AP News Digest 2 p.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. Find the AP’s top photos of the day in Today’s Photo Collection. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in AP Newsroom.

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WEEKEND COVERAGE

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For weekend stories, please click here for the Weekend Lookahead digest.

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TOP STORIES

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SYRIA-WEEK-ONE — A transformation has started to take place in the week since the unexpected overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar Assad. Suddenly in charge, the rebels have been met with a mix of excitement, grief and hope. And so far the transition has been surprisingly smooth. Reports of reprisals, revenge killings and sectarian violence are minimal, looting and destruction has been quickly contained. But there are a million ways it could go wrong. By Sarah El Deeb. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video. An abridged version is available.

MIDEAST-WARS-SYRIA — In churches across long-stifled Syria, Christians have marked the first Sunday services since the sudden collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in an air of transformation. Some were in tears, while others clasped their hands in prayer. By Abby Sewell. SENT: 780 words, photos, audio. With MIDEAST-WARS — Israel will close its Ireland embassy over Gaza tensions as Palestinian death toll nears 45,000; GERMANY-SYRIA — Germany warns Assad supporters involved in atrocities in Syria against trying to flee there; SYRIA-ASSAD-PICTURES — Candid photos of Syria’s Assad expose a world beyond the carefully crafted and repressive rule (all sent)

NONCITIZEN-VOTING — Ohio’s Republican secretary of state and attorney general sought to reassure voters before the November election that the state’s elections were being vigorously protected against the possibility of immigrants voting illegally. That push coincided with a national Republican messaging strategy warning that potentially thousands of ineligible voters would be voting. The officials’ efforts in Ohio led to charges against just six noncitizens in a state with 8 million registered voters. By Julie Carr Smyth. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.

SOUTH KOREA-MARTIAL-LAW — South Korea’s opposition leader has offered to work with the government to ease the political tumult as officials sought to reassure allies and markets, a day after the opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol over a short-lived attempt to impose martial law. By Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung. SENT: 890 words, photos, video, audio.

WINTRY-WEATHER — A tornado near a mall in central California has swept up cars, uprooted trees and sent several people to the hospital. In San Francisco, authorities issued the first-ever tornado warning. By Josh Funk. SENT: 630 words, photos, audio.

SMALL-BUSINESS-HOLIDAY-SHOPPING — With a late Thanksgiving, the holiday shopping season is five days shorter than last year, and owners of small retail shops say that people have been quick to snap up holiday décor early, along with gifts for others and themselves. Cozy items like sweaters are popular so far. By Business Writer Mae Anderson. SENT: 900 words, photos, audio.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — A Ukrainian drone has struck a campus belonging to Russia’s National Guard in the Russian region of Chechnya, as Kyiv continues to strike back after a mass air attack from Moscow. SENT: 490 words.

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MORE NEWS

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FILM-BOX-OFFICE — ‘Kraven the Hunter’ flops while ‘Moana 2’ tops the box office again. SENT: 600 words, photos.

RUSSIA-OIL-TANKERS-DAMAGED — Oil spill in Kerch Strait after two Russian oil tankers seriously damaged in storm. SENT: 270 words, photo.

BBO-FREDDIE-FREEMAN-BALL — Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam ball sells for $1.56 million at auction. SENT:260 words, photo.

TRANSPORTATION-SECURITY-CANINE — Argo the dog, a TSA calendar star, protects air travelers by sniffing out explosives. SENT: 530 words, photos.

NORTH-POLE-FLIGHT — Flight takes kids to visit Santa at North Pole scene in transformed Denver airport hangar. SENT: 430 words, photos, video, audio.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-SPECIAL-MISSIONS-ENVOY — President-elect Donald Trump has announced Saturday that he’s picked longtime foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell to serve as an envoy for special missions, tasking him with helping the incoming administration deal with some of the toughest foreign policy challenges. SENT: 600 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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DRONE-FLIGHTS — After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is urging the federal government to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify and ultimately stop the airborne pests. SENT: 470 words, photo.

INDIANA-EXECUTION-WHAT-TO-KNOW — Indiana officials are preparing to execute the state’s first death row inmate in 15 years. Joseph Corcoran was convicted in 1999 in the fatal shootings of his brother and three other men, including his sister’s fiancé. If Corcoran is put to death as scheduled Wednesday it will be the state’s first execution since 2009. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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FRANCE-POPE-CORSICA — Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica has called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. SENT: 880 words, photos, video.

WEST-AFRICA-ECOWAS — West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, approves an exit timeline for three coup-hit nations after a nearly yearlong process of mediation to avert the unprecedented disintegration of the grouping. SENT: 530 words, photos.

CYCLONE-CHIDO — The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is “several hundred” and may be close to 1,000, the island’s top government official has told the local broadcaster. SENT: 810 words, photos, video, audio.

BOLIVIA-JUDICIAL-ELECTIONS — Bolivia is the only country in the world that holds elections for top judicial posts. Soon Mexico will, too, after former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pushed through a highly contentious overhaul of the justice system in the face of mass protests. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

AUSTRALIA-INDONESIA-DRUG-TRAFFICKERS — Five Australians who had spent almost 20 years in Indonesian prisons for heroin trafficking have returned to Australia under a deal struck between the two governments, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says. SENT: 430 words, photos.

EUROPE-FUR TRADE — Finnish advocacy group Oikeutta Elaimille, or Justice for Animals, and Humane Society International have released images taken from an “undercover investigation” at three fur farms in western Finland in late October to highlight the behind-the-scenes realities of the trade. SENT: 830 words, photos, video.

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SPORTS

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FBC-HEISMAN-TROPHY — Two-way star Travis Hunter of Colorado has won the Heisman Trophy, punctuating a tireless performance all season by a dynamic player with a unique combination of skills. SENT: 890 words, photos. With HEISMAN-TROPHY-FOOTBALL:-PHOTO-COLLECTION — SENT.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450, ext. 1600. For photos, 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.

Athletes compete in the men's 4 X 7.5 km relay event at the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Israeli soldiers cross the security fence moving towards the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Syrian fighters aims their weapons in direction of suspected looters at a residential complex of former Bashar Assad's military officers at the village of Husseiniyeh, in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, of Colorado, kisses the trophy at a press conference after the awards ceremony, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Madeleine Bordon runs home with gifts in hand that she received at a pre-Christmas celebration organized by "Los Chicos de la Via" soup kitchen, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Georgian president-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili, 2nd right, poses for a selfie at the Georgian parliament, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday. Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo)

A Syrian girl with the colours of the "revolutionary" Syrian flag on her face, takes a selfie in front of the ancient Aleppo Citadel in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A young Palestinian girl plays at a street between destroyed buildings which were not only destroyed during the civil war they were also demolished by the government or stripped by thieves, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, outside Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man draws the "revolutionary" Syrian flag on a girl's face at the ancient Aleppo Citadel in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A dead child is carried into the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah after an Israeli army strike in the Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)