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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Via AP news wire

AP News Digest 7 am

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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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PHILADELPHIA-SHOOTING — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia, killing five people and wounding two boys in the latest outbreak of gun violence in the United States, police said. The victims were apparently random, with no connection immediately known between them and the shooter. SENT: 470 words, photos, video, audio.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israeli troops pressed ahead with their hunt for Palestinian militants and weapons in a West Bank refugee camp after military bulldozers tore through alleys and thousands of residents fled to safety. The two-day Palestinian death toll rose to 10. The large-scale raid of the Jenin camp is one of the most intense military operations in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades. By Majdi Mohammed. SENT: 510 words, photos, video. WITH ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-EXPLAINER — A year of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians just escalated. Is this an uprising?

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — The Russian military said it fended off a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that prompted authorities to briefly close one of the city’s airports. The attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital during the previous months, comes after a mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, which saw his Wagner troops approach Moscow in the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than two decades of his rule. SENT: 690 words, photos, audio.

AMERICA DIVIDED-PATRIOTISM-EXPLAINER — As Americans celebrate Independence Day, the word “patriot” has morphed beyond the original meaning. It has become infused in political rhetoric and school curriculums, with varying definitions, while being appropriated by white nationalist groups. Trying to define what a patriot is depends on who is being asked. By Gary Fields, Margery Beck and Rebecca Boone. SENT: 1,390 words, photos.

FRANCE-POLICE SHOOTING-THE ROOTS — “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity:” The lofty ideas to which France aspires are embossed on its coins and carved above the doors of schools across the land. Yet they are the polar opposite of what some French people who are Black or brown saw in an electroshock video of a police officer shooting and killing a 17-year-old delivery driver of North African descent during an early morning traffic stop. That kid, some said to themselves, could have been me. SENT: 1,330 words, photos. With FRANCE-MACRON — France’s Macron is weakened by crisis over teen killed by police.

ROOTS OF THE FLAG — The American flag will be flown throughout the country on July 4, but it wasn’t always a revered and debated symbol. Unlike the right to assemble or trial by jury, the flag’s role was not prescribed by the founders: Flags would have been rare during early Independence Day celebrations and were so peripheral to early U.S. history that no original flag exists. By National Writer Hillel Italie. SENT: 1,380 words, photos.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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TULSA MASSACRE-VIOLA FLETCHER-MEMOIR — In the last couple of years, Viola Ford Fletcher has been on a tireless campaign for accountability over the massacre that destroyed Tulsa, Oklahoma’s original “Black Wall Street” when she was a child in 1921. Now, at age 109, Fletcher is releasing a memoir about the life she lived in the shadow of the massacre, after a white mob laid waste to the once-thriving Black enclave known as Greenwood. By National Writer Aaron Morrison. SENT: 900 words, photos.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR

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INDIA-RUSSIA-CHINA SUMMIT — India’s prime minister on Tuesday took a veiled swipe at rival neighbor Pakistan and avoided mentioning the war in Ukraine while addressing a group of Asian countries led by China and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping also addressed the day-long virtual summit. For Putin, the summit presents an opportunity to show he is in control after a short-lived insurrection by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. SENT: 590 words, photos.

NATO-STOLTENBERG — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will stay in office for another year, the 31-nation military alliance decided. His term had been due to expire last year but was extended then to keep a steady hand at the helm after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. SENT: 250 words, photos.

RUSSIA-US-DETAINED REPORTER — US Ambassador Lynne Tracy was allowed to visit Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been behind bars in Russia since March on charges of espionage. SENT: 190 words, photo.

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MORE NEWS

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HAWAII-FLIGHT-TURBULENCE — Seven injured in turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Australia. SENT: 380 words, photos.

JULY FOURTH-FIREWORKS-DOGS — ThunderShirts, dance parties and anxiety meds can help ease dogs’ July Fourth dread. 870 words, photos, video, audio.

FLORIDA KEYS-200th-BIRTHDAY — A sweet slice of history: Florida Keys celebrate 200th birthday with giant Key lime pie. SENT: 230 words, photos.

FRANCE-OBIT-GAUTIER — The last surviving member of an elite French unit that joined U.S. and other Allied forces in the D-Day invasion has died. SENT: 240 words, photos.

PAKISTAN-POLISH CLIMBER — Polish climber dies after scaling Pakistan’s ‘killer mountain,’ Nanga Parbat. SENT: 200 words.

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NATIONAL

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SHOOTING-JULY FOURTH — One year after a shooter terrorized July Fourth paradegoers in Highland Park, Illinois, community members are planning to gather to honor the seven people who were killed, commemorate the day and reclaim the space to move forward. By Jeff Turner and Brooke Lefferts. SENT: 320 words, photos.

STUDENT-LOANS-ECONOMY — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The restart of those payments will force many people to start paying hundreds of dollars in loans each month — money they had been spending elsewhere for the past three years. By Economics Writer Paul Wiseman. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.

CITIES-STORM-FLOODING — Heavy rains that flooded Chicago neighborhoods, rendered freeways impassable and wreaked havoc on NASCAR street races downtown are serving as stark reminders of urban centers’ vulnerability during extreme weather events. SENT: 770 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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SOUTH AFRICA-POLICE BRUTALITY — A video showing armed plainclothes officers dragging a man out of a car and then stomping on his head until he lies motionless has outraged South Africans and drawn more attention to the country’s problems with police brutality. SENT: 530 words.

HONG KONG-NATIONAL SECURITY LAW — Hong Kong’s leader said eight pro-democracy activists who now live in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia will be pursued for life for alleged national security offenses, dismissing criticism that the move was a dangerous precedent. SENT: 620 words, photos.

GUATEMALA-ELECTION EXPLAINER — A week after Guatemala’s June 25 elections boosted a relative long-shot candidate into the final second round of voting, the country’s top court has frozen certification of the election results. SENT: 680 words, photos.

VIETNAM-BARBIE BAN — Vietnam’s state media have reported that the government banned the distribution of the popular “Barbie” movie because it includes a view of a map showing disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. SENT: 340 words, photos.

JAPAN-NUCLEAR-FUKUSHIMA — The head of the U.N. nuclear agency is in Japan to meet with government leaders and to see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, on a visit Japan hopes will give credibility to the contentious plan. SENT: 520 words, photos, video.

SENEGAL-PRESIDENT — Senegalese President Macky Sall declared that he will not run for a third term in next year’s elections, ending years of uncertainty over his political future that had helped fuel deadly opposition protests last month. SENT: 560 words, photo.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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CHINA-US-TECH BATTLE — China has imposed export curbs on two metals used in computer chips and solar cells, expanding a squabble with Washington over high-tech trade ahead of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to Beijing this week. SENT: 320 words, photo.

FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Global stock markets were mostly higher after Australia’s central bank kept its key lending rate unchanged and Wall Street hit a 15-month high. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 530 words, photos, audio.

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SPORTS

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TOKYO-BRIBERY TRIAL — One of several Japanese officials charged in a widespread bribery scandal involving Tokyo Olympic organizers has been found guilty but avoided jail time. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 380 words.

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HOW TO REACH US

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The Nerve Center 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.

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