AP News Digest 6 p.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 in AP Newsroom.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY; MCCONNELL-KENTUCKY; LOTTERY JACKPOT-WHAT WE KNOW; NAIA-TRANSGENDER-POLICY; VATICAN-ISRAELI-HOSTAGES; TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE PHOTO GALLERY; OBIT-FROGMAN-HENRY; VATICAN-TRANSGENDER-CATHOLICS; ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-ABORTION-TAKEAWAYS; ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-ABORTION-EVANGELICALS; ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-SIX-MONTHS-PHOTO-GALLERY; MORGAN-WALLEN-ARRESTED; UNITED NATIONS-PALESTINIAN MEMBERSHIP; BKW-NCAA-MARCH-GLADNESS; ECUADOR-MEXICO-NOBOA.
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TOTAL-SOLAR-ECLIPSE — A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America as a total solar eclipse raced across the continent, thrilling those lucky enough to behold the spectacle through clear skies. Eclipse mania gripped all of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, as the moon swept in front of the sun, blotting out daylight. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting. It was the continent’s biggest eclipse audience ever, with a couple hundred million people living in or near the shadow’s path, plus scores of out-of-towners flocking in. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 830 words, photos, video, audio. With TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE PHOTO GALLERY — AP PHOTOS: Total solar eclipse sweeps across North America. SENT: 170 words, photos.
TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY — A New York appeals court judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial while he fights to move the case out of Manhattan. The decision came a week before jury selection was set to start. Trump’s lawyers had argued at an emergency hearing that the trial should be postponed while they seek a change of venue to move it out of heavily Democratic Manhattan. By Michael R. Sisak and Jake Offenhartz. SENT: 900 words, photo.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Stunned Palestinians found their home city unrecognizable Monday as they filtered in to salvage what they could from the vast destruction left by Israeli troops who withdrew from southern Gaza’s Khan Younis a day earlier after months of fighting and bombardment. With thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged, families tried to find their homes along streets bulldozed down to the dirt, surrounded by landscapes of rubble and debris that were once blocks of apartments and businesses. By Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy. SENT: 1,110 words, photos, videos, audio. WITH: ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-THE LATEST.
ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-ABORTION — Former President Donald Trump declared Monday he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, outlining his position in a video in which he declined to endorse a national ban after months of mixed messages and speculation. By Jill Colvin and Meg Kinnard. SENT: 1,240 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-ABORTION-TAKEAWAYS — Trump’s abortion statement angers conservatives and gives the Biden campaign a new target. SENT: 1,320 words, photos; ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-ABORTION-EVANGELICALS — Conservative Christians praise Trump’s anti-abortion record but say he’s stopped short of the goal. SENT: 640 words.
BIDEN-STUDENT-LOANS — President Joe Biden says that college graduates would see “life-changing” relief from his new plan to ease debt burdens for more than 30 million borrowers, the latest attempt by the Democratic president to make good on a campaign promise that could buoy his standing with young voters. Biden detailed the initiative, which has been in the works for months, during a trip to Wisconsin, one of a handful of battleground states that could decide the outcome of Biden’s likely rematch with Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. By Darlene Superville and Collin Binkley. SENT: 1,210 words, photos. WITH: BIDEN-STUDENT-LOAN-EXPLAINER — What to know about Biden’s latest attempt at student loan cancellation. SENT: 1,050 words, photo.
NAIA-TRANSGENDER-POLICY —The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a policy Monday that all but bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at its 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The NAIA Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The NAIA, which oversees some 83,000 athletes competing in more than 25 sports, is believed to be the first college sports organization to take such a step. By Eric Olson. SENT: 790 words, photo.
BKC-NCAA-CHAMPIONSHIP-PREVIEW — UConn and Purdue have dominated this year’s NCAA Tournament. Now they’re set to meet for the national championship on Monday night. The Huskies are going for the first repeat men’s title since Florida in 2006 and 2007. They have beaten five tournament opponents by an average of 25 points per game, with the closest margin coming by 14 points. The Boilermakers are in the title game for the first time since falling to UCLA in 1969 in their lone appearance. Purdue is winning its tournament games by an average margin of 19.6 points. By Basketball Writer Aaron Beard. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS
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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-SIX-MONTHS-PHOTO-GALLERY — Clouds of parachutes ease the descent of boxes of food toward a landscape of shattered houses in Gaza, watched by Palestinians facing famine. In Tel Aviv, Israeli protesters stand against a police water cannon as they urge the government to make a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas. Associated Press photographers have captured what six months of devastating war have brought for Israel and for Palestinians. SENT: 500 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-PALESTINIAN MEMBERSHIP — The U.N. Security Council revives Palestinians’ hopes of joining the United Nations as a full member. But the United States says relations between Israel and the Palestinians are far from ripe, all but quashing Palestinian U.N. membership hopes for now. SENT: 420 words, photos.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russia and Ukraine are trading fresh accusations over renewed threats to Europe’s largest nuclear plant that has been caught up in the war, with Moscow alleging Ukraine was behind drone attacks on the facility that were witnessed by U.N. inspectors and Kyiv accusing Russia of disinformation tactics. SENT: 530 words, photos.
CHINA-RUSSIA — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Beijing to display the strength of ties with close diplomatic partner China amid Moscow’s grinding war against Ukraine and an ongoing effort to align their foreign policies against the U.S. and its allies. SENT: 640 words, photo.
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BKW-NCAA-MARCH-GLADNESS — The NCAA women’s tourney had everything: Stars, upsets, an undefeated champion. It’s just the start. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, audio.
BKC-NCAA-UCONN-CAMPUS — UConn takes precautions to prevent a repeat of the vandalism that followed the 2023 title game. SENT: 360 words, photos.
BKW--NCAA-SOUTH CAROLINA-BENCH — Every player on South Carolina’s bench feels like a starter. They played a pivotal role in title run. SENT: 500 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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JONATHAN-MAJORS-ASSAULT — Actor Jonathan Majors avoids jail time, sentenced to counseling for assaulting ex-girlfriend. SENT: 740 words, photos.
MORGAN-WALLEN-ARRESTED — Morgan Wallen has been arrested after police say he threw a chair off of the roof of a 6-story bar. SENT: 380 words, photos.
OBIT-FROGMAN-HENRY — Clarence “Frogman” Henry, who was one of New Orleans’ best known old-time R&B singers and scored a hit at age 19 with “Ain’t Got No Home,” has died. He was 87. SENT: 420 words, photo.
VATICAN-ISRAELI-HOSTAGES — Pope marks six-month anniversary of Hamas attacks by meeting with relatives of hostages. SENT: 170 words, photos.
LOTTERY JACKPOT-WHAT WE KNOW — Winner in Portland: What AP knows about the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot so far. SENT: 600 words, photo, video.
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ELECTION 2024-MISINFORMATION-LATINOS —Experts expect a surge of misinformation targeting Spanish-speaking voters with a high-stakes presidential election in the fall as candidates vie for support from the rapidly growing number of Latino voters. Much of that is expected to come through audio, whether it’s over the radio or through podcasts or social media platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube. SENT: 1,300 words, photos, video.
MCCONNELL-KENTUCKY — For nearly two decades, Mitch McConnell’s only job uncertainty hinged on whether he’d serve as Senate majority or minority leader after the next election. With his days as Republican leader now numbered, the Kentuckian is talking more freely about his priorities once he’s no longer calling the shots for his party. During events last week back in the Bluegrass State, McConnell offered fresh details about his decision to step down in November from his role as the longest-serving Senate leader in history, which set off a wave of speculation about the future of his seat. SENT: 950 words, photos.
BIDEN-CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS — The Justice Department blasts Republicans’ effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over his refusal to turn over unredacted materials related to the special counsel probe into President Biden’s handling of classified documents. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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MISSISSIPPI TORNADO RECOVERY — The town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, has struggled to rebuild after a devastating tornado struck last year. The tornado killed 14 residents and reduced the town to rubble as it charted a merciless path across one of the country’s poorest regions. For the people there, a complicated story of struggle and resilience has emerged in the year since the storm exposed vulnerabilities many survivors had been dealing with long before March 2023. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
ASBESTOS-TOWN-RAILROAD-TRIAL — A trial begins against Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway over the lung cancer deaths of two people who lived in a small Montana town near the U.S.-Canada border where thousands of people were exposed to asbestos from a vermiculite mine. SENT: 820 words, photos, video.
HOSPITAL-SHOOTING-INMATE — An Idaho white supremacist prison gang member accused of escaping from a Boise hospital during an ambush that left three corrections officers with gunshot wounds is now due to have a court hearing. Skylar Meade was initially scheduled to face a preliminary hearing Monday morning, as were two other defendants in the case: Nicholas Umphenour, who police say opened fire on corrections officers transporting Meade from the hospital last month, and Tia Garcia, who is accused of having provided the car the pair used to escape. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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VATICAN-GENDER — The Vatican has declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that it said reject God’s plan for human life. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years. After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved March 25 by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,240 words, photos, audio. WITH: VATICAN-TRANSGENDER-CATHOLICS — Transgender Catholics say new Vatican document shows no understanding of their lives. SENT: 740 words, photos.
MIDEAST-TENSION — Iran’s foreign minister has accused the United States of giving Israel the “green light” for a strike on its consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials including two generals. Hossein Amirabdollahian reiterated Tehran’s vows that it will respond to the attack, widely blamed on Israel, that appeared to signify an escalation of Israel’s targeting of military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza, and along its border with Lebanon. SENT: 950 words, photos.
ECUADOR-MEXICO-NOBOA — While world leaders have expressed shock and bewilderment over Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s decision to raid Mexico’s embassy last Friday, the extraordinarily unusual move — and Noboa’s relative silence about it — is unlikely to hurt him with his constituents. In fact, it’s exactly the sort of no-holds-barred crimefighting they expect and voted for. SENT: 910 words, photos.
BRAZIL-MUSK-INVESTIGATION — A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice has included Elon Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news, and has opened a separate investigation into the U.S. business executive for alleged obstruction. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
MYANMAR-CONFLICT — Guerrilla fighters from Myanmar’s Karen ethnic minority claimed Monday to be close to seizing control of a major trading town bordering Thailand, as soldiers and civil servants loyal to the military government appeared to be preparing to abandon their positions. SENT: 720 words, photos, audio.
RUSSIA-FLOODS — Russians in the city of Orsk gathered in a rare protest Monday, calling for compensation following the collapse of a dam and subsequent flooding in the Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan. Protests are an unusual sight in Russia where authorities have consistently cracked down on any form of dissent following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. SENT: 540 words, photos, video.
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AMAZON-LABOR-UNION — Two years after clenching a historic victory at a warehouse in New York City, the first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided, running out of money and fighting over an election that could determine who will lead the group in the near future. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
UBER-LYFT-MINNEAPOLIS-THINGS-TO-KNOW — The future of Uber and Lyft in Minneapolis has garnered concern and debate in recent weeks after the City Council voted last month to require that ride-hailing companies pay drivers a higher rate while they are within city limits. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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BKW-TOP-25-WOMEN'S-BKB-POLL — South Carolina, Iowa and UConn have finished atop the final AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll of the season. The Gamecocks won their second national championship in three years with an 87-75 victory over Iowa. They received all 35 first-place votes. It is the first time in the 47-year history of the women’s Top 25 that the AP has released its final poll after the tournament. SENT: 470 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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