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.
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TOP STORIES
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PENCE-SUBPOENA — Former Vice President Mike Pence has testified before a federal grand jury investigating efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter. SENT: 670 words, photos, video, audio.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, killing at least eight people and striking a residential building in central Ukraine, officials say. By Hanna Arhirova and David Rising. SENT: 640 words, photos.
SILENCED TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER-INSURRECTION — The silencing of a transgender lawmaker in Montana marks the third time in five weeks that Republicans have attempted to compare disruptive but nonviolent protests at state capitols to insurrections. It’s a move experts say dismisses legitimate speech and downplays the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. By Kimberlee Kruesi and Ali Swenson. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
US-ARMY-HELICOPTERS-CRASH-ALASKA — Two U.S. army helicopters have collided and crashed in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth. SENT: 380 words.
COUNCILWOMAN-FATALLY-SHOT — Family members of a slain New Jersey pastor who served on her town council say they do not know of anything that had been troubling her. The parents and new husband of 30-year-old Eunice Dwumfour (JEWM’-for) worry her death will go unsolved as officials say little about the investigation. They are still reeling from the Feb. 1 evening when Dwumfour was gunned down as she arrived home in Sayreville, a suburb about 30 miles from New York City. By Maryclaire Dale. SENT: 1,860 words, photos. An Abridged version of 1,040 words is also available.
NFL-DRAFT — Quarterbacks dominated the first part of the NFL draft. Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson were among the top four picks Thursday night, an expected result in a league where teams know finding a franchise QB is the quickest path to success. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi. SENT: 980 words, photos. With FBN-NFL-DRAFT-LIVE UPDATES.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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FINLAND-TOM OF FINLAND — A new exhibition showing the works of Touko Laaksonen, better known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, adds a personal touch to the late Finnish artist whose homoerotic drawings of muscular men gained a following in the gay community from the 1950s. SENT: 360 words, photo.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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CHINA-UKRAINE-ANALYSIS — Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s plan to send an envoy to Ukraine allows his government to deflect criticism of its support for Moscow and pursue a bigger role as a diplomatic force, but Xi faces daunting obstacles if he is serious about trying to help end the 14-month-old war. The biggest: Neither Ukraine nor Russia is ready to stop fighting. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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CANADA-STABBINGS INVESTIGATION — Police in Canada say they may never know why a man went on a stabbing rampage that left 11 people dead and 17 injured last year. SENT: 770 words, photos.
SHOOTING-FAKE PARKING ATTENDANT — Authorities say a Texas man paused his dinner date to fatally shoot someone who had allegedly posed as a parking attendant and scammed him out of $40. SENT: 520 words, photos.
GATHERING-OF-NATIONS — Tens of thousands of people are gathering in New Mexico for what organizers bill as the largest powwow in North America. The annual Gathering of Nations kicks off with a colorful procession of Native American and Indigenous dancers from around the world moving to the beat of traditional drums as they fill an arena at the New Mexico state fairgrounds. SENT: 260 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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FOREIGN SURVEILLANCE-FBI — Growing anger at the FBI from both parties in Congress has become a major hurdle for U.S. intelligence agencies fighting to keep vast powers to collect foreign communications. Key lawmakers say they won’t vote to renew the programs under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without major changes. By Nomaan Merchant and Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
MEDICAID-CULLING THE ROLLS — An unprecedented, nationwide review of the 84 million Medicaid enrollees over the next year will require states to remove people whose incomes are now too high for the program. Advocacy groups say beneficiaries are finding the process confusing and at times riddled with errors, leaving some of the country’s poorest people suddenly without health insurance and unable to pay for necessary medical care. By Amanda Seitz and Anita Snow. UPCOMING: 1,270 words, photos by 7 a.m.
CONGRESS-DEBT — Speaker Kevin McCarthy surprised Washington when he united the raucous House Republican majority to pass a sweeping debt ceiling package. McCarthy’s opening bid is awaiting President Joe Biden’s response, and so far, the White House is rejecting the Republican proposal. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 850 words, photos. With CONGRESS-DEBT-STUDENT LOANS — Biden’s student loan help would be ‘annihilated’ by GOP bill (sent).
ELECTION-2023-KENTUCKY-GOVERNOR-CAMERON — Flagged as a rising Republican star who worked for Mitch McConnell and pitched Donald Trump’s campaign to Black voters, Daniel Cameron could have taken a cautious approach and run for reelection as attorney general. Instead, he took a career-defining risk by plunging into Kentucky’s competitive race for governor against a popular Democratic incumbent and a crowded field of GOP primary opponents. If he wins, the state’s first Black attorney general would become its first Black governor. SENT: 980 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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ARIZONA-SAUDI-FARM-GROUNDWATER — In rural Arizona’s La Paz County, on the state’s rugged border with California, the decision by a Saudi-owned dairy company to grow alfalfa in the American Southwest for livestock in the Gulf kingdom first raised eyebrows nearly a decade ago. Now, worsening drought has focused new attention on the company and whether Arizona should be doing more to protect its groundwater resources. SENT: 960 words, photos.
ABORTION-CULTURE-WAR-VETOES-KANSAS — Kansas clinics will be required to tell patients that medication abortions can be stopped using a drug regimen that the providers consider ineffective and potentially dangerous after a key legislative vote Thursday in the nation’s ongoing partisan culture war. SENT: 760 words, photos.
RECONCILIATION-COMMISION-VERMONT — Two years ago, the Vermont Legislature apologized to all Vermonters and their families who were harmed by state-sanctioned eugenics policies started in the early 1900s. The policies targeted Native Americans, French Canadians and disabled and poor people, leading to institutionalizations and sterilizations. Legislators also vowed to do more. Now a truth and reconciliation commission has been formed to create a public record of discrimination against certain marginalized populations caused by state laws and policies. SENT: 690 words, photo.
NEW-YORK-BAIL-REFORM — Judges in New York will have more discretion to jail people awaiting trial for alleged crimes, Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced, a policy change fiercely resisted by some of her fellow Democrats. SENT: 590 words, photo.
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INTERNATIONAL
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HUNGARY-POPE — Pope Francis plans to outline his vision for the future of Europe during a three-day visit to Hungary, with Russia’s war in Ukraine, migration flows and Hungary’s tense relations with Brussels looming large over the pontiff’s weekend journey. SENT: 890 words, photos.
JAPAN-PARK-THREATENED — The Jingu Gaien is a rare green space in central Tokyo. Real estate interests and the city want to redevelop the area and build a pair of highrise towers in the park-like space. Opponents liken this to building skyscrapers in New York’s Central Park. The flashpoint has been trees, green space, and who controls a public area that has been encroached on over the years. Also at issue is the fate of more than 100 ginko trees that line an avenue and provide a colorful cascade of falling leaves each autumn. SENT: 880 words, photos.
PARAGUAY-ELECTION — Voters will decide Sunday whether to stay with the party that has governed Paraguay for seven decades or back a broad opposition coalition that has mounted a strong challenge amid discontent over health, schools and corruption. SENT: 760 words, photos.
CHINA-INDIA — China’s defense minister says conditions along the tense, high-altitude border with India are “stable overall,” in sharp contrast with the far more pessimistic view from New Delhi. SENT: 580 words, photos.
JAPAN-OCEAN-P0LICY — Japan adopted a new five-year ocean policy on Friday that calls for stronger maritime security, including bolstering its coast guard’s capability and cooperation with the military amid China’s increasing assertiveness in regional seas. SENT: 390 words, photos.
THAILAND-DEADLY-ROBBERY — Thailand’s Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for an ex-elementary school principal convicted of killing three people, including a toddler, during an armed gold shop robbery in 2020. SENT: 330 words, photo.
NIGERIA-ARMED-VIOLENCE — Gunmen killed 15 villagers and abducted five aid workers in separate attacks in Nigeria’s troubled northern region, authorities say. SENT: 320 words.
INDONESIA-BOAT SINKING — A speedboat carrying at least 78 people sank in western Indonesia, and rescuers were searching for nine people still missing in the rough seas. SENT: 300 words, photo.
CHINA-TAIWAN — China’s military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan, the Taiwanese defense ministry says, in the largest such flight display since the large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off the island earlier in the month.
YEMEN — A ship came under attack off the coast of Yemen in unclear circumstances, a British military organization says. SENT: 180 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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TICKS-LYME-DISEASE — After a mild winter in the U.S., will there be an uptick in ticks this year? Researchers say it is hard to predict how the tick season will play out. This year’s mild winter and early snow melt, though, could mean more ticks earlier than usual and a wider spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, scientists say. SENT: 660 words, photos.
SCI--ZOONOMIA STUDIES -- Scientists from around the world compared the genetic blueprints of an array of animals to gain new insights into our own species and what we share with other denizens of the Earth. It’s called the Zoonomia Project and is the subject of 11 papers published in the journal Science. One of the most striking revelations is that certain passages in the instructions for life have persisted across evolutionary time. Researchers from around the world were able to figure this out by sequencing and comparing genomes of 240 species of mammals. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares advanced in Asia after Wall Street rallied to its best day since January and the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged. SENT: 650 words, photos.
BANK-COLLAPSE-FED-REVIEW — The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release a highly-anticipated review of its supervision of Silicon Valley Bank, the go-to bank for venture capital firms and technology start-ups that failed spectacularly in March, setting off a crisis of confidence for the banking industry. SENT: 460 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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FILM-SUMMER-MOVIE-PREVIEW— The stakes are always high in the summer movie season. But even in a schedule that has heavyweights like Indiana Jones, Ariel, Ethan Hunt and Dominic Toretto vying for box office supremacy, the biggest, funniest showdown is happening on July 21. On that fateful Friday, cinephiles will be faced with a difficult choice: Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” or Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”? SENT: 1,290 words, photos. With SUMMER-MOVIES-GUIDE — What to watch from May through Labor Day (sent).
TV-JAMES-CORDEN-LAST-SHOW — James Corden used part of his farewell speech on Thursday’s final episode of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” to address the deep rift in America over hot button issues including politics and ideology. SENT: 660 words, photos.
JAZZ-FEST — This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival begins its two-weekend run, filling the air with the sounds of R&B, rock ’n roll, Zydeco, pop, blues, country, rap, gospel — and of course jazz. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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NFL-DRAFT LOOKAHEAD — Kentucky’s Will Levis and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker are two quarterbacks who are tantalizing prospects for teams on Day 2 of the NFL draft. Levis and Hooker slipped into the second round as the run on quarterbacks came to a screeching halt after the Colts selected Florida’s Anthony Richardson Jr. with the fourth overall pick. By Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton. SENT: 750 words, photos.
HOW TO REACH US
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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.
