Maine Digest
IN BRIEF:
US BULLETS IN BEDROOM — After a shooting at a Portland park late Wednesday, bullets were found inside a home in Portland, including in the bedroom where a 1-year-old child sleeps, police said. UPCOMING.
LOCALIZATION:
BROADBAND MAP-LOCALIZE IT — States are racing against a deadline to challenge the map federal officials will use to divvy up the nation’s largest-ever investment in high-speed internet. At stake is a share of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, part of the infrastructure measure President Joe Biden signed into law last year. We provide resources and questions for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides here.
MIGRATION-ASYLUM BAN-LOCALIZE IT — Under Trump-era asylum restrictions, migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Amid uncertainty over the restrictions’ future, we offer suggested reporting threads for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides here.
HOMELESS COUNT-LOCALIZE IT — A national tally of homelessness released Monday finds that the total number of unhoused people across the U.S. was about the same earlier this year as it was in 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic hit the nation hard. The result represents a balancing of conflicting forces sparked by the pandemic: job losses and rising rents along with eviction protections and tax breaks. We offer ideas for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides here.
VIDEO
Anxious holiday travelers brace for weather delays
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried in US custody
Arizona election lawsuit goes to trial
Zelenskyy: Ukraine “will never surrender”
AUDIO
US braces for dangerous blast of cold, wind and snow
Associates of FTX founder plead guilty to criminal charges
Senate hits snag in bid to pass $1.7 trillion spending bill
Migrants at US-Mexico border await ruling on asylum limits
U.S. STORIES
WINTER WEATHER
MISSION, Kan. —- President Joe Biden has warned Americans to take seriously a storm that is spreading severe cold, snow and wind. He said Thursday in the Oval Office that “this is not like a snow day when you were a kid.” Temperatures are plunging far and fast the storm forms ahead of Christmas weekend. The National Weather Service says that frigid air will move through the central United States to the east and that windchill advisories will affect about 135 million people in coming days. Forecasters expect a bomb cyclone to develop near the Great Lakes. That occurs when atmospheric pressure drops quickly in a strong storm. By Heather Hollingsworth and Jill Bleed. SENT: 694 words, photos. Developing.
CONGRESS-BUDGET
WASHINGTON —- The Senate appears back on track to pass a $1.7 trillion bill to finance federal agencies through September. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that the Senate would consider some 15 amendments before voting on final passage of the package. Most of the amendments will be subject to a 60-vote threshold to pass, generally dooming them to failure in the evenly divided 100-member Senate. An agreement from both sides on which amendments would be voted on was needed to lock in an expedited vote on final passage and get the measure approved before a government shutdown would begin at midnight Friday. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 571 words, photos.
BORDER WALL-SHIPPING CONTAINERS
PHOENIX —- Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will take down a makeshift wall made of shipping containers at the Mexico border, settling a lawsuit and political tussle with the federal government over trespassing on federal lands. The Biden administration and the Republican governor entered into an agreement that Arizona will cease installing the containers in any national forest, according to court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The stipulation says Arizona must remove the shipping containers already present in southeastern Cochise County by Jan. 4. The resolution comes just two weeks before Democrat Katie Hobbs, who opposes the construction, takes over as governor. SENT: 314 words, photo.
ZELENSKY-WASHINGTON-HOW IT HAPPENED
WASHINGTON —- The idea of a daring wartime trip by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington had percolated for some time before the surprise visit was revealed just hours ahead of the Ukrainian president’s arrival. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the visit with Ukrainian officials during a summit in Croatia in October. And Biden administration officials had for months been talking with Ukraine about a potential Zelenskyy visit. Zelenskyy had indicated to President Joe Biden the U.S. was the first country he wanted to visit when the time was right for him to travel. Finally, on Dec. 11, Zelenskyy told Biden the time had arrived. From there, things quickly fell into place for Wednesday’s whirlwind visit. By Seung Min Kim. SENT: 971 words, photos.
STORYSHARE
NEW FROM THE AP: CLIMATE STORYSHARE NETWORK
Looking for more state news and photos? Sign up to participate in AP StoryShare, an online platform at storyshare.ap.org where news organizations from a growing list of states share content. We also have topical networks with reporting dedicated to education (K-12 and higher ed) and Indigenous peoples, shared by news organizations around the country. Our latest topical network: AP StoryShare-Climate, focused on climate change coverage from across the U.S. Access is free for AP members. For account information, contact Jennifer Lehman at jlehman@ap.org and Larry Rosenthal at lrosenthal@ap.org
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