AP News Digest 3 a.m.

Virus Outbreak (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

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TOP STORIES

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VIRUS OUTBREAK — While the world’s wealthier nations have stockpiled coronavirus vaccines for their citizens, many other poorer countries are still scrambling to secure doses. A few, like Chad, have yet to receive any. The World Health Organization says about a dozen countries — many of them in Africa — are still waiting to get vaccines. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

AFGHANISTAN — The Afghan Interior Ministry says the death toll in a horrific bombing at a girls’ school in the Afghan capital has soared to 50, many of them pupils between 11 and 15 years old. The number of wounded in Saturday’s attack has also climbed to more than 100. Three explosions outside the school entrance struck as students were leaving for the day. By Rahim Faiez. SENT: 675 words, photos.

PIPELINE-CYBERSECURITY ATTACK — The federal government is working with the Georgia-based company that shut down a major pipeline transporting fuel across the East Coast after a ransomware attack, the White House says. By Alan Suderman and Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

VOTING-ELECTION-OFFICIALS — The county officials who run elections are facing a slate of new punishments as part of a nationwide Republican campaign to roll back access to the ballot, months after many hailed them as heroes for the creative ways they expanded voting access last year during the coronavirus outbreak. The penalties, typically buried within sweeping GOP voting legislation, have already become law in Iowa, Georgia and Florida, and are making their way through statehouses in Texas and elsewhere. By Anthony Izaguirre. SENT: 1,065 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.

CONGRESS-DIVIDED-REPUBLICANS-STEFANIK — There was a time, not long ago, when Elise Stefanik would not say Donald Trump’s name. Today, the New York congresswoman is one of his fiercest defenders in the House, where her loyalty to the former president — and the support he returned — has carried the 36-year-old to the brink of becoming one of the most powerful women in Congress. Her evolution is the story of the modern Republican Party, which has come to believe that the path to power and fundraising success runs through Trump, whether party members like him or not. By National Political Writer Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.

JUSTICE-DEPARTMENT-CIVIL-RIGHTS — Attorney General Merrick Garland is making good on his promise to refocus the Justice Department around civil rights, after the Trump administration had prioritized immigration and the Russia investigation. Within the past two weeks, the department has opened sweeping investigations of big-city police departments. And federal prosecutors have made the unusual step of wading into cases in two states, charging hate crimes and civil rights violations before the defendants have gone to trial. By Michael Balsamo and Amy Forliti. SENT: 970 words, photos.

ASTRONOMERS-SATELLITE-POLLUTION — A string of lights that lobbed across the night sky in parts of the U.S. earlier this week had some people wondering if a fleet of UFOs was coming, but it had others — mostly amateur stargazers and professional astronomers — lamenting the industrialization of space. The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. SENT: 770 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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CHINA-SPACE — China’s space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and most of it burned up early Sunday. SENT: 290 words, photo.

OBIT-LLOYD-PRICE — Singer-songwriter Lloyd Price, an early rock ’n roll star and enduring maverick whose hits included such up-tempo favorites as “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Personality” and the semi-forbidden “Stagger Lee,” has died at 88. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

OBAMA-DOG — Former President Barack Obama’s Portuguese water dog Bo has died after a battle with cancer, the Obamas said on social media. SENT: 390 words, photos.

BRAZIL-RIO-MACAW-LOVE — A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet is believed to be the only wild bird of its kind left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide. SENT: 760 words, photos.

OBIT-TAWNY KITAEN — Tawny Kitaen, the sultry red-haired actress who appeared in rock music videos during the heyday of MTV, has died. She was 59. SENT: 260 words, photo.

HANDCUFFING-DEATH-RHODE-ISLAND — State authorities are investigating the case of a man who died after being handcuffed by police in Providence. SENT: 250 words, photo, video.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-EMIRATES-INDIA — Dubai’s long-haul carrier Emirates says it will begin shipping aid for free into India to help fight a crushing outbreak of the coronavirus. The airline’s offer Sunday comes as air freight costs have skyrocketed. SENT: 440 words.

US-VIRUS OUTBREAK — States across the country are dramatically scaling back their COVID-19 vaccine orders as interest in the shots wanes, putting the goal of herd immunity further out of reach. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGES — Mask and distancing restrictions may be relaxing across much of the country, but it’s been another tough semester on many college campuses, where COVID-19 spikes have meant even tougher measures. SENT: 890 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-INDIA — Two southern states in India became the latest to declare lockdowns, as coronavirus cases surge at breakneck speed across the country and pressure mounts on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to implement a nationwide shutdown. SENT: 670 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BANGLADESH — India’s surge in coronavirus cases is having a dangerous effect on neighboring Bangladesh. Health authorities said that for the first time, a variant originally identified in India was detected in Bangladesh. Experts are warning of imminent vaccine shortages, just as the country should be stepping up its vaccination drive. SENT: 515 words, photos.

EUROPE-SUMMIT-VACCINES — European Union leaders have cranked up criticism of the U.S. call to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents, arguing the move would yield no short-term or intermediate improvement in vaccine supplies and could even have a negative impact. SENT: 560 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION-2020-NEW-HAMPSHIRE — A dispute over the vote count in a New Hampshire legislative race is driving a debate among conservatives about the fairness of election process. And now Donald Trump has joined the fray, using the dispute to promote his lie about widespread fraud in the 2020 election. SENT: 1,160 words, photo.

FACEBOOK-TRUMP-SOCIAL-MEDIA — Beyond Facebook’s decision on whether to continue Donald Trump’s suspension from its platform is a far more complex and consequential question: Do the protections carved out for companies when the internet was in its infancy 25 years ago make sense when some of them have become global powerhouses with almost unlimited reach? SENT: 780 words, photo.

CONGRESS-EQUALITY-ACT — Democrats had hoped this would be the year they finally secured civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans. Then came a new debate over women’s and girls sports, and a conservative push against transgender participation in athletics that has swept state legislatures and now spilled into the halls of Congress. SENT: 980 words, photos.

VIRGINIA-GOVERNOR-GOP CONVENTION — Tens of thousands of Virginians are casting ballots to choose GOP nominees for governor and other statewide offices this weekend. SENT: 850 words, photos.

CUOMO-SEXUAL-HARASSMENT — Investigators looking into sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo interviewed county officials about his “vaccine czar” calling them to assess their support for the embattled governor. SENT: 560 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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CALIFORNIA-GAS-POWERED-APPLIANCES — California’s energy policy and planning agency wants to transition new homes away from gas-powered appliances. SENT: 140 words.

DIGITAL-DRIVER’S-LICENSES — The card millions of people have used to prove their identity to everyone from police officers to liquor store owners may soon be a thing of the past as a growing number of states develop digital driver’s licenses. With the advent of digital wallets and boarding passes, people are relying more on their phones to prove their identity. At least five states have implemented a mobile driver’s license program. SENT: 800 words, photos.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS — George Floyd’s brother and nephew expressed gratitude after a federal grand jury indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in his death. SENT: 270 words, photos.

LYNCHING-PARDONS-MARYLAND — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will posthumously pardon 34 victims of racial lynching in the state who were denied legal due process in the allegations against them between 1854 and 1933, a spokesman for Hogan said. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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MYANMAR — Myanmar’s junta has labeled a shadow government of lawmakers and politicians ousted in a February coup and a people’s defense force that is being set up to confront security forces as terrorist groups. SENT: 275 words, photos.

FRANCE-MACRON — President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for bringing France out of the pandemic aren’t just about resuscitating long-closed restaurants, boutiques and museums, but about preparing his possible campaign for a second term. SENT: 920 words, photos.

MIDEAST-ARMS-SEIZURE — The U.S. Navy announced it has seized an arms shipment hidden aboard a vessel in the Arabian Sea, the latest such interdiction by sailors amid the long-running war in Yemen. SENT: 170 words, photos.

AP-EXPLAINS-COLOMBIA-PROTESTS — Thousands of Colombians are protesting across the country against a government they feel has long ignored their needs, allowed corruption to run rampant and is so out of touch that it dared proposed tax increases during the coronavirus pandemic. The demonstrations began last week, after the government introduced a tax reform that would have squeezed the middle class. SENT: 690 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israeli police on Saturday clashed with Palestinian protesters outside Jerusalem’s Old City during the holiest night of Ramadan, in a show of force that threatened to deepen the holy city’s worst religious unrest in several years. Earlier, police blocked busloads of pilgrims headed to Jerusalem to worship. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.

REL-BURKINA-FASO-MILITARY-CHAPLAINS — Salomon Tibiri, a pastor and military chaplain in Burkina Faso, has been offering soldiers spiritual succor for more than 15 years. But he’s never fielded as many calls from anxious soldiers as in recent years, when the army found itself under attack by Islamic extremist fighters. The unprecedented violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State has thrown an ill-equipped and undertrained army into disarray — and overwhelmed the clerics tasked with supporting them. Just seven chaplains are charged with ministering to some 11,000 soldiers. SENT: 980 words, photo.

SOUTH AFRICA-ZULU KING — A new Zulu king has been named in South Africa amid scenes of chaos as members of the royal family questioned a prince’s claim to the title. SENT: 450 words, photos.

BRITAIN-ELECTIONS — The Scottish National Party has won its fourth straight parliamentary election on Saturday and insisted it will push on with another referendum on Scotland’s independence from the U.K. even though it just failed to secure a majority. SENT: 890 words, photos.

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BUSINESS & TECH

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ECONOMY-JOBS-EXPLAINER — The anticipation for the U.S. jobs report for April, released Friday morning, was high. Most experts agreed that after a yearlong pandemic, tens of millions of layoffs and widespread disease and death, a likely second straight month of nearly 1 million added jobs would send a clear signal: The economy was bounding back toward full health after a devastating recession. Instead, the report was a clunker. Once the shock wore off, economists grappled with a host of questions, starting with: What happened — and why? What did the tepid hiring gain say about the state of the job market and the economy? And is there really a labor shortage? By Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 1,115 words, photos.

EUROPEAN UNION-INDIA — The European Union and India have agreed to restart their negotiations on a bilateral free trade deal. Both are seeking trade alternatives to China. SENT: 400 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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SNL-ELON MUSK — Elon Musk showed a combination of humility and hubris as he opened his highly anticipated hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live.” The Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder and one of the world’s richest men opened his monologue by mocking his monotonal speaking style. He said he is the first person with Asperger’s syndrome to host the show, or at least the first one to admit it. SENT: 635 words, photos.

VAX LIVE-FUNDS — The Global Citizen fundraising concert advocating the importance of vaccine equity has pulled in $302 million, exceeding the goal for the organization’s campaign. Global Citizen announced Saturday that the funds raised helped procure more than 26 million doses at the “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World.” SENT: 200 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BKN--WIZARDS-PACERS — Russell Westbrook tied Oscar Robertson’s NBA record for triple-doubles with 181, finishing with 33 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists, and made two free throws with a second left to give Washington a 133-132 overtime victory over Indiana. SENT: 800 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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