AP News Digest 6 p.m.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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Adds: TRUMP-LEGAL CHALLENGES-JUDGES; ELECTION 2020-SUPREME COURT; VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BIDEN-SCHOOLS; TRUMP-FIRED OFFICIAL; TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE; PORTLAND-PROTESTS; ELECTIONS-2020-HAWAII; JOHN LENNON-ANNIVERSARY; TESLA-CAPITA ; FIREEYE-HACKED; US-KHASHOGGI-FOIA; MELANIA TRUMP; RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE SHOOTING-OHIO; VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA
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ONLY ON AP
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MINNESOTA-JUVENILE-LIFER — An independent panel of national legal experts who reviewed the conviction of an African American man sentenced as a teenager to life in prison for the murder of a little girl has recommended his release. In a 57-page report, the panel said police suffered from “tunnel vision” in investigating the case, ignoring witnesses and evidence that might have helped clear Myon Burell, then 16 of the murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002. By Robin McDowell and Margie Mason. SENT: 1,680 words, photos With abridged version, SENT: 730 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UNDER-THE-KNIFE — Hospitals in Europe are now better able to treat virus patients and better equipped for the double challenge of fighting COVID-19 while also doing other medicine. One of the biggest hospitals in Paris this month reopened all 22 of its operating rooms. It is again performing surgeries that were stopped during virus surges that pushed France’s death toll past 55,000. By John Leicester. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — A retired British shop clerk received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program Tuesday, the start of an unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million. Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, got the shot at 6:31 a.m. on what public health officials have dubbed “V-Day.” By Danica Kirka. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE — U.S. health regulators say in their initial review that the vaccine from Pfizer is 95% protective against COVID-19. The review posted by the Food and Drug Administration offers the world the first detailed look at the evidence behind the shot, which was co-developed with BioNTech. The FDA review comes before a Thursday meeting where a panel of independent experts will scrutinize the data and vote on whether to recommend use of the vaccine. The vote isn’t binding but the FDA usually follows the group’s guidance. A U.S. decision to allow use of the vaccine is expected within days. By Matthew Perrone and Lauran Neegaard. SENT: 600 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASTRAZENECA VACCINE —New results on a possible COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca suggest it is safe and about 70% effective. SENT: 425 words, photos. WITH: MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-FDA-VACCINE STEPS —EXPLAINER: Final steps in U.S. review of COVID-19 vaccine. SENT: 490 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP VACCINE — President Donald Trump celebrates the expected approval of the first U.S. vaccine for the coronavirus as the White House works to instill confidence in the massive distribution effort that will largely be executed by President-elect Joe Biden By Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 980 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — Deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to more than 2,200 a day on average, matching the frightening peak reached last April, and cases per day have eclipsed 200,000 on average for the first time on record, with the crisis all but certain to get worse because of the fallout from Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. By Lisa Marie Pane. SENT: 585 words, photos.
TRUMP-LEGAL CHALLENGES-JUDGES — President Donald Trump and his allies say their lawsuits aimed at subverting the 2020 election and reversing his loss to Joe Biden would be substantiated if only judges were allowed to hear the cases. But the judges have heard the cases and have been among the harshest critics of the arguments from Trump’s legal team, often dismissing them with scathing language. SENT: 1,090 words, photos. With: ELECTION 2020-SUPREME COURT — High court rejects GOP bid to halt Biden’s Pennsylvania win. SENT: 230 words.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-STATE LAWMAKERS — President Trump’s campaign to overturn the will of voters and reverse his reelection loss to Democrat Joe Biden takes hold among state and local Republicans even as it marches toward imminent failure. By Nomaan Merchant and Thomas Beaumont. UPCOMING: 930 words by 7 p.m., photos.
FORT HOOD-VIOLENCE — The Army fires or suspends 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and orders policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 980 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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JOHN-LENNON-ANNIVERARY — Fans, Ono, bandmates mark 40 years since John Lennon’s death. SENT: 260 words, photos.
TESLA-CAPITAL — Tesla seeks to sell $5B in stock; CEO Musk moves to Texas. SENT: 400 words.
FIREEYE-HACKED — Cybersecurity firm FireEye says was hacked by nation state. SENT: 185 words.
MELANIA TRUMP — First lady urges kindness during holiday clouded by pandemic. SENT: 250 words, photos.
OBIT-CHUCK YEAGER — Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager, the World War II fighter pilot ace and quintessential test pilot who showed he had the “right stuff” when in 1947 he became the first person to fly faster than sound, has died. He was 97. SENT: 1,290 words, photos.
BRITAIN-OBIT DOUG SCOTT — Doug Scott, who was part of the first British team to climb Mount Everest in 1975, has died. He was 79. SENT: 245 words.
TIKTOK-TRUMP JUDGE — A federal judge has blocked President Trump’s attempts to ban TikTok. SENT: 370 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BIDEN-SCHOOLS — Joe Biden is pledging to bring the coronavirus pandemic under enough control to open most of the nation’s schools during his first 100 days as president. The president-elect said Tuesday that the promise is dependent on Congress providing sufficient funding to protect students, teachers and staff. SENT: 500 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Capitol Hill’s most powerful Republican proposes shelving a controversial pet provision for an emerging COVID-19 relief package — but only if Democrats agree to shelve one of their top priorities, too. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 670 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California’s top health official says coronavirus cases are expected to continue to climb in the state and everyday activities now carry a much greater risk of infection. Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of health and human services, on Tuesday, urged residents to stay home whenever possible. SENT: 570 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MOROCCO-VACCINES — Morocco is gearing up for an ambitious COVID-19 vaccination program, aiming to vaccinate 80% of its adults in an operation starting this month that’s relying initially on a Chinese vaccine that has not yet completed advanced trials to prove it is safe and effective. SENT: 820 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA VACCINES — India’s health ministry announced that some COVID-19 vaccines are likely to receive licenses in the next few weeks and outlined an initial plan to immunize 300 million people. SENT: 465 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY — Two German states moved closer to a “hard lockdown” as officials warned that continued high coronavirus infections could overwhelm hospitals and that too many people were ignoring existing pandemic restrictions. SENT: 565 words, photos.
ONE GOOD THING-BRACELET FUNDRAISER — A 7-year-old from Chicago has spent most of the coronavirus pandemic crafting bracelets from colorful rubber bands as a fundraiser to buy personal protective equipment for a children’s hospital. The endeavor has generated nearly $20,000 for Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. SENT: 620 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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TRUMP-FIRED OFFICIAL — The U.S. election and cybersecurity official who was fired by President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit over threatening remarks by a lawyer for the president. Christopher Krebs says in the suit that he has been “bombarded” with death threats since attorney Joseph diGenova appeared on the TV network Newsmax and called for him to be killed. SENT: 575 words, photos.
TRUMP-RUSSIA-PROBE — A federal judge has dismissed the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn. The move comes two weeks after a pardon from President Donald Trump effectively ended the case. SENT: 470 words, photos.
ELECTIONS-2020-HAWAII — The Hawaii Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an elections complaint challenging the entirety of the Nov. 3 general election in the islands, clearing the way for the results of the state’s presidential vote to be certified. SENT: 480 words, photo.
TRUMP-CONGRESS-DEFENSE BILL — The Democratic-controlled House moves toward approval of a wide-ranging defense policy bill, even as President Trump renews his threat to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies. By Matthew Daly. SENT: 830 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-SAFE HARBOR — A deadline set for Tuesday under federal law essentially locks in President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, even though President Trump is still falsely claiming he won reelection. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 750 words, photos.
BIDEN-DEFENSE — President-elect Joe Biden makes his case for retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense, urging Congress to waive a legal prohibition against a recently serving military officer running the Pentagon. By Robert Burns and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 990 words, photos.
BIDEN-HEALTH SECRETARY — President-elect Joe Biden calls for urgent action on the coronavirus pandemic as he introduces his health care team. Biden lays out three COVID-19 priorities for his first 100 days in office: a call for all Americans to voluntarily mask up, a commitment to administer 100 million vaccines and a pledge to try to reopen a majority of the nation’s schools. By Jonathan Lemire and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 960 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FEDERAL PRISONS — The Justice Department discloses that eight staff members who took part in an execution last month tested positive for the coronavirus. And five of those staffers will take part in executions scheduled for this week. By Michael Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 940 words, photo.
TRUMP-TELECOMS — The Senate is expected to vote on President Trump’s lame-duck nominee to become a member of the Federal Communications Commission. Approval of Nathan Simington would set up the agency for a stretch of partisan gridlock. By Marcy Gordon. SENT: 560 words.
US-KHASHOGGI-FOIA — The U.S. government must provide limited information about its withholding from the public a tape of the killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi and a CIA report on his death in a Freedom of Information Act case, a judge said Tuesday. SENT: 330 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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BREXIT — The leaders of Britain and the European Union will meet on Wednesday for a final push at a Brexit deal, as the two sides warned that the chances of a post-Brexit trade deal by a year-end deadline is slipping away. SENT: 865 words, photos.
NEW-ZEALAND-MOSQUE-SHOOTING-REPORT — There were no clear signs that an attack last year on two New Zealand mosques was imminent, but police should have done a better job vetting the lone gunman when he applied for a gun license, and intelligence agencies should have focused more on threats such as white supremacism, according to a new report. SENT: 930 words, photos.
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Dozens of protesters took to the streets of the Armenian capital, demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. SENT: 475 words, photos.
AFGHANISTAN — A U.S.-based institute warned that there has been a dramatic increase in airstrikes conducted by Afghan government forces from July to September this year, attacks that have led to a sharp rise in civilian casualties. SENT: 500 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA MILITARY CONFRONTATION — Ethiopia’s government says its security forces shot at and detained United Nations staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled Tigray region. SENT: 588 words, photos.
PHILIPPINES-US WEAPONS — The U.S. defense chief announced the delivery of nearly $30 million worth of weapons to the Philippines, which faces threats from Islamic State group-linked militants. Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller made the announcement during a brief visit to Manila, where he met with his Philippine counterpart and the foreign secretary. The weapons, including equipment for snipers and anti-bomb squads, were delivered ahead of Miller’s visit, officials said. SENT: 350 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE SHOOTING-OHIO — Civil rights and FBI investigators will help look into the fatal shooting by an Ohio sheriff’s deputy of a Black man whose family says that he was holding not a gun, but a sandwich, and that he was shot in front of two toddlers and his grandmother while inside his home, not outside it, as authorities assert. SENT: 780 words, photo.
PORTLAND-PROTESTS — Protesters outraged with the arrests of seven people at a home where a family was evicted in September hurled rocks at officers, sprayed a fire extinguisher at them and damaged police vehicles on Tuesday. The violence happened in broad daylight. Portland has been the site of frequent protests, many involving violent clashes between officers and demonstrators, ever since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. But most happened at night. SENT: 390 words, photos.
OHIO GOVERNOR — Lethal injection is no longer an option for Ohio executions, and lawmakers must choose a different method of capital punishment before any inmates can be put to death in the future, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said. SENT: 570 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI-ARCTIC REPORT CARD — A new report shows how warming temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the region’s geography and ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual Arctic Report Card was published Tuesday. The report shows that the past year was the second warmest on record in the Arctic. The extent of snow on the ground in June across the Eurasian Arctic was the lowest recorded in 54 years. SENT: 500 words, photos.
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BUSINESS
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS —Steady gains throughout the day delivered another round of record highs for major indexes on Wall Street Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also hit a record high. . SENT: 700 words, photo.
INTERNET-DEVICES-VULNERABILITIES — Researchers at a cybersecurity firm say they have identified vulnerabilities in software widely used by millions of connected devices — flaws that could be exploited by hackers to penetrate business and home computer networks and disrupt them. By Technology Writer Frank Bajak. SENT: 500 words.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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YE-TOP 10 FILMS — AP’s film writers offer their lists of the top 10 films of 2020. By AP Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
Find more year-end coverage on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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SPORTS
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FBN-COWBOYS RAVENS — Cowboys face the Baltimore Ravens, who are looking to snap a three-game skid and stay relevant in the AFC playoff picture in a game postponed from last Thursday. By David Ginsburg. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts at 8:05 p.m.
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