AP News Digest 3:05 a.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan.

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ONLY ON AP

—————————- AP POLL-MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY — Americans are deeply opposed to cutting into Medicare or Social Security benefits, and most support raising taxes on the nation’s highest earners to keep Medicare running as is. The new findings, revealed in a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, come as both safety net programs are poised to run out of enough cash to pay out full benefits within the next decade. By Amanda Seitz And Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 930 words, photo.

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TOP STORIES

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israel conducted rare airstrikes in Lebanon on Friday, a sharp escalation that sparked fears of a broader conflict after militants fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Israel also continued bombarding the Gaza Strip. By Isabel Debre. SENT: 990 words, video, photos, audio. With ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-JERUSALEM-EXPLAINER — Why do Jerusalem tensions fuel regionwide unrest? (sent)

TENNESSEE-LAWMAKERS-EXPULSION — In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat was narrowly spared by a one-vote margin. By Kimberly Kruesi and Jonathan Mattise. SENT: 1,090 words, video, photos, audio.

TRANSGENDER ATHLETES — Schools and colleges across the U.S. would be forbidden from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes under a proposal released Thursday by the Biden administration, but teams could create some limits in certain cases — for example, to ensure fairness. By Education Writer Collin Binkley. SENT: 1,460 words, photos. With SUPREME COURT-TRANSGENDER ATHLETES — High court: Trans girl can run girls track in West Virginia (sent).

TRUMP INDICTMENT — House Republicans subpoena one of the former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, orders Mark Pomerantz to testify before the committee by April 30. By Farnoush Amiri. SENT: 580 words, photos.

CHINA-US-TAIWAN — China retaliated for the United States House speaker’s meeting with the Taiwanese president by announcing sanctions against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other organizations, adding to strains over the self-ruled island democracy Beijing claims as part of its territory. SENT: 600 words, photos.

PERU-EX-PRESIDENT — A U.S. appeals court panel on Wednesday denied an appeal by former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Manrique to stop his extradition to face charges he accepted millions of dollars in bribes as part of a mammoth corruption scandal in which four of Peru’s ex-presidents have been implicated. By Olga R. Rodriguez. SENT: 610 words, photos.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-BELARUS — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart are holding talks on expanding their economic cooperation and bolstering defense ties that include a plan to deploy Russia’s nuclear weapons to its neighbor and ally amid the fighting in Ukraine. SENT: 630 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SHOOTING — A man fleeing police in Northern California took two hostages at a public park on Thursday, killing one of them and wounding a California Highway Patrol officer before surrendering, authorities say. SENT: 400 words, photos, audio.

MEXICO-FIRE — Some 200 firefighters battled a huge blaze in Mexico City’s sprawling wholesale market without any reported injuries. SENT: 170 words, photos.

CONCRETE GRAVE-CONDO — Police are digging out a body encased in concrete that was found in a condo crawl space they believe is of a man allegedly killed by a friend and alleged partner in crime last year. SENT: 500 words.

SPAIN-HOLY-WEEK-PHOTO-GALLERY — From protests against raising the retirement age in France, to Premier League football in England and Holy Week celebrations across Europe and Africa, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published in the past week by The Associated Press from Europe and Africa. SENT: 70 words, photos.

BKC-NCAA-CONNECTICUT-HOUSTON-FEUD — Connecticut’s governor is taking heat for calling the city of Houston “butt ugly” after returning from the Final Four. SENT: 250 words, photo.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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BIDEN-CLEAN WATER — President Biden vetoes a congressional resolution that would have overturned protections for the nation’s waterways that Republicans have criticized as overly intrusive. SENT: 480 words, photos.

ESG-INVESTING-KANSAS — A proposal designed to thwart investing that considers environmental, social and governance factors has cleared the Kansas Legislature, but divisions within its GOP majorities kept the measure from being as strong as some conservatives wanted. SENT: 680 words, photos.

IRS UPGRADE — The IRS outlines how it plans to use an infusion of $80 billion, pledging to invest in new technology, hire more customer service representatives and expand its ability to audit high-wealth taxpayers. SENT: 630 words, photos.

PARK POLICE SHOOTING — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation after a U.S. Park Police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old who drove off with an officer in the back seat after the teenager was found asleep in a suspected stolen car. SENT: 520 words, photos.

ESG-INVESTING-KANSAS — A proposal designed to thwart investing that considers environmental, social and governance factors has cleared the Kansas Legislature, but divisions within its GOP majorities kept the measure from being as strong as some conservatives wanted. SENT: 680 words, photos.

NEVEDA-GUN-LEGISLATION — Nevada Democrats and gun control advocates have rallied around a trio of bills that amplified calls for gun regulation while recalling the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting that became the deadliest in U.S. history. SENT: 810 words.

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NATIONAL

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TRANSGENDER-HEALTH-KANSAS — Kansas lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at helping parents opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQ-themed materials, as a Democratic lawmaker whose vote was crucial to banning transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports faced calls to resign. SENT: 760 words, photos.

OKLAHOMA-EXECUTION-GLOSSIP — The conviction and death sentence for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip should be thrown out and a new trial ordered, the state’s new attorney general said Thursday, as support has grown even among death penalty supporters who say Glossip is innocent. SENT: 630 words, photos, video, audio.

SMALL PLANE CRASH-FLORIDA — Police say the bodies of two men and two women have been recovered following a small plane crash just off Florida’s Gulf Coast. SENT: 350 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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PHILIPPINE-CRUCIFIXIONS — At least 12 Filipinos are to be nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church but draws huge crowds of devotees and tourists to the Philippines, an Asian bastion of Christianity. SENT: 800 words, photos.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — South Korea, the U.S. and Japan called for stronger international support of efforts to ban North Korea from sending workers abroad and curb the North’s cybercrimes as a way to block the country’s means to fund its nuclear program. By Hyung-Jin Kim. SENT: 790 words, photos.

JAPAN-ARMY-HELICOPTER — An unused lifeboat, a door and other fragments believed to be from a Japanese army helicopter were found after the Black Hawk carrying 10 crew members was presumed to have crashed at sea, officials say. SENT: 350 words, photos.

FRANCE-PENSION PROTESTS — Protesters disrupted vehicle traffic at Paris’ main airport and police fired clouds of tear gas in other French cities in the latest round of strikes and demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension reforms. SENT: 895 words, photos. WITH: FRANCE-PENSION PROTESTS-ROAD AHEAD — How much longer will France be gripped by protests against government plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64? SENT: 720 words, photos.

ARGENTINA-HOMELESS AT THE AIRPORT — At the start of the long Easter weekend, the airport in Argentina’s capital is eerily quiet before dawn, hours before it will fill with travelers. About 100 people who sleep inside the facility are getting ready to start their day. SENT: 720 words, photos.

AFGHANISTAN — A women-run radio station in northeastern Afghanistan has resumed its broadcasts, after officials shut it down for a week for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, a Taliban official and the head of the station says. SENT: 280 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE ———————————————-

CLIMATE-INDIA MANGROVE FORESTS — Burrowed between mangroves and a bustling skyline, 70-year-old Rajan, who only uses one name, reminisces about his old home. For nearly sixty years, Rajan has lived comfortably among the trees in Mangalavanam forest in India’s southern Kerala state. In the last two decades, the surrounding city of Kochi has boomed as the state’s financial capital and swallowed up once-protected green areas, including Rajan’s former home. SENT: 940 words, photos.

EPA-CHEMICAL PLANTS — In what could prove a significant move for communities facing air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Thursday that chemical plants nationwide measure certain hazardous compounds that cross beyond their property lines and reduce them when they are too high. SENT: 620 words, photo.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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ECONOMY-JOBS-REPORT — For more than a year, the Federal Reserve’s inflation fighters have been tightening their grip on the American economy with nine straight interest rate hikes. A key goal has been to slow the sizzling pace of hiring to help cool price pressures. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stock markets were mixed ahead of a United States job market update that traders hope might encourage the Federal Reserve to ease off plans for more interest rate hikes. SENT:500 words, photos.

PHILANTHROPY-NONPROFITS-POLL — The first comprehensive poll to measure public attitudes on foundations and nonprofits offers signs that charitable organizations are more trusted than other institutions, such as businesses, governments, and the news media. But it shows many warning signs for nonprofits, given how little Americans know about charities and the pessimism they have about the ability of charities to make a positive difference in the world. SENT: 830 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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GLF-MASTERS — Brooks Koepka is in a three-way share of the lead at the Masters with Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland. Koepka is trying to regain his reputation as a major player. Right now he gets attention as a surprise defector to Saudi-based LIV Golf. All he cares about his having healthy legs. He opened with a 65. SENT: 1,080 words, photos, audio.

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HOW TO REACH US

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