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.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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added SUPREME COURT-NOMINATION-TAKEAWAYS; ARIZONA-TRANSGENDER-BILLS; CAPITOL RIOT-CONGRESS; ELECTION 2022-OHIO PRIMARY; PIPELINE AGENCY-CLIMATE; RUSSIAN HACKERS-ENERGY SECTOR; SUPREME COURT-EXECUTIONS-PRAYER, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-COVID-ANTIBODY-DRUG, ARIZONA-ABORTION BILL, SEVERE WEATHER-LOUISIANA, DEPP-HEARD LAWSUIT
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ONLY ON AP
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AP POLL-BIDEN LEADERSHIP — A new poll shows Americans have yet to rally around Biden’s leadership. Concern about Russia has swelled and support for a major U.S. role in the conflict strengthened in the last month. But Biden’s negative approval rating has not budged. That’s according to the poll Thursday from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. By Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 855 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukraine accused Moscow on Thursday of forcibly taking hundreds of thousands of civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia, where some may be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to give up. By Nebi Qena and Cara Anna. SENT: 860 words, photos, video. WITH: RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-REFUGEES-EXPLAINER — The United States is expanding efforts to help refugees fleeing Ukraine. It has agreed to accept up to 100,000 people who are escaping from the war and will increase support for Eastern European nations that have taken in most of those fleeing Russian forces. SENT: 720 words, photos. WITH: RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THINGS TO KNOW and RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE LATEST.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-US-EUROPE — President Joe Biden and Western allies pledge new sanctions and humanitarian aid in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, but their offers fall short of the more robust military assistance that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for in a pair of live-video appearances. By Chris Megerian, Lorne Cook and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,280 words, photos, video.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-DISPLACED CHILDREN - The United Nations children’s agency says Russia’s invasion has displaced half of Ukraine’s children. A 10-year-old girl on a hospital bed in a village close to Ukraine’s border with Poland is one of them. To get there, Zlata Moiseinko survived a chronic heart condition, daily bombings, sheltering for days in a damp and chilly basement and sleeping in a freezing car. UNICEF says 4.3 million of the country’s estimated 7.5 million children have fled their homes since the war started, one of the largest such displacements since World War II. By Cara Anna. SENT: 705 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-NOMINATION — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that he will vote against confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson, saying he “cannot and will not” support the groundbreaking nominee for a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. While McConnell’s opposition was not unexpected and Jackson’s confirmation is still on track, his declaration coming only hours after the Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up four days of hearings probably will lead many fellow Republicans to follow suit. SENT: 910 words, photos, videos, audio. WITH: SUPREME COURT-NOMINATION-TAKEAWAYS — The historic Senate hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court, have been joyful, combative and clarifying, putting on display the breadth of the nation’s partisan divide and the unresolved problems of its past. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE INEQUITY — The company behind a COVID-19 vaccine touted as a key tool for the developing world will miss a target for giving doses to the U.N.-backed effort to deliver shots to poorer countries. COVAX planned to make available 250 million doses from Novavax by March. SENT: 850 words, photos.
MED-ALS-DRUG — The Food and Drug Administration meets next week to review a closely watched drug for ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, following months of lobbying by patient groups and congressional lawmakers. The drug from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals showed modest benefits in one small study and the FDA told the company last April to run a larger one before seeking approval. But that delay sparked pushback from patients, their families and members of Congress. By Matthew Perrone. SENT: 1,265 words, photos.
INFLATION-STATE-REBATES -- Governors and state lawmakers throughout the U.S. are floating proposals to send checks to help residents cope with soaring inflation at a time when state budgets are bursting with cash. The relief ideas come at a time when many states actually have too much money on their hands because of billions of dollars of federal pandemic aid and ballooning tax revenue. By Patrick Whittle. SENT: 1,175 words, photos.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-THE MONTH IN REVIEW — Russia’s war in Ukraine has killed thousands, extensively damaged some cities and forced millions to flee their homes. The largest military conflict in Europe since World War II has also upset the international security order and sent dangerous ripples through the global economy. SENT: 1,485 words, photos, video
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-GOLD-EXPLAINER — The U.S. and its allies move to block financial transactions with Russia’s Central Bank that involve gold, aiming to further restrict the country’s ability to use its international reserves. SENT: 450 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-ENERGY-MEETING -- Dozens of nations, including the United States and much of Europe, say they’re united in seeking to “radically” reduce imports of Russian oil and gas after its invasion of Ukraine. But they also want to ensure those efforts don’t fuel climate change. At a two-day meeting of the International Energy Agency that ended Thursday, governments floated a raft of ideas to cut energy use, tap new supplies of gas, oil and coal beyond Russia, and ramp up the use of renewable power. SENT: 395 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-STOCK EXCHANGE — The Russian stock market opened Thursday for limited trading under heavy restrictions for the first time since Moscow invaded Ukraine, coming almost a month after prices plunged and the market was shut down as a way to insulate the economy. SENT: 795 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-TOURISM — Countries from Turkey to Thailand, Egypt and Cuba are bracing for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian tourists just as their travel sectors were looking to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. With many tourist-dependent economies also struggling with surging inflation and other woes, hotel workers, guides and others who serve visitors from the two warring nations are expecting more pain. SENT: 980 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-UN-HUMANITARIAN — The U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution blaming Russia for humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival. The vote Thursday on the resolution was 140-5 with only Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea joining Russia in opposing the measure. There were 38 abstentions, including China. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-REFUGEES — The United Nations says that more than 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine exactly one month ago in what is the biggest movement of people in Europe since World War II. SENT: 660 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-EU-SANCTIONS — The European Union has preserved a sense of rarely seen unity through four rounds of unprecedented sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. But at an EU summit Thursday, the 27 leaders have faced division on the biggest issue of all: energy. SENT: 630 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-CRIMES — A coalition of nations that asked the International Criminal Court to open an investigation over possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine met Thursday to pledge support for the probe. The court’s chief prosecutor urged them to stand up in support of the global legal order. SENT: 585 words, photo.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-FRENCH-COMPANIES — French automaker Renault has moved to pause production at its Moscow plant in an apparent move to fend off mounting criticism. It came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the company and others in France of aiding Russia’s war effort during a virtual address to parliament. Renault’s announcement Wednesday night meant it broke ranks with other major French companies that have defied pressure to keep operating in Russia. SENT: 1,074words.
NATO-STOLTENBERG — NATO leaders are extending the mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for an extra year to help steer the 30-nation military organization through the security crisis sparked by Russia’s war on Ukraine. SENT: 300 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NYC VACCINE MANDATE — New York City’s mayor has exempted athletes and performers from the city’s vaccine mandate. But the decision announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday does not include countless government and private workers, some of whom have lost their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated. SENT: 750 words, photos
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-COVID-ANTIBODY-DRUG — The European Union’s drug regulator says it’s recommending that an antibody drug developed by AstraZeneca be authorized to help people avoid getting sick with the coronavirus. The European Medicines Agency said Thursday it was advising that the new drug which is sold as Evusheld be used in people age 12 and over before they were exposed to COVID-19 to prevent future infections. SENT: 290 words, photo
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ZIMBABWE-VACCINATION-DRIVE — Zimbabwe has launched a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign that includes jabbing children aged 12 and above to rescue a drive faltering due to vaccine hesitancy and complacency. This week schools in the southern African country have become vaccination zones with children in school uniforms lining up to get the injections. SENT: 540 words, photos
ITALY-RUSSIA-PANDEMIC-PROBE — An Italian Parliament committee that deals with intelligence matters summoned former Premier Giuseppe Conte over growing concerns that a Russian military and medical team sent to help Italy early in the COVID-19 pandemic was really on a spying mission. SENT: 520 words.
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR-MASKS — A federal judge says 12 Virginia schoolchildren who are particularly vulnerable to getting sick from COVID-19 can seek a “reasonable accommodation” such as requiring their classmates to wear masks. SENT: 560 words, photo.
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TRENDING NEWS
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OBIT-WILHITE — Stephen Wilhite, the inventor of the internet-popular short-video format, the GIF, has died. He was 74. His wife, Kathaleen, said Thursday in a phone interview that he died of COVID on March 14. Wilhite, who lived in Milford, Ohio, won a Webby lifetime achievement award in 2013 for inventing the GIF. SENT: 210 words, photo.
SEVERE WEATHER-LOUISIANA — A tornado that killed a man near New Orleans this week was the metro area’s second strongest on record and left an 11.5-mile track northeast through three parishes, the National Weather Service said Thursday. SENT: 300 words, photos.
UBER-NYC-TAXIS — Uber, hit by driver shortages and a surge in food delivery requests during the pandemic, will begin including New York City taxi cabs on its app. That’s a partnership that until recently would have been unthinkable with both camps fighting ferociously for the same customers. SENT: 760 words, photos.
DEPP-HEARD LAWSUIT — Johnny Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, can argue to a jury that she should be protected from a libel lawsuit because her 2018 op-ed on domestic violence deals with a matter of public interest, a judge ruled Thursday. SENT: 440 words, photo.
CARIBBEAN-BRITAIN-ROYAL VISIT — Prince William has expressed his “profound sorrow” for slavery during a visit to Jamaica. But he stopped short of offering the apology demanded by protesters who are also seeking reparations for Britain’s role in the slave trade. SENT: 450 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CAPITOL RIOT-CONGRESS — The House committee investigating the Capitol riot sets a vote for next week to consider contempt of Congress charges for Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, two aides of former President Donald Trump. SENT: 400 words, photos.
ALBRIGHT-A REPORTER REMEMBERS — Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is being remembered as a woman of conviction and determination who liked to say she told things like they were and not the way she might like them to be. SENT: 1195 words, photos. WITH: ALBRIGHT-EASTERN EUROPE — A monument in Kosovo, a snake named after her in Serbia. Madeleine Albright was either loved or hated in the Balkans for her pivotal role during the region’s 1990s wars. SENT: 955 words, photos.
IMMIGRATION-ASYLUM -- The Biden administration has unveiled new procedures to handle asylum claims at the U.S. southern border, hoping to decide cases in months instead of years. The rules empower asylum officers to grant or deny claims, an authority that has been limited to immigration judges for people arriving at the border with Mexico. SENT: 530 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-EXECUTIONS-PRAYER — The Supreme Court says states must grant the wishes of death row inmates who want to have their pastors pray aloud and even touch them during their executions. SENT: 830 words, photo.
ELECTION 2022-OHIO PRIMARY — Court rulings invalidating Republican-drawn redistricting maps threaten to delay Ohio’s May 3 primary by a month or more. UPCOMING: 1,070 words, photos by 7 p.m.
PIPELINE AGENCY-CLIMATE — Amid pushback from industry and lawmakers in both parties, federal energy regulators scale back plans to consider how natural gas projects affect climate change and environmental justice. SENT: 815 words, photo.
RUSSIAN HACKERS-ENERGY SECTOR — The Justice Department says four Russian government officials have been charged in hacks that targeted the global energy industry and thousands of computers around the world between 2012 and 2018. SENT: 420 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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ARIZONA-ABORTION BILL — The Arizona Legislature has approved a ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The House approved the measure Thursday, a month after the Senate gave its OK. It now heads to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey for his expected signature. SENT: 740 words, photos.
CENSUS-PANDEMIC GROWTH — In the first full year of the pandemic, the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago metro areas had the greatest population losses in the nation. U.S. Census Bureau data also showed Sunbelt metros like Dallas, Phoenix and Houston had the biggest gains. SENT: 750 words, photos. WITH: CENSUS-PANDEMIC-GROWTH-GLANCE.
TRANSGENDER SPORTS-VETOES — Republican governors in two states this week rejected legislation to ban transgender players from girls sports — signs that there are some remaining fractures among GOP leaders over how to navigate gender’s reemergence as a culture war issue. SENT: 980 words, photos.
ARIZONA-TRANSGENDER-BILLS — The Arizona House has voted to prohibit gender reassignment surgery for minors and ban transgender athletes from playing on girls sports teams. The bill already passed in the state Senate and with Thursday’s vote, Arizona appears poised to join a growing list of Republican-controlled states trying to restrict transgender rights. By JONATHAN J. COOPER. SENT: 575 words, photo
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT — A man who pleaded guilty in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer testified Thursday that he joined the conspiracy hoping he would be killed in a shootout with police. “I no longer wanted to live,” Kaleb Franks told jurors, minutes after settling into the witness chair in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. SENT: 780 words, photos.
UNIVERSITY-OF-MICHIGAN-SEXUAL-ABUSE — The University of Michigan has reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit brought by students who sought to force changes in how the school protects the campus from sexual misconduct. As part of the deal, which was filed in federal court, the Ann Arbor school will create and pay for a multidisciplinary standing committee designed to protect the university community from sexual abuse. SENT: 600 words, photos, video.
GYM-DOCTOR-SEXUAL ABUSE — Physical and occupational therapists, and athletic trainers are now required to report suspected child abuse or neglect under a new Michigan law that follows the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. SENT: 530 words.
HIGH FROM HEMP — Licensed growers in legal-marijuana states say they’ve been following expensive regulations to participate in the industry, but now they’re being undercut by THC derived from hemp. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, video.
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INTERNATIONAL
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AFGHANISTAN-GIRLS’ EDUCATION — Aid groups, media workers and others in Afghanistan are baffled by the Taliban reneging on their pledge to allow girls to go to school beyond sixth grade. The unexpected decision on Wednesday apparently meant to appease the Taliban’s hard-line base but it comes at the expense of further alienating the international community. SENT: 630 words, photos.
KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea test-fired possibly its biggest-yet intercontinental ballistic missile toward the sea, according to its neighbors, raising the ante in a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the United States and other rivals to accept it as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
CHINA PLANE CRASH — Hundreds of people in rain gear and rubber boots are searching muddy, forested hills in southern China for the second flight recorder from a jetliner that crashed with 132 people aboard. No survivors have been found since the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 dived into a mountainous area Monday, but authorities say they still are looking. SENT: 675 words, photos.
AFGHANISTAN-CHINA — China’s foreign minister made a surprise stop in Kabul to meet Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, even as the international community fumes over the movement’s broken promise a day earlier to open schools to girls beyond the sixth grade. SENT: 600 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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ALASKA-ARCTIC-POLLUTION — In the pristine expanse of Alaska’s interior lies a dirty secret: some of the most polluted winter air in the United States can be found in and around Fairbanks. The Fairbanks area routinely exceeds limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for particle pollution that can be inhaled and cause health problems, even death. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
CLIMATE CHANGE-INDIA’S ENERGY CHALLENGES — No country will see its demand for electricity grow more in the next 20 years than India. How the South Asian nation meets this demand will have an outsized impact on the world and its climate goals. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
QATAR FALCON HOSPITAL — It could be any other top-notch hospital in Doha, the capital of Qatar. There are radiology and operation rooms, and all the the high-tech tools of modern surgery on hand. But there’s just one difference: it’s for falcons. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Thursday and oil prices slipped as a streak of uneven trading continues on world markets. The S&P 500 rose 1.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.9%. Technology companies had some of the strongest gains. SENT: 645 words, photo.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in 52 years as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and an ongoing virus pandemic. Jobless claims fell by 28,000 to 187,000 for the week ending March 19, the lowest since September of 1969, the Labor Department reported. SENT: 320 words, photo.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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MEDIA-CNN STREAMING —After millions of dollars in spending and hundreds of new hires, CNN is ready to launch its CNN+ streaming service on Tuesday. A news countdown show hosted by Kate Bolduan, modeled after a network podcast and newsletter, will be first to appear at 7 a.m. The launch comes at a tumultuous time for CNN’s leadership, and there is no shortage of skeptics about what is being put together. SENT: 1,035 words, photos.
OSCARS-PRODUCERS — James Bond didn’t get an Oscar nomination this year, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be part of the ceremony. It’s the 60th anniversary of the first 007 movie, after all, and the 50th anniversary of “The Godfather.” Those landmarks will be celebrated Sunday at the 94th Oscars. SENT: 530 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKC—NCAA-TIPPING OFF — A look at what’s happening in the NCAA Tournament as the Sweet 16 begins today, including Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 26th, and final, appearance in the Sweet 16 — a classic matchup of offense vs. defense. The second-seeded Blue Devils face No. 3 Texas Tech in a West Region semifinal in San Francisco. SENT: 755 words, photos.
BBO--FAMILIAR FACES-NEW PLACES — Max Scherzer found a new home before the lockout. Freddie Freeman had to wait until spring training to leave Atlanta. Trevor Story jumped leagues. Nick Castellanos switched red pinstripes. Many familiar faces are in new places to begin another MLB season. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 6 p.m.
BBO—WINNING THE OFFSEASON — It’s been 13 years since the big-spending New York Yankees “bought” their 27th World Series championship with free agents CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. Since then, the sport the Yankees once dominated with big expenditures has instead become all about efficiency. But what is winning the offseason even worth? An AP study shows it’s a mixed bag. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
ITALY-NORTH MACEDONIA — European champion Italy will miss the World Cup. Again. The unthinkable happened in Palermo on Thursday as the Azzurri were beaten 1-0 by North Macedonia following a last-gasp goal by Aleksandar Trajkovski in their playoff semifinal. SENT: 380 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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