AP News Digest 3 am

APTOPIX US Afghanistan (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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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ONLY ON AP

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GAZA'S TOLL-HAMMERED BY FOUR WARS — Gaza's story can be seen through the prism of Zaki and Jawaher Nassir, their family and their neighbors in the town of Beit Hanoun. Through four wars in 13 years, they have seen death and destruction, a mounting toll of suffering that shows no sign of ending. Since 2008, more than 4,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflicts, according to the U.N., and thousands have been injured. Now, the Nassirs live in the ruins left by the fourth war. Each afternoon, demolition workers arrive so that they and their neighbors can start rebuilding — again. By Adam Geller and Fares Akram. SENT: 3,520 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,070 words is also available. With GAZA’S-TOLL-BY-THE-NUMBERS.

LOUISIANA POLICE DEATH-FEDERAL PROBE — Graphic body camera video kept secret for more than two years shows a Louisiana State trooper pummeling a Black motorist 18 times with a flashlight — an attack the trooper defended as “pain compliance.” The AP obtained footage of the May 2019 traffic stop in Monroe that left Aaron Larry Bowman with a broken jaw, broken ribs and other injuries. The beating came less than three weeks after troopers punched, stunned and dragged another Black motorist, Ronald Greene before he died in their custody. Federal prosecutors are examining both cases in a widening investigation into police brutality and potential cover-ups. By Jim Mustian and Jake Bleiberg. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 5 a.m.

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TOP STORIES

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AFGHANISTAN — U.S. President Joe Biden declared he is sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a risky airlift of Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan The decision defies allied leaders who want to give the evacuation more time and opens Biden to criticism that he caved to Taliban deadline demands. By Jonathan Lemire, Robert Burns and Rahim Faiez. SENT: 1,190 words, photos, videos. With AFGHANISTAN-THE-LATEST. Also see MORE ON AFGHANISTAN below.

CONGRESS-INFRASTRUCTURE — Striking a deal with moderates, House Democratic leaders muscled Biden’s multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle, ending a risky standoff and putting the party’s domestic infrastructure agenda back on track. By Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

BIDEN-IMMIGRATION COURTS — The Supreme Court says the Biden administration likely violated federal law in trying to end a Trump-era program that forces people to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S. The high court refused to block a lower court ruling ordering the administration to reinstate the program informally known as Remain in Mexico. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 700 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK JAPAN — Japan is to expand areas under a state of emergency to nearly half of the country by upgrading quasi-emergency status in eight prefectures as the government went ahead with the Paralympics despite the surging infections that have severely strained the medical systems. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 450 words, photo. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.

HARRIS — The United States will provide an additional 1 million coronavirus vaccine doses to Vietnam, Vice President Kamala Harris announced, offering additional aid to a country currently grappling with a fresh coronavirus surge and stubbornly low vaccination rates. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 1,080 words, photos, video.

JERUSALEM-JEWISH PRAYERS — Jewish prayers at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, were once unthinkable. But they have quietly become the new norm in recent years, flying in the face of longstanding convention, straining a delicate status quo and raising fears that they could trigger a new wave of violence in the Middle East. By Ilan Ben Zion. SENT: 990 words, photos.

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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

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PEOPLE-KANYE WEST — Kanye West asks court to legally change his name to Ye. SENT: 230 words, photo.

ELECTION-2022-GEORGIA-SENATE — Trump-backed Herschel Walker seeks Georgia Senate seat. SENT: 1,790 words, photos.

PLANE-ON-FREEWAY — Small plane lands on Interstate 5 north of San Diego. SENT: 270 words.

NIELSENS — Fox News earns top ratings spot with Afghanistan coverage. SENT: 420 words, photo.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN

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BIDEN-AFGHANISTAN-G7 — The United States clashed with some of its closest allies over Biden’s insistence on sticking to an Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal date that will shut down a frantic international evacuation effort from Taliban rule. SENT: 820 words, photos.

UGANDA-AFGHANISTAN — Uganda’s government says that 51 people evacuated from Afghanistan arrived in the East African country at the request of the United States. SENT: 200 words.

MEXICO-AFGHAN REFUGEES — Mexico accepted its first group of refugees from Afghanistan as five women and one man arrived in Mexico City. SENT: 120 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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UNITED STATES-ISRAEL — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s meeting with Biden comes amid heightened tensions with its regional arch enemy, Iran, and as Israel grapples with a gradual resurgence of hostilities on its southern border with the Gaza Strip. SENT: 390 words, photos. UPCOMING: Timing of meetings uncertain.

CAPITOL POLICE-JANUARY 6 — U.S. Capitol Police didn’t adequately respond to frantic calls for help from officers when they pressed panic buttons on their radios seeking immediate backup as scores of pro-Trump rioters beat officers with bats, poles and other weapons, an inspector general’s report found. SENT: 770 words, photos.

CONGRESS-VOTING BILLS — House Democrats passed legislation that would strengthen a landmark civil rights-era voting law weakened by the Supreme Court over the past decade, a step party leaders tout as progress in their quest to fight back against voting restrictions advanced in Republican-led states. SENT: 950 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT — Prosecutors preparing for the first prison sentence in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are loudly signaling to five other defendants that a key insider has shared extraordinary details about the operation. SENT: 350 words, photo. UPCOMING: Developing from 4 p.m. court hearing.

WESTERN WILDFIRES — A California fire that gutted hundreds of homes advanced toward Lake Tahoe as thousands of firefighters tried to box in the flames and tourists who hoped to boat or swim found themselves looking at thick yellow haze instead of alpine scenery. SENT: 750 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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HAITI-EARTHQUAKE — For some victims of Haiti’s Aug. 14 earthquake, the necessary prelude to rebuilding has begun. SENT: 690 words, photo.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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DROUGHT-CLIMATE OBSERVATORY — The U.S. Department of Energy announces a new kind of climate observatory near the headwaters of the Colorado River that will help scientists better predict rain and snowfall in the U.S. West and determine how much of it will flow through the region. SENT: 610 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian stock markets were mixed after Wall Street hit a new high as investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve gathering for an update on U.S. stimulus. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 330 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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PARALYMPICS-FIRST-MEDAL — Cyclist Paige Greco of Australia claimed the first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympic Games, winning the 3,000-meter pursuit on the velodrome track. By Sports Writer Stephen Wade. SENT: 580 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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OBIT-CHARLIE-WATTS — Charlie Watts, the self-effacing and unshakeable Rolling Stones drummer who helped anchor one of rock’s greatest rhythms sections and used his “day job” to support his enduring love of jazz, has died, according to his publicist. He was 80. SENT: 1,540 words, photos, video. With OBIT-CHARLIE-WATTS-REACTION — “Ultimate drummer": Stars react to Watts’ death.

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