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.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-LESSONS LEARNED — As the war rages on in Ukraine, the United States is learning lessons — with an eye toward a possible clash with China. U.S. military officials say Beijing wants to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, and the U.S. remains the island democracy’s chief ally and supplier of defense weapons. By Tara Copp. SENT: 1,270 words, photos. Also see MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR below.
TURKEY-QUAKE-NUCLEAR-PLANT — A devastating earthquake that toppled buildings across parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria has revived a longstanding debate locally and in neighboring Cyprus about a large nuclear power station being built on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coastline. By Menelaos Hadjicostis and Jennifer McDermott. SENT: 1,021 words, photo.
MICHIGAN-STATE-SHOOTING — When the texts began coming in about a shooter at Michigan State University, training that many students started receiving as schoolchildren automatically kicked in. They are part of a generation that has grown up with active shooter drills. By Joey Cappelletti and Mike Householder. SENT: 780 words, photos, video. With MICHIGAN-STATE-SHOOTING-VICTIMS — Slain students were “incredibly loved,” “tremendous” leaders.
TRAIN DERAILMENT-OHIO — Residents of the Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment packed a school gym to seek answers about whether they were safe from toxic chemicals that spilled or were burned off. Hundreds of worried people gathered in East Palestine to hear state officials insist yet again that testing shows local air is safe to breathe so far and promise that air and water monitoring would continue. By Patrick Orsagos. SENT: 790 words, photos.
TEXAS-MALL SHOOTING — One person was killed and three more were wounded in a shooting at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, adding to the dozens of people already killed this year in mass shootings across the United States. El Paso police said hours after the gunfire that two people had been taken into custody, though details of what led the shooting remained unclear. SENT: 460 words, photos, video.
AFGHANISTAN TALIBAN DIVISIONS — A rare public show of divisions within the ranks of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban emerged in recent days when Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, a powerful figure in the Taliban government, gave a speech seen as implicit criticism of the movement’s reclusive supreme leader. By Rahim Faiez. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russia has again pummeled Ukraine with a barrage of missiles, firing a combination of 36 cruise and other missiles and losing at least 16 of them to Ukrainian air defense batteries, Ukrainian officials said. SENT: 110 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-NATO — In just a year, NATO has moved from cautiously providing non-lethal support to Ukraine to exhorting allies to send heavier and more high-tech weapons. SENT: 880 words, photos.
UKRAINE-ISRAEL — Israel’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv, the first public visit to Ukraine’s capital by a senior Israeli official since Russia’s invasion last year. SENT: 480 words, photo.
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TRENDING
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RONALDO-RAPE LAWSUIT-VEGAS — Judge slaps $335,000 penalty on Ronaldo accuser’s Vegas lawyer. SENT: 920 words, photo.
BILLS-HAMLIN JACKET — Bills’ Hamlin: I meant no religious disrespect for wearing jacket. SENT: 350 words, photos.
SLAP FIGHTING — What’s a legal slap? Slap fight league regulators weigh in. SENT: 530 words, photo.
GAETZ-INVESTIGATION — Rep. Matt Gaetz says no charges for him in sex trafficking case. SENT: 560 words, photo.
HOMELESS-NATION’S CAPITAL — Park Service clears homeless encampment near White House. SENT: 690 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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ELECTION 2024-GENDER — Nikki Haley, in announcing her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, said she doesn’t put up with bullies and “when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.” The line captures the balancing act women — particularly conservative women — often navigate as they aspire to win the top job in American politics. SENT: 1,320 words, photos.
GEORGIA ELECTION INVESTIGATION — The public is expected to see portions of a report by a special grand jury that investigated whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies committed any crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. SENT: 670 words, photo.
BIDEN-CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS — The FBI searched the University of Delaware in recent weeks for classified documents as part of its investigation into the potential mishandling of sensitive government records by President Joe Biden. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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TYRE NICHOLS — Two sheriff’s deputies who have been suspended for five days for their role in the arrest of Tyre Nichols failed to keep their body cameras activated after they went to the location where Nichols had been beaten by five Memphis police officers, officials said. SENT: 360 words, photo.
HELICOPTER CRASH — A Black Hawk helicopter from the Tennessee National Guard crashed in Alabama, killing two crew members, the Tennessee National Guard said. SENT: 540 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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CHINA-US — China’s ceremonial parliament has accused American lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the U.S. passed a measure condemning a suspected Chinese spy balloon’s intrusion into U.S. airspace. SENT: 410 words, photo.
KOREAS-TENSIONS — South Korea called North Korea “our enemy” in its biennial defense document published, reviving the label for its rival for the first time in six years, as tensions worsen between the two. SENT: 440 words, photos.
NORTH KOREA-ECONOMY — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un attended groundbreaking ceremonies for new housing and farming projects, which are part of his push for domestic achievements as the country’s economic isolation deepens amid his defiant pursuit of nuclear arms. SENT: 440 words, photos.
PHILIPPINES-EARTHQUAKE — A strong earthquake rocked a central Philippine province, sending people out of their homes at night, prompting dozens of patients to be evacuated from a hospital and causing minor damage to a government coliseum and business establishments, officials said. SENT: 360 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares were mostly higher, cheered on by a stronger than expected reading on U.S. retail sales that set off a rally on Wall Street. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 660 words, photos.
PRODUCER PRICES — The Labor Department releases the producer price index for January, an indicator of inflation at the wholesale level that’s closely monitored by the Federal Reserve. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. UPCOMING: 130 words, photo after 8:30 a.m. report, then expanded.
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SPORTS
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2018 OLYMPICS REVISITED — It's been five years since the NHL chose to skip the 2018 Olympics in South Korea, but the Pyeongchang Games did provide an early stage for a handful of players to show what they could do and who are now in the NHL. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 950 words, photos by 6 a.m.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-RAQUEL WELCH — Raquel Welch, whose emergence from the sea in a skimpy, furry bikini in the film “One Million Years B.C.” would propel her to international sex symbol status throughout the 1960s and ’70s, has died. She was 82. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 610 words, photos.
TITANIC-RARE FOOTAGE — The sheer size of the vessel and the shoes were what struck Robert Ballard when he descended to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic in 1986, the year after he and his crew from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution helped find the ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic in 1912. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Hiro Komae (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.