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 in AP Newsroom.
For a look at weekend coverage, please look at our Weekend Lookahead Digest.
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ONLY ON AP
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AP POLL-ELECTION 2024-DEMOCRACY — A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 62% of adults say democracy in the U.S. could be at risk depending on who wins the 2024 elections. That view is held by 72% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans, but for different reasons. President Joe Biden has warned about Donald Trump’s promises to seek retribution against opponents, while Trump says Biden has weaponized the government. By Gary Fields and Linley Sanders. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, audio.
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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — The Israeli military says it has mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip. The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, says Israeli troops found the hostages and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was not clear if they had escaped their captors or been abandoned. The deaths occurred in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have engaged in fierce battles against Hamas militants in recent days. He said the army expressed “deep sorrow” and was investigating. By Karin Laub, Najib Jobain and Bassem Mroue. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, videos, audio. WITH: ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-LIVE UPDATES, ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-JOURNALIST and UNITED STATES-MIDEAST-CARRIER.
GIULIANI-ELECTION TRIAL — A jury awards $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. The damages verdict comes after Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, tearfully testified about becoming the target of a false conspiracy theory pushed by Giuliani and other Republican allies of Donald Trump that made them fear for their lives. By Lindsay Whitehurst and Alanna Durkin Richer. SENT: 960 words, photos.
TRUMP-FRAUD LAWSUIT-TAKEAWAYS — Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial offered fresh insight into the former president’s finances, his dealings with lenders and his aspiration to be an NFL owner, among other matters. The trial also provided a glimpse of Trump’s potential political and legal strategies as his legal and political calendars increasingly overlap. SENT: 1,480 words, photos.
ELECTION-2024-IOWA — Donald Trump is pushing his supporters to deliver a blowout win in next month’s Iowa caucuses. A myriad of GOP challengers has struggled to gain traction despite crisscrossing the state over the last year. By Thomas Beaumont and Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
YE-A-YEAR-OF-WAR — From the Israel-Hamas war to Russia’s grinding battles against Ukraine, 2023 has shown the dangers of armed conflicts breaking out into region-wide combat. But behind their long shadows, the world faces strife in countries stretching both the globe and the alphabet from Afghanistan all the way to Yemen. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 970 words, photos.
SEX-AND-THE-CITIES — Anyone who has suspected that there are more women than men where they live, or vice versa, will find fodder for their suspicions in new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Whether it refutes or confirms their suspicions likely depends on where they live. Women outnumber men in the largest urban counties east of the Mississippi River, along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Deep South, while the West skews male, according to data released last week from the 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, the most comprehensive source of data on American life. By Mike Schneider. SENT: 830 words, photos.
HOMELESSNESS INCREASE -- The United States has experienced a 12% increase in homelessness, to its highest reported level. Federal officials said soaring rents and a winding down of coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans. Numbers in the January count were up across the board compared to January 2022. About 653,000 people were homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 350 words, photo.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR
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UNITED STATES-UKRAINE-FUNDING-EXPLAINER — The White House says funding for Ukraine has run out and it has been increasing pressure on Congress. On Tuesday, however, President Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million. That may seem contradictory, but it’s due to the complex programs used to send aid to Ukraine. SENT: 995 words, photos.
HUNGARY-UKRAINE — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said his country will have plenty of opportunities in the future to interrupt Ukraine’s process of joining the European Union, the day after the right-wing leader’s stunning turnaround allowed an EU summit to move forward on bringing the war-torn country into the bloc. SENT: 520 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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CHRISTMAS-TREE-BABY-OWL -- A Kentucky family gets an early gift: a baby owl in their Christmas tree. SENT: 185 words, photos.
SCI-SOLAR-FLARE – A NASA telescope has captured the biggest solar flare in years, which temporarily knocked out radio communication on Earth. SENT: 200 words, photo.
ARMY HELICOPTERS-ALASKA CRASH — A U.S. Army helicopter that was flying through a mountain pass in Alaska along with other aircraft returning from a training exercise earlier this year hit one of the other helicopters, causing both to crash and killing three soldiers, a military investigation report released Friday said. SENT: 410 words.
BIDEN-CONAN O’BRIEN — President Biden sits down with former late-night television host Conan O’Brien for an interview for the comedian’s podcast. SENT: 170 words, photos.
SATANIC-TEMPLE-DISPLAY-DESTROYED-IOWA -- A Satanic Temple display inside the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines was destroyed, and a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot running for a statehouse seat in Mississippi is accused of the damage. SENT: 560 words, photos.
NEWTOWN SHOOTING-INFOWARS — A Connecticut appeals court has upheld $75,000 in fines against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for missing a deposition in the lawsuit filed by Sandy Hook families. SENT: 645 words, photo.
BRITAIN-FRANCE-TEENAGER-FOUND — British and French authorities have confirmed that a teenager found wandering on a road in the rain at night in southwestern France is Alex Batty, who disappeared six years ago. SENT: 805 words, photos.
NOT REAL NEWS — A look at what didn’t happen this week. SENT: 1,590 words, photos.
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ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-UFC — Donald Trump’s campaign has been bolstering his schedule with appearances at major sporting events, including this weekend’s UFC fight in Las Vegas. It’s a strategy that puts him in front of potential voters who may not closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
GEORGIA ELECTION INDICTMENT — A panel of federal appeals court judges has heard arguments on whether charges against Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in a sprawling Georgia election case should be moved. They are expressing some skepticism that the relevant statute applies to former officials. Meadows says his case should move out of state court because he is covered under the Federal Officer Removal Statute, which allows federal officials to move legal cases against them to federal court when they are related to their official duties. A federal judge ruled against him in September, and a three-judge appeals panel heard arguments on the case. The panel didn’t immediately rule. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VOTING RIGHTS-KANSAS — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that a law making it a felony to impersonate an elections official is vague enough that voting rights advocates can pursue a legal challenge. The court’s ruling Friday revived a lawsuit that a lower court had dismissed. Four groups argued that the 2021 law hinders voter registration drives and that their members could be prosecuted even if they tried to make it clear that they were not elections officials but others still mistakenly believed they were. Backers of the law have scoffed at the argument. The same groups have another lawsuit against other elections laws before the state Supreme Court. SENT: 750 words, photos.
ELECTION-2020-FAKE-ELECTORS-WISCONSIN — Liberals are calling for former President Donald Trump’s Wisconsin lawyer to step down from a state judicial ethics panel, saying he is unsuitable due to his role advising the fake Republican electors who admitted to taking part in an effort to overturn the 2020 election. SENT: 720 words, photo.
MELANIA TRUMP-ARCHIVES -- Melania Trump has welcomed new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives. It was a rare public appearance for the former first lady, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight as her husband, former President Donald Trump, runs for a second term. Melania Trump was born in Slovenia and is the only first lady who is also a naturalized U.S. citizen. SENT: 425 words, photo.
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SCHOOL SHOOTING-NEWPORT NEWS — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for felony child neglect by a judge who chastised her for abdicating her responsibilities as a parent. The sentence given to Deja Taylor, 26, by Circuit Court Judge Christopher Papile was much harsher than the maximum six-month sentence prosecutors agreed to recommend as part of a plea deal and also surpassed the high end of advisory state sentencing guidelines. SENT: 770 words, photo.
FLORIDA-WEATHER — It’s beginning to look at lot like ... hurricane season — at least across much of South Florida, where it’s been windy and rainy for two days and the forecast predicts more of the same this busy holiday season weekend. The mass of wind and rain is expected to head up the East Coast of the United States just in time for the start of the holiday travel season. SENT: 600 words, photos.
REDISTRICTING LAWSUIT-NORTH DAKOTA — A federal appeals court denied a request on Friday to delay a judge’s decision that North Dakota’s legislative map violates the Voting Rights Act in diluting the voting strength of two Native American tribes. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision comes a week before the deadline set by the judge for the state to adopt a new map of legislative districts. SENT: 660 words, photo.
REL-DISUNITED-METHODISTS -- United Methodist churches had a five-year window to leave the denomination over disputes involving its bans on same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ persons. That window closes Dec. 31, but results are in. One quarter of all United Methodist congregations in the U.S. have received permission to leave. That’s more than 5,000 this year and more than 7,000 since 2019. The vast major are conservative-leaning churches responding to what they see as the United Methodists’ failure to enforce longstanding bans on same-sex marriage and the ordaining of openly LGBTQ persons. Many are joining the new, more conservative Global Methodist Church. SENT: 1,245 words, photos. WITH: REL-DISUNITED-METHODISTS-GLANCE -- Why have thousands of United Methodist churches in the U.S. quit the denomination? SENT: 330 words, photo.
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ARGENTINA-MILEI-SALARY — Argentine President Javier Milei has raffled off the last salary he received as a lawmaker before being sworn in earlier this month as president. The 53-year-old populist went on Instagram to do a live broadcast to show off his office, boast his attributes as president and hold a draw for the last monthly salary he received as a deputy — 2.1 million Argentine pesos, or about $2,500. SENT: 330 words, photo.
BRITAIN-PRINCE-HARRY — Prince Harry's phone was hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the Daily Mirror who invaded his privacy by snooping on him unlawfully, a judge ruled Friday, delivering a historic victory for the estranged royal who broke from family tradition to take on the British press. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. WITH: BRITAIN-PHONE-HACKING-EXPLAINER -- Prince Harry’s phone hacking victory is a landmark in the long saga of British tabloid misconduct. SENT: 930 words, photos.
REL—VATICAN-TRIAL-EXPLAINER — Verdicts are expected Saturday for a cardinal and nine other defendants in the most complicated financial trial in the Vatican’s modern history: a case featuring a Hollywood-worthy cast of characters, unseemly revelations about the Holy See and questions about Pope Francis’ own role in the deals. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
GUATEMALA-MINE VERDICT — Guatemala violated Indigenous rights by permitting a huge nickel mine on tribal land almost two decades ago, according to a ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Friday. The landmark verdict marks a monumental step in a four-decade struggle for Indigenous land rights and a long, bitter legal battle, which has at times spilled into the streets of northern Guatemala. SENT: 770 words, photo.
CHILE-FISCAL FRAUD — Chile’s police have arrested at least 55 people in a fiscal fraud case that could be one of the biggest in the history of the Andean nation, amounting to about $275 million. Marcelo Freyhoffer, a high officer at Chile’s tax body, told journalists those arrested in the case were associated with companies that did not render real services and committed fraud through false tax documents so they could pay less tax or obtain fraudulent tax returns. SENT: 194 words.
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MATTHEW PERRY —Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, according to the results of an autopsy on the 54-year-old “Friends” actor released Friday. The report from the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said Perry also drowned in “the heated end of his pool,” but that it was a secondary factor in his Oct. 28 death, which was deemed an accident. The report says coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, also contributed. SENT: 261 words, photos.
TV-Q&A-REACHER — “Reacher” quietly debuted on Prime Video in 2022 and found a big audience anyway. It set a new record for viewership with the streamer. With season two, debuting Dec. 15, the stakes were higher, but with 29 Lee Child books about Reacher as source material, star Alan Ritchson is confident the can duplicate or surpass season one’s success. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.
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GLF-PNC CHAMPIONSHIP-PREVIEW — Tiger Woods jokingly refers to the PNC Championship as his fifth major. Maybe he’s not joking. It’s a chance to play a 36-hole tournament with his 14-year-old son Charlie. They’re part of the 20 teams of major champions and family members. They finished runner-up two years ago. SENT: 900 words, photos.
FBN—ON FOOTBALL-PLAYOFF PICTURE — The NFL playoff race defines parity. Thirty teams entered Week 15 still alive for a Super Bowl run. Of course, several of those teams had astronomical odds and a few more know they’re not going anywhere. But, it’s been five years since only two teams were mathematically eliminated this late in the season. SENT: 750 words, photos.
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