nearly seven years later, Mayorkas is President-elect Joe Biden’s groundbreaking nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and that since-completed investigation has emerged as a potential stumbling block. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
BIDEN-AGRICULTURE — Tom Vilsack has spent years telling fellow Democrats they needed to do more to aid rural communities and reach out to them. But he’s often lamented that no one listened. Now, he’s going to try again. The former Iowa governor and presidential candidate has been asked by President-elect Joe Biden to return to his old job leading the Agriculture Department. Biden says Vilsack’s experience at the USDA would ensure quicker help to rural and poor areas that are “reeling” from the pandemic and economic downturn. SENT: 930 words, photos.
BIDEN — Joe Biden’s doctor says the president-elect’s fractured foot has been healing. SENT: 160 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-SENATE-GEORGIA LATINOS — With Georgia’s Hispanic population now topping 1 million, Latino political power is beginning to grow in the state. The drive for greater participation is intensifying with the state’s twin U.S. Senate runoffs. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS-CAMPAIGN LEADER — Moderate Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York is about to take over the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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CHICAGO VIOLENCE-ARRESTS — A Chicago police task force that was formed after crowds swarmed into downtown and smashed their way into hundreds of stores in August is still investigating and making arrests four months later. SENT: 830 words, photos.
ESCAPED INMATES — Authorities say they are searching for two Tennessee inmates who escaped prison, kidnapped a Kentucky highway department employee and stole a resident’s truck. SENT: 220 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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IRAN — Iran has executed an exiled journalist over his online work that helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017. Saturday’s execution of Ruhollah Zam came a little more than a year after authorities tricked him into traveling to Iraq where he was abducted. SENT: 860 words, photo.
INDIA-CHILD-LABOR — The coronavirus pandemic is threatening the future of a generation of India’s children as thousands of families put their children to work to get by. With classrooms shuttered and parents losing their jobs, many children are working in farms, illegal factories, brick kilns and roadside stalls, reversing decades of progress to stop child labor. SENT: 820 words, photos.
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Armenian officials and Azerbaijan have accused each other of breaching a peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. SENT: 530 words, photos.
FRANCE-PROTESTS — Paris police took nearly 150 people into custody at what quickly became a tense and sometimes ill-tempered protest against proposed security laws. SENT: 250 words, photos.
RUSSIA-MILITARY — A Russian nuclear submarine has successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in a demonstration of the readiness of the nation’s nuclear forces amid the tensions with the United States. SENT: 430 words, photos.
VENEZUELA-NATIONAL-CONSULTATION — Venezuelans at home and around the world are voicing frustration with President Nicolás Maduro in a survey wrapping up Saturday, days after the governing party won congressional elections boycotted by the opposition, which called the vote a fraudulent maneuver aimed at consolidating Maduro’s power. SENT: 680 words, photos.
SOUTH KOREA-CHILD RAPIST — Angry protesters threw eggs and shouted insults as one of South Korea’s most notorious child predators was released from a prison in southern Seoul at the end of a 12-year term. SENT: 760 words, photos.
INDONESIA-ISLAMIC-CLERIC — A firebrand Indonesian cleric turned himself in to authorities after he was accused of inciting people to breach pandemic restrictions by holding events with large crowds. SENT: 380 words, photos.
AFGHANISTAN — The Islamic State group on Saturday attacked the Afghan capital with a barrage of mortar shells, killing at least one civilian and wounding a second, according to the Interior Ministry, amid a countrywide spike in violence. SENT: 340 words, photos.
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BUSINESS
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ASTRAZENECA-ALEXION — Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca says it’s buying U.S. drug developer Alexion in a deal worth $39 billion. SENT: 150 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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FBC—NAVY-ARMY — Army and Navy clash for the 121st time, this time at Michie Stadium for the first time since 1943. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts at 3 p.m.
BKC—FLORIDA-JOHNSON COLLAPSES — Florida standout forward Keyontae Johnson, the Southeastern Conference’s preseason player of the year, collapsed coming out of a timeout against rival Florida State and needed emergency medical attention. Johnson was taken off the floor on a stretcher and rushed to Tallahassee Memorial for evaluation. The Gators said he was in critical but stable condition at the hospital. SENT: 270 words, photo. Will be updated.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, (ext. 7636). Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477