AP News Digest 3:50 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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HURRICANE-IDA — With power due back for almost all of New Orleans by next week, Mayor LaToya Cantrell strongly encouraged residents who evacuated because of Hurricane Ida to begin returning home. But outside the city, the prospects of recovery appeared bleaker, with no timeline on power restoration and homes and businesses in tatters. By Rebecca Santana, Melinda Deslatte and Kevin McGill. SENT: 750 words, photos, videos. With HURRICANE IDA-LEAVING-TOWN — Extended power outages push Louisiana residents to leave (both sent).
HURRICANE IDA-BIDEN — Less than a week after Hurricane Ida battered the Gulf Coast, President Joe Biden walks the streets of a hard-hit Louisiana neighborhood and tells local residents, “I know you’re hurting.” Biden pledges robust federal assistance to get people back on their feet. By Josh Boak. SENT: 880 words, photos, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRAZIL-BOOSTERS — Some cities in Brazil are providing booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, even though most people have yet to receive their second jabs, in a sign of the concern in the country over the highly contagious delta variant. By Mauricio Savarese and Debora Alvares. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER-ATLANTIC-DISPLACED — Storm evacuees in Manville, a central New Jersey town along the rain-swollen Raritan River, told the same story. There was an urgent late-night knock on the door, a wall of water crashing into their apartments and a rescue by boat to higher ground. Richie Leonardis, a 60-year-old who has had one leg amputated and uses a wheelchair, said an air raid siren went off around 4 a.m. Thursday. Within minutes, police knocked on his door urging him to evacuate. Dozens are now at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post that was being used as a temporary shelter for displaced flood victims. By Wayne Parry and Mike Catalini. SENT: 960 words, photos, video.
SEPT-11 VOICES OF SURVIVORS — Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 terror attacks. Yet an estimated 33,000 or more people successfully evacuated the stricken buildings. They navigated mountains of smoky stairs in the World Trade Center’s twin towers or streamed out of a flaming Pentagon. Some fled an otherworldly dust cloud at ground zero. Others willed their way out of pitch-dark rubble. Twenty years later, Sept. 11 survivors bear scars and the weight of unanswerable questions. By Jennifer Peltz. SENT: 1,980 words, photos. An abridged version is also available.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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AFGHANISTAN-IMMIGRANT-FAMILIES — California governor seeks $16.7 million in aid for Afghan refugees. SENT: 260 words, photo.
TUBING-DEATHS — Duke Energy sued by family that lost five in tubing accident. SENT: 380 words, photo.
JESSE JACKSON — Jesse Jackson’s wife headed home from hospital after COVID. SENT: 240 words, photo
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-POLYNESIA — France’s worst coronavirus outbreak is unfolding 12 times zones away from Paris, devastating Tahiti and other idyllic islands of French Polynesia. SENT: 760 words, photos.
MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-PARASITE MEDICINE -- Health experts and medical professionals are trying to stamp out growing use of a decades-old anti-parasite drug that’s become the latest unproven remedy for COVID-19. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCHOOL ENCOUNTER — School officials say several men threatened to make a citizen’s arrest of an Arizona school principal while at least one brandished cable ties in a confrontation over virus rules. SENT: 300 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CALIFORNIA RECALL-VACCINE — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made his leadership during the pandemic a centerpiece of his campaign to keep his job, warning in life-and-death terms that his Republican rivals in the recall election are anti-vaccine crusaders who would expose people to a new wave of COVID risks. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
VOTING BILL-TEXAS — Opponents of a sweeping Republican elections overhaul in Texas are suing Gov. Greg Abbott before he had even signed the changes into law. SENT: 440 words.
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NATIONAL
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WESTERN WILDFIRES — The huge California wildfire near Lake Tahoe resort communities has calmed down significantly and was growing at the smallest rate in two weeks, but firefighters must stay engaged and take advantage of good weather while it lasts, commanders said. SENT: 730 words, photos. With WILDFIRES-FIREFIGHTER-WORKFORCE — US to bolster firefighter ranks as wildfires burn year-round (sent).
GEORGE-FLOYD-PROTESTS-ACQUITTAL — A St. Paul man charged with attempted murder after firing several shots at a Minneapolis police van in the chaotic protests that followed George Floyd’s death last year was acquitted of all charges. Jaleel Stallings had argued self-defense at trial, saying the officers were in an unmarked van and had fired at him first. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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NEW-ZEALAND-SUPERMARKET-TERROR-ATTACK — New Zealand authorities imprisoned a man inspired by the Islamic State group for three years after catching him with a hunting knife and extremist videos — but at a certain point, despite grave fears he would attack others, they say they could do nothing more to keep him behind bars. SENT: 830 words, photos.
THAILAND-POLITICS — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha won votes of confidence in Parliament on Saturday, helping to steady his government after it had come under intense criticism for bungling its response to the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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TESLA-INVESTIGATION — The U.S. government’s road safety agency has added another fatality involving a Tesla to the list of crashes it is probing due to the use of partially automated driving systems. By Auto Writer Tom Krisher. SENT: 370 words, photo.
ABORTION-COMPANIES — Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft said Friday they will cover the legal fees of any driver who is sued under the new law prohibiting most abortions in Texas. SENT: 430 words. With ABORTION-TEXAS — Judge shields Texas clinics from anti-abortion group’s suits (sent).
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SPORTS
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TEN—US OPEN-OSAKA OUT — Naomi Osaka says she is thinking of taking another break from tennis after her title defense at the U.S. Open has ended with a third-round loss to Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez. Osaka served for the victory late in the second set but got broken there and then lost her composure in the three-set defeat. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1140 words, photos. With TEN—US OPEN — Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz beat No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time (sent).
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HOW TO REACH US
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