AP News Digest 7:40 a.m.

New Year South Korea (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. 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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COLORADO-WILDFIRES — Hundreds of Colorado residents who had expected to ring in 2022 in their homes are instead starting off the new year trying to salvage what remains of them after a wind-whipped wildfire tore through the Denver suburbs. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGES — Dozens of colleges around the U.S. are delaying the resumption of in-person classes as students prepare to return from winter break amid surging coronavirus infections. UPCOMING by 11 a.m.

SOUTH AFRICA-TUTU FUNERAL — Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been remembered at his funeral for his Nobel Peace Prize-earning role in ending South Africa’s apartheid regime of racial oppression and for championing the rights of LGBTQ people. SENT; developing.

KASHMIR-FATAL CROWD SURGE — A crowd surge at a popular Hindu shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir has killed at least 12 people and injured 15 others on New Year’s Day. SENT; developing.

CAPITOL RIOT-AMERICA AT WAR WITH ITSELF — One small town’s cultural divide exemplifies this period in American life when we have lost a common set of facts and are united only over the fact that we are so bitterly split apart. UPCOMING by 11 a.m.

CAPITOL RIOT-MISINFORMATION — The events from last Jan. 6 in Washington unfolded on live television and they’ve been the subject of congressional hearings and criminal proceedings since then. Yet hoaxes and conspiracy theories about what happened that day continue to circulate on cable news shows and social media. SENT: 1590 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YEAR'S EVE — Muted New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the global Covid-19 pandemic. SENT: 1470 words, photos. With NEW YEAR'S EVE-TIMES SQUARE (sent); NEW YEAR'S EVE-PHOTO GALLERY (sent)

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TRENDING NEWS

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ROSE-PARADE — The New Year’s Day Rose Parade and Rose Bowl college football game between Ohio State and Utah remained on track Friday despite surging cases of COVID-19, which forced the cancellation of the 2021 parade. SENT: 400 words, photos.

PEOPLE-HOCHUL-JEOPARDY — A New York resident and “Jeopardy” contestant who was stumped this week by a clue about his state’s governor got a do-over. SENT: 280 words, photos.

BRITAIN-NEW YEAR'S HONORS — Scientists and medical chiefs who have led Britain’s response to the pandemic have been awarded knighthoods in the country’s annual New Year Honors List, which recognized the achievements of hundreds of people from James Bond star Daniel Craig to teenage tennis star Emma Raducanu. SENT: 440 words, photos.

LEE STATUE-PEDESTAL — The enormous pedestal where the Robert E. Lee monument in Virginia’s capital resided for over 130 years until September has been fully removed and hauled away. SENT: 290 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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SUPREME COURT-YEAR-END — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts says the federal judiciary needs to do more to ensure judges don’t participate in cases where they have financial conflicts of interest. SENT: 580 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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NORTH KOREA-KIM — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to further bolster his military capability, maintain draconian anti-virus measures and push hard to improve the economy during a speech at a key political conference this week. SENT: 760 words, photos.

VATICAN-NEW YEAR'S - Pope Francis has ushered in the new year by praising the skills women bring to promoting peace in the world. SENT: 390 words, photos.

EGYPT-SEXUAL HARASSMENT — An advertisement by a French automaker has stirred up controversy in Egypt after activists said it promoted sexual harassment in a country where the practice is rampant.SENT: 530 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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NEW YORK MAYOR — Eric Adams is New York City’s new mayor after the Democrat was sworn into office in a Times Square ceremony shortly after the nation’s largest city rung in the new year. SENT: 700 words, photos.

MANHATTAN-DISTRICT ATTORNEY — Alvin Bragg has already notched one historic first, being sworn in Saturday as Manhattan’s first Black district attorney. Now he’s weighing another: whether to make Donald Trump the first former president ever charged with a crime. SENT: 570 words, photos.

MALL OF AMERICA-SHOOTING — Two people have been shot and wounded following an apparent altercation at the Mall of America, sending New Year’s Eve shoppers scrambling for safety and placing the Minneapolis mall on temporary lockdown. SENT: 300 words, photos.

TIGER ATTACK-FLORIDA ZOO — Body camera footage released by authorities showed a man screaming in pain and pleading for help just before a sheriff’s deputy shot a Malayan tiger that had grabbed the man’s arm at a Florida zoo. SENT: 400 words, photos.

NEW LAWS — From minimum wage increases to animal protection to police accountability to both cutting and increasing taxes a series of new laws are taking effect across the country on Saturday, the first day of 2022. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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OBIT-BETTY-WHITE — Actress Betty White whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years on shows including “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 99. By Frazier Moore. SENT: 1,970 words, photos; WITH: OBIT-BETTY-WHITE-REACTION — Tributes from fellow actors and comedians poured in on social media Friday in reaction to the death of Betty White. SENT: 560 words, photos; OBIT-BETTY-WHITE-APPRECIATION — Even in her 90s, in defiance of time and expectations, she still enjoyed a cocktail before dinner, a weekly poker night and wide-eyed interest in the world around her. SENT: 1,720 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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AIRLINES-5G — U.S. airlines ask the Federal Communications Commission to delay next week’s scheduled rollout of new 5G wireless service near dozens of major airports, saying it could interfere with electronics that pilots rely on. SENT: 360 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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CFP-TITLE GAME MATCHUP — Alabama has a chance to repeat. Georgia has a chance for revenge. The rematch is set, and it’ll decide the College Football Playoff national championship. SENT: 870 words, photos.

FBC--CFP-COTTON BOWL — Top-ranked Alabama is headed to another national championship game. Brian Robinson ran for a career-high 204 yards, Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young threw three touchdowns and the defending Crimson Tide beat Cincinnati 27-6 in the CFP semifinal Cotton Bowl. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

FBC--CFP-ORANGE BOWL — Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes, Nakobe Dean led an angry Georgia defense and the third-ranked Bulldogs returned to their dominant ways, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship. SENT: 1030 words, photos.

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