Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

AP News Digest 5:35 a.m.

Via AP news wire
Sunday 05 March 2023 10:37 GMT

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.

——————————-

TOP STORIES

——————————-

BIDEN-SELMA — President Joe Biden is set to pay tribute to the heroes of “Bloody Sunday,” joining thousands for the annual commemoration of the seminal moment in the civil rights movement that led to passage of landmark voting rights legislation nearly 60 years ago. By Aamer Madhani and Kim Chandler. SENT: 990 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Pressure from Russian forces has mounted on Ukrainians hunkered down in Bakhmut, as residents attempted to flee with help from troops who Western analysts say may be preparing to withdraw from the key eastern stronghold. SENT: 870 words, photos.

CHINA-CONGRESS — China’s government announced plans for a consumer-led revival of the struggling economy as its legislature has opened a session that will tighten President Xi Jinping’s control over business and society. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 1,150 words, photos. With CHINA-DEFENSE-BUDGET — China expands defense budget 7.2%, marking slight increase (sent).

IRAN-SCHOOL-GIRL-POISONINGS — A crisis over suspected poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls escalated Sunday as authorities acknowledged over 50 schools were struck in a wave of possible cases. The poisonings have spread further fear among parents as Tehran has faced months of unrest. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 820 words, photo.

MIGRATION-ITALY-SHIPWRECK-RECONSTRUCTION — At least 70 people died in last week’s shipwreck on Italy’s Calabrian coast. The tragedy highlighted a lesser-known migration route from Turkey to Italy for which smugglers charge around 8,000 euros per person. But the disaster also brought into focus hardening Italian and European migration policies, which have since 2015 shifted away from search and rescue, prioritizing instead border surveillance. Scrutiny is falling on the Italian government as to why the coast guard wasn’t deployed until it was too late. By Renata Brito and Paolo Santalucia. SENT: 1,390 words, photos.

UGANDA-RECYCLED-PLASTIC-BOAT — Africa’s Lake Victoria is plagued by pollution and a decline in water levels partly due to climate change. Layers of plastic waste float near some beaches during the rainy season. The visible sign of pollution is a worry for fishing communities that depend heavily on the world’s second-largest freshwater lake. By Rodney Muhumuza. SENT: 550 words, photos.

————————-

MORE NEWS

————————-

LA-BEACH-SHOOTING — At least five people were wounded in a shooting at a Los Angeles beach, a few miles from the location of a gun buyback event held earlier in the day by police and a city official, authorities say. SENT: 260 words.

OHIO-CARGO-TRAIN-DERAILMENT — About 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed near Springfield, the second derailment of the company’s trains in Ohio in a month, officials say. SENT: 310 words, photos.

TANKER EXPLOSION — A tanker truck hauling a flammable liquid has crashed on a Maryland highway and caught fire, killing the driver and damaging several homes and vehicles, authorities say. SENT: 230 words, photos, video.

PHILADELPHIA-ELECTION-ARRESTS — Two supporters of President Donald Trump arrested after driving a Hummer with guns and ammunition to a Philadelphia vote-counting site in November 2020 have been spared additional jail time. SENT: 370 words.

—————————————————-

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

——————————————————-

BIDEN-CHINA — The Biden administration is close to tightening rules on some overseas investments by U.S. companies in an effort to limit China’s ability to acquire technologies that could improve its military prowess, according to a U.S. official familiar with the deliberations. By Aamer Madhani and Fatima Hussein. SENT: 580 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-WILLIAMSON — Self-help author Marianne Williamson, whose 2020 White House campaign featured more quirky calls for spiritual healing than actual voter support, launched another longshot bid for the presidency on Saturday, becoming the first Democrat to formally challenge President Joe Biden for the 2024 nomination. SENT: 850 words, photos.

————————-

NATIONAL

————————-

OBIT-JUDY-HEUMANN — Judy Heumann, a renowned activist who helped secure legislation protecting the rights of disabled people, has died at age 75. SENT: 420 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-REPARATIONS — California’s reparations task force still has not made key decisions about what reparations may look like or how much Black Californians may be paid. But time is running out. SENT: 990 words, photos.

————————————

INTERNATIONAL

————————————-

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-US — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remarks by a key Cabinet ally calling for a Palestinian village to be erased were inappropriate in a Twitter thread after the U.S. demanded that he reject the statement. SENT: 530 words, photos.

INDONESIA-FUEL-DEPOT-FIRE — Indonesian rescuers and firefighters have searched for three people who were still missing after a large fire spread from a fuel storage depot in the capital and killed at least 19 people. SENT: 600 words, photos.

PHILIPPINES-GOVERNOR-KILLED — Police have killed one suspect and arrested three others in the brazen shootings that killed a central Philippine provincial governor and eight others, including poor villagers seeking aid from the political leader, officials say. SENT: 430 words.

CHINA-US-TECHNOLOGY-CURBS — BGI Group, one of the world’s biggest genetics analysis companies, said Sunday it never would be involved in human rights abuses after the U.S. government said there was a danger some of its units might contribute to Chinese surveillance. SENT: 330 words, photos.

ESTONIA-ELECTION — Estonians were voting in a general election that the center-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, is a favorite to win. SENT: 380 words, photos.

INDIA-HOLI-FESTIVAL-PHOTO-GALLERY — Hundreds of women in two north Indian towns celebrated “Holi,” the Hindu festival of colors, by playfully hitting men with wooden sticks in response to their teasing as part of a ritual. SENT: 270 words, photos.

—————————————-

HEALTH/SCIENCE

—————————————-

SCI-UN-HIGH-SEAS-BIODIVERSITY-TREATY — For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas — nearly half the planet’s surface — concluding two weeks of talks in New York. SENT: 510 words, photos.

—————————————-

ENTERTAINMENT

——————————————

COMEDY-CHRIS-ROCK — A year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock finally gave his rebuttal in a forceful stand-up special, streamed live on Netflix, in which the comedian bragged that he “took that hit like Pacquiao.” SENT: 980 words, photos.

————————-

SPORTS

————————-

MMA-UFC-285 — Jon Jones ended a three-year sabbatical from the UFC, moved up to its highest weight class and emphatically won the heavyweight belt Saturday night with a first-round submission over Ciryl Gane. The 35-year-old Jones took Gane to the mat just a little more into the round, and won with a guillotine choke at 2:04 in UFC 285. SENT: 690 words, photos.

BKN--76ERS-BUCKS — Nothing could faze the Philadelphia 76ers. Not the loss of two starters. Not an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter. Not even the fact they were facing the NBA’s hottest team on the road. Joel Embiid made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41.4 seconds left and the 76ers rallied to beat Milwaukee 133-130, snapping the Bucks’ 16-game winning streak. SENT: 690 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 AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in