AP News Digest 7 a.m.

Monday 13 September 2021 11:59 BST

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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 at https://newsroom.ap.org.

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TOP STORIES

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CALIFORNIA RECALL — California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom urged voters to defeat a looming recall that could remove him from office. Leading Republican Larry Elder, meanwhile, broadly criticised the media for what he described as double standards that insulated Newsom from scrutiny throughout the contest. SENT: words, photos. WITH: CALIFORNIA RECALL-5 QUESTIONS - California’s recall on Tuesday will be the biggest election since Joe Biden became president, and its results may hint at the political trajectory of the country. In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is seen as having the upper hand in his bid to fend off the GOP-fueled recall. Republican talk show host Larry Elder is the leading Republican replacement. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. CALIFORNIA RECALL — RACE CALLS (sent)

BIDEN-WESTERN STATES -- President Joe Biden is determined to drum up support for his massive $3.5 trillion spending plan by linking it to beating back wildfires and upgrading social programs during visits to three Western states that also coincide with California’s recall election. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 750 words, photos.

AFGHANISTAN — The United Nations hopes to secure $600 million in emergency funds for Afghanistan as it hosts a high-level donors conference. There are concerns that instability and upended humanitarian efforts, compounded by an ongoing drought, could endanger lives and plunge the country toward famine. The Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, the day they overran Kabul after capturing outlying provinces in a rapid military campaign. . By Jamey Keaten. SENT: 650 words, photos. WITH: AFGHANISTAN-THE LATEST (sent).

KOREAS-TENSION —North Korea says it has successfully tested newly developed long-range cruise missiles over the weekend. The tests underscore how the country continues to expand its military capabilities amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations with the United States. By Kim Tong-Hyung. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. WITH: KOREAS TENSIONS EXPLAINER (sent).

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israeli aircraft have struck targets in the Gaza Strip in response to a series of rocket launches out of the Hamas-ruled territory. It’s the third consecutive night of fighting between the enemies. By Joseph Federman. SENT: 520 words, photos.

CHANGING ECONOMY-DOWNTOWN BLUES — Businesses in downtowns across the country that relied on office workers as their main customers before the pandemic have had to adapt as offices remain closed and workers do their jobs remotely. Some have had to shutter, while others are relying more on residential traffic and dinner crowds and making other changes. The hope for many was a return toward normalcy after Labor Day as companies reopened. But now that many offices have scrapped plans to return in September, downtown small businesses are reckoning with the fact that their adjustments may become permanent. By Mae Anderson and Tom Krisher. SENT: 900 words, photos. This is the Tuesday Spotlight

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK — Classroom doors are swinging open for about a million New York City public school students in the nation’s largest experiment of in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 760 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIETNAM — Vietnam is speeding up its vaccination program in an effort to loosen coronavirus lockdown restrictions in major cities by the end of the month. Health workers administered vaccines throughout the night and into Monday morning in the capital, Hanoi, which has been under lockdown since July. SENT: 360 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE-BRITIAN — A French pharmaceutical startup says the British government has abruptly terminated an agreement for it to supply tens of millions of COVID-19 vaccines. Britain alleged that Valneva was in breach of its obligations under the supply agreement, the company said, “strenuously” denying this. SENT: 360 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GREECE — Greece has introduced mandatory weekly testing for all unvaccinated workers as it struggles to boost vaccination rates that are lagging the European Union average. Public and private sector employees will have to pay for weekly tests or carry a vaccination certificate to gain access to their place of work, while unvaccinated children at high schools, which reopened Monday, are being given test kits distributed at government expense. SENT: 225 words.

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WASHINGTON

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CAPITOL BREACH-RALLY -- Allies of former President Donald Trump are calling those charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol “political prisoners” ahead of a rally planned for Saturday at the Capitol, the latest attempt to explain away the insurrection that sought to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

CONGRESS-BUDGET -- As congressional Democrats speed ahead this week in pursuit of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan for social and environmental spending, a Democratic senator vital to the bill’s fate says the cost will need to be slashed to $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion to win his support. By Hope Yen. SENT: 680 words, photos.

AMY CONEY BARRETT — Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is expressing concerns that the public may increasingly see the court as a partisan institution. SENT: 720 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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TROPICAL WEATHER -- Tropical Storm Nicholas is expected to strengthen as it heads for the Gulf Coast. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana could see heavy rain and floods. SENT: 690 words, photo.

MINNESOTA MOSQUE BOMBINGS — The leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group who authorities say was the mastermind behind the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque is scheduled to be sentenced Monday on several civil rights and hate crimes for an attack that left a community terrified. SENT: 920 words, photos.

APARTMENT EXPLOSION — An explosion rocked an apartment building in suburban Atlanta, causing the three-story complex to partially collapse and leaving four people with minor injuries. SENT: 380 words, photo. UPCOMING: Developing.

WESTERN WILDFIRES — Authorities have reopened nearly all lanes of a major Southern California highway as firefighters made progress on a wildfire that jumped across the road. SENT: 480 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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DUBAI DELIVERY DEATHS — Advocates and workers say that casualties among food delivery riders are mounting in Dubai as the pandemic accelerates a boom in customer demand. The trend has transformed the city’s streets and drawn thousands of desperate riders, predominantly Pakistanis, into the high-risk, lightly regulated and sometimes-fatal work. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

GERMANY ELECTION-CANDIDATES - Germany is seeing its first three-way contest for the chancellery, with the environmentalist Greens joining the country’s two traditional big parties in fielding a candidate for the top job. The center-left Social Democrats nominated their candidate, Olaf Scholz, back in August 2020. The Greens nominated Annalena Baerbock in March. Armin Laschet emerged as the candidate of Merkel’s center-right Union bloc in April after a bruising internal battle. The three contenders bring varying degrees of experience and different backgrounds to the race. SENT: 900 words, photos.

JAPAN ATTACK WARNING - Japan’s Foreign Ministry is urging its citizens to stay away from religious facilities and crowds in six Southeast Asian nations, warning of a possible attack. It applies to Japanese citizens in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. The advisory was met with puzzlement in several of those nations, which said they had no knowledge of such a threat or details from Japan as to the source of its information. SENT: 250 words, photos.

MYANMAR-SUU KYI — Lawyers for Myanmar’s detained former leader say she was unable to attend a scheduled court hearing because she felt ill. Aung San Suu Kyi is being tried in the capital on charges including sedition and flouting COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign. SENT: 530 words.

AUSTRALIA-ISRAELI PRINCIPAL — A former school principal extradited from Israel after a six-year legal battle has appeared in an Australian court to hear evidence behind child sex abuse charges against her. SENT: 450 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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MET GALA -- The first of this year’s two-part Met Gala kicks off Monday night with a more intimate affair. Organizers haven’t said exactly how intimate but promise no less the star power after the celebrity-splashed party was canceled last year due to the pandemic. SENT: 470 words, photos.

FASHION-TOM FORD — The Champagne was cold and the front row star studded Sunday night as Tom Ford closed New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center with a spring-summer collection of sporty glam. SENT: 510 words, photos.

TV EMMYS-CREATIVE ARTS — Claire Foy, Courtney B. Vance, Maya Rudolph and Dave Chappelle won guest actor Emmys at Sunday’s creative arts awards ceremony. SENT: 410 words, photos.

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL-PHOTO GALLERY — All across the Lido, you could see it on the stars’ faces: sheer joy. Whether it was Timothée Chalamet’s beaming face greeting fans or those looks exchanged between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, the 78th Venice International Film Festival mixed elegance and fun in a way rarely seen since early 2020. SENT: 340 words, photos.

FILM-BOX OFFICE — “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” stayed on top at the box office, collecting $35.8 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. SENT: 560 words, photo.

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BUSINESS

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APPLE-APP-STORE-ON-TRIAL — Epic Games filed notice that is appealing a federal judge’s decision in a lawsuit alleging that Apple has been running an illegal monopoly that stifles competition. SENT: 480 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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TEN--US OPEN — Novak Djokovic’s bid for the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969 ended with a loss to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final. Medvedev’s 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory Sunday gave him his first major championship and prevented Djokovic from collecting what would have been the record 21st of his career. By Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1,33O words, photos. WITH US OPEN-MEDVEDEV (sent.)

DODGERS-SCHERZER-3000 — Max Scherzer of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the 19th player in major league history with 3,000 strikeouts and nearly completed a perfect game. SENT: 460 words, photos.

FBN-NFL-FANS RETURN — Tailgating, face-painted fans returned in full force at stadiums around the country as the NFL opened its doors to capacity for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. Some wore masks, some didn’t. Some are vaccinated, some aren’t. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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