AP News Digest 3:30 a.m.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
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.
—————————-
TOP STORIES
—————————-
BIDEN-MIDEAST — President Joe Biden will lay out his strategy for the Middle East as he closes out of the final leg of a four-day trip meant to bolster U.S. positioning and knit the region together against Iran. By Aamer Madhani, Aya Batrawy, Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1,010 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after meetings begin at 4 a.m.
CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION-SECRET SERVICE — The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack has subpoenaed the Secret Service for text messages agents reportedly deleted around Jan. 6, 2021, as the panel probes Donald Trump’s actions at the time of the deadly siege. By Farnoush Amiri and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 960 words, photos.
SRI LANKA — Sri Lankan lawmakers meet to begin choosing a new leader to serve the rest of the term abandoned by the president who fled abroad and resigned after mass protests over the country’s economic collapse. By Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi. SENT: 930 words, photos, video. With AP INTERVIEW-SRI LANKA OPPOSITION LEADER — Candidate vows to listen to Sri Lankans (sent).
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — In eastern Ukraine’s Kramatorsk, a few children still can be seen on mostly empty playgrounds as artillery sounds in the distance against Russian invaders. Authorities plead with residents of the Donetsk region to leave immediately, and it’s jarring to see some children remain, including babies. By Cara Anna. SENT: 950 words, photos.
MONTANA-HIGHWAY-PILEUP — Six people have died after a dust storm fueled by wind gusts topping 60 mph caused a pileup Friday evening on Interstate 90 in Montana, authorities say. Twenty-one vehicles crashed and Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson said authorities believe the weather was the cause. SENT: 520 words, photos.
—————————-
TRENDING
—————————-
ABORTION-CHILD-RAPE-ARREST — A lawyer has emailed the Indiana state’s attorney general asking him to stop spreading false or misleading information about an Indianapolis doctor who performed an abortion in June on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio. SENT: 420 words, photos.
IVANA-TRUMP-CAUSE-OF-DEATH — Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump and mother to his eldest children, died accidentally from blunt impact injuries to her torso, the New York City medical examiner’s office says. SENT: 300 words, photos.
SHOOTING-JULY-FOURTH-PARADE-CORGAN — Rock singer Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins will perform a charity livestream show on July 27 to benefit the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago that killed seven people and wounded more than 30. SENT: 160 words, photos.
INTERSTATE-LANDING-MISSOURI — An intoxicated pilot was arrested after landing a small aircraft on Interstate 70 southeast of Kansas City, Missouri, after radioing that he had run out of fuel, authorities said.
—————————————————————————
MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE
——————————————————————————
BIDEN-RUSSIA-IRAN — The White House says Russian officials have visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice in recent weeks to view weapons-capable drones it is looking to acquire for use in its ongoing war in Ukraine. SENT: 360 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-LIZA — Liza, a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome, was killed by a missile in Ukraine. Images telling the story of her life and its end are touching hearts worldwide. SENT: 550 words, photos.
——————————————————
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
——————————————————-
ELECTION 2022-HOUSE-OCASIO-CORTEZ — New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among the most famous politicians in America, but she says she wants to ensure she’s connected to her district and does not appear out-of-touch while having an outsized national profile. By Michelle L. Price. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
FEDERAL-JUDGESHIP-KENTUCKY — The White House has dropped plans to nominate an anti-abortion lawyer backed by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for a federal judgeship in Kentucky. SENT: 420 words, photo.
ELECTION-SECURITY-COLORADO-CLERK — An indicted Colorado clerk who has become a hero to election conspiracy theorists will remain free on bond but will have to get court permission before traveling out of state, a judge rules. SENT: 470 words.
—————————-
NATIONAL
—————————-
POLICE SHOOTING-JAYLAND WALKER — Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man who died last month at the hands of police in Akron, Ohio, was shot dozens of times, with 26 bullets recovered from his body, according to a preliminary autopsy report. SENT: 670 words, photos.
MARYLAND-STATE-POLICE-BLACK-TROOPERS — The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation into the Maryland State Police to determine if the agency engaged in racially discriminatory hiring and promotion practices, federal prosecutors have announced. SENT: 700 words, photo.
CALIFORNIA-7-ELEVEN-SHOOTINGS — Two men were arrested in connection with a series of robberies at Southern California 7-Eleven stores that left two people dead and three wounded. Police said the men are suspected in another killing and other crimes in the region. SENT: 600 words, photos.
MARIACHI-STAMPS — There are few corners of the globe where the echoes of mariachi music have yet to reach, filling street corners with the sounds of the blasting trumpets and strumming guitars that form the backbone of Mexico’s traditional genre. Now, all that festive fever is being packed into a tiny U.S. postage stamp. The U.S. Postal Service celebrated the release of a new series of stamps honoring mariachi. SENT: 620 words, photos.
ABORTION-SOUTH DAKOTA — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has said that she has reversed her initial plan to call a special legislative session this year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. SENT: 330 words, photo.
EMMETT TILL — Mississippi’s attorney general has no plan to prosecute the white woman whose accusation set off the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till nearly 70 years ago. SENT: 520 words, photos.
ABORTION-EXCEPTIONS — The Supreme Court’s decision to throw out Roe v. Wade and an Ohio 10-year-old who was forced to leave the state to obtain an abortion after police say a man raped her are focusing new attention on pregnancies involving rape or incest. SENT: 820 words.
TENURE DISPUTE-SLAVERY PROJECT — The flagship school of North Carolina’s university system says it has reached a settlement with a journalist who ultimately shunned the school in a dispute over tenure. SENT: 370 words, photos.
————————————-
INTERNATIONAL
————————————-
FRANCE-IMMIGRATION-DIVERSITY — Two landmark new studies in France are bursting myths about immigration at a time when xenophobic far-right discourse has gained ground. They show that the children of immigrants are increasingly melting into French society but some with African and Asian backgrounds face persistent discrimination. SENT: 850 words, photos.
MEXIC0-DRUG LORD CAPTURE — As Mexican marines closed in on infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero deep in the mountains of his native state of Sinaloa, it was a 6-year-old bloodhound named “Max” who rousted from the undergrowth the man allegedly responsible for the murder of a U.S. DEA agent more than three decades ago. SENT: 750 words, photo.
SOUTH-KOREA-PRIDE-PARADE — Thousands of gay rights supporters celebrated under a heavy police guard in the South Korean capital as they marked the city’s first Pride parade in three years after a COVID-19 hiatus. SENT: 480 words.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — The Israeli military attacked what it said was a Hamas military site in the Gaza Strip early Saturday in response to a pair of rocket attacks overnight. The exchange that took place hours after U.S. President Joe Biden concluded a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. SENT: 280 words.
GUATEMALA-MIGRANT VICTIMS — Guatemala has repatriated its first victim from the smuggling attempt that left 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America dead last month in San Antonio, Texas. SENT: 180 words, photos.
————————————————
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
————————————————-
MUSK-TWITTER-LAWSUIT — Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired back Friday at Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to force him to complete his $44 billion acquisition of the platform, according to multiple news reports. SENT: 200 words, photo.
BIDEN-RAILR0AD-CONTRACT-TALKS — President Joe Biden has blocked a freight railroad strike for at least 60 days by naming a board of arbitrators to intervene in the contract dispute, averting action that could have disrupted all kinds of shipments. SENT: 730 words, photo.
—————————————-
HEALTH/SCIENCE
—————————————-
MONKEYPOX — More than 100,000 monkeypox vaccine doses are being sent to states in the next few days, U.S. health officials say. By Medical Writer Mike Stobbe. SENT: 540 words, photos.
————————
SPORTS
————————
GLF--BRITISH OPEN — Cameron Smith carries his first lead at a major into the weekend at the British Open. The of Australian had six birdies in 10 holes and made a long eagle putt for a second-round 64 and leads by two over Cameron Young. Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland are three shots behind at St. Andrews. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos (3rd round underway). With GLF--British Open-Woods; GLF-British-Open-Rival-League; GLF--British Open-Gooch; GLF--British Open-Notebook; GLF--British Open-Glance; GLF--British Open-Key Hole (sent).
DODGERS-ANGELS — Clayton Kershaw took a perfect game through the seventh and finished with eight scoreless innings of one-hit ball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. After retiring the Angels’ first 21 batters in order, Kershaw fell six outs short of his first perfect game and the second in Dodgers franchise history. By Greg Beacham. SENT: 800 words, photos.
ATH--WORLDS-SUNSCREEN AND DOPING — Shortly after last year’s Olympics, the urine samples of some six dozen athletes came back with traces of a banned stimulant. Career-altering penalties loomed. But they were avoided thanks to some nimble sleuthing by antidoping scientists in the U.S. and Germany. By National Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 990 words, photos. With ATH--Worlds-Day 1; ATH—Worlds-The Tired Sprinter (sent).
——————————————
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
——————————————-
MEDIA-TEXAS-SCHOOL-SHOOTING — Two news outlets’ decision to release an excruciating 77-minute video this week showing police inaction during the Robb Elementary School mass shooting drew a harsh response from residents of Uvalde, Texas, even though they have sought this type of transparency for weeks. By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 730 words, photos...
WORDLE-BOARD GAME — The company that makes some of the world’s most iconic board games including Scrabble, Monopoly, and Clue is developing a new one based on Wordle, the obsessively popular digital word-guessing game. SENT: 350 words, photo.
———————————————
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 http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.