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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INDIA-TRAIN-DERAILMENT — Rescuers waded through piles of debris and wreckage to pull out bodies and free people after two passenger trains derailed in India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds as rail cars were flipped over and mangled in one of the country’s deadliest train crashes in decades. By Ashok Sharma and Krutika Pathi. SENT: 830 words, photos, video. With INDIA-TRAIN-CRASHES — A look at deadly train crashes in India in recent decades (sent).
BIDEN — President Joe Biden is ready to sign a budget agreement that suspends the nation’s debt ceiling and eliminates the potential for a first-ever government default that would have sent shock waves through the U.S. and global economies. He says, “The stakes could not have been higher.” By Chris Megerian. SENT: 600 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 800 words after signing, timing uncertain.
RUSSIA-POLITICAL-PRISONERS — Alexei Navalny will spend his 47th birthday Sunday in a tiny prison cell with hardly any natural light. He won’t be able to see or talk to loved ones because phone calls and visits are banned for those in “punishment isolation.” Prison guards usually blast patriotic songs and speeches of President Vladimir Putin at him. He’s serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and faces another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. While he gets most of the attention, there’s a growing number of less-known prisoners in Russia, some of whom serve their time in similarly harsh conditions. By Dasha Litvinova. SENT. 1,350 words, photos.
UGANDA-ANTI-GAY-LAW — Frightened LGBTQ+ Ugandans are searching for a way to escape a new law prescribing the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality.’ Homosexuality has long been illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law criminalizing sexual activity ‘against the order of nature.’ The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment. The new law targets ‘aggravated homosexuality,’ which is defined as sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. By Evelyne Musambi and Brian Inganga. SENT: 920 words, photos. This story moved as the Sunday spotlight.
ASIA-DEFENSE — American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has vowed that Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict. By David Rising. SENT: 910 words, photos.
CLIMATE-TALKS-UAE — A senior United Arab Emirates official says the Gulf nation wants the U.N. climate summit it’s hosting later this year to deliver “game-changing results” for international efforts to curb global warming, but doing so will require having the fossil fuel industry at the table. By Frank Jordans. SENT: 900 words, photo.
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RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States won’t support peace talks in the war in Ukraine until Kyiv holds the upper hand, possibly after a Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. SENT: 1,095 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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LOS ANGELES-DEATH-AFTER-TASING — A teacher who was repeatedly shocked with a Taser by Los Angeles police died from an enlarged heart and cocaine use, according to an autopsy report. SENT: 430 words.
BIBLE-BAN-UTAH-SCHOOLS — The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children. SENT: 770 words, photos.
OBIT-SAARIAHO — Kaija Saariaho, who wrote acclaimed works that made her the among the most prominent composers of the 21st century, has died. She was 70. SENT: 610 words photos.
DRINKING-WATER-SETTLEMENT — Three chemical manufacturing companies have reached a deal to resolve complaints of polluting many U.S. drinking water systems with compounds known as PFAS. SENT: 610 words, photos.
SUBOXONE-SETTLEMENT — The company that makes the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone has agreed to pay $102.5 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia to settle claims that the company engaged in anticompetitive practices, it has announced. SENT: 250 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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CONGRESS-OVERSIGHT-BIDEN — The FBI has offered to show top lawmakers next week a bureau document that purports to relate to President Joe Biden and his family following weeks of demands by congressional Republicans and a contempt threat against Director Christopher Wray. SENT: 420 words, photos, audio
ELECTION 2024-DESANTIS — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was wrapping up his first tour of early voting states as a presidential candidate, showcasing his personal side in South Carolina with a lighthearted sit-down with his wife and an emotional moment with a military spouse. SENT: 790 words, photos.
TRUMP INDICTMENT —Within hours of his historic arraignment this spring, Donald Trump fixed his ire on the judge, complaining that he’s “a Trump-hating judge” with a family full of “Trump haters.” The former president’s lawyers doubled down on that criticism, demanding Judge Juan Manuel Merchan step aside from his New York City criminal case because of what they say is anti-Trump bias and a conflict of interest arising from his daughter’s work for some of Trump’s Democratic rivals. SENT: 860 words, photo, audio.
ELECTION 2024-GOP-DEBATE — The first 2024 Republican presidential debate will be held Aug. 23, the Republican National Committee has announced, with a second debate the following night should it be needed. SENT: 580 words, photos.
CHEROKEE-ELECTION-OKLAHOMA — Citizens of the Cherokee Nation — the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. — are set to decide whether Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. should lead the tribe for another four years as it enters a golden era after courts recognized its sprawling reservation and an operating budget of more than $3 billion. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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ALASKA-FISHING-TRIP-FAMILY-TRAGEDY — Charter fishing industry experts in southeast Alaska say they’re eager to learn the cause of a tragedy that left five people dead or lost at sea. A boat called the Awakin was found partially submerged off an island about 10 miles west of Sitka last Sunday. Efforts to recover the vessel have been hampered by rough seas. A salvage company is hoping to try again. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
GAS-STATION-SHOOTING — Elected officials met a South Carolina community mourning the death of a 14-year-old boy who authorities say was fatally shot in the back by a gas station owner with calls to channel their righteous anger into collective support and political action. SENT: 760 words, photos.
MISSOURI-DOCTOR-FOUND-DEAD-THINGS-TO-KNOW — A doctor in the Missouri Ozarks went missing for over a week until his body was found in an Arkansas lake. But the case remains shrouded in mystery as investigators have released few details to his family or the public. SENT: 780 words, photo.
GOVERNMENT BEES — While judges, lawyers and support staff at the federal courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire, keep the American justice system buzzing, thousands of humble honeybees on the building’s roof are playing their part in a more important task — feeding the world. SENT: 640 words, photos.
HAWAII-GUN-CONTROL — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has signed legislation that will allow more people to carry concealed firearms but at the same time prohibit people from taking guns to a wide range of places, including beaches, hospitals, stadiums, bars that serve alcohol and movie theaters. Private businesses allowing guns will have to post a sign to that effect. SENT: 630 words, photos.
OBIT-MIRANDA RIGHTS OFFICERS — Retired Phoenix Police Capt. Carroll Cooley, the arresting officer in the landmark case partially responsible for the Supreme Court’s Miranda rights ruling that requires suspects be read their rights, has died, the department confirmed. He was 87. SENT: 380 words, photos.
LAKE-POWELL-HOUSE-BOAT-FIRE — More than half a dozen house boats momentarily caught fire at a popular boating destination on the Utah-Arizona line, igniting while tourists and jet skiers stood by before the flames were extinguished. SENT: 280 words, photo.
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INTERNATIONAL
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PANAMA-DARIEN-GAP-EXPLAINER — Panama unveiled a new effort to control illegal migration through the treacherous Darien Gap that spans its eastern border with Colombia. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have risked the dangerous trek through the jungle in recent years and the flow this year is on a record pace. Most of those who cross are trying to reach the United States. SENT: 760 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-NORTH-KOREA — The United States and its allies have clashed with Russia and China over North Korea’s failed launch of a military spy satellite this week in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn. SENT: 760 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-PALESTINIAN-REFUGEES — Despite a dire warning from the U.N. chief that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees “is on the verge of financial collapse,” donors at a pledging conference provided just $107 million in new funds — significantly less than the $300 million it needs to keep helping millions of people. SENT: 480 words, photo.
BRAZIL-SUGARLOAF-MOUNTAIN — Brazil’s federal prosecutors blocked a decision to authorize the installment of ziplines at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Sugarloaf Mountain, claiming they will damage the environment around a UNESCO world heritage site. SENT: 520 words, photo.
PANAMA-EX-PRESIDENT-TRIAL — The trial of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and 14 others for alleged money laundering related to their purchase of a publishing company has concluded, starting the clock on the 30 days the judge has to issue a verdict. SENT: 160 words photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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YOUTUBE-ELECTION-MISINFORMATION — YouTube says it will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 election and other past U.S. presidential elections were marred by widespread fraud, errors or glitches. The Google-owned video service said in a blog post that it wanted to avoid the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm. SENT: 400 words, photo.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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TV-ERIC-ANDREA — “The Eric Andre Show” is ostensibly not a series that lends itself to longevity. Its titular star, who plays a version of himself and satirizes talk shows by putting unsuspecting celebrity guests through hellish interviews, has become considerably more famous since the series first aired over a decade ago. SENT: 940 words, photos, video.
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SPORTS
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TEN--FRENCH OPEN GUIDE — Much of this French Open can best be viewed through the prism of Rafael Nadal’s absence. For so many years, the goings on at Roland Garros were defined by Nadal and his unprecedented success at the place: 14 championships, a 112-3 record. And this year, what happens in Paris is significantly altered because he is not in the field — something that last happened in 2004. Nadal had hip surgery Friday. His 37th birthday is Saturday. The top third-round match on Saturday is Coco Gauff against Mirra Andreeva. SENT: 800 words, photos. Play begins at 5 a.m.
BBO--YANKEES-DODGERS — Clayton Kershaw beat the Yankees for the first time with nine strikeouts over seven innings of four-hit ball, and Mookie Betts hit two more homers in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-4 victory over New York. Betts hit a leadoff homer and an RBI single during Los Angeles’ six-run, eight-hit first inning against Luis Severino. Kershaw was 0-1 in his four previous starts against the Yankees over his 16-year career. Josh Donaldson hit two homers and Giancarlo Stanton also homered in both sluggers’ first game back from lengthy injury absences for the Yankees in the opening game of this high-profile interleague series. SENT: 800 words, photos.
BKN--PISTONS-WILLIAMS — Monty Williams is taking over the Detroit Pistons. The team says it has reached an agreement with Williams to fill its coaching vacancy. Terms of the deal were not announced, but a person familiar with the situation told the AP on Wednesday night that it was a six-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced at the time. The 51-year-old Williams was fired by Phoenix on May 13, two years after reaching the NBA Finals and a year after he won the league’s coach of the year honors. SENT: 555 words, photos.
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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.
