AP News Digest 3:20 a.m.

APTOPIX Virus Outbreak California (Copyright 2021 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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SENATE-GEORGIA — Georgia voters are set to decide the balance of power in Congress in a pair of high-stakes Senate runoff elections that will help determine President-elect Joe Biden’s capacity to enact what may be the most progressive governing agenda in generations. Democrats must win both elections to seize the Senate majority. By Steve Peoples and Bill Barrow. SENT: 980 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: Updates throughout the day; polls close at 7 p.m.

Find complete coverage for the Georgia runoff election here.

UNITED STATES-IRAN-TENSIONS — Joe Biden has an Iran problem, and it’s getting more complicated by the day. Thanks to provocative moves by Iran and less-than-coherent actions by the outgoing Trump administration, the president-elect is facing an increasingly uncertain situation when it comes to Iran. By Matthew Lee, Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 940 words, photo.

PERSIAN-GULF-TENSIONS — Armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops stormed a South Korean tanker and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran, the vessel’s owner says, the latest maritime seizure by Tehran amid heightened tensions with the West over its nuclear program. By Hyung-Jin Kim and Jon Gambrell. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

TRUMP-PENCE — Vice President Mike Pence will find himself in the most precarious position of his tenure Wednesday when he presides over the congressional Electoral College tally that will be the last gasp of President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn Biden’s victory in the November election. By Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. Also see CONGRESS-ELECTORAL COLLEGE below.

AFGHANISTAN-PEACE-TALKS — Afghan negotiators are to resume talks with the Taliban aimed at finding an end to decades of relentless conflict even as hopes wane and frustration and fear grow over a spike in violence across Afghanistan that has combatants on both sides blaming the other. By Kathy Gannon. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-US-SURGE — As lawmakers around the U.S. convene this winter to deal with the crisis created by the pandemic, statehouses themselves could prove to be hothouses for infection. Many legislatures will start the year meeting remotely, but some Republican-controlled statehouses, from Montana to Pennsylvania, plan to hold at least part of their sessions in person, without requiring masks. By Amy Beth Hanson. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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PEOPLE-TANYA ROBERTS — Tanya Roberts, Bond girl and “’70s Show" star, hospitalized. SENT: 270 words, photo.

OBIT-YOSEMITE CLIMBER — George Whitmore, legendary climber of El Capitan, dies at 89. SENT: 710 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination program by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEXICO — Mexico approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, hoping to spur a halting vaccination effort that has only given about 44,000 shots since the third week of December, about 82% of the doses the country has received. SENT: 380 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CANADA — Alberta’s premier reverses course and is now punishing members of his government for vacationing outside Canada despite government guidelines urging people to avoid nonessential travel during the pandemic. SENT: 430 words, photo.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ASIA — Thailand reported 527 new coronavirus cases, most of them migrant workers who already were isolated, and the government said it was tightening movements of people around the country. SENT: 480 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MOROCCO-TOURIST-TOWN-PHOTO-GALLERY — Pandemic empties blue-hued Moroccan tourist town. SENT: 360 words, photos.

Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-ANALYSIS — Trump’s ongoing efforts to overturn the 2020 election results — laid bare for the world in an hourlong weekend phone call with a Georgia election official — demonstrate his unrestrained determination to maintain a grip on power no matter the consequences for the nation’s democratic traditions. By Jonathan Lemire and Kate Brumback. SENT: 850 words, photos.

CONGRESS-ELECTORAL COLLEGE — Trump is appealing to Republican lawmakers to reverse his election loss to Biden when they convene this week to confirm the Electoral College vote, but more Republicans are turning against him. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 900 words, photos, video. With ELECTORAL COLLEGE-PROTESTS — Washington, D.C., mayor calls in National Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests.

EPA-PUBLIC HEALTH STUDIES — The Environmental Protection Agency has completed one of its last major rollbacks under the Trump administration, changing how it considers evidence of harm from pollutants in a way that opponents say could cripple future public-health regulation. SENT: 450 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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QATAR-GULF CRISIS — Qatar’s ruler was to arrive in Saudi Arabia, following an announcement that the kingdom would open its airspace and land border with its tiny Gulf neighbor. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

UNITED NATIONS-LIBYA — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is recommending that international monitors be deployed to Libya under a U.N. umbrella to observe the October cease-fire agreement from a base in the strategic city of Sirte, the gateway to the country’s major oil fields and export terminals. SENT: 600 words.

ZIMBABWE-TAEKWONDO GIRLS — In Zimbabwe, where girls as young as 10 are forced to marry due to poverty or traditional and religious practices, a teenage taekwondo enthusiast is using the sport to give girls in an impoverished community a fighting chance at life. SENT: 780 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian shares were mixed, as Japanese shares echoed pullbacks on Wall Street while other regional indexes recouped earlier losses amid continuing worries about surging coronavirus cases. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 690 words, photos.

STOCK EXCHANGE-CHINESE COMPANIES — The New York Stock Exchange says it no longer plans to remove shares of three Chinese state-owned phone carriers under an order by Trump. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 350 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, Wally Santana (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(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.