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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GLOBAL GAS PRICES — Across the globe, drivers are rethinking their habits and personal finances in the face of skyrocketing prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. Decisions are as varied as the consumers themselves: Walk more. Dust off that bicycle. Use the subway, the train or the bus. Exercise a lighter touch on the gas pedal to save fuel. Review that road trip -- is it worth it? Or perhaps even go carless. For millions of people who don’t have access to adequate public transportation or otherwise can’t forgo their car, the only solution is to grit their teeth and pay while cutting costs elsewhere. By Daniel Niemann, Paola Corona, Jade Le Deley and Has Dinh. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted an uplifting Father’s Day message with 10 photos of parents and children set against the backdrop of war. He praised his nation’s fighters who “protect and defend the most precious.” Meanwhile, British defense officials assessing the intense fighting in the Donbas region of Ukraine bordering Russia say morale among troops on both sides is likely growing troubled. Meanwhile, NATO’s chief is warning the fighting could drag on for “years.” By John Leicester and David Keyton. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION — Members of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot say they may subpoena former Vice President Mike Pence. And they are waiting to hear from Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, about her role in the illegal plot to overturn the 2020 election. By Hope Yen. SENT: 700 words, photos.
CAPITOL RIOT INVESTIGATION-MEDIA — Nielsen numbers tell us how many people watched live coverage of the Jan. 6 committee hearings — 20 million the first night, 11 million the second and nearly 9 million for the third. Yet those traditional yardsticks don’t begin to account for the true impact of what is being said. Memorable moments from each hearing are sliced for quick consumption online, and on television news and comedy shows — almost certainly reaching a larger audience than watched them originally, and sealing them in the public memory. Liz Cheney’s prediction, a previously little-known breakout star and Rudy Giuliani’s alcohol intake stand out so far. By AP Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 950 words and photos.
COLOMBIA ELECTIONS — Former rebel Gustavo Petro has narrowly won a runoff election over a political outsider millionaire, ushering in a new era of politics for Colombia by becoming the country’s first leftist president. Petro, a senator in his third attempt to win the presidency, had 50.47% of the votes, while real estate magnate Rodolfo Hernández had 47.27%, with almost all ballots counted, according to results released by election authorities. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
JUNETEENTH — A year after President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday, people are commemorating the end of slavery across the U.S. at gatherings filled with music, food and fireworks. In Texas, where the holiday got its start, celebrations will be held at a Houston park founded 150 years ago by former slaves. And in Fort Worth, 95-year-old Opal Lee, who spent years pushing for the day to get national recognition, will lead her annual 2 ½ mile walk symbolizing the 2 ½ years it took for word to reach enslaved Black people in Texas that they were free. By Jamie Stengle and Cheyanne Mumphrey. SENT: 860 words, photos. With JUNETEENTH AMERICANS ABROAD (sent).
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE
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GERMANY RUSSIA GAS — Germany’s economy minister said Sunday that the country will limit the use of natural gas for electricity production amid concerns about possible shortages caused by a cut in supplies from Russia. SENT: 270 words.
RUSSIA-ECONOMIC FORUM-PHOTO GALLERY — Despite dark times, Russian economic forum shines. SENT: 190 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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NOBEL PEACE PRIZE - AUCTIONS — Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov’s Nobel Peace Prize medal will go to auction in New York with all proceeds going to UNICEF to help children who have fled war-scarred Ukraine. SENT: 700 words, photos.
CLIBURN COMPETITION — An 18-year-old from South Korea has won the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the top showcases for the world’s best pianists. SENT: 230 words, photos.
ITALY-HAGGIS-DETAINED — Oscar-winning Film director Paul Haggis has been detained for investigation of allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy, Italian news media said, quoting local prosecutors. SENT: 290 words, photo.
SWM-FINA-TRANSGENDER ATHLETES — World swimming’s governing body has adopted new rules for transgender athletes, only permitting swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events. FINA members have voted 71.5% in favor of the new “gender inclusion policy” at the organization’s extraordinary general congress. SENT: 285 words.
APPLE-MARYLAND UNION VOTE-GLANCE — A vote by Apple store employees in a Baltimore suburb marks the latest labor drive at big companies in recent months. In December, a Starbucks store in Buffalo became the first to unionize at one of the coffee retailer’s company-owned U.S. stores. SENT: 275 words, photos. With: APPLE MARYLAND UNION VOTE (sent)
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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ELECTION 2022-PENNSYLVANIA-DEMOCRATS — The fate of the Democratic Party is intertwined in a pair of Pennsylvania elections this year. John Fetterman could help the party keep control of the U.S. Senate while Josh Shapiro faces a Republican rival for governor who has embraced presidential election conspiracies. By Marc Levy. SENT: 1,350 words, photos. With ELECTIONS 2022-WHAT TO WATCH (sent).
SUPREME COURT-ELECTIONS — The Supreme Court seems poised to take on a new elections case being pressed by Republicans. It could increase the power of state lawmakers over races for Congress and the presidency, as well as redistricting. It also could cut state courts out of the equation. SENT: 840 words, photos.
INFLATION-INFRASTRUCTURE — Inflation is causing costs to soar on infrastructure projects, from highway repairs to water system upgrades, and that’s affecting whether future public works projects will have to be scaled back or delayed. The price hikes already are diminishing the value of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that President Joe Biden signed with great fanfare just seven months ago. By David A. Lieb and Michael Casey. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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SOUTH ASIA-FLOODS — Floods in Bangladesh have left millions struggling to access safe drinking water and food across the country’s vast northeastern and northern regions. More than a dozen people died across the country since the monsoon began last week. The country’s flood warning center says the flooding may worsen in the affected regions over next 24 hours. SENT: 400 words, photos.
FRANCE ELECTIONS — French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance was projected to lose its majority despite getting the most seats in the final round of the parliamentary election, while the far-right National Rally appeared to have made big gains. SENT: 810 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA-MASS KILLING — Witnesses in Ethiopia say more than 200 ethnic Amhara have been killed in an attack in the country’s Oromia region and are blaming a rebel group, which denies it. It is one of the deadliest such attacks in recent memory as ethnic tensions continue in Africa’s second most populous country. SENT: 360 words. Developing.
BRAZIL-OBIT DOM PHILLIPS — British journalist Dom Phillips’ quest to unlock the secrets of how to preserve Brazil’s Amazon was cut short when he was killed along with a colleague in the heart of the forest he cherished. But some of his discoveries may yet see the light of day. His friends, family and colleagues want to make sure his work lives on. By David Biller. SENT: 1,175 words, photos.
EL-SALVADOR-BITCOIN — El Salvador’s Bitcoin-boosting president has asked people to be patient after the price of the cryptocurrency fell below $20,000 — less than half the price the government paid. According to the tracking site nayibtracker.com, President Nayib Bukele’s administration has spent about $105 million on Bitcoin, starting last September and paying an average of almost $46,000 per coin. SENT: 510 words, photo.
PHILIPPINES VICE PRESIDENT — Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing Philippine populist president, has taken her oath as vice president following a landslide electoral victory she clinched despite her father’s human rights record that saw thousands of drug suspects gunned down. SENT: 820 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-ASSANGE — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected calls for him to publicly demand the United States drop its prosecution of WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange. SENT 430 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK FLOODING — As officials scramble to reopen Yellowstone National Park to tourists after record floods pounded southern Montana, some of those hardest hit in the disaster live far from the famous park’s limelight and are leaning heavily on one another to pull their lives out of the mud. In and around the agricultural community of Fromberg, the Clarks Fork River flooded almost 100 homes and badly damaged a major irrigation ditch that serves many farms. By Matthew Brown and Brittany Peterson. SENT: 670 words, photos.
TITLE IX-CULTURE DIVIDE — The law known as Title IX has influenced athletics in the United States for 50 years. Many wonder if the law should be reshaped to ensure participation for transgender athletes in sports in much the same way the statute enshrined rights for women. Without federal legislation to set parameters, officials in at least 40 states have adopted their own rules and laws. SENT: 1,415 words, photos, graphics. With: TITLE IX-EXPLAINER (sent).
BODY ARMOUT-RESTRICTIONS — A new law barring sales of bullet-resistant vests to most civilians in New York doesn’t cover the type of armor worn by the gunman who killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket. SENT: 800 words, photos.
PRISON GUARDS-KILLED — A Georgia prisoner convicted of killing two guards during an escape from a prison transport bus five years ago has been sentenced to die. A jury on Thursday agreed unanimously on a death sentence for Ricky Dubose in the June 2017 shooting deaths of Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue, news outlets reported. SENT: 275 words, photos.
INMATES-ESCAPE — Authorities haven’t released any updates about the search for four escaped inmates Sunday, a day after they were discovered missing from a federal prison’s satellite camp in Virginia. SENT: 250 words, photo.
WESTERN-WILDFIRES — A lightning-caused wildfire that led to an evacuation of the Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson is 40% contained, authorities said. SENT: 260 words.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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YELLEN-INFLATION — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says she expects the U.S. economy to slow in the months ahead, but that a recession is not inevitable. She also expresses an openness to a federal gas tax holiday to help give motorists some relief at the pump. SENT: 475 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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FILM-BOX OFFICE — “Lightyear” did not go to infinity (or beyond) in its first weekend in theaters. Pixar’s first major theatrical release since March 2020 blasted off with $51 million in its first weekend in North America, according to studio estimates on Sunday. SENT: 680 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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GLF—US OPEN — Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick wins the U.S. Open by one stroke, capturing his first major on the same course where he took the U.S. Amateur title nine years earlier. By AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 310 words, photos. With: GLF--US Open-Notebook, GLF--US Open-Glance.
HKN—STANLEY CUP PREVIEW — The two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning have played more hockey than any other team over the past two years. That’s starting to show down 2-0 to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final, and it doesn’t help that they’re facing an opponent with fresher than usual legs at this stage of the NHL playoffs. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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