AP News Digest 3:45 a.m.

APTOPIX Brazil Indigenous Women (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.

—————————

TOP STORIES

—————————

SEPT-11-20TH-ANNIVERSARY — Twenty years ago, the 11th of September dawned as just a date. By midnight, it was 9/11, the staggering starting point for a new era of terror, war, politics, patriotism and tragedy. The U.S. marks the milestone anniversary under the pall of a pandemic and in the shadow of a frantic withdrawal from Afghanistan which fell to the same militant rulers who gave safe haven to the plotters of the 2001 attacks. By Jennifer Peltz. SENT: 850 words, photos. With SEPT-11-20TH-ANNIVERSARY-THE-LATEST.

SEPT 11-BIDEN — President Joe Biden is making an appeal for the nation to reclaim the spirit of cooperation that sprung up in the days following the 9/11 terror attacks as he commemorates those who died 20 years ago. By Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 810 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 990 words after 8:30 a.m. ceremony in New York.

For more 9/11 anniversary coverage, click here.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MANDATES-UNIONS — Several prominent unions have praised President Biden’s plan to require federal workers to get inoculated and private companies with more than 100 employees to get them vaccinated. But some unions have pushed back. By Nicholas Riccardi. SENT: 910 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-REPUBLICANS — Republicans blast President Biden, threatening lawsuits and calling for civil disobedience in response to a sweeping new federal vaccine mandate that will force as many as 100 million Americans to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing their jobs. By Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-LEGAL CHALLENGES — Biden has a blunt message to Republicans threatening lawsuits: “Have at it” (sent).

SAUDI-ARABIA-US — The U.S. has removed its most advanced missile defense system and Patriot batteries from Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, even as the kingdom faced continued air attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 970 words, photos.

————————————

TRENDING NEWS

————————————

ITALY-TORNADO-DEATHS — Tornado on southern Italian isle sweeps up cars, kills 2. SENT: 190 words, photos.

ASIA-TYPHOON — Strong typhoon increases in force as it heads toward Taiwan. SENT: 210 words, photos.

BRITAIN-PRINCE-ANDREW — Prince Andrew served with US civil suit, lawyers say. SENT: 200 words.

VENICE-FILM-FESTIVAL-BENNIFER — Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez make romance official in Venice. SENT: 220 words, photos.

———————————————————————-

MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

————————————————————————-

VIRUS OUTBREAK-IOWA SCHOOLS — A state court judge declined Friday to halt enforcement of an Iowa law that prohibits school boards from enacting mask requirements, saying there is no evidence that any school board would immediately impose a mask mandate if the law wasn’t in effect. SENT: 340 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ATLANTA ZOO — Several members of a troop of western lowland gorillas at Zoo Atlanta have tested positive for the coronavirus after handlers noticed many of the great apes were showing signs of mild coughing, runny noses and a small loss of appetite, the zoo says. SENT: 210 words.

MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK-CDC STUDIES — New U.S. studies show COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalizations and death. That’s even against the extra-contagious delta variant. SENT: 400 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FDA Q&A — The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief is pledging to rapidly evaluate COVID-19 vaccines for younger kids — as soon as the studies are in. Dr. Peter Marks tells The Associated Press he is “very, very hopeful” that vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds will be underway by year’s end. SENT: 880 words, photo.

————————————————————————-

MORE ON SEPT. 11 ANNIVERSARY

————————————————————————-

SEPT-11-RESTAURANT-WORKERS — Sekou Siby was a cook and dishwasher at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World restaurant. On Sept. 11, 2001, he had swapped shifts with a co-worker who ended up dying in the terrorist attacks that day. Twenty years later, Siby still feels the pangs of survivor’s guilt. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

US—SEPT. 11 ANNIVERSARY-SPORTS — New York’s sports teams will hold ceremonies Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The New York Mets and Yankees will play a Subway Series game in Queens wearing caps honoring the city’s first responders. Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls and D.C. United will wear special patches during their game. SENT: 515 words, photos.

BRITAIN-SEPT-11 — The Sept. 11 attackers failed in their aim of making people in open societies live in “permanent fear,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11. SENT: 300 words, photo.

SEPT 11-BOOK EXCERPT-REPORTING FROM KABUL — Associated Press correspondent Kathy Gannon, who was on assignment in Afghanistan on Sept. 11, 2001, describes the days of chaos and uncertainty that followed. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

———————————————————

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

———————————————————

RUSSIA-US — Russia’s Foreign Ministry has summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan to complain about alleged interference by what it called American “digital giants” in Russia’s upcoming parliamentary election. SENT: 300 words.

BIDEN-AIRLINES-FACT CHECK — President Joe Biden and his team are promoting an agreement reached with the U.S. airline industry to cut aircraft greenhouse-gas emissions 20% by decade’s end, but the deal might not fly. SENT: 820 words, photos.

—————————

NATIONAL

—————————

WESTERN-WILDFIRES — Thunderstorms that dropped light rain gave some breathing room to crews struggling to quench California’s massive wildfires but lightning sparked several new blazes in the drought-stricken north, fire officials say. SENT: 590 words, photos.

OHIO FAMILY KILLED — An Ohio woman has become the second person from her family to admit to a role in the killings of eight people from another family. Fifty-year-old Angela Wagner pleaded guilty in southern Ohio’s Pike County to helping plan a shocking crime prosecutors say stemmed from a dispute over custody of her granddaughter. SENT: 510 words, photos.

PROFESSOR ARREST — A federal judge has thrown out all charges against a University of Tennessee professor accused of hiding his relationship with a Chinese university while receiving research grants from NASA. SENT: 470 words.

————————————

INTERNATIONAL

————————————

ISRAEL-PRISON-ESCAPE — Israeli police say they have arrested four of the six Palestinians who broke out of a maximum-security prison this week — including a famed militant leader whose exploits over the years have made him a well-known figure in Israel. SENT: 760 words, photos.

COLOMBIA-HAITI-PRESIDENT-SLAIN — Former Colombian soldiers arrested in Haiti in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse have accused local authorities of torture, saying they’ve been burned, stabbed and hit in the head with a hammer, among other things. SENT: 810 words, photo. With HAITI-PRESIDENT-SLAIN — Prosecutor seeks to interview Haiti PM in president slaying. (sent).

AFGHANISTAN — The United Nations sounded the alarm over Taliban crackdowns on peaceful protests, many of them by women demanding equal rights, and journalists covering such events. SENT: 865 words, photos.

AFGHAN-REFUGEES — The Biden administration gives the first public look inside a U.S. military base housing Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan. The evacuees are being housed at the base while they undergo medical and security checks. By Farnoush Amiri. SENT: 730 words, photos, video.

————————————

ENTERTAINMENT

————————————

FILM-DISNEY-THEATRICAL-RELEASES — After endless disruption due to the pandemic and the super-charged growth of streaming services, moviegoing may be going back to something a little like normal. The Walt Disney Co. has announced that all of its remaining films this year will open exclusively in theaters. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT: 520 words, photos.

————————-

SPORTS

—————————

TEN—US OPEN — Novak Djokovic has moved one victory away from completing the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969 by beating Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the U.S. Open final. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1300 words, photos.

————————————

HOW TO REACH US

————————————

At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, ext. 1900. For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.