AP News Digest 3:20 a.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 at https://newsroom.ap.org.

—————————-

TOP STORIES

——————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukrainian forces fought to hold off Russian attempts to advance in the south and east, where the Kremlin is seeking to capture the country’s industrial Donbas region, and a senior U.S. defense official has said Moscow’s offensive is going much slower than planned. By Mstyslav Cherov and Yesica Fisch. SENT: 1,140 words, photos, videos. WITH: RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE-LATEST.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-KOSOVO-DEMINERS — Learning to identify and defuse explosives is something Anastasiia Minchukova never thought she would have to do as an English teacher in Ukraine. Yet there she was wearing a face shield, armed with a landmine detector and venturing into a field dotted with danger warnings. Russia’s war in Ukraine took Minchukova, 20, and five other women to Kosovo, where they are attending a hands-on course in clearing landmines and other dangers that may remain hidden across their country once combat ends. By Florent Bajrami. SENT: 820 words, photos.

ELECTION 2022-ELECTION OFFICES — Add one more group of contests to the white-hot races that will dominate this year’s midterm elections: secretaries of state. Donald Trump’s attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election and his endorsements of candidates for state election offices have elevated those races to top-tier status. By Christina A. Cassidy. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.

CONGRESS-STOCK TRADING BAN — Proposals to ban stock trading by lawmakers are gaining ground in Congress and on the campaign trail. Sixty-two House members have endorsed a bill from Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger that would ban the practice. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 1,020 words, photo.

————————————————————————

MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

————————————————————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-RISK RETURN — A tiny, Soviet-made car is bed tonight for the elderly couple waiting to risk their lives by crossing the front line in war-ravaged Ukraine. But they’re not fleeing — they’re going back in. The world is now accustomed to images of millions of Ukrainians on the run from Russia’s invasion. In their shadow are people with different kind of desperation and daring, heading the other way. For some, the pull is to reach loved ones, often vulnerable due to illness or infirmity, who were left behind. SENT: 750 words, photos.

—————————————————————————

VIRUS OUTBREAK

—————————————————————————

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CHINA-BARRIERS-EXPLAINER — Several districts in Shanghai put up metal barriers last weekend as part of the city’s battle against a COVID-19 outbreak, in a move that drew protests and anger from some residents. SENT: 720 words, photos.

——————————————-

TRENDING NEWS

———————————————

AMPUTEE-ATHLETE-EVERY-DAY-A-MARATHON — An amputee athlete from Arizona has set an unofficial world record, running 102 marathons in 102 days. Jacky Hunt-Broersma achieved that goal on Thursday and now says she may run two more for good measure. SENT: 430 words, photos.

BLAC CHYNA-KARDASHIANS-TRIAL — A judge threw out part of the case against Kim Kardashian in former reality TV star Blac Chyna’s lawsuit while the jury deliberates on the elements that remain. SENT: 530 words, photos.

FERTILITY DOCTOR-LAWSUIT — A jury has awarded nearly $9 million to three families who accused a Colorado fertility doctor of using his own sperm to inseminate three mothers who requested anonymous donors. SENT: 280 words.

LAINE HARDY-ARREST -- “American Idol” winner Laine Hardy has been arrested after being accused of putting a listening device in his ex-girlfriend’s college dorm room. SENT: 370 words, photos.

—————————————————-

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

——————————————————-

BIDEN-CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER — The White House press corps is ready to party like it’s 2019. After the pandemic nixed the 2021 and 2020 editions, the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner returns Saturday night. It features Joe Biden, the first sitting president to attend in six years. By Will Weissert. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,100 words after 9 p.m. event.

CAPITOL RIOT-OATH KEEPER PLEA — A Georgia man affiliated with the far-right Oath Keepers militia group became the second Capitol rioter to plead guilty to seditious conspiracy for his actions leading up and through the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. SENT: 460 words, photos

TRUMP LEGAL TROUBLES — Donald Trump’s lawyers have provided a New York judge with an affidavit in which the former president claims he didn’t turn over subpoenaed documents to the state attorney general’s office because he doesn’t have them. SENT: 670 words, photos.

————————

NATIONAL

————————

IDAHO-LAWMAKER-RAPE-TRIAL —Experts say the conviction of a former Idaho lawmaker who raped a legislative intern was a rare victory for prosecutors in a justice system that can be fraught with trauma for assault survivors. Aaron von Ehligner was convicted Friday of raping the 19-year-old last year. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.

SPRING WILDFIRES — Thousands of firefighters battled destructive wildfires in the Southwest as more residents prepared to evacuate into the weekend in northern New Mexico where strong winds and dangerously dry conditions have made the blazes hard to contain. SENT: 870 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-NUCLEAR-PLANT — Facing possible electricity shortages, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has raised the possibility that the state’s sole remaining nuclear power plant might continue operating beyond a planned closing by 2025, an idea that could revive a decades-old fight over earthquake safety at the site. SENT: 830 words, photos.

USC-SEXUAL-ABUSE-SETTLEMENT — Kenny Oshita was a first semester law student at the University of Southern California when a visit to a school doctor for a possible sexual disease turned into an invasive procedure that left him feeling violated. He was not alone. Scores of other men — most of them gay or bisexual — said they had disturbing encounters with Dr. Dennis Kelly at the USC Student Health Center but they didn’t realize it was pervasive until a graduate sued in 2019 claiming he had been forced to undergo an uncomfortable rectal exam during a routine checkup. SENT: 760 words, photos.

TRANSGENDER LAW-DOJ CHALLENGE — The U.S. Department of Justice has challenged an Alabama law making it a felony for doctors to treat transgender people under age 19 with puberty-blockers and hormones to help affirm their new gender identity. SENT: 600 words, photo.

POLICE SHOOTING-MICHIGAN — A Michigan police officer who shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head had no complaints of excessive force against him but much praise for traffic stops that turned up drugs, guns and people wanted for crimes, according to his personnel file. SENT: 500 words, photos.

ABORTION-CONNECTICUT — The Connecticut Senate gave final legislative approval shortly before midnight to a bill abortion rights advocates contend is needed to protect in-state medical providers from legal action stemming from out-of-state laws, as well as the patients who travel to Connecticut to terminate a pregnancy and those who help them. SENT: 480 words, photo.

DISUNITED METHODISTS — The United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops had ended a five-day meeting acknowledging the inevitable breakup of their denomination. SENT: 830 words, photos.

————————————

INTERNATIONAL

————————————-

LEBANON-MIGRANTS — A week ago, the boat carrying Bilal Dandashi, his relatives and dozens of others hoping to escape Lebanon and reach Europe sank in the Mediterranean. Dandashi still doesn’t know if his wife and children are alive or dead. SENT: 850 words, photos.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned yet again that the North could preemptively use its nuclear weapons if threatened, as he praised his top military officials over the staging of a massive military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, this week. SENT: 780 words, photo.

UNITED NATIONS-LIBYA — The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the U.N. political mission in Libya for three months, with the United States and Britain accusing Russia of blocking a longer and more substantive mandate that would include promoting reconciliation of the country’s rival governments now claiming power. SENT: 770 words.

MEXICO-SEAWEED — Mexican authorities say the problem of foul-smelling sargassum — a seaweed-like algae — on the country’s Caribbean coast beaches is “alarming.” The arrival of heaps of brown, foul-smelling sargassum on the coast’s normally pristine white sand beaches comes just as tourism is recovering to pre-pandemic levels, though job recovery in the country’s top tourist destination has been slower. SENT: 840 words, photo.

CANADA-CONVOY-PROTEST — Police wearing helmets and shields made several arrests in Canada’s capital after facing off against protesters opposed to COVID-19 mandates. SENT: 450 words, photos.

———————————————

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

———————————————-

RUSSIA-BONDS — Russia has staved off a default on its debt by making a last-minute payment using its precious dollar reserves sitting outside the country, U.S. Treasury officials say. SENT: 350 words, photos.

——————————————

ENTERTAINMENT

——————————————-

JEOPARDY-CHAMPION — Reigning “Jeopardy!” champion Mattea Roach represents a new generation of the quiz show’s all-star players. The 23-year-old Canadian has won 19 games and amassed $469,184 in prize money, putting her among the top 10 contestants for both consecutive victories and regular-season winnings in “Jeopardy!” history. By Television Writer Lynn Elber. SENT: 710 words, photo.

————————

SPORTS

————————

BBN—PHILLIES-METS — New York Mets starter Tylor Megill and four relievers combined on the first no-hitter of the Major League Baseball season, teaming up to throw a whopping 159 pitches and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0. It was the second no-hitter in Mets history. SENT: xxx words, photos.

BKN—76ERS-EMBIID — The Philadelphia 76ers announced that Joel Embiid — the NBA scoring champion and an MVP finalist — has a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion. Those injuries, for now anyway, have him listed as out on the injury report and will keep him there for the foreseeable future. The 76ers open an Eastern Conference semifinal series at Miami on Monday night. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 530 words, photos.

FBN--NFL DRAFT LOOKAHEAD — There are stars to be found in the final rounds of the NFL draft. They’re just not easy to spot. Heading into Day 3 of the draft Saturday, there is still plenty of talented players and potential starters out there. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 680 words, photos by 4 a.m. With FBN—NFL Draft-Comedian; FBN—NFL Draft-Run Rich Run (upcoming).

——————————————-

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.