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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— CHINA-CLIMATE-EXPLAINER, which was listed on previous digest, will not move this cycle.
Adds: DEFINING-A-RECESSION-EXPLAINER, COAL-LEASING-CLIMATE-CHANGE, HOUSE-FIRE-PENNSYLVANIA, NEW MEXICO-CAR HITS PARADE, GAS-PIPELINE-INVESTIGATION, UNITED NATIONS-NORTH KOREA, GREECE-SPYWARE, OBIT-SAM GOODEN, PYTHON CHALLENGE-FLORIDA.
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ONLY ON AP
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THE AP INTERVIEW-SAMANTHA POWER — For Samantha Power, the top official in charge of U.S. aid, explaining the role Russia’s war on Ukraine is playing in a worsening global food crisis is part of the job — as is directing billions of dollars in U.S. humanitarian support. Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, tells the AP, “We’re not going to allow more lies to be perpetuated.” By Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 930 words, photos, video.
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TOP STORIES
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UNITED STATES-CHINA — China says it is canceling or suspending dialogue with the U.S. on a range of issues from climate change to military relations and anti-narcotics efforts in retaliation for a visit this week to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. By Ellen Knickmeyer, Zeke Miller and David Rising. SENT: 1,350 words, photos, video. WITH: CHINA-CLIMATE-EXPLAINER — China has cut off climate talks with the U.S., imperiling future global climate negotiations, but not necessarily blunting the impacts of significant climate actions at home in both countries. SENT: 940 words, photos.
ECONOMY-JOBS REPORT — U.S. employers added an astonishing 528,000 jobs last month despite flashing warning signs of an economic downturn, easing fears of a recession and handing President Biden some good news heading into the midterm elections. Unemployment dropped another notch, from 3.6% to 3.5%, matching the more than 50-year low reached just before the pandemic took hold. By Paul Wiseman. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. WITH: DEFINING-A-RECESSION-EXPLAINER — How, exactly, do we know when an economy is in recession? Here are some answers to such questions. SENT: 1,300 words, photos.
CONGRESS-BUDGET-SINEMA — Sen. Joe Manchin sealed the deal on President Joe Biden’s big economic package. But another Democratic senator, Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, quietly and deliberately shaped the final bill, one piece at a time. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 900 words, photos. WITH: CONGRESS-BUDGET — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats have pared part of their proposed minimum tax on huge corporations. SENT: 840 words, photos; CONGRESS-BUDGET-HIGHLIGHTS — What’s in the package. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
NEWTOWN SHOOTING-INFOWARS — A Texas jury has ordered Infowars’ Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in total damages to the parents of a first-grader killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which the conspiracy theorist falsely called a hoax orchestrated by the government in order to tighten U.S. gun laws. By Jim Vertuno. SENT: 1,290 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes in Gaza, killing at least 10 people, including a senior militant, and wounding dozens, according to Palestinian officials. Israel said it was targeting the Islamic Jihad militant group in response to an “imminent threat” following the arrest of another senior militant in the occupied West Bank earlier this week. By Fares Akram and Joseph Krauss. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-WISCONSIN GOVERNOR — Republican hopes to reclaim a crucial governor’s seat in Wisconsin this year long appeared to rest on Rebecca Kleefisch, a former TV news anchor who spent eight years as former Gov. Scott Walker’s heir apparent and vowed to continue his sharply conservative policies. Then a wealthy construction company owner jumped in, dumped $12 million of his own money into the race and won Donald Trump’s backing. By Scott Bauer. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated following 8 p.m. Trump rally. WITH: ELECTION 2022-TENNESSEE — A Nashville doctor critical of Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s hands-off approach to the COVID-19 pandemic has won the Democratic nomination for governor. Martin defeated Memphis attorney and City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. by a thin margin, with advocate Carnita Atwater finishing a distant third. SENT: 380 words, photos.
REL-VIRTUAL-REALITY-SACRED-SITES — Worshippers, tourists and visitors around the world are increasingly joining virtual reality spiritual trips to some of Earth’s most sacred sites. Without ever leaving home, you can gaze at the majesty of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. Or join thousands of pilgrims in Mecca as they pray and circle the cube-shaped Kaaba building at Islam’s most sacred site. Or tour the holy city of Jerusalem, to the murmur of Jewish prayers at the Western Wall and the “amens” of worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. By Luis Andres Henao. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, video.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Three more ships carrying thousands of tons of corn left Ukrainian ports Friday and traveled mined waters toward inspection of their delayed cargo, a sign that an international deal to export grain held up since Russia invaded Ukraine was slowly progressing. But major hurdles lie ahead to get food to the countries that need it most. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-PROTEST — Relatives of prisoners of war captured by the Russians following the fall of Mariupol gathered in central Kyiv Thursday demanding information about their husbands, fathers and sons following a strike on a prison housing POWs in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine last week that reportedly killed and wounded dozens. SENT: 980 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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PYTHON CHALLENGE-FLORIDA — More than 800 competitors will be trudging through the Florida Everglades for the next eight days, in search of invasive Burmese pythons that will bring in thousands of dollars in prize money. SENT: 210 words, photo.
OBIT-SAM GOODEN — Sam Gooden, one of the original members of the Chicago soul group The Impressions and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has died. He was 87. SENT: 230 words.
LIGHTNING STRIKE-WHITE HOUSE — A husband and wife from Wisconsin celebrating more than five decades of marriage were killed in a lightning strike outside the White House. SENT: 370 words, photo.
LIBRARY-OFFICER SHOOTING — A retired police lieutenant has been arrested after police say he fatally shot a fellow law enforcement officer during a training exercise at a Washington D.C. library. SENT: 295 words, photos.
TWITTER-MUSK-LAWSUIT — Elon Musk reportedly accused Twitter of fraud in a countersuit over his aborted $44 billion deal for the social media company. SENT: 250 words, photos.
NEBRASKA-DEATHS — Police investigating the killings of four people in a small northeast Nebraska city have arrested a neighbor of the victims, the Nebraska State Patrol said. SENT: 390 words, photos.
FRANCE-WHALE IN SEINE — French authorities are tracking a Beluga whale that has strayed far from its Artic habitat into the Seine River. SENT: 370 words, photos.
FRANCE-DROUGHT — French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne warned that France is facing its “most severe drought” ever recorded and announced the activation of a government crisis unit. SENT: 375 words, photo.
BRITAIN-LIFE-SUPPORT-BATTLE — A British court has rejected a request from the parents of a comatose boy to allow them to move their son to a hospice when hospital doctors withdraw his life-support treatment. SENT: 380 words, photos.
NOT-REAL-NEWS — A look at what didn't happen this week. SENT: 2,055 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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META-ELECTION-MISINFORMATION — Facebook owner Meta is quietly curtailing some of the safeguards designed to thwart voting misinformation or foreign interference in U.S. elections as the November midterm vote approaches. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.
IMMIGRATION-PENTAGON — The Pentagon rejected a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance in what the mayor has called a “growing humanitarian crisis” prompted by thousands of migrants being bused to the city from two southern states. SENT: 785 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY — Democrats may be moving toward shaking up their presidential nominating process starting in 2024. They’re poised to boot Iowa from the lead-off spot as part of a broader effort to allow earlier primaries in less overwhelmingly white states that better reflect the party’s diverse electorate. SENT: 1,330 words, photos.
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION — Republicans have chosen Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin to host the 2024 national convention, beating out Nashville in deep-red Tennessee. The decision, announced at the Republican National Committee’s summer meeting on Friday in Chicago, follows months of wrangling by both states to land the convention where the party’s next presidential candidate will be officially nominated. SENT: 360 words, photos.
CAPITOL RIOT-POLICE OFFICER — Federal prosecutors are recommending an eight-year prison sentence for an off-duty Virginia police officer who was convicted by a jury of storming the U.S. Capitol. In a court filing, prosecutors say former Rocky Mount Police Sgt. Thomas Robertson used his law enforcement training to block police officers who were trying to protect the Capitol from a mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021. SENT: 685 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIDEN — President Joe Biden, still isolated in the White House residence with COVID-19, signs two measures aimed at curbing fraud in pandemic relief programs. SENT: 330 words, photos.
CONGRESS-IRS — One of Washington’s favorite punching bags, the Internal Revenue Service, may finally get the resources it’s been asking Congress for if Democrats get their economic package focused on energy and health care over the finish line. SENT: 850 words, photo.
INSULIN PRICES-EXPLAINER — Reining in the soaring prices of insulin has thus far been elusive in Congress, although Democrats say they’ll try again as part of their economic package that focuses on health and climate. Why is insulin so expensive? SENT: 730 words, photo.
COAL-LEASING-CLIMATE-CHANGE — A federal agency has once again failed to consider possible damage to the environment caused by mining coal when setting land management policies governing a major coal-producing region in Wyoming and Montana, a judge ruled this week. SENT: 590 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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SEVERE-WEATHER-APPALACHIA-GRIEVING — Angel Campbell should have been looking through photo albums and eating soup beans in her grandmother’s living room this week. Now the living room is gone and so is her grandmother. At least 37 people died as massive floods roared through Appalachian communities of eastern Kentucky last week. Funeral homes have settled into a steady cadence of visitations and memorials, one after another. They press on with the grim work of recovering and burying the dead even as more rain falls. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. WITH: SEVERE-WEATHER-APPALACHIA — Thunderstorms have returned to parts of Kentucky already reeling from devastating floods. SENT: 405 words, photos.
HOUSE-FIRE-PENNSYLVANIA — As many as 10 people are dead after a house fire early Friday in northeastern Pennsylvania, according to a volunteer firefighter who responded and said the victims were his relatives. SENT: 300 words. UPCOMING: Developing. AP Photos pursuing.
NEW MEXICO-CAR HITS PARADE — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez was among those almost hit as a large SUV barreled through a Native American parade in western New Mexico, injuring at least 15 people. Police detained the driver. SENT: 650 words, photos.
WESTERN WILDFIRES — A small town in Washington state was evacuated due to a fast-moving fire that burned a half-dozen homes, as crews in California made progress against the state’s deadliest and largest wildfire of the year. SENT: 880 words, photos.
WILDFIRE-RISK MAP-OREGON — A new map in Oregon that rated the wildfire risk of every tax lot in the state — labeling nearly 80,000 structures as high-risk — generated so much pushback from angry homeowners that officials abruptly retracted it, saying they had not done enough local outreach before publicizing the ambitious project. SENT: 995 words, photos.
GAS-PIPELINE-INVESTIGATION — The developer of a major pipeline system that connects the Marcellus Shale gas field in western Pennsylvania to an export terminal near Philadelphia pleaded no contest Friday to criminal charges that it systematically polluted waterways and residential water wells across hundreds of miles. SENT: 760 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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IRAQ-CLERIC'S-SUPPORTERS — Khalil Ibrahim’s four sons are among thousands of followers of an influential Shiite cleric staging a sit-in outside Iraq’s parliament after storming the building last week in a stunning move that threw the country into a new era of political instability. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. WITH: IRAQ-PROTESTS — Hundreds of thousands gather for mass prayer in Baghdad. SENT: 460 words, photos.
SOMALIA-ETHIOPIA-AL-SHABAB'S-SPREAD — The al-Shabab extremist group has exploited Ethiopia’s internal turmoil to cross the border from neighboring Somalia in unprecedented attacks in recent weeks that a top U.S. military commander has warned could continue. SENT: 930 words, photos.
THAILAND-PUB-FIRE — Police and rescue workers say 14 people were killed and dozens badly injured when a fire broke out at a crowded music pub in Thailand. SENT: 560 words, photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-BANKSY — A long-lost painting by the British graffiti artist Banksy has resurfaced in a swank art gallery in downtown Tel Aviv, an hour’s drive and a world away from the concrete wall in the occupied West Bank where it was initially sprayed. SENT: 980 words, photos and video.
MEXICO-TRAPPED-MINERS — Round-the-clock pumping slightly lowered the level of water inside the flooded shafts of a coal mine where 10 miners were trapped in northern Mexico, but two days after a collapse it remained too high for anyone to attempt a rescue, authorities said. SENT: 380 words, photos.
GREECE-SPYWARE — The head of Greece’s intelligence service and the general secretary of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office have resigned amid a scandal involving the targeting of the head of an opposition party and a journalist with spyware. SENT: 500 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-NORTH KOREA — U.N. experts report that North Korea is testing “nuclear triggering devices” and that its preparations for another nuclear test. SENT: 870 words.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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MED-BRITAIN-MONKEYPOX — British health authorities said the monkeypox outbreak across the country may be peaking and that the epidemic’s growth rate has slowed. The U.K.’s Health Security Agency said in a statement there were “early signs that the outbreak is plateauing,” with 2,859 cases detected since May. No deaths have been reported. Last month, authorities estimated the outbreak was doubling in size about every two weeks, but the number of new infections has dropped in recent weeks. SENT: 510 words, photos.
SPAIN-MONKEYPOX — Spain is struggling to curtail Europe’s leading monkeypox outbreak since the disease spread beyond Africa. The southern European nation counts over 4,500 cases and two men have died from the disease. Authorities and groups in the LGBTQ community are honing their campaigns to get vaccines to the most needy members of the most affected demographic so far. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks closed mostly lower after new data on the hot U.S. jobs market suggested the Fed won’t soon rein in its aggressive rate hikes. The S&P 500 is down 0.2% and the Nasdaq lost 0.5%, while the Dow Jones industrials notched a small gain.. SENT: 760 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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TV-GOLDEN-GIRLS-POP-UP-RESTAURANT — Picture it: A vacant Beverly Hills bistro has been transformed into the set of a 1980s sitcom about four women living in Miami but it’s also a working restaurant. Reservations have been going fast at the newly opened “The Golden Girls Kitchen.” Thirty years after “The Golden Girls” ended on NBC, fans still can’t let go of the sitcom about four housemates bonding over aging, dating and cheesecake. SENT: 830 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKW—EQUAL PAY-COLLEGE REFEREES — The NCAA earned praise last year when it agreed to pay referees at its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments equally. The gesture only cost about $100,000, a tiny fraction of the roughly $900 million networks pay annually to broadcast March Madness. Now, as the NCAA examines various disparities across men’s and women’s sports, pressure is rising to also pay referees equally during the regular season. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
RUSSIA-GRINER -- The Kremlin says it’s open to talking about a possible prisoner exchange involving American basketball star Brittney Griner but strongly warned Washington against publicizing the issue. A judge convicted the 31-year-old Griner Thursday of drug possession and smuggling, and sentenced her to nine years in prison. SENT: 630 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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