AP News Digest 2:15 p.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 at https://newsroom.ap.org.

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TOP STORIES

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BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET-SHOOTING — The white 18-year-old who shot and killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket had researched the local demographics while looking for places with a high concentration of Black residents, arriving there at least a day in advance to conduct reconnaissance, law enforcement officials said Sunday. Authorities said the gunman shot, in total, 11 Black people and two white people Saturday in a rampage motivated by racial hatred that he broadcast live. By Carolyn Thompson and Michael Balsamo. SENT: 1,015 words, photos, videos. With: BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET SHOOTING-WHAT WE KNOW (sent).

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faces a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and an opponent buoyed Sunday by wins on and off the battlefield. Top diplomats from NATO met in Berlin with the alliance’s chief and declared that the war “is not going as Moscow had planned.” By Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan. SENT: 1,115 words, photos, videos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DIPLOMACY — Finland’s government declared a “new era” is underway as it inches closer to seeking NATO membership, hours before Sweden’s governing party on Sunday backed a plan to join the trans-Atlantic alliance amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia has long bristled about NATO moving closer to its borders, so the developments will be sure to further anger Moscow. By Frank Jordans and Jai Tanner. SENT: 975 words, photos.

BIDEN — President Joe Biden calls for unity to address “the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America” after the shootings in Buffalo. New York’s governor and the city’s mayor call for strong action from Washington to stop mass shootings. By Darlene Superville. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 2 p.m.

ELECTION 2022-VOTING — The great vote-by-mail wave appears to be receding just as quickly as it arrived. After tens of millions of people in the United States opted for mail ballots during the pandemic election of 2020, voters in early primary states are returning in droves to in-person voting this year. A step back in mail balloting was expected given easing concerns about COVID-19, but some election officials and voting experts had predicted that far more voters would seek out the convenience of mail voting once they experienced it. By Christina A. Cassidy. SENT: 1,200 words, photos. This is the Monday Spotlight.

LEBANON-ELECTIONS — Lebanese voted for a new parliament against the backdrop of an economic meltdown that is transforming the country and low expectations that the voting would significantly alter the political landscape. A new crop of candidates from the 2019 protest movement is running against the country’s entrenched ruling class that is blamed for the collapse, hoping to unseat them. By Bassem Mroue. SENT: 1,075 words, photos.

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MORE ON BUFFALO SHOOTING

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BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET SHOOTING-VICTIMS -- The victims of Saturday’s grocery store shooting in Buffalo, New York, include retired police officer Aaron Salter. He worked security for Tops Friendly Market. Officials credit him with saving lives. Andre Ellicott was killed while picking up a cake as a birthday surprise for his grandson. Katherine Massey was also killed while shopping. Her sister calls her “a beautiful soul.” UPCOMING: 630 words, photos by 3 p.m.

BUFFALO-SUPERMARKET SHOOTING-SOCIAL MEDIA — The shooting in Buffalo has put a spotlight on how social media companies are monitoring content that appears on their platforms. The suspected gunman shot 11 Black and two white victims in an attack that was shared on the live-streaming platform Twitch, echoing a deadly attack in a German synagogue broadcast on the platform in October 2019. UPCOMING: 820 words, photos by 3 p.m.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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EUROPE-NEUTRALITY-EXPLAINER — With Finland and Sweden taking steps to join NATO, the list of “neutral” countries in Europe appears poised to shrink. Like the two Nordic countries, other nations joined the European Union for its promise economic and political unity without taking sides in the East-West divide that has endured beyond the end of the Cold war. SENT: 890 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-MCCONNELL — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and a delegation of GOP senators are due to visit Helsinki on Monday for talks with Finland’s president as the previously neutral Nordic nation bordering Russia seeks NATO membership. SENT: 565 words, photos.

ITALY-EUROVISION-SONG CONTEST — Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra has won the Eurovision Song Contest in a clear show of popular support for the war-ravaged nation that went beyond the music. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the victory, Ukraine’s third since its 2003 Eurovision debut. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

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VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH-KOREA — North Korea has confirmed 15 more deaths and hundreds of thousands of additional patients with fevers as it mobilizes more than a million health and other workers to try to suppress the country’s first COVID-19 outbreak, state media reports. SENT: 890 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SHANGHAI — Supermarkets, malls and restaurants in Shanghai will be allowed to open in a limited capacity starting Monday, officials said, even while it remained unclear whether residents would be let out from their homes. SENT: 220 words, photos.

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TRENDING NEWS

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TEEN SHOOTING-MILLENNIUM PARK — Authorities in Chicago say a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot near “The Bean” in Millennium Park on Saturday. The Chicago Police Department say the boy was shot in the chest at about 7:30 p.m. near the popular tourist attraction. SENT: 370 words.

FILM-K9-RUBY-DIES — A Rhode Island dog whose inspiring story of going from shelter dog to life-saving police K-9 became the subject of a recent Netflix movie has been euthanized. SENT: 470 words, photos.

IRAN-FILMMAKERS-ARRESTED — An award-wining Iranian filmmaker says authorities raided the offices and homes of several filmmakers and other industry professionals and arrested some of them. SENT: 240 words, photo.

IRAQ-ANTIQUITIES-ARREST — A British and a German tourist accused of smuggling ancient shards out of Iraq have appeared in yellow detainees’ uniforms in a Baghdad court. SENT: 430 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON / POLITICS

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UNITED STATES-TERRORISM BLACKLIST — The United States is poised to remove five extremist groups, all believed to be defunct, from its list of foreign terrorist organizations, including several that once posed significant threats, killing hundreds if not thousands of people across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The decision is politically sensitive for the Biden administration and the countries in which the organizations operated, and could draw criticism from victims and their families still dealing with the losses of loved ones. SENT: 830 words, photos.

ELECTION-2022-CALIFORNIA-ATTORNEY GENERAL — Republicans think they have a chance this year to unseat an appointed state attorney general they say is too progressive even for California, in part because they view him as soft on crime as that issue rises in importance for voters. SENT: 840 words, photos.

WISCONSIN-REPUBLICANS-CONVENTION — Wisconsin Republicans gathering for their annual convention this week are trying to unite to defeat Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and reelect U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, in two of the most hotly contested races nationwide this year. SENT: 790 wrods, photos.

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NATIONAL

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REL-BUDDHIST-CHAPLAINS — Christian clergy have long dominated the chaplaincy in the United States. But the profession is becoming more religiously diverse, and Buddhists are leading the way. Buddhist chaplains say they’re uniquely positioned for the times due to their ability to minister to a wide cultural and religious spectrum. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

SPRING WILDFIRES — Crews fighting the second-largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history are trying to take advantage of several days of mild winds to gain control over a fire that had charred more than 450 square miles by Sunday. SENT: 350 words, photo.

CHICAGO-READER-TURMOIL — Chicago’s famed alt-weekly is expected to become a nonprofit this month after the sale was nearly derailed over a co-owner’s column opposing COVID-19 vaccine requirements for children. SENT: 900 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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JAPAN-0KINAWA - Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on Sunday urged Japan’s central government to do more to reduce the U.S. military presence in the southern island group as it marked the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan after 27 years of American rule, amid frustration and bitterness over a lack of support from the mainland. SENT: 885 words, photos.

EMIRATES — An array of presidents and prime ministers were descending on the United Arab Emirates from around the world to pay their respects to the federation’s late ruler and greet his successor, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. SENT: 875 words, photos.

HUNGARY-ROMA RADIO — Intellectuals, broadcasters and cultural figures from Hungary’s Roma community are using the airwaves to reframe narratives and elevate the voices of the country’s largest minority group. SENT: 600 words, photos.

ISRAEL-JOURNALIST KILLED — As Israel and the Palestinians wrangle over the investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, several independent groups have launched their own probes. One open-source research team is already saying it is likely Israeli troops fired the fatal bullet. SENT: 980 words, photo.

GERMANY-STATE ELECTION — Exit polls suggest that voters backed the incumbent conservative governor and dealt a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats in Germany’s most populous state Sunday. SENT: 320 words, photos.

NORTHERN IRELAND-BREXIT — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to Northern Ireland to try to end a political deadlock that is preventing the formation of a regional administration. SENT: 545 words, photo.

AUSTRALIA-POLITICS — Australia’s embattled prime minister on Sunday officially launched his conservative party’s campaign less than a week before elections, highlighting the nation’s early success in containing the pandemic and its strong economic recovery. SENT: 615 words, photos.

SOMALIA-PRESIDENTIAL-VOTE — Somalia’s presidential vote is proceeding to a second round Sunday after the first round of voting did not produce a decisive winner. Legislators are choosing the country’s next president in the capital, Mogadishu, which is under lockdown measures aimed at preventing deadly militant attacks. SENT: 600 words, photos.

PAKISTAN — A suicide bombing near a security forces vehicle killed three soldiers and three children in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan on Sunday, while gunmen shot dead two minority Sikhs in Peshawar, officials said. SENT: 330 words.

VATICAN-CANONIZATIONS — Pope Francis created 10 new saints , rallying from knee pain that has forced him to use a wheelchair to preside over the first canonization ceremony at the Vatican in over two years. SENT: 340 words, photos.

ISRAEL-JERUSALEM CABLE CAR — Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected four petitions that sought to derail controversial plans to build a cable car to Jerusalem’s Old City, paving the way for the project to progress. SENT: 300 words.

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BUSINESS

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SAUDI-ARAMCO-EARNS — Oil giant Saudi Aramco says its profits soared more than 80% in the first three months of the year, as the state-backed company cashes in on the volatility in global energy markets and soaring oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. SENT: 520 words, photo.

INDIA-WHEAT-EXPORT — India says it would keep a window open to export wheat to food-deficit countries at the government level despite restrictions announced two days earlier. SENT: 330 words, photo.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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FILM-BOX-OFFICE — “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” stayed on top of the box office charts in its second weekend in theaters. Studio estimates Sunday say the Marvel movie earned an additional $61 million from North American theaters. SENT: 660 words, photos.

BILLBOARD-MUSIC-AWARDS — The Billboard Music Awards will include performances by Travis Scott, Ed Sheeran, Becky G and other artists who have enjoyed chart-topping success. Sean “Diddy” Combs will emcee the show, which is being broadcast live from the MGM Grand Arena and will air live beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC and its Peacock streaming service. SENT: 150 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BKN--BUCKS-CELTICS — The Bucks and Celtics meet in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the winner earning a conference finals matchup with Miami. The road team is 4-2 in this series and has won each of the last three games. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 3:30 p.m.

BKN--MAVERICKS-SUNS — The Dallas Mavericks have pushed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to a winner-take-all Game 7. The home team has won the previous six games. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 8 p.m.

HKN--PENGUINS-RANGERS — Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and the New York Rangers return home after two spirited comeback wins to host the Pittsburgh Penguins in a decisive Game 7 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. The Rangers have not advanced to the second round since 2017. The Penguins have lost in the first round three straight years. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 7 p.m.

HKN--STARS-FLAMES — The Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames take their rugged first-round series to a deciding Game 7. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts at 9:30 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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