AP News Digest 6 p.m.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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Adds: ABORTION-SOUTH-CAROLINA; MEDIA-TRUMP'S RETURN; TAINTED OFFICERS-CONVICTIONS; SPAIN-PROTESTS; NOT-REAL-NEWS; PEOPLE-KARDASHIAN-WEST-DIVORCE; MARS-LANDING; JOHNNY DAMON-ARREST; CLINIC SHOOTING-MINNESOTA; ALASKA-OUTHOUSE-BEAR; CAPITAL BREACH-ARRESTS; BIDEN-BUDGET DIRECTOR
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TOP STORIES
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WINTER WEATHER — States slammed by winter storms that left millions without power for days have traded one crisis for another: Broken water pipes brought on by record-low temperatures have created a shortage of clean drinking water, shut down airports and left hospitals scrambling. By Paul J. Weber and Jill Bleed. SENT: 1,000 words, photos videos. UPCOMING: Developing. WITH: WINTER WEATHER-WARNINGS— Meteorologists started warning about this week’s killer cold as much as three weeks in advance, yet catastrophe still happened. Experts in weather and disaster say it was such a strange and huge event that it simply overwhelmed everyone. By Seth Borenstein. UPCOMING: 600 words by 4 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — President Joe Biden tours a state-of-the-art coronavirus vaccine plant as extreme winter weather hands his vaccination campaign its first major setback, delaying shipment of about 6 million doses. By Zeke Miller and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 940 words, photos, video.
BIDEN-WORLD LEADERS — President Joe Biden uses his first address before a global audience to declare “America is back, the trans-Atlantic alliance is back,” following four years of a Donald Trump administration that framed its foreign policy through an “America First” lens. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,150 words, photos, video. WITH: BRITAIN-G7 — Leaders of the Group of Seven economic powers have promised to immunize the world’s neediest people against the coronavirus by giving money and precious vaccine doses to a U.N.-backed vaccine distribution effort. SENT: 900 words.
CLIMATE ACCORD — President Joe Biden officially returned the U.S. to the Paris climate accord, but world leaders already are looking ahead to what tough -- and politically tricky -- new cuts in damaging fossil fuel emissions Biden commits the U.S. to. By Ellen Knickmeyer and Seth Borenstein. SENT: 900 words, photos, and UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m.
FEDERAL AGENCIES HACKED — U.S. officials are scrambling to reinforce the nation’s cyber defenses following a sweeping hack that may have exposed government and corporate secrets to Russia. The breach involving hijacked software from Texas-based SolarWinds Inc. has exposed the limitations of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. By Ben Fox and Alan Suderman. SENT: 1,020 words, photo.
PEOPLE-KARDASHIAN-WEST-DIVORCE — Kim Kardashian West filed for divorce from Kanye West after 6 1/2 years of marriage, court records show. The move brings an impending end to one of the most followed celebrity unions of the 21st century — the marriage of a reality TV superstar and a hip-hop and fashion phenomenon with four kids, a vast fortune to split and even more fame. By Andrew Dalton. SENT: 900 words, photos. With: KIM-AND-KANYE-HIGHLIGHTS — Kim and Kanye: Tales of an uber celeb marriage gone wrong. By Leanne Italie. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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BRITAIN-PRINCE PHILIP — Britain’s Prince Philip is expected to stay in a London hospital for several more days after being admitted earlier this week. SENT: 260 words, photo.
NOT REAL NEWS — False news swirled around winter storms that pummeled Texas this week, including a fake tweet about climate change attributed to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. A look at what didn't happen this week. SENT: 2,000 words, photos.
JOHNNY DAMON-ARREST — Former All-Star baseball player Johnny Damon has been arrested in central Florida on a charge of resisting an officer after he was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence. SENT: 450 words, photo.
BRITAIN ROYALS — It’s final: Harry and Meghan won’t return as working royals. SENT: 600 words, photos.
CAPITAL BREACH-ARRESTS — Six more linked to Oath Keepers charged in Capitol attack. SENT: 490 words, photos.
ALASKA OUTHOUSE-BEAR — Alaska woman using outhouse attacked by bear, from below. SENT: 560 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-AFRICA — Africa has surpassed 100,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 as the continent praised for its early response to the pandemic now struggles with a dangerous resurgence and medical oxygen often runs desperately short. By Cara Anna. SENT: 860 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOMEBOUND VACCINES — Millions of U.S. residents will need COVID-19 vaccines brought to them because they rarely or never leave their homes. Doctors and nurses who specialize in home care are leading this push and starting to get help from state and local governments around the country. But they face several challenges. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Clear evidence emerged that the rate of coronavirus infections across the U.K. is falling sharply, just days before British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlines a roadmap for potentially easing lockdown restrictions in England following the rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. SENT: 550 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-EUROPE-VACCINES — The European Union’s executive commission plans to double its contribution to the World Health Organization’s COVAX program, bringing the 27-nation bloc’s commitment to the initiative to deliver vaccines to poor nations to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). SENT: 410 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-IRAQ-NEW-SURGE — Doctors in Iraq are confounded by widespread shirking of precautions against COVID-19 even as cases surge dramatically. The country was under a new, government-imposed curfew. A month ago, new infections in Iraq were as low as 600 a day but have now surged, reaching nearly 4,000 and approaching the peak from last September. SENT: 970 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ITALY-ONE-YEAR-LATER — Italy delivered the first shocking confirmation of locally transmitted coronavirus infections outside of Asia a year ago Sunday, with back-to-back revelations of cases in the country’s north. First, a 38-year-old man in the Lombardy region tested positive for COVID-19. By the evening, a 77-year-old retired roofer from the Veneto region had died. At the time, it the first known fatality from a locally transmitted case of the virus in the West and it set off alarm bells. SENT: 1,200 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-BUDGET DIRECTOR —The nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget is in doubt after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia says he will oppose her confirmation. SENT: 230 words, photos.
MEDIA-TRUMP’S RETURN — Former President Donald Trump repeated false claims that the election was stolen from him 10 times during interviews this week on Fox News Channel, Newsmax and One America News Networks. The claims were unprompted but also unchallenged in each case. SENT: 730 words, photo.
CRUZ-GOP — Ted Cruz has been one of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies and fiercest critics, personifying both sides of the bind the larger Republican Party now finds itself in. But after jaunting off to Mexico while Texans suffered through a deadly winter storm, Cruz is now confronting another post-Trump question: whether the traditional political scandal has staying power again. By Will Weissert and Steve Peoples. UPCOMING: 800 words by 7 p.m., photos.
UNITED STATES-AFGHANISTAN — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says progress toward a durable peace in Afghanistan and an end to U.S. military involvement depends on the Taliban reducing attacks. He says right now, “clearly the violence is too high.” By Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns. SENT: 750 words, photos, video.
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INTERNATIONAL
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SPAIN-PROTESTS — Street protests over the imprisonment of a rapper turned violent for a fourth straight night in Spain, as political responses to the disturbances strained relations inside the country’s coalition government. Police in the northeastern region of Catalonia, which has seen most of this week’s rioting, said some protesters pelted officers with bottles, stones, fireworks and paint in Barcelona and three other places. SENT: 400 words, photos. With: SPAIN-PROTEST-RAPPER-EXPLAINER — SENT: 540 words, photos.
BRITAIN-UBER — Uber drivers in Britain are entitled to benefits like paid holidays and minimum wage, the country’s top court has ruled, in a decision that threatens the company’s business model and holds broad implications for the gig economy. SENT: 950 words, photos.
MYANMAR — A young woman who was shot in the head by police during a protest last week against the military’s takeover of power in Myanmar died, her brother says. Mya Thwet Thwet Khine was shot during a demonstration in the capital Naypyitaw on Feb. 9. She had been on life support at a hospital with what doctors had said was no chance of recovery. SENT: 660 words, photos.
JAPAN NUCLEAR-FUKUSHIMA — The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant says cooling water levels have fallen in two of its reactors since a powerful earthquake hit the area last weekend, indicating possible additional damage. SENT: 500 words, photos.
SOMALIA-ELECTION-PROTEST — Security forces in Somalia’s capital fired on hundreds of people protesting the delay of the country’s election as at least one explosion was reported at the international airport and armored personnel carriers blocked major streets. SENT: 330 words.
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NATIONAL
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TAINTED OFFICERS-CONVICTIONS — A judge threw out felony convictions of nine more people framed by a disgraced former Chicago police sergeant, including that of a man who gained fame more than two decades ago when his life in a notorious housing project was chronicled in an award-winning documentary. SENT: 530 words, photo.
ABORTION-SOUTH-CAROLINA — South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions was suspended by a federal judge on its second day in effect. Judge Mary Geiger Lewis put a 14-day temporary restraining order on the law and will renew it until she can hold a more substantial hearing on March 9 on Planned Parenthood’s request that it not be enforced until the group’s lawsuit against South Carolina is resolved. SENT: 690 words, photos.
GUN RIGHTS-STATE CAPITOLS — In the past year, insurrectionists have breached the U.S. Capitol and armed protesters have forced their way into statehouses around the country. But the question of whether guns should be allowed in capitol buildings remains political, and states are going in opposite directions. SENT: 950 words, photos.
ASYLUM-WAITING-IN-MEXICO — The Biden administration is moving to restore the asylum system to how it worked for decades by releasing a group of asylum-seekers into the U.S. It ends their long waits in Mexico and marks a big step toward unraveling a key anti-immigration policy of former President Donald Trump. SENT: 920 words, photos.
CLINIC SHOOTING-MINNESOTA —An alleged gunman’s addiction to opioid medication was the “driving force” behind last week’s shooting at a Minnesota health clinic that left one person dead and four injured, a veteran investigator said in his application for a search warrant. SENT: 415 words, photo.
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BUSINESS/TECH
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FACEBOOK-AUSTRALIA-POWER-PLAY — For years, Facebook has been in a defensive crouch amid a slew of privacy scandals, antitrust lawsuits and charges that it was letting hate speech and extremism destroy democracy. Early Thursday, though, it abruptly pivoted to take the offensive in Australia, where it lowered the boom on publishers and the government with a sudden decision to block news on its platform across the entire country. By Technology Writers Barbara Ortutay and Tali Arbel. SENT: 780 words, photos. With AUSTRALIA-DIGITAL PLATFORMS — Australian leader urges Facebook to lift its news blockade (sent).
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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MUSIC-KELLY ROWLAND — Kelly Rowland is already having a busy 2021: The Grammy winner gave birth to her second child, celebrated her 40th birthday and has now dropped a new EP. The project, simply titled “K,” features six tracks heavily influenced by Afrobeat rhythms. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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SCIENCE
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MARS-LANDING — NASA has released the first close-up picture that captures a rover descending to the dusty red surface of Mars. The space agency revealed the photo less than 24 hours after the Perseverance rover successfully landed near an ancient river delta to search for signs of life. SENT: 570 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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TEN--AUSTRALIAN OPEN-WOMEN’S FINAL — Whether Naomi Osaka wins the Australian Open championship — and, make no mistake, she will be expected to beat Jennifer Brady in the final — this much seems certain: Tennis has a new dominant force. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 700 words, photos. Women’s final to start Saturday at 3:30 a.m.
TEN—AUSTRALIAN OPEN-MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW — Novak Djokovic will be seeking his 18th Grand Slam title and Daniil Medvedev his first when they face each other in the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday. Djokovic is seeded No. 1 and is 8-0 in title matches at Melbourne Park. This will be his 28th major final overall, Medvedev’s second. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 7 p.m. EST.
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