AP News Digest 3:40 am

APTOPIX Supreme Court Abortion (Copyright 2021 The 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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ONLY ON AP

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AWOL-WEAPONS-EXPLOSIVES — An Associated Press investigation has found that the U.S. military has a missing explosives problem. Hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives have vanished over the past decade, as have hundreds — and possibly thousands — of armor-piercing grenades. They came from military bases and shipments. Troops falsified records to cover up some thefts, and in other cases didn’t report explosives as missing. The consequences can be deadly. By Kristin M. Hall, Justin Pritchard and James LaPorta. SENT: 2,200 words, photos, graphics. An abridged version of 1,100 words has also been sent. With AWOL WEAPONS-EXPLOSIVES-TAKEAWAYS.

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TOP STORIES

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK — Greeks who are over age 60 and refuse coronavirus vaccinations will be hit with monthly fines of more than one-quarter of their pensions — a get-tough policy that could prove risky for the country’s politicians. In Israel, potential carriers of the new omicron variant could be tracked by the nation’s formidable spy agency in seeming defiance of a Supreme Court ruling from the last go-round. By Lori Hinnant. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIDEN — President Joe Biden unveils his winter plans for combating the coronavirus and its new omicron variant in a speech at the National Institutes of Health. He says the strategy will fight the virus “not with shutdowns or lockdowns but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more.” By Zeke Miller. UPCOMING: 720 words, photo by 5:30 a.m. Speech at 1:40 p.m.

SUPREME-COURT-ABORTION-MISSISSIPPI — In the biggest challenge to abortion rights in decades, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled they would allow states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and may even overturn the nationwide right that has existed for nearly 50 years. By Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko. SENT: 1,300 words, photos, videos.

SCHOOL SHOOTING-MICHIGAN — The parents of a teenager accused of killing four students at a Michigan school were summoned to discuss his behavior just a few hours before the violence, a sheriff says. The disclosure was made as Ethan Crumbley, 15, was charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism for a shooting at Oxford High School in Oakland County. By Corey Williams and Ed White. SENT: 720 words, photos, videos.

LEBANON-GULF-BOYCOTT — Lebanese have been losing business opportunities and contracts in recent weeks as a result of a diplomatic crisis between their government and Saudi Arabia. At the root of the crisis is Saudi Arabia’s years-old regional rivalry with Iran, with Lebanon caught in the middle. Saudi Arabia has banned Lebanese imports and suspended some other business deals. It’s a severe blow at a time when Lebanon is enduring an unprecedented economic meltdown. By Sarah El Deeb. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

LABOR — Major League Baseball plunged into its first work stoppage in a quarter-century when the sport’s collective bargaining agreement expired and owners immediately locked out players in a move that threatens spring training and opening day. By Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and Stephen Hawkins. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

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TRENDING NEWS

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JAPAN-SHIP-RESCUE — Japan coast guard rescues man a day after his boat capsizes. SENT: 290 words, video.

DNA-REMAINS IDENTIFIED — DNA matches body to Alaska man last seen alive in 1979. SENT: 400 words, photo.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP — Trump tested COVID-positive pre-debate, ex-aide says in book. SENT: 830 words, photos.

ROCKEFELLER-CENTER-TREE — Rockin’ around the Christmas tree: Rockefeller tree lit up. SENT: 150 words, photos.

PEOPLE-CARLOS-SANTANA — Carlos Santana has heart procedure, cancels December shows. SENT: 170 words, photo.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-JAPAN — Japan says it has retracted a ban on new incoming international flight bookings to defend against the new variant of the coronavirus only a day after the policy was announced, following criticisms that it was an overreaction. SENT: 400 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-VACCINE MANDATE — The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the U.S. is on hold because of legal challenges, but employers can still require the shots. SENT: 250 words, graphic.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SOUTH-KOREA — South Korea broke its daily record for coronavirus infections for a second straight day with more than 5,200 new cases, as pressure mounted on a health care system grappling with rising hospitalizations and deaths. SENT: 680 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON

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CAPITOL BREACH-CONTEMPT — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection votes to pursue contempt charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who refused to answer the committee’s questions — but the panel agrees to let him come back for another try. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

CONGRESS-GOVERNMENT FUNDING — The federal government could be heading for temporary shutdown as Republicans in Congress block a must-pass funding bill and try to force a debate in Congress on rolling back the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for some workers. SENT: 920 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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JUSSIE-SMOLLETT-TRIAL — Jussie Smollett’s legal team will seek to dent the credibility of a star state witness who the day before testified about how he said the former “Empire” actor recruited him and his brother to stage a racist, homophobic attack on Smollett. SENT: 860 words, photos.

DAUNTE-WRIGHT-OFFICER-TRIAL — The jury for the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer charged in Daunte Wright’s shooting death was more than halfway complete after two days of jury selection. SENT: 650 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: Court resumes at 10 a.m.

ELECTION-2021-ATLANTA-MAYOR-DICKENS — Atlanta’s new mayor knocked off two experienced candidates to claim the city’s top post. SENT: 710 words, photos.

CHRISTMAS-TREE-SHORTAGE — Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions are leading to a nationwide shortage of Christmas trees, both real and artificial. SENT: 590 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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SOUTH-KOREA-US — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that China’s pursuit of hypersonic weapons “increases tensions in the region” and vowed the U.S. would maintain its capability to deter potential threats posed by China. SENT: 570 words, photos.

CYPRUS-POPE — Pope Francis’ trip to Cyprus and Greece is drawing new attention to the plight of migrants on Europe’s borders and the disconnect between Francis’ Gospel-driven call for countries to welcome and integrate them and front-line governments that are increasingly unwilling or unable to let them in. SENT: 970 words, photos. UPCOMING: Pope scheduled to land at 3 pm.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-GAZA-PROTESTS — Rights groups say that Israel failed to investigate shootings that killed more than 200 Palestinians and wounded thousands at violent protests along the Gaza frontier in recent years, strengthening the case for the International Criminal Court to intervene. SENT: 890 words, photos.

LAOS-CHINA-RAILWAY — Laos, a nation of 7 million people wedged between China, Vietnam and Thailand, is opening a $5.9 billion Chinese-built railway that links China’s poor southwest to foreign markets but piles on potentially risky debt. SENT: 950 words, photos, video.

MYANMAR-LETHAL FORCE — The killing of at least 65 protesters in Myanmar’s largest city on March 14 this year was planned and premeditated, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice, a rights watchdog says. SENT: 560 words, photos.

HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS — The United Nations is predicting that a record 274 million people will require emergency humanitarian aid next year in countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria and Yemen which face a raft of challenges including war, insecurity, hunger, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 520 words, photos.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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SPAIN-VOLCANO SCIENCE — Scientists from around the world flocking to an eastern Atlantic Ocean island are using an array of new technologies available to them in 2021 to scrutinize — from land, sea, air, and even space — a rare volcanic eruption since mid-September and that shows no signs of abating. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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OPEC-OIL PRICES — OPEC+ meets to decide whether to maintain its pattern of slowly increasing how much oil it pumps to the world amid the new omicron variant of COVID-19 and the decision by Biden and other major energy-consuming nations to release oil from their strategic stockpiles to tame soaring gas prices. By Business Writer Cathy Bussewitz. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 4 a.m.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stock markets were mixed after a turbulent day on Wall Street as traders tried to forecast the impact of the coronavirus’s omicron variant. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 410 words, photos.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. By Economics Writer Paul Wiseman. UPCOMING: 130 words after release of report at 8:30 a.m., then expanded, photo.

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SPORTS

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CHINA-PENG-SHUAI — The suspension of all WTA tournaments in China because of concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault, could result in cancellations of those events beyond 2022, the head of the women’s professional tennis tour told The Associated Press. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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