Top Stories Digest
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Your support makes all the difference.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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TOP STORIES
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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire. But he will face the same obstacles that have stifled a wider peace process for more than a decade, including a hawkish Israeli leadership, Palestinian divisions and deeply rooted tensions surrounding Jerusalem and its holy sites. By: Joseph Krauss. SENT: 800 words, photos.
BELARUS-FLIGHT DIVERTED — Western outrage grows and the European Union threatens more sanctions over the forced diversion of a plane to Belarus in order to arrest an opposition journalist in a dramatic gambit that some say amounted to state terrorism or sheer piracy. By Raf Casert and Vladimir Isachenkov. SENT: 1,330 words, photos. With BELARUS-DIVERTED FLIGHT-EXPLAINER — What was behind a jet’s diversion to Belarus? SENT: 800 words, photos; BELARUS-MEDIA — Belarus president signs tough law on media restrictions. SENT: 220 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-AUDITS — Six months after Donald Trump’s loss, conspiracy theorists and Trump backers are continuing their push for repeated examinations of the ballots and finding limited successes. Their efforts and sometimes misleading conclusions are being gleefully amplified by the former president. By Kate Brumback and Nicholas Riccardi. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
GEORGE FLOYD — The intersection where George Floyd took his final breaths was to be transformed Tuesday into an outdoor festival on the one-year anniversary of his death, with food, children’s activities and a long list of musical performers. Rapper Nur-D, one of the performers, tweeted that the event would be about “turning mourning into dancing.” By Doug Glass. SENT: 500 words, photos.
IMMIGRANT FAMILY REUNITED — Keldy Mabel Gonzales Brebe and her sons are trying to rebuild their lives together after they journeyed from Honduras to the U.S. to seek asylum, only to be separated at the border. The family is one of the first to be reunited under President Joe Biden’s Family Reunification Task Force. By Claudia Torrens. SENT: 1,800 words. WITH IMMIGRANT-FAMILY-REUNITED-ABRIDGED — Families separated at Mexico border build new American life. SENT: 830 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NYC-MOST HESITANT — If there’s a place where people should fear the coronavirus more than a vaccination needle, it is the Far Rockaway section of Queens. Nearly 460 residents of the seaside neighborhood have died of COVID-19, among the city’s top death rates. And yet, no place in New York City has a lower percentage of vaccinated people. By Arijeta Lajka. SENT: 1,175 words, photos, video.
CHINA-XINJIANG-FORCED LABOR — A backlash against reports of forced labor and other abuses toward a largely Muslim ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China’s cotton industry. But it’s unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways. By Ken Moritsugu and Dake Kang. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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BIDEN-AGENDA — It’s a pivotal time for many aspects of President Joe Biden’s ambitious agenda. The White House and Congress have been unable to meet key Memorial Day deadlines on crucial priorities. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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YEMEN-MYSTERIOUS AIR BASE — A mysterious air base is being built on a volcanic island off Yemen that sits in one of the world’s crucial maritime chokepoints for both energy shipments and commercial cargo. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 980 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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A STREET OF BLACK HISTORY — A New Orleans multimedia project aims to document and publicize the history of Claiborne Avenue, which has become notorious as an example of how highway projects often sliced through Black neighborhoods. UPCOMING: 920 words by 9 a.m., photos.
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SPORTS
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-JAPAN-US — Tokyo was quick to deny a U.S. warning for Americans to avoid traveling to Japan would have an impact on Olympians. Japan is determined to hold the Tokyo Games that start July 23. The U.S. cited a surge in coronavirus cases in Japan caused by virus variants that may even pose a risk to vaccinated people. The U.S. isn’t banning Americans from visiting Japan, but the warnings could affect insurance rates and whether people decide to join the Games. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 355 words, photos.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-COLBERT — In one more step toward a reopened entertainment world, CBS says Stephen Colbert’s late-night show will return on June 14 to episodes with a full studio audience. Audience members at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York will be required to show proof of vaccination before being admitted, and face masks will be optional for them. By David Bauder. SENT: 440 words, photos.