AP News Digest 3:55 a.m.

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.

Get an early look at weekend coverage with the Weekend-Lookahead-Digest.

————————————

TOP STORIES

————————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed the nation and vowed to defend the country and its people from an armed rebellion declared by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Putin said the mutiny amounted to “a deadly threat to our statehood” and vowed “tough actions” in response. SENT: 1,290 words, photos, audio.

TRUMP-MISINFORMATION-ANALYSIS — Donald Trump continues to shatter the norms of American politics. No president has ever scorned the truth as regularly as Trump, who continues to lie about his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. As the 2024 race heats up, the nation faces the prospects of another campaign marred by falsehoods and misinformation. An AP News Analysis by David Klepper. SENT: 1,180 words, photo.

TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB — Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded. A formal inquiry has not yet been launched because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard, the U.S. Coast Guard says. By Patrick Whittle and Jennifer McDermott. SENT: 980 words, photos, video, audio. With TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB-WHY-IT-RESONATED — What the Titanic submersible saga and the Greek migrant shipwreck say about our reactions to tragedy; TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB-PAST-EXPERIENCES — Previous passengers recall ill-fated Titan: ‘I 100% knew this was going to happen;' TITANIC-TOURIST SUB-TICK TOCK — Follow the timeline of the Titan submersible’s journey from departure to discovery; TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB-COSTS — How much did Titan search cost? US Coast Guard’s bill alone will be in the millions, experts say (all sent).

AIRLINES-SUSTAINABLE-FUEL — When it comes to flying, going green may cost you more. And it’s going to take a while for the strategy to take off. Sustainability was a hot topic this week at the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest event for the aviation industry, which faces increasing pressure to reduce the climate-changing greenhouse gases that aircraft spew. By Airlines Writer David Koenig. SENT: 900 words, photos.

IRAN-RESTORING-CADILLACS — A restorer in Iran is bringing back the Cadillac Sevilles once assembled in the country. The Seville represented the height of luxury in Iran just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. General Motors had partnered with an Iranian firm to build the sedans, selling them for two-and-a-half times the price in America at the zenith of the country’s oil wealth. By Amir Vahdat. SENT: 950 words, photos.

HOMELESS-PETS-STREET-VETERINARIAN — A California veterinarian is caring for the pets of the state’s homeless population. Dr. Kwane Stewart calls himself the Street Vet. He started caring for homeless pets nearly a decade ago after first helping a flea-infested dog outside a convenience store. He regularly walks into the heart of infamous Skid Row in Los Angeles in his work for his nonprofit, Project Street Vet. California is home to nearly a third of the country’s homeless population. Advocacy group Pets of the Homeless says about 10% of homeless people nationally have pets. But Stewart believes that number is higher, and says his goal is to help as many of the pets as possible. By Janie McCauley. SENT: 900 words, photos.

——————————————————-

MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR

——————————————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR-IRAN DRONES — The United States, Britain and France demands that the United Nations urgently investigate Russia’s reported use of hundreds of Iranian-provided drones in the war in Ukraine, which would violate U.N. sanctions. But it’s unclear whether the U.N. will do so in the face of strong opposition from Russia. SENT: 410 words, photos.

RUSSIA-WAGNER-GROUP-EXPLAINER — The head of the private military contractor Wagner called Friday for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister. Russian security services reacted immediately by opening a criminal investigation into Yevgeny Prigozhin. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

RUSSIA-PRIGOZHIN — Once a low-profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, Yevgeny Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine. As the leader of a mercenary force who depicts himself as fighting many of the Russian military’s toughest battles in Ukraine, the 62-year-old Prigozhin has now moved into his most dangerous role yet: preaching open rebellion against his country’s military leadership. SENT: 970 words, photo.

——————————————————-

SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

——————————————————-

HAWAIIAN-DRAG-QUEENS — The concept of gender fluidity — or “mahu” — has existed easily in Hawaii for hundreds of years, the hallmark of a culture that offers space between the concepts of male and female and uses a language that lacks gendered pronouns. Now, as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric inflames the country, Native Hawaiians are making a move to remind modern generations of the respected place gender fluidity holds in their own culture. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.

——————————

MORE NEWS

——————————

MCCARTHY-TRUMP IMPEACHMENT — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said he supports the idea of expunging the two impeachments of Donald Trump as hard-right Republican allies of the former president introduce a pair of proposals to declare it as though the historic charges never happened. SENT: 500 words, photo.

TRUMP-CLASSIFIED-DOCUMENTS — The Justice Department has asked a judge on to postpone until December the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump for retaining classified documents. SENT: 200 words, photo.

OBIT-SAROKIN — H. Lee Sarokin, the federal judge who freed boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and in a landmark case famously said tobacco companies engaged in a “vast” conspiracy to conceal the dangers of smoking, has died in California, news outlets report. He was 94. SENT: 430 words, photos.

PEOPLE-JULIAN-SANDS — The family of actor Julian Sands has released its first statement five months after he disappeared while hiking in California. SENT: 200 words, photos.

———————————————————-

WASHINGTON/ POLITICS

———————————————————-

INTELLIGENCE-COVID-ORIGINS — U.S. officials have released an intelligence report that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began. SENT: 570 words, photo.

HUNTER BIDEN-GARLAND — Attorney General Merrick Garland has pushed back against claims from IRS whistleblowers that the Justice Department interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden, saying more broadly that attacks on the department’s independence are corrosive. SENT: 620 words, photos, audio.

——————————-

NATIONAL

———————————

PHILANTHROPY-ABORTION-FUNDING — The ″ rage giving ″ did not last. Abortion access groups who received a windfall of donations following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade one year ago say those emergency grants have ended and individual and foundation giving has dropped off. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.

TRANSGENDER-BIRTH-CERTICATES-KANSAS — Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney is successful with a legal move he has launched. SENT: 940 words, photo.

FOUR-KILLED-UNIVERSITY-OF-IDAHO-GAG-ORDER — An Idaho judge has denied a request from roughly two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The judge did, however, significantly narrow the gag order in response to the news organizations’ concerns. SENT: 730 words, photo.

BOOK-BAN-WEEKEND — Book bans and how to fight them will be a major focus of the American Library Association’s annual meeting this weekend in Chicago. Librarians may attend sessions aimed at helping them confidently counter book challenges, fight legislative censorship and ensure “access to information and the freedom to read.” All day, attendees are invited to climb atop a giant chair to read their favorite banned book. SENT: 520 words, photos.

DRAG-SHOW-LAW-FLORIDA — A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Florida law targeting drag shows that was championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. SENT: 350 words, photo.

FENTANYL-SUPPLY CHAIN — The U.S. Justice Department has filed criminal charges against four Chinese companies and eight individuals for allegedly trafficking the chemicals used to make the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl in the United States and Mexico. SENT: 500 words, photos.

BORDER-PATROL-FATAL SHOOTING — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released body camera footage that shows Border Patrol agents were concerned that a tribal member they fatally shot last month may have been carrying a handgun during an encounter on a remote corner of the Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona. SENT: 430 words, photo.

—————————————

INTERNATIONAL

—————————————

BRITAIN-BATTLE-OF-BAMBER-BRIDGE — The village of Bamber Bridge in northwestern England is marking the 80th anniversary of what’s now known as the Battle of Bamber Bridge. When an all-Black U.S. Army regiment rolled into town during World War II, residents refused to accept the segregation ingrained in the U.S. military. But simmering tensions between Black soldiers and white military police exploded in June 1943 when a dispute outside a pub escalated into a night of violent confrontations. Now residents are telling the story of what happened that night and how it changed the treatment of Black soldiers in the United States. SENT: 1,470 words, photos.

GREECE-ELECTIONS-THE-FRINGES — With the formerly ascendant, Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party broken, its leadership in prison, and the anti-Western left defanged, Greece’s political fringes are looking more gauche than sinister. Still, up to five small parties — three on the far right and two on the far left — could conceivably reach the 3% support needed to enter Parliament in Sunday’s repeat elections, despite a swing back to mainstream politicians as the scars of Greece’s 10-year financial crisis gradually heal. SENT: 830 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — A Palestinian assailant has opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank before being shot and killed, Israeli police said, the latest incident in months of escalating violence. SENT: 360 words, photo.

UNITED-NATIONS-SUDAN — The U.N. Security Council has called for a halt to fighting in Sudan and the protection of civilians. The brief press statement followed closed consultations by the U.N.’s most powerful body. SENT: 270 words, photos.

—————————————————

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

————————————————-

FORD-BATTERY-PLANTS-TENNESSEE — Massive battery plants planned in Tennessee and Kentucky for Ford’s electric vehicles are on track to receive up to a $9.2 billion federal loan in what would be the biggest award under the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan program since President Joe Biden took office. SENT: 790 words, photos.

HEAT DOME-FOSSIL FUEL-LAWSUIT — Oregon’s most populous county is suing more than a dozen fossil fuel companies to recover costs related to extreme weather events. SENT: 410 words, photo.

————————-

SPORTS

—————————

BKN--SPURS-WEMBANYAMA ARRIVES — The chants from hundreds of fans, some of whom waited outside for hours in nearly 100-degree heat, started at the very moment Victor Wembanyama stepped out of the private plane that carried him to his new NBA home. And the NBA’s newest No. 1 draft pick reveled in his first San Antonio moment, waving at the fans and letting them know how much he was enjoying it all. SENT: 740 words, photos.

——————————————-

HOW TO REACH US

——————————————-

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.