BC-AP News Digest 6:30 pm
Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST.
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NEW & DEVELOPING
A relative of a youth who resided at the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home wails as she waits for the release of the names of those who died in a fire at the shelter, outside the morgue where the bodies are being identified in Guatemala City, Thursday, March 9, 2017. The death toll in the fire at a the youth shelter on the outskirts of Guatemala rose to 31 Thursday as a dozen more girls died at hospitals overnight and details began to emerge of a tragedy fueled by angry, neglected youths seeking to flee terrible conditions. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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GERMANY-AX ATTACK - 5 injured in ax attack at German station; 1 arrest. SENT: 190 words.
Note that WIKILEAKS-CIA-TECH ENCRYPTION is not moving this cycle
ADDS ILLINOIS GOVERNOR-STAFF SALARIES, UNITED STATES-ISLAMIC STATE, EDUCATION-TRANSGENDER STUDENTS, ALI JR-AIRPORT DETENTION
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ONLY ON AP
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ISLAMIC STATE-PROPAGANDA WAR - Congressional investigators are interviewing witnesses in a wide-ranging inquiry into the Defense Department's troubled anti-propaganda efforts against the Islamic State group. By Desmond Butler and Richard Lardner. SENT: 600 words, photos.
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR-STAFF SALARIES - Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's new deputy governor is scheduled to receive half of her pay out of an employee health care account that is more than $4 billion behind on its bills due to the state's budget crisis, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. By Political Writer John O'Connor. SENT: 700 words, photo.
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TOP STORIES
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CONGRESS-HEALTH OVERHAUL - Republican leaders drive their long-promised legislation to dismantle Barack Obama's health care law over its first big hurdles in the House and claim fresh momentum despite cries of protest from right, left and center. By Congressional Correspondent Erica Werner. SENT: 920 words, photos. With AP SPIN METER-GOP HEALTH PLAN - GOP health care offers access, not insurance; AP EXPLAINS-CONGRESS-HEALTH OVERHAUL - What's next; CAPITOL HILL BUZZ-HEALTH OVERHAUL-ALL-NIGHTER - Lawmakers survive all-nighter (all sent).
WIKILEAKS-CIA - WikiLeaks' offer to share the CIA's collection of software vulnerabilities with the likes of Google and Apple puts the tech industry in a bind. It has a responsibility and financial incentives to plug holes in its software, yet it's unclear whether accepting help from WikiLeaks is even legal. By Anick Jesdanun. SENT: 800 words, photo.
TRUMP-TRAVEL BAN-Q&A - President Donald Trump's revised travel ban is narrower and designed to withstand legal challenges, specifically objections that the order discriminates against Muslims. But experts say it could still be vulnerable to lawsuits. By Gene Johnson. SENT:900 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-TRAVEL BAN-LAWSUITS - Hawaii files lawsuit over Trump's revised travel ban (sent; developing); TRUMP-TRAVEL BAN-THE LATEST.
SYRIA-US ESCALATION-ANALYSIS - Rolling 200 Marines backed with Howitzers into northern Syria, the Trump administration is ditching its predecessor's style of working quietly behind the scenes in Syria's conflict, opting instead for displays of U.S. force in an attempt to shape the fight. The latest deployment significantly widens America's footprint in a highly toxic battlefield. By Zeina Karam. SENT: 700 words, photos. With SYRIA - Syria activists: Strikes kill at least 20 near IS stronghold; UNITED STATES-ISLAMIC STATE - The top U.S. commander in the Middle East signals there will be a larger and longer American military presence in Syria to accelerate the fight against the Islamic State group (both sent).
ZIKA-HEART PROBLEMS - For the first time, doctors have tied infection with the Zika virus to possible new heart problems in adults. The evidence so far is only in eight people in Venezuela, and is not enough to prove a link. By Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione. SENT: 480 words, photo.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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TV-FOX-SEXUAL ASSAULT - Fox News settles sexual assault complaint. SENT: 240 words.
PRUITT-GLOBAL WARMING - New EPA chief says he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming, a statement at odds with mainstream scientific consensus. SENT: 470 words, photos.
ALI JR-AIRPORT DETENTION - Muhammad Ali's son tells Congress his recent detention for extended questioning at a Florida airport shows the need for legislation to end racial profiling. SENT: 270 words, photos.
POKEMON NO GO?- 'Pokemon Go' or no? Fans glad Niantic addressing complaints. SENT: 500 words, photos.
WBC-ISRAEL'S INSPIRATION - With a little help from "The Mensch on the Bench" mascot, Israel is into the second round of the World Baseball Classic. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON & POLITICS
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EDUCATION-TRANSGENDER STUDENTS - Parents of transgender students urge Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to do more to protect their children's rights. SENT: 600 words, photos.
TRUMP-NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER - President Trump was not aware that his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had worked to further the interests of the government of Turkey before appointing him. SENT: 1,280 words, photo.
TRUMP-RUSSIA ADVISER - Carter Page, once a little-known investment banker-turned-adviser in the outer circle of the improbable Trump campaign, emerges as a central figure in the controversy surrounding campaign connections to Russia. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
TRUMP-MEDIA DIET - Before most people are out of bed, Donald Trump is watching cable news. With Twitter at the ready, the man who condemns the media as "the enemy of the people" may be the most voracious consumer of news in modern presidential history. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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CASEY ANTHONY-HER LIFE - We take a look at Casey Anthony's life six years since she was acquitted of murdering her daughter, Caylee, who went missing in Orlando. Details emerge in Associated Press interviews. SENT: 560 words, photos.
COLD CASE - Dr. Erin Kimmerle, considered one of the top forensic anthropologists in the U.S., takes on the hardest mysteries of all: the cold cases. By Tamara Lush. SENT: 1,750 words, photos, video. A 1,110-word abridged version also moved.
IMMIGRANTS-ENFORCEMENT SCAMS - Authorities say con artists are exploiting immigrants' heightened fears of deportation by posing as federal agents and demanding they pay up or else. SENT: 600 words, photos.
BORDER TUNNELS-Q&A - Authorities have discovered more than 200 cross-border tunnels originating in Mexico since 1990, most of which entered the United States. SENT: 800 words, photos.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SEXUAL MISCONDUCT FILES - Confidential documents released by the University of California show that the lack of transparency and lax discipline seen during a sexual harassment scandal at UC Berkeley also were found at UC's nine other campuses. SENT: 1,300 words, photos.
WILDFIRES - The winds fueling deadly wildfires that scorched vast swaths of land in four Plains states subside, bringing hope to crews trying to contain the blazes. SENT: 500 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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GUATEMALA FIRE - The death toll from a blaze at a shelter for troubled youths climbs to 31 girls and young women, with others battling for their lives. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.
MEXICO-DEPORTED US VETERANS - Dozens of U.S. military veterans who were deported to Mexico after criminal convictions and for years have fought to be allowed to return are now pinning their hopes on the Trump administration. SENT: 1,350 words, photos.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
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SAVING A FACE - A team of surgeons using state-of-the-art "virtual surgery" successfully removes a massive tumor that was growing on the face of a 12-year-old girl from the West African nation of Gambia. SENT: 450 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Alexandra Olson can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Alyssa Goodman (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 877-836-9477.
A large cloud of smoke rises during fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants as civilians walk toward Iraqi security forces after fleeing their homes on the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, March 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
After working through the night, House Energy and Commerce Committee member Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., stretches while members of the committee argue the details of the GOP's "Obamacare" replacement bill, Thursday, March 9, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center left, speaks with French President Francois Hollande, center right, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 9, 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her weight behind Donald Tusk to retain one of the European Union's top jobs ahead of an EU summit Thursday, despite staunch opposition from his home country of Poland. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
