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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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — The Kremlin warned about taking retaliatory “military-technical” steps after Finland’s leaders came out in favor of applying to join NATO, and Sweden could do the same within days, in a historic realignment triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the first war-crimes trial of a Russian soldier since the start of the conflict was set to open in Kyiv. On the ground, Russian forces pounded areas in central, northern and eastern Ukraine, including the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, as part their offensive to take the industrial Donbas region, while Ukraine recaptured some towns and villages in the northeast. By Oleksandr Stashevskyi. SENT: 990 words, photos, videos. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-THE LATEST.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR CRIMES TRIAL — A Russian soldier is scheduled to go on trial in the killing of an unarmed Ukrainian civilian, marking the first time since the start of the invasion that a member of the Russian military will be prosecuted for a war crime. SENT: 590 words. UPCOMING: Developing from start of the trial, photos. For full coverage.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH KOREA — Six people have died and 350,000 have been treated for a fever that has spread “explosively” across North Korea, state media said, a day after acknowledging a COVID-19 outbreak for the first time in the pandemic. North Korea likely doesn’t have sufficient COVID-19 tests and other medical equipment and said it didn’t know the case of the mass fevers. But a big COVID-19 outbreak could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population. By Kim Tong-Hyung and Hyung-Jin Kim. SENT: 890 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-SOUTHEAST ASIA — President Joe Biden is looking to nudge southeast Asian leaders to be more outspoken about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the issue continues to be a delicate one for many members of the region’s 10-country alliance with deep ties to Moscow. Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations take part in formal talks at the State Department. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 710 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after 3:30 p.m. meeting.
LEBANON-FAILING STATE — Amid Lebanon's devastating economic meltdown, this week's parliament elections are seen as a last chance to reverse course and punish the current crop of politicians who have driven the Mediterranean nation into the ground. Instead, a widespread sense of apathy and pessimism prevails, with most observers agreeing the vote is unlikely to make much difference. By Zeina Karam. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
SRI LANKA-POLITICAL DYNASTY — With one brother president, another prime minister and three more family members cabinet ministers, it appeared that the Rajapaksa clan had consolidated its grip on power in Sri Lanka after decades in and out of government. With a national debt crisis spiraling out of control, it looks like the dynasty is nearing its end with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stepping down and the three Rajapaksas resigning their cabinet posts in April, but the family is not going down without a fight. By David Rising. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 5 a.m.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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UKRAINE WAR-DISABLED EVACUATION – The staff of the institution for mentally and physically disabled people in the village of Tavriiske, near the front line in Ukraine’s war, face a daunting dilemma: Do they evacuate the facility, and how can it be done with a minimum of disruption to residents, for whom any evacuation procedure change of environment will be extremely stressful. SENT: 950 words, photos.
NATO-FINLAND-SWEDEN-EXPLAINER: Finland appears on the cusp of joining NATO. Sweden could follow suit. By year’s end, they could stand among the alliance’s ranks. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA — An official says Shanghai will try again to reopen in a few days after it has eliminated COVID-19 transmission among the population at large. An outbreak is waning in the city that is now in the seventh week of a strict lockdown that has been moved, lifted and reinforced at times to the frustration of residents. SENT:600 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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NAOMI JUDD — Ashley Judd talks about mental health after mother’s death. SENT: 460 words, photos.
PREAKNESS-RICH STRIKE — Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike not running in Preakness. SENT: 590 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-POLITICS Kim Jong Un lookalike disrupts Australian election campaign. SENT: 390 words, photo.
DALLAS CONCERT SHOOTING — Two arrested after one killed, 16 hurt at outdoor Dallas concert. SENT: 220 words.
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ELECTION 2022
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ELECTION 2022-NORTH CAROLINA-CAWTHORN — A series of unforced political and personal errors by GOP congressman Madison Cawthorn has brought the forces of big-name Republicans and traditional enemies to bear on his reelection bid in North Carolina. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON
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CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION — A House panel issued subpoenas to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other GOP lawmakers in its probe into the violent Jan. 6 insurrection, an extraordinary step that has little precedent and is certain to further inflame partisan tensions over the 2021 attack. SENT: 1,040 words, photos, video.
THE AP INTERVIEW-JHA — White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha issues a dire warning that the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 870 words, photos, video.
BIDEN-POLICE FUNDING — Biden meets with mayors, police chiefs and local public officials to discuss how cities are using funds from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on policing and public safety programs. SENT: 250 words, photo. UPCOMING: 600 words after 2:30 p.m. meeting.
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NATIONAL
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BORDER-ASYLUM LIMITS — A Louisiana-based federal judge hears arguments on whether the Biden administration can end a pandemic-related policy of expelling migrants while denying them a chance to seek asylum. SENT: 420 words, photo.
DEATH PENALTY-ARIZONA-VICTIM — Shortly after the man who killed her sister 44 years ago was executed, Leslie James strode to a podium at the Arizona state prison complex in Florence and tearfully told the world all that Clarence Dixon had taken when he killed Deana Bowdoin in 1978. SENT: 540 words, photos.
TAHOE TRASH DIVERS — Scuba divers at Lake Tahoe are sorting through their haul after an unprecedented, yearlong effort to remove litter from the alpine lake’s entire 72 miles of shoreline atop the Sierra Nevada. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.
SPRING WILDFIRES — Wildfires are on a furious pace early this year — from a California hilltop where mansions with multimillion-dollar Pacific Ocean views were torched to remote New Mexico mountains charred by a month-old monster blaze. SENT: 970 words, photos, video.
NURSE'S ERROR-TENNESSEE — Nurses from across the country are coming to Nashville to show their support for an ex-nurse convicted of homicide. SENT: 480 words, photo. UPCOMING: Hearing at 10 a.m.
DROUGHT-CONVERTING SALT WATER — A California coastal panel rejected a long-standing proposal to build a $1.4 billion seawater desalination plant to turn Pacific Ocean water into drinking water as the state grapples with persistent drought that is expected to worsen in coming years with climate change. SENT: 940 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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PHILIPPINES MARCOS — Allies of the presumptive Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted dictator, are set to strongly dominate Congress. Marcos Jr. had more than 31 million votes in the unofficial count from Monday’s elections in what’s projected to be one of the strongest majority mandates for a Philippine president in decades.
NUCLEAR TALKS-ENVOY DETAINED — The European Union’s main representative at the nuclear talks with Iran says he was briefly detained with colleagues at Frankfurt Airport, in breach of diplomatic rules. SENT: 200 words.
AUSTRALIA-CHINA-WARSHIP — Australia’s defense minister says a Chinese warship with spying capabilities has been hugging the western coastline in what amounts to an “aggressive act.” SENT: 300 words, photo.
PUERTO RICO-CAPSIZED BOAT — A boat loaded with suspected migrants capsized north of an uninhabited island near Puerto Rico and 11 people had been confirmed dead while 31 others were rescued. SENT: 570 words. UPCOMING: Pursuing photos.
NIGERIA HUNGER — Aid agencies are warning that child malnutrition is on the rise amid conflict in northeast Nigeria. A drop in food production this year in the country and global humanitarian funds being diverted due to the war in Ukraine is putting families at risk. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 5 a.m.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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MILKY WAY-BLACK HOLE — The world’s first image of the chaotic supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy doesn’t portray a voracious cosmic destroyer but what astronomers called a “gentle giant” on a near-starvation diet. By Science Writer Seth Borenstein. SENT: 660 words, photos, video.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS Asian shares bounced back from losses earlier in the week, shrugging off data showing U.S. wholesale prices soared 11% in April from a year earlier. By Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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ON FOOTBALL-AMAZON PRIME — A look at Amazon Prime Video’s first Thursday Night Football schedule and how the league worked with its newest broadcast partner. By Sports Writer Joe Reedy. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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