AP News Digest 6 p.m.

APTOPIX Afghanistan Security Woes (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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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Adds: POLICE CUSTODY-DEATH; BIDEN-FACT CHECK; BIDEN-AMBASSADORSHIP; VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-VACCINE-JACKPOT; AP-INTERVIEW-NATO; PAUL-RYAN-REPUBLICANS; RAILYARD-SHOOTING-CALIFORNIA-VICTIM-VINGETTES; VIRUS OUTBREAK-IDAHO MASK MANDATE BAN; CONGRESS-BANK-CEOS; RACIAL-INJUSTICE-EXPLOSIVES-CASE; MED-BIG-TEN-HEART-INFLAMMATION; SCI-MARS-HELICOPTER; GRANHOLM-STOCK SALE

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ONLY ON AP

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FEDERAL PRISONS-STAFFING CRISIS — Chronic understaffing at a federal prison in California hampered response to an inmate’s suicide this week. Prison workers who would normally rush to the scene weren’t able to leave posts where they were being forced to fill in as correctional officers. By Michael Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 920 words, photos.

RACISM-IN-THE-RANKS — A deep-rooted culture of racism and discrimination still festers in the U.S. armed forces, despite repeated efforts to eradicate it, The Associated Press has found. The military’s judicial system has no explicit category for hate crimes, making it difficult to quantify crimes motivated by prejudice, and the Defense Department also has no way to track the number of troops ousted for extremist views, despite its repeated pledges to root them out. By Kat Stafford, James LaPorta, Aaron Morrison and Helen Wieffering. SENT: 3,300 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,180 words has also been sent.

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TOP STORIES

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BIDEN-BUDGET — President Biden’s $6 trillion budget plan for next year would run a $1.8 trillion federal government deficit despite a raft of new tax increases on corporations and high-income people to pay for his ambitious spending for infrastructure and social programs. The budget, to be released Friday, is sure to give GOP critics ammunition to blast the new Democratic administration. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 900 words, photos.

CAPITOL BREACH-COMMISSION — Senate Republicans are ready to deploy the filibuster to block an independent commission to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, reviving debate over the archaic procedural tactic and suggesting limited prospects for bipartisan compromise. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1,020 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: Timing of vote uncertain, 1,100 words by 11 p.m. With CONGRESS-FILIBUSTER-EXPLAINER — How the filibuster works. SENT: 940 words, photos; CAPITOL BREACH-SICKNICK’S FAMILY — Brian Sicknick’s family wants to uncover every detail about the Jan. 6 insurrection, when the Capitol Police officer collapsed and later died. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video.

VIRUS OUTBREAK —- After a year of coronavirus lockdowns, the start of summer beckons with vacation plans made possible by relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. But a severe worker shortage brings a warning for travelers: Expect delays and pack a little patience. Lifeguards and hotel housekeepers are in short supply. So are rental cars. By John Seewer. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

POLICE CUSTODY-DEATH — The Washington state attorney general charged two Tacoma police officers with murder and one with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after telling them he couldn’t breathe as he was being restrained. By Gene Johnson. SENT: 580 words.

TULSA-MASSACRE-FINDING-GRAVES — As the U.S. marks 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre, researchers, including descendants of Black victims of the violence, are preparing to resume a search for remains believed to have been hastily buried in mass graves. By Ken Miller. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

RAILYARD-SHOOTING-CALIFORNIA — A Biden administration official says a man accused of killing nine people at a California rail yard spoke of hating his workplace while he was detained by U.S. customs officers after a 2016 trip to the Philippines. By Terence Chea, Janie Har and Stefanie Dazio. SENT: 1,035 words, photos. With: RAILYARD-SHOOTING-VICTIM-VIGNETTES — Victims of shooting recalled as loving, kind-hearted, heroic. SENT: 790 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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SCI-MARS-HELICOPTER — Navigation error sends NASA’s Mars helicopter on wild ride. SENT: 250 words.

BIDEN-AMBASSADORSHIP — AP source: Caroline Kennedy considered for ambassadorship. SENT: 450 words, photo.

VACCINE-PROTEST-ARREST — A Tennessee woman has reportedly been charged with reckless endangerment for driving through a COVID-19 vaccine distribution tent as a form of protest. SENT: 175 words.

MUSIC-USHER — Usher: ‘Confessions’ sequel album coming out this year. SENT: 415 words, photo.

HOUSTON-MISSING-GIRL — Man sentenced to 40 years in prison in death of Texas girl. SENT: 225 words.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-VACCINE-JACKPOT — Californians will be eligible for $116.5 million in prize money for getting coronavirus shots, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced, a windfall aimed at getting millions more vaccinated before the nation’s most populous state fully reopens next month. SENT: 440 words,

VIRUS OUTBREAK-IDAHO MASK MANDATE BAN — With the governor out of state, Idaho’s lieutenant governor issued an executive order banning mask mandates in schools and public buildings, saying the face-covering directives threatened people’s freedom. SENT: 500 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT-INSURANCE — Businesses could be spared billions of dollars of higher taxes in coming years — potentially freeing up money to spend on employees or invest in their operations — as a result of federal coronavirus aid flowing to the states. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE-INCENTIVE — The first winner of Ohio’s $1 million Vax-a-Million lottery says she’s still having a hard time believing it and still plans to buy a used car. SENT: 850 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA-VACCINE — Two vaccines made by China’s Sinopharm appear to be safe and effective against COVID-19, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association. SENT: 420 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Britain’s health minister defends his handling of the coronavirus pandemic after a former top government aide alleged the government’s botched response had led to tens of thousands of needless deaths. SENT: 400 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-EMPLOYERS-VACCINES — Experts say employers can make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory, with some exceptions. SENT: 250 words, graphic.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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CONGRESS-INFRASTRUCTURE — President Biden warns naysayers in Congress not to “get in the way” of his big infrastructure plans as the White House pans a counteroffer from GOP senators to tap unused COVID-19 relief for a more modest investment in roads, highways and other traditional public works projects. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, video. With CONGRESS-TECHNOLOGY BILL — A sweeping Senate technology bill heads toward crucial votes. UPCOMING: Time of votes uncertain, 600 words by 10 p.m., photos; BIDEN-FACT CHECK — Biden misstates the record when he asserts that half of his country has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. SENT: 250 words, photos.

BIDEN-BUDGET — President Biden’s $6 trillion budget plan for next year would run a $1.8 trillion federal government deficit despite a raft of new tax increases on corporations and high-income people to pay for his ambitious spending for infrastructure and social programs. SENT: 900 words, photos, video.

HARRIS-IMMIGRATION — Vice President Kamala Harris announces commitments from a dozen companies and organizations to invest in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration from the region. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 490 words, photos, video.

BIDEN-SYRIA OIL —The Biden administration won’t renew a sanctions waiver that allowed a politically connected U.S. oil company to operate in northeast Syria. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,060 words, photo.

BIDEN-EMHOFF — Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, campaigns with a Democratic congressional candidate in New Mexico. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 170 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 7 p.m. event, 400 words by 9 p.m., photos.

MILITARY-SEXUAL ASSAULT — Momentum is building in Congress for taking sexual assault prosecution authority out of the hands of military commanders. SENT: 1,000 words, photo.

UNITED STATES-RUSSIA — The Biden administration informs Russia that it will not rejoin a key arms control pact even as the two sides prepare for a summit next month. SENT: 800 words, photos.

PIPELINE-CYBERSECURITY ATTACK — U.S. pipeline operators will be required for the first time to conduct a cybersecurity assessment under a Biden administration directive in response to the ransomware hack that disrupted gas supplies in several states this month. SENT: 640 words, photo.

BIDEN-ENVIRONMENT — In the latest reversal of a Trump-era policy, the Environmental Protection Agency is restoring a rule that grants states and Native American tribes authority to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute rivers, streams and other waterways. SENT: 464 words, photo.

PAUL RYAN-REPUBLICANS — Former House Speaker Paul Ryan weighs in on the fight for the Republican Party’s future, urging conservatives to reject Donald Trump and “second-rate imitations.” SENT: 360 words, photo.

GRANHOLM-STOCK SALE — Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sells her ownership interest in an electric bus maker that President Biden touted last month. SENT: 320 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICER TRIAL-SENTENCES — Derek Chauvin may get sentenced to decades behind bars when he returns to a Minneapolis courtroom for sentencing. But if he does, he’ll be the exception. Statistics show that former police officers in the last several years generally receive sentences that are less than half as long as the typical sentence for murder. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

RACIAL-INJUSTICE-EXPLOSIVES-CASE — Black leaders are expressing outrage over probation and a suspended sentence for a white Missouri man who stockpiled explosives meant to target the Black Lives Matter movement and other protesters, and they urged federal prosecutors to take up the case. SENT: 520 words.

LOUISIANA-POLICE DEATH — The National Urban League and other civil rights activists are calling for authorities to fire and prosecute Louisiana State Police troopers involved in the 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, a Black man who died in police custody. SENT: 770 words, photos.

WILDFIRES-GETTING-READY — Wearing soot-smudged clothing and helmets, the wildland firefighters moved through a stand of ponderosa pines with hoes and other tools as flames tore through the underbrush. But these firefighters weren’t there to stop the fire. They had ignited it. The prescribed burn was part of a massive effort in wildlands across the West to prepare for a fire season that follows the worst one on record. SENT: 900 words, photos.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-INDIGENOUS-COLLEGES — Native American activists at colleges are pushing their schools to do more to atone for past wrongs, much in the way states, cities and universities are weighing reparations for slavery and discrimination against Black people. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, video.

BATHROOM-BILL-TENNESSEE — The sponsor of Tennessee’s new law requiring businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people use the bathrooms of their choice now says those who refuse could face up to six months in jail. Rep. Tim Rudd said this week that the misdemeanor penalty could apply. SENT: 835 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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AFGHANISTAN-SECURITY-WOES — The Afghan government says the army can hold its own after the last American and other NATO soldiers leave the country later this year. But military experts warn of a tough fight ahead for the poorly trained, ill-equipped troops whose loyalties waver between their country and local warlords. SENT: 1,290 words, photos. An abridged version of 910 words has also been sent.

AP-INTERVIEW-NATO — The head of NATO says the government and armed forces of Afghanistan are strong enough to stand on their own feet without international troops to back them. SENT: 650 words, photos.

BELARUS-OPPOSITION-IN-EXILE — Thousands of Belarusians who have fled the former Soviet nation amid a brutal crackdown on dissent are shocked by the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest an opposition journalist. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — The U.N. rights chief says that Israeli forces may have committed war crimes in the latest, 11-day war with the militant group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip. SENT: 430 words. With EMIRATES-ISRAEL-TIES — UAE and Israel press ahead with ties after Gaza cease-fire.

SYRIA-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — Syrian officials say President Bashar Assad has been re-elected for a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country, following an election described as illegitimate and a sham by the West and his opposition. SENT: 440 words.

NKOREA-NUCLEAR — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vows an “uncompromising struggle” against anti-socialist elements at home, state media reports, as he tries to fortify his power amid pandemic-related difficulties and U.S.-led economic sanctions. SENT: 840 words, photos.

MALI-CRISIS — Mali’s military has released the transitional president and prime minister from detention, a top officer said. The release of President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane came after they resigned Wednesday in the presence of international arbitrators who were in the West African nation to mediate the political crisis, according to Maj. Baba Cisse. SENT: 575 words, photos.

CONGO-VOLCANO — Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the city of Goma in eastern Congo fearing another volcanic eruption by Mount Nyiragongo, which spewed lava near the city last week. Traffic was jammed and pedestrians streamed through the streets, desperate to escape the impending danger. SENT: 415 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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CONGRESS-BANK-CEOS — The chief executives of the nation’s largest banks went in front of Congress for a second day, facing questions ranging from bitcoin to their efforts to keep Americans in their homes after government aid to pandemic-hit mortgage holders expires this summer. SENT: 650 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT-BENEFITS — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week to 406,000, a new pandemic low and more evidence that the job market is strengthening as the virus wanes and economy further reopens. WITH: ECONOMY-GDP — The U.S. economy grew at a robust annual rate of 6.4% in the first three months of this year, unchanged from the government’s initial estimate. SENT: 555 words, photo.

SHOPPERS-RETURN-TO-STORES — Americans are going back to one of their favorite past times: store shopping. With vaccinations rolling out and shoppers freer to go out maskless, retailers from Walmart to Macy’s are seeing an eager return to their stores after months of watching their customers focus on online buying during the pandemic. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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MED-BIG-TEN-HEART-INFLAMMATION — Heart inflammation is rare in Big Ten Conference athletes who’ve had COVID-19 and in most it cases causes no obvious symptoms, according to the first data published from a league registry. SENT: 580 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BKN--LAKERS-SUNS — LeBron James and the Lakers are back home for Game 3 after splitting two games in Phoenix. The Suns are getting great play from Deandre Ayton, who has hit 21 of 24 in this series, but Chris Paul’s ailing shoulder remains a concern. The Lakers haven’t hosted a playoff game since 2013. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 10 p.m.

CAR--INDY 500-WOMEN AT INDY — The Indy 500 will feature one predominantly female race team. The series’ chief diversity officer says IndyCar, IMS and IMS Productions is 35% to 40% women, with many in leadership roles. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 6 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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