AP News Digest 3 a.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.

——————————

FACEBOOK PAPERS

——————————

FACEBOOK PAPERS-MISINFORMATION-VACCINES — As public health leaders urged people to take the COVID-19 vaccine to help end the deadly pandemic, employees at Facebook worried “rampant” misinformation on their platform was turning its users against the inoculation. They came up with a fix — but the company failed to take advantage of it. By David Klepper and Amanda Seitz. UPCOMING: 1,500 words by 7 a.m., photos. Abridged version will also move. Day two of a series.

FACEBOOK PAPERS-MAID ABUSE: Apple once threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram from its app store over concerns about the services being used to trade and sell maids in the Mideast, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Even after publicly promising to crack down, Facebook acknowledged in internal documents it was “under-enforcing on confirmed abusive activity” that saw Filipina maids publicly complaining on the social media site of being abused. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 1750 words, photos. An abridged version also will move.

——————————-

ONLY ON AP

——————————

LOUISIANA POLICE DEATH-FEDERAL PROBE — As the Louisiana State Police reel from a sprawling federal investigation into the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene and other beating cases, dozens of current and former troopers tell The Associated Press of an entrenched culture behind the scandal of impunity, nepotism and in some cases outright racism. By Jim Mustian and Jake Bleiberg. SENT: 2,900 words, photos. Abridged version also available.

CLIMATE-AP POLL — President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate change summit at a time when an increasing percentage of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them. About 6 out of 10 Americans also believe that the pace of warming is speeding up, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. By Ellen Knickmeyer, Emily Swanson and Nathan Ellgren. SENT: 900 words, photos.

——————————

TOP STORIES

——————————-

CONGRESS-BUDGET — The Democrats’ idea for a new billionaires’ tax to help pay for President Biden’s social services and climate change plan quickly runs into criticism as too cumbersome with some lawmakers preferring the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy. By Lisa Mascaro, Darlene Superville and Alan Fram. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. With CONGRESS-BUDGET-WEALTH TAX EXPLAINER — A Senate Democrat proposes tax on the assets, not income, of billionaires to help pay for Biden’s big economic and social agenda. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.

SUDAN-EXPLAINER — Monday’s military coup in Sudan threatens to wreck the country’s fragile transition to democracy, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir. An explainer on how months of tensions led to a military coup in Sudan. The move comes after months of mounting tensions between the military and civilian authorities. An AP Explainer on how we reached this point. SENT:940 words, photos.

PROP FIREARM-MOVIE SET-ALEC BALDWIN — Details are still emerging about how Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set. But some political onlookers swiftly assigned guilt to one of Hollywood’s most prominent liberals. Right-wing pundits and politicians have long chafed at Baldwin’s criticism of former President Donald Trump and his Trump parody on “Saturday Night Live.” They wasted little time zeroing in on the actor who pulled the trigger. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. UPCOMING: 890 words by 3:30 a.m., photos. With PROP FIREARM-MOVIE SET-LIABILITY — Potential legal woes mount after ‘Rust’ shooting tragedy. UPCOMING: 850 words by 11 a.m., video, photos.

LEBANON-INVESTIGATIVE JUDGE — For eight months, a relatively obscure judge has quietly investigated one of the world’s worst non-nuclear explosions. For many Lebanese, Tarek Bitar is their only hope for truth and accountability in last year’s Beirut port explosion. But for the country’s entrenched political class, Bitar has become a nightmare. By Bassem Mroue and Sarah El Deeb. SENT 980 words, photos.

TIM DAHLBERG-CHEATING ASTROS — Stop if this sounds familiar. The World Series is here, and so unfortunately are the Houston Astros. For the third time in just five years, if you’re keeping score at home. And, yes, they’ve brought their baggage along.The difference this time? We know who they are. By Sports Columnist Tim Dahlberg. UPCOMING: 740 words by 3:30 a.m., photos. With WORLD SERIES-BRAVES-ASTROS — Astros host Braves in Game 1. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 8:09 p.m.

——————————-

TRENDING

——————————-

IDAHO-SHOOTING — Police say they exchanged gunfire with a suspect during a shooting at a shopping mall in Boise, Idaho, that killed two people and injured four — including an officer. SENT: 570 words, photos.

JAPAN-PRINCESS — Japanese Princess Mako maries a commoner and loses her royal status in a union that has split public opinion and was delayed more than three years by a financial dispute involving her new mother-in-law. SENT: 510 words, photos.

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY-ERIC GARNER — A judicial inquiry begins into the death of Eric Garner, whose dying cry of “I can’t breathe” became a slogan of the Black Lives Matter movement. SENT: 460 words, photo.

DUI-ARREST-CHILD BLAMED — A man in the Wyoming allegedly tried getting out of a drunken driving charge by claiming his 4-year-old son was the one behind the wheel. SENT: 130 words.

OBIT-SONNY OSBORNE — Bluegrass musician and singer Sonny Osborne, who created the banjo licks on “Rocky Top” as part of the The Osborne Brothers, has died. He was 84. SENT: 270 words.

—————————————-

CLIMATE

——————————————

CONGRESS-BUDGET-CLIMATE CHANGE — The White House zeroes in on a package of clean energy strategies for President Biden’s big domestic policy bill. SENT: 660 words, photo.

CLIMATE-AUSTRALIA — Australia’s prime minister says the country is set to reduce emissions by 35% below 2005 levels by 2030. SENT: 600 words, photos.

——————————————————-

MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

——————————————————-

VIRUS OUTBREAK-COURTS — A year-and-a-half into the coronavirus pandemic, courts across the U.S. are still grappling with how to balance public health concerns with the constitutional right to a public trial. There’s no standard solution. Some courts are still functioning entirely virtually. Others are back in person. And many are allowing only limited public access. By David A. Lieb. UPCOMING: 1,000 words by 10 a.m., photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-KIDS VACCINE — A U.S. advisory panel debates whether to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old. By Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone. UPCOMING: 400 words by 10 a.m., video, photos.

VIRUAS OUTBREAK-NEW ZELAND — New Zealand’s government says it will expand a vaccine mandate to include thousands of workers who have close contact with their customers — including those at restaurants, bars, gyms and hair salons. The changes will mean that about 40% of all New Zealand workers will need to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or risk losing their jobs. SENT: 250 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW TRAVEL — Children under 18 and people from dozens of countries with a shortage of vaccines will be exempt from new rules that will require most travelers to the U.S. be vaccinated. SENT: 770 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GRANDPARENT BABYSITTERS — A new incentive program to attract remote workers to Greensburg, Indiana, includes stand-in ”grandparents” and cash incentives for those who move to the rural city within the next six to 12 months. By Casey Smith. UPCOMING: 650 words by 11 a.m., photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-HONG KONG — Hong Kong will tighten COVID-19 restrictions despite its lack of outbreaks to align with China’s policies and increase chances of quarantine-free travel between the territory and mainland. SENT: 300 words, photos.

—————————————

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

—————————————

CAPITOL BREACH-DOCUMENTS — President Biden again rejects former Presidnt Donald Trump’s invocation of executive privilege on documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. SENT: 550 words, photo.

BIDEN-ELECTION — A Republican secretary of state who challenged former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud in 2020 is the front-runner for a job heading the Biden administration’s effort to protect future elections. SENT: 660 words, photos.

CONGRESS-SOCIAL MEDIA-KIDS — The leaders of a Senate panel have called executives of YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat to face questions on what the companies are doing to ensure young users’ safety. UPCOMING: 850 words by 3:30 a.m., photos. UPCOMING: Developing from Tuesday hearing.

——————————

INTERNATIONAL

—————————-

BRAZIL-SENATE-PANDEMIC REPORT-VOTE — A Senate investigative committee will vote on a report issued last week condemning President Jair Bolsonaro for bungling the government response to the pandemic. UPCOMING: 500 words by 9:30 a.m., video, photo.

SKOREA-OBIT-ROH TAE-WOO — A Seoul hospital says former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo has died. He was 88. The Seoul National University Hospital says Roh died on Tuesday while being treated for an illness. Roh led an army division into Seoul in support of the 1979 military coup that that made his army friend Chun Doo-hwan president. The coup and a subsequent military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980 are two of the darkest chapters in South Korea’s modern history. SENT: 650 words, photos.

UNITED NATIONS-IRAN-HUMAN RIGHTS — A U.N. human rights investigator says Iran executed over 250 people, including at least four child offenders, in 2020 and so far this year has carried out 230 executions that included nine women and one child who was executed in secret. SENT: 580 words.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong has convicted a second person under its sweeping national security law for chanting pro-independence slogans, amid a political crackdown in the city. SENT: 300 words, photos.

UNITED NATIONS-MYANMAR-NEW ENVOY — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of former U.N. undersecretary-general Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore as the new U.N. special envoy for conflict-torn Myanmar. SENT:440 words, photos.

————————-

NATIONAL

————————-

CALIFORNIA-STORMS — Across Northern California, crews work to clear streets of toppled trees and branches and to clean gutters clogged by debris carried by rainwater from a massive storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands. SENT: 920 words, video, photos.

US-CIVIL RIGHT PIONEER PROBATION- An 82-year-old Black woman who became a civil rights pioneer when she was arrested for refusing to move to the back of an Alabama bus in 1955 will ask a court Tuesday to finally expunge her record. Claudette Colvin was arrested by Montgomery police months before the better-known Rosa Parks because the mother of the movement by refusing to give up her seat to a white man. Colvin was just 15 at the time, and she never got any notice saying her probation had ended. SENT: 710 words, photos.

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY-LAWSUIT — A former spokesperson for Liberty University is suing the evangelical Virginia school after being fired. Scott Lamb alleges that his termination came in retaliation for voicing concerns that sexual misconduct accusations were mishandled. SENT: 690 words, photo.

————————————

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

————————————

TREASURY-RACIAL INEQUITY — The Treasury Department hires a former JPMorgan Chase executive to head a new government program aimed at combatting racial inequality issues in banking and other financial-services industries. SENT: 240 words, photo.

—————————

SPORTS

—————————

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA — The AP announces its preseason All-America women’s basketball team as voted on by a national media panel. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. UPCOMING: 500 words by noon, photos.

------------------------------

HOW TO REACH US

——————————————

At the Nerve Center, Fisnik Abrashi 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 http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.