AP News Digest 7 a.m.

APTOPIX Israel Palestinians (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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TOP STORIES

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes on what it said were militant targets in Gaza, leveling a six-story building, and militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Tuesday. Palestinians across the region observed a general strike as the war, now in its second week, showed no signs of abating. The strikes toppled a building that housed libraries and educational centers belonging to the Islamic University, leaving behind a massive mound of rebar and concrete slabs. Desks, office chairs, books and computer wires could be seen in the debris. Residents sifted through the rubble, searching for their belongings. By Fares Akram and Joseph Krauss. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-DIPLOMACY — President Biden expresses support for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but stops short of demanding an immediate stop to the Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket barrages that have killed more than 200 people, most of them Palestinian. By Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Lee and Edith M. Lederer. SENT: 940 words, photos, video. WITH EUROPE-ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — EU foreign ministers are set to meet to weigh how best to use the 27-nation bloc’s political clout to help diplomatic efforts to end the fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinians militants. SENT: 240 words, photos.

GAZA-EXPLAINER-WAR CRIMES — A week into their fourth war, Israel and the Hamas militant group already face allegations of possible war crimes in Gaza. Israel says Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while critics say Israel is using disproportionate force. Experts say that in such circumstances it could prove difficult to identify clear violations by either side. By Joseph Krauss. SENT: 980 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-ABORTION POLITICS — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a potentially ground-breaking abortion case, and the news is energizing activists on both sides of the contentious issue. They’re already girding to make abortion access a high-profile issue in next year’s midterm elections. By David Crary and Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,160 words, photos. With SUPREME COURT-ABORTION-EXPLAINER — Questions and answers about the high court’s decision to take on a major abortion case. SENT: 580 words, photo.

CAPITOL BREACH-SECURITY — Threats to members of Congress have more than doubled this year, and many lawmakers say they fear for their personal safety more than they did before the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol. Several say they have boosted security measures to protect themselves and their families. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1,190 words, photo.

LONDON-BEYOND THE PANDEMIC-LONG COVID — Even as London begins to return to life after lockdown, thousands of people are still grappling with physical and mental effects of the virus. One legacy of the pandemic in London is a network of “long COVID” clinics, where medics, patients — and Britain’s overstretched health system — are grappling with the long-term effects of COVID-19. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. Read other installments in the AP’s “London: Beyond the Pandemic” series: https://apnews.com/hub/london-beyond-the-pandemic.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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COLON CANCER SCREENING — Americans should start getting screened for colon cancer earlier, at age 45 instead of waiting until they’re 50, according to new guidelines. UPCOMING: 300 words by 11 a.m., photo.

AUSTRALIA-SHARK ATTACK — A surfer is killed by a shark off the Australian east coast. SENT: 120 words.

PEOPLE-ARIANA GRANDE — Ariana Grande is a newlywed. A representative for the singer confirms that she recently married real estate agent Dalton Gomez. SENT: 120 words, photos.

PARROT RESCUE-CHICAGO — Chicago fire crew rescues parrot from office building ledge. SENT: 190 words, photo.

GERMANY-STOLEN-TREASURES — German investigators say they have arrested a fifth suspect in connection with the spectacular theft of 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum in 2019. SENT: 230 words.

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MORE ON ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS CONFLICT

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ISRAEL-LIVING-WITH-ROCKETS — Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired more than 3,200 rockets at Israeli cities since the latest war erupted over a week ago. Most were intercepted or fell short, but hundreds made it through. Residents in southern Israel, which has taken the brunt of the rocket fire, say the past week of fighting between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers has been been far more intense than previous rounds of violence. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are cowering in bomb shelters. The unrelenting attacks have caused deep frustration and many have grown weary over what they see as the government’s failure to change to the situation. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA — India’s total virus cases since the pandemic began swept past 25 million as the country registered more than 260,000 new cases and a record 4,329 fatalities in the last 24 hours. The numbers reported Tuesday follow a trend of falling cases. But deaths have continued to rise and hospitals are still swamped by patients. SENT: 330 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-EXPLAINER-INDIA VARIANT — For the first time in months, people across England are meeting indoors at pubs, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and elsewhere as coronavirus rules were relaxed this week. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britons to be cautious and some of the scientists advising him say restrictions might need to be reimposed quickly because of a worrying variant first detected in India. Here’s a look at what we know and don’t know about the variant: SENT: 700 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-CELEBRITY STYLIST — Hair stylist Roberto Novo is best known for his long list of celebrity clients. But during the pandemic, he’s also been known for his kindness, styling hair for older New Yorkers for free. UPCOMING: 450 words by 10 a.m., photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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BIDEN-BUSINESS — Electric vehicle companies are looking to President Biden’s giant infrastructure proposal to help transform the automotive sector. President Biden will visit Ford’s electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday. SENT: 1,090 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be replaced by BIDEN; 900 words after 11:30 a.m. arrival in Detroit.

BIDEN-JUSTICE — President Joe Biden plans to take executive action Tuesday to ensure minorities, low-income Americans and others have better access to quality legal representation after services dwindled during the Trump administration. SENT: 520 words, photos.

MANCHIN-CAPITO — The two senators from West Virginia are playing central roles in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plans. Democrat Joe Manchin is a crucial 50th vote for his party on Biden’s proposals, while Shelley Moore Capito is the lead Republican working on an alternative. SENT: 980 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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ROBERT DURST-MURDER TRIAL — Jurors in the murder trial of Robert Durst are getting a refresher in the deaths that have dogged the multimillionaire. A new round of opening statements is scheduled Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court after an unprecedented 14-month recess in the case because of the coronavirus pandemic. The judge dismissed one juror after trying to determine if they could be fair and questioning them about health concerns or hardships that would prevent them from serving another four to five months. Durst has pleaded not guilty in the killing of his best friend in 2000. SENT: 990 words, photos.

SOUTH CAROLINA-EXECUTION — Facing a shortage of drugs used in lethal injections, South Carolina has passed a law requiring death row inmates to choose between the electric chair and a firing squad. One of the first prisoners who could face the grim choice is a convicted killer named Richard Moore. UPCOMING: 900 words by 9 a.m., photos.

CHILD DEAD-DALLAS — About two hours before a 4-year-old was found dead on a street in a Dallas neighborhood, home surveillance video shows a man lifting the sleeping boy from his bed and carrying him away. SENT: 320 words, photos.

IMMIGRATION-ASYLUM — An attorney suing the federal government says the Biden administration has agreed to let about 250 people a day through border crossings with Mexico to seek refuge in the United States. The move is part of negotiations to settle a lawsuit over pandemic-related powers that deny migrants a right to apply for asylum. The Homeland Security Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. SENT: 615 words, photo.

GEORGE-FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced a sweeping set of public safety proposals that he said would make all neighborhoods in the city safe, while holding police officers accountable. The proposals were announced Monday after a particularly violent weekend during which a 9-year-old girl was shot in the head in a north Minneapolis neighborhood. The city has been under pressure to make changes to its police department since the May 25 death of George Floyd. SENT: 915 words, photo.

DEPUTY-SHOOTING-NORTH-CAROLINA — The district attorney who will decide whether to file criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a Black man by North Carolina deputies is set to discuss the findings of the state’s investigation. District Attorney Andrew Womble scheduled a Tuesday morning news conference to talk about the State Bureau of Investigation’s probe into Andrew Brown Jr.’s death. SENT: 300 words.

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INTERNATIONAL

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INDIA-CYCLONE — The Indian navy is working to rescue crew members from a sunken barge and a second cargo vessel that was adrift off the coast of Mumbai after a deadly cyclone struck the western coast. The navy said it had rescued 177 people of the total 400 on the two barges in the Arabia Sea. SENT: 400 words, photos.

EUROPE-MIGRANTS — Thousands of people, many of them minors, have entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in an unprecedented surge of migrants which comes at a time of strained relations between the two countries in the wake of Spain’s decision to let in for medical treatment the chief of a militant group that fights for the independence of Western Sahara. . SENT: 430 words, photos.

HONG-KONG-POLITICS — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is defending the freezing of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai’s assets as a necessary move under the city’s new national security law to protect the safety of all Chinese people. Lam said the move was authorized under the sweeping law that was imposed on the city by Beijing last year. Lai has been a high-profile voice in the territory’s pro-democracy movement and is in prison for participating in unauthorized assemblies in 2019. SENT: 550 words, photos.

HONG-KONG-VATICAN — Hong Kong’s incoming Roman Catholic bishop Stephen Chow has called for plurality to be respected, in a time of polarization in the city’s Catholic community. Chow said while he had “no big plan” on how to unify a diocese that had become politically polarized over the last two years amid months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, he believed that God wanted them to be united. Pope Francis named Chow to the position on Monday. SENT: 430 words, photos.

SKOREA-SAMSUNG-LEE — Pressure is mounting on South Korean President Moon Jae-in to pardon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong now that he has spent nearly four months in prison after his conviction in a massive corruption scandal. That’s despite the fact that business has rarely looked better at South Korea’s largest company. Lee’s imprisonment is causing national handwringing over the future of the technology giant in a country sometimes called the “Samsung Republic.” Moon’s office said he will consider both the intensifying competition in the semiconductor market and public feelings about fairness before deciding whether to pardon Lee. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

RUSSIA-NORTHERNMOST-BASE — Once a desolate home mostly to polar bears, Russia’s northernmost military outpost is bristling with missiles and radar. The base at Nagurskoye, in the Franz Josef Land Archipelago east of Norway, projects Moscow’s power and influence across the Arctic amid an intensifying international competition for the region’s vast resources. Russia has sought to assert its influence in competition with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway as shrinking polar ice offers new opportunities for resources and shipping. SENT 1,000 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/TECH

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CYBERSECURITY-RANSOMWARE-ATTACKS — The Thai affiliate of Paris-based insurance company AXA says it is investigating a ransomware attack by Russian-speaking cybercriminals that has affected operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The hackers claimed to have stolen 3 terabytes of AXA’s data, including personal health and bank account information of customers. SENT: 830 words, photo.

JAPAN-ECONOMY — The Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of 5.1% in January-March, slammed by a plunge in spending over the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data. By Business Writer Yuri Kagegama. SENT: 350 words, photos.

FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Global shares have advanced as investors snap up bargains after recent sell-offs spurred by a worsening of the pandemic in some countries. Regional markets shrugged off data showing Japan’s economy contracted at 5.1% annual pace in the last quarter as numbers of new coronavirus cases surged. Analysts expected the results and don’t expect improvements in the situation anytime soon. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-DANNY-MASTERSON — Prosecutors are set to begin presenting evidence to a judge as they attempt to show “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson should stand trial in the rapes of three women. The 45-year-old Masterson has pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles court. He’s been free on bail since his June arrest. At the hearing scheduled to begin Tuesday, prosecutors say they will present evidence that he raped one woman in 2001 and two others in 2003. Masterson’s attorney Thomas Mesereau has said he’s absolutely not guilty. SENT: 320 words.

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SPORTS

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OHIO STATE-TEAM DOCTOR — Dozens more men are suing Ohio State over the university’s failure to stop sexual abuse and misconduct decades ago by team doctor Richard Strauss. They echo claims filed previously by over 400 men, many of whom allege they were groped during medical exams. SENT: 385 words, photos.

BELMONT-BAFFERT-BAN — Bob Baffert has been temporarily suspended from entering horses at New York racetracks pending an investigation of the failed drug test by Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. Baffert’s ban in New York includes races at Belmont Park with the Belmont Stakes being run on June 5. The New York Racing Association made the announcement Monday. Baffert had not committed to entering any horses in the third leg of the Triple Crown but had many in consideration for other races on Belmont Stakes day. SENT: 460 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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