AP News Digest 3:20 am

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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ONLY ON AP

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PENCE-THE AP INTERVIEW — Former Vice President Mike Pence said that voters are “looking for new leadership” following the disappointing midterm elections for Republicans, who are now openly debating whether his onetime boss, Donald Trump, should maintain a leading role in the party. In an interview with The Associated Press just hours after Trump announced another White House run, Pence declined to say whether the thinks the former president is fit to return to his old job. But he implicitly positioned himself as a potential alternative for Republicans seeking conservative leadership without the chaos of the Trump era. By Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,300 words, photos, video.

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TOP STORIES

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ELECTION 2022 — Republicans won control of the U.S. House, returning the party to power in Washington and giving conservatives leverage to blunt President Joe Biden’s agenda and spur a flurry of investigations. But a threadbare majority will pose immediate challenges for GOP leaders and complicate the party’s ability to govern. By Will Weissert, Sara Burnett and Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, video.

ELECTION 2022-GEORGIA-SENATE — Republicans insist they’re working together to help Herschel Walker unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock in next month’s Georgia runoff. But to win a 50th Senate seat on Dec. 6, Republicans must overcome doubts about Walker’s appeal, navigate squabbles among party powerbrokers and endure the specter of Donald Trump as he launches his third White House bid. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s southern Odesa region and the city of Dnipro for the first time in weeks, and air raid sirens sounded all across the country amid fears that Moscow unleashed another large-scale missile attack. By John Leicester. SENT: 500 words, photos.

SYRIA-PALESTINIAN CAMP — Syria's once-thriving Yarmouk Palestinian camp remains mostly empty, its streets piled with rubble, with only a few flags flying from rooftops serving as a reminder that this was once a major political and cultural center of the Palestinian refugee diaspora. Despite a trickle of returnees who left at the height of street fighting during Syria's civil war, Yarmouk's future remains uncertain. By Abby Sewell. SENT: 980 words, photos.

COP27-AUSTRALIA-GREAT BARRIER REEF — Below the turquoise waters off the coast of Australia is one of the world’s natural wonders, an underwater rainbow jungle teeming with life that scientists say is showing some of the clearest signs yet of climate change. The Great Barrier Reef, battered but not broken by climate change impacts, is inspiring hope and worry alike as researchers race to understand how it can survive a warming world. They are studying coral reproduction in hopes to accelerate regrowth and adapt it to handle hotter and rougher seas. By Sam McNeil. SENT: 1,320 words, photos, video.

WCUP-QATAR-CULTURE CLASH — A recent outpouring of local anger to scenes of foreign artists and models reveling in Qatar underscored the tensions tearing at the conservative Muslim emirate ahead of the World Cup. By Isabel Debre. SENT: 960 words, photos. Also see MORE ON WORLD CUP below.

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MORE ON ELECTION 2022

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PELOSI — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to address her plans with colleagues on Thursday in the wake of Democrats narrowly losing control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 350 words, photos.

ELECTION 2022-CALIFORNIA-HOUSE — Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot, scored an upset U.S. House win in a strongly Democratic district, handing the GOP control of the chamber and giving the party a rare reason to celebrate in a state dominated by Democrats. By Political Writer Michael R. Blood. SENT: 700 words, photos.

ELECTION 2022-ARIZONA-VOTER ID — Arizona voters who overwhelmingly cast their ballots by mail have rejected a measure that would have would have required them to add more information to the simple signature and date they now put on the back of the return envelope. SENT: 350 words, photo.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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EUROPE-BORDER WALLS — Russia’s war with Ukraine has given European Union countries a new impetus to fortify their borders with Russia and its ally Belarus. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-UN-MISSILE STRIKE — The U.S. and its Western allies clashed with Russia at the U.N. Security Council over responsibility for a deadly missile strike in Poland near the Ukrainian border, an event the U.N. political chief called “a frightening reminder of the absolute need to prevent any further escalation” of the nine-month war in Ukraine. SENT: 660 words, photo.

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MORE ON COP27 SUMMIT

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COP27-CLIMATE-MIGRATION-PHILIPPINES — Nearly a decade after one of the country’s deadliest disasters, families in the Philippines are still adjusting to their new reality. UPCOMING: 1,010 words, photos by 4 a.m.

COP27-WOMEN NEGOTIATORS — Men usually outnumber and outrank women negotiators in climate talks, except when it comes to global warming’s thorniest diplomatic issue this year — reparations for climate disasters. By Science Writer Seth Borenstein. SENT: 790 words, photos.

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COVID-19

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA — Chinese authorities faced more public anger after a second child’s death was blamed on overzealous anti-virus enforcement, adding to frustration at controls that are confining millions of people to their homes and sparked fights with health workers. SENT: 780 words, photos.

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TRENDING

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JAY LENO-FIRE — Jay Leno has surgery for burns from car fire, in good condition. SENT: 350 words, photos.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN-DJOKOVIC VISA — Novak Djokovic has visa to play Australian Open in January. SENT: 380 words, photos.

TAYLOR-SWIFT-TICKETS-PARENTS — Shake it off? Parents come up short for Taylor Swift tickets. SENT: 700 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-SHOOTING-MENTAL HEALTH — There is no playbook to instruct how athletic departments are to respond to the tragic death of one of their athletes. But those who have experienced the trauma say the increased emphasis on mental health care in athletic departments and universities at-large — spurred in part by the pandemic — help when a crisis strikes. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

KLAMATH DAM REMOVAL — The largest dam demolition and river restoration plan in the world could be close to reality as U.S. regulators vote on a plan to remove four aging hydro-electric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California river habitat to imperiled salmon. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

DEATH PENALTY-ALABAMA — Alabama is preparing to execute a man convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife, even though a jury recommended he receive life imprisonment instead of a death sentence. SENT: 630 words, photo. UPCOMING: Execution scheduled for 7 p.m.

OKLAHOMA EXECUTION-FAIRCHILD — Oklahoma plans to execute a man for the torture slaying of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son in 1993. SENT: 410 words, photo. UPCOMING: Execution scheduled for 11 a.m.

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INTERNATIONAL

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KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, hours after the North threatened to launch “fiercer” military responses to the U.S. bolstering its security commitment to its allies South Korea and Japan. SENT: 950 words, photos.

MYANMAR-PRISONER RELEASE — Myanmar’s military-controlled government announced it was releasing and deporting an Australian academic, a Japanese filmmaker, an ex-British diplomat and an American as part of a broad prisoner amnesty to mark the country’s National Victory Day. SENT: 930 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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APEC — The war in Ukraine, great power rivalry Asia, inflation and food and energy shortages are on the agenda as leaders prepare for the third back-to-back gathering this week, a Pacific-Rim summit taking place in a heavily guarded venue in Thailand’s capital. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares mostly declined amid concerns about the impact of China’s “zero-COVID” strategy mixed with hopes for economic activity and tourism returning to normal. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 660 words, photos.

THERANOS FRAUD-HOLMES-SENTENCING — A federal judge on Friday will decide whether disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes should serve a lengthy prison sentence for duping investors and endangering patients while peddling a bogus blood-testing technology. By Technology Writer Michael Liedtke. UPCOMING: 890 words, photos by 6 a.m.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. By Business Writer Matt Ott. UPCOMING: 130 words, photo after 8:30 a.m. report.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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HOME BIRTHS — U.S. home births increased by 12% in the pandemic's second year, rising to the highest level in decades, but they remain uncommon. By Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner. SENT: 430 words, photos.

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MORE ON WORLD CUP

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WCUP-WHAT NOT TO WEAR — While the local organizing committee for the World Cup suggests that fans “respect the culture,” no one will be arrested or barred from games in Qatar because of clothing choices. By Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 6 a.m.

WCUP-THE PEOPLE’S GAME-PHOTO GALLERY — Soccer is not only about watching the world’s greatest players compete on the biggest stage. The sport transcends the elite level and is really the people’s game. SENT: 170 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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INFLATION-SPORTS CONSTRUCTION — When it comes to construction for sports stadiums, today’s economic uncertainty is nothing compared to the promise of tomorrow. By Sports Writers John Wawrow and Andrew Seligman. UPCOMING: 1,100 words, photos, video by 6 a.m.

WOMEN IN NFL — From the owner’s suite to the front office to the sidelines, the number of women in the NFL is steadily rising. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi. UPCOMING: 950 words, photos by 6 a.m.

SACKING TURF? — Aaron Rodgers and his peers around the NFL are calling for teams to tear up their turf playing surfaces and replace them with grass. By Pro Football Writer Mark Long. UPCOMING: 1,030 words, photos by 6 a.m.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS — Tess Gunty’s “The Rabbit Hutch,” a sweeping debut novel set in a low-income housing community in Indiana, has won the National Book Award for fiction. By National Writer Hillel Italie. SENT: 520 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Hiro Komae (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.