AP News Digest 2 p.m.

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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NEW & DEVELOPING

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Adds: UBER-INVESTIGATIVE-REPORT, ABORTION-FLOATING-CLINIC, DEPP-HEARD-TRIAL, PLANE FIRE, NEBRASKA GOP DISPUTE, MEXICO-ECHEVERRIA, ISRAEL-POLITICS, LEBANON-SAUDI DISSIDENT.

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TOP STORIES

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BIDEN-MIDEAST — Joe Biden took office looking to reshape U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, putting a premium on promoting democracy and human rights. But he’s struggled on several fronts to meaningfully separate his approach from Donald Trump’s. Biden had pledged to recalibrate the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, but now seems to be making the calculation there’s more to be gained from courting than isolating. He’s softened his stance, too, on Israel. Biden visits the Mideast this week. By Aamer Madhani and Darlene Superville. SENT: 1,300 words, photos. With: ISRAEL-US-SAUDI ARABIA — Israel’s prime minister has expressed hope that his country will establish formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia. (sent).

JAPAN-ELECTIONS — Japan’s governing party and its coalition partner have scored a major victory in a parliamentary election, possibly propelled by sympathy votes in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Early results in the race for the parliament’s upper house showed Abe’s governing party and its junior coalition partner securing a majority in the chamber. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka’s opposition political parties are meeting to install a new government a day after the president and prime minister offered to resign in the most dramatic day of monthslong political turmoil. Protesters stormed both officials’ homes Saturday and set fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the economic crisis. Crowds remained on the premises Sunday, splashing in the pool and lounging on beds. SENT: 740 words, photos, video. By Krishan Francis. With: SRI-LANKA-LEADERS — As Sri Lanka’s crisis reached its climax this weekend, two men in the center of the turmoil brought about by the country’s economic collapse promised they would heed the call of tens of thousands of angry protesters and resign. SENT: 860 words, photos; SRI LANKA-CRISIS-EXPLAINER — Why Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed and what’s next (sent).

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DEVELOPMENTS — Dozens of Ukrainian emergency workers are laboring to pull people out of the rubble after a Russian rocket attack smashed into apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine. The strike killed at least 15 people and scores were thought to be still trapped a day later. By Francesca Ebel. SENT: 760 words, photos.

CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION — Former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon, who’s facing criminal charges after months of defying a congressional subpoena over the Capitol riot, has told the House committee investigating the attack that he’s now willing to testify. Lawmakers say Bannon’s turnabout was conveyed in a letter late Saturday from his attorney. And that development comes as the committee prepares to air some of its most striking revelations yet this week against Trump in what may be its final set of hearings. By Farnoush Amiri and Hope Yen. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.

SECOND-CHANCE HIRING — The United States’ ongoing labor shortage is bad for employers but presents an opportunity for workers who often could not find jobs in rosier economic times: ex-prisoners. Special training programs in Mississippi and other states are now trying to fill some of the 11.3 million open jobs in the U.S. through “second-chance hiring” — the practice of employing people with a criminal record. Studies have shown that stable jobs are a major factor in reducing recidivism. By Michael Goldberg. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. This is the Monday Spotlight.

TEN—WIMBLEDON — Novak Djokovic waited. He waited for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus and lose his way. Waited to find the proper read on his foe’s big serves. Waited until his own level rose to the occasion. Djokovic used his steady brilliance to beat the ace-delivering, trick-shot-hitting, constantly chattering Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Sunday for a fourth consecutive championship at the All England Club and seventh overall. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1,140 words, photos. With: WIMBLEDON-THE LATEST, RYBAKINA-RUSSIA — Russia claims credit for Elena Rybakina’s Wimbledon title (both sent).

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TRENDING

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ABORTION-FLOATING-CLINIC — A California doctor is proposing a floating abortion clinic in the Gulf of Mexico as a way to maintain access for people in southern states where abortion bans have been enacted. SENT: 340 words.

DEPP-HEARD-TRIAL — A new court filing from Amber Heard’s legal team alleges one of the jurors in the defamation case filed against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp served improperly. SENT: 410 words, photo.

PLANE FIRE — Passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Tampa are safe after one of the plane’s brakes overheated and briefly caught fire upon landing in Atlanta, airport officials said. SENT: 220 words.

CHINA-BANK PROTEST — A large crowd of angry Chinese bank depositors has faced off with police and some were roughed up in a case that has drawn attention because of earlier attempts to use a COVID-19 tracking app to prevent them from mobilizing. SENT: 670 words, photos.

SPAIN-RUNNING-OF-THE-BULLS — Thrill seekers avoided any gorings for a fourth straight bull run at Pamplona’s San Fermín Festival. SENT: 390 words, photos.

US-GAS-PRICES — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline plunged 19 cents over the past two weeks to $4.86 per gallon. SENT: 140 words, photo.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — An estimated 22 million tons of grain are blocked in Ukraine, and pressure is growing as the new harvest begins. The country usually delivers about 30% of its grain to Europe, 30% to North Africa and 40% to Asia. But with the ongoing Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, millions of tons of last year’s harvest still can’t reach their destinations. SENT: 810 words, photos.

UKRAINE-WAR-MUSLIMS — On Eid al-Adha, an important religious holiday in Islam, Ukrainian Mufti turned fighter Said Ismahilov asked fellow Ukrainian Muslims to pray for victory and for those still living in areas under Russian occupation. Muslims make up almost 1 percent of the population in Ukraine, which is predominantly Orthodox Christian. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

BRITAIN-UKRAINE — The U.K. Ministry of Defense says the first cohort of Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom have no previous military experience, have arrived in the U.K. for combat training as the eastern European nation races to replace troops killed and wounded in the war against Russia. SENT: 275 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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BIDEN — President Joe Biden says he’s considering declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources to promote abortion access even though the White House has said it doesn’t seem like “a great option.” SENT: 360 words, photos.

ELECTION-2022-SENATE MISSOURI — Eric Greitens resigned as Missouri governor amid criminal charges and legislative investigations, is accused by his ex-wife of abuse and bullying and has run a widely condemned ad suggesting he was hunting members of his own party with a gun. Yet the Republican is a leading contender for an open U.S. Senate seat and seems ever more popular today among many of his followers. Now there’s a new candidate in the race, a former top investigator for the Jan. 6 committee in the House, who’s banking on the belief that Republicans want an alternative to Greitens. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

NEBRASKA GOP DISPUTE — Nebraska Republicans fired their longtime party chairman at a tumultuous state convention that highlighted divisions within the party driven by activists who support former President Donald Trump and want to take the party further to the right. SENT: 450 words.

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INTERNATIONAL

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SOUTH-AFRICA-BAR-SHOOTING — South Africa police say a shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg’s Soweto township has killed 15 people and left others in critical condition. SENT: 460 words, photos.

NETHERLANDS-FARMER-PROTESTS — Dutch farmers are embroiled in a summer of discontent that shows no sign of abating. Their target? Government plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia that they say threaten to wreck their way of life. The Dutch government aims to slash nitrogen emissions by 50% by 2030 and has earmarked an extra 24.3 billion euros ($25.6 billion) to fund the necessary changes. SENT: 860 words, photos.

BRITAIN-POLITICS — Potential successors to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are rushing to differentiate themselves from an increasingly crowded field. The governing Conservative Party was expected to set a tight timetable for the leadership election, with a new leader expected by the end of the summer. SENT: 500 words, photos.

BALKANS-WILD-RIVERS — It took a decade of court battles and street protests, but Balkan activists fighting to protect some of Europe’s last wild rivers have scored an important conservation victory in Bosnia. A new electricity law passed Thursday bans the further construction of small hydroelectric power plants in the larger of Bosnia’s two semi-independent entities. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

MEXICO-ECHEVERRIA — The remains of former Mexican President Luis Echeverria were cremated Sunday, after a quiet memorial service. SENT: 530 words.

CUBA-PROTEST ANNIVERSARY — A year after the largest protests in decades shook Cuba’s single-party government, hundreds of people who participated are in prison and the economic and political factors that caused the demonstrations largely remain. SENT: 915 words, photos.

THAILAND-US — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is criticizing Southeast Asian nations for not doing enough to press Myanmar’s military government to return the country to the path of democracy following last year’s power seizure. SENT: 870 words, photos.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — South Korea says North Korea appeared to have launched artillery shells toward the sea days after the United States deployed sophisticated fighter jets to South Korea for joint training. SENT: 370 words, photo.

LEBANON-SAUDI DISSIDENT — A Saudi opposition party said Sunday that one of its founding members was killed in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. SENT: 340 words.

IRAN-NUCLEAR — Iran says it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant, state TV reported, an escalation that comes amid a standoff with the West over its tattered atomic deal. SENT: 610 words, photo.

INDONESIA-EID-AL-ADHA — A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has disrupted ritual slaughter of animals to mark Eid al-Adha as millions of Muslims across Indonesia were celebrating one of the biggest holidays in the Islamic calendar. SENT: 690 words, photos.

CHINA-BANK-PROTEST — A large crowd of angry Chinese bank depositors has faced off with police and some were roughed up in a case that has drawn attention because of earlier attempts to use a COVID-19 tracking app to prevent them from mobilizing. SENT: 515 words, photos.

NIGERIA-CHILD MALNUTRITION — Nigeria is grappling with child malnutrition in its troubled northwest region where armed groups have been targeting rural communities. The food crisis is worsened by an already existing hunger in this part of the West African nation which government statistics say has a 40% poverty rate. SENT: 570 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MACAO — The Asian gambling center of Macao will close all its casinos for a week starting Monday. It will also largely restrict people to their homes as it tries to stop a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected more than 1,400 people in the past three weeks. SENT: 250 words, photos.

GERMANY-ENERGY — The Canadian government says it will allow the delivery to Germany of equipment from a key Russia-Europe natural gas pipeline that has undergone maintenance — equipment the absence of which Russia’s Gazprom cited last month as a reason for more than halving the flow of gas. SENT: 400 words, photo

PORTUGAL-WILDFIRES — More than 3,000 firefighters and over 60 aircraft are battling wildfires in Portugal that authorities say have injured 29 people. Authorities say 12 firefighters and 17 civilians required medical assistance to treat minor injuries caused by the blazes. SENT: 420 words.

ISRAEL-POLITICS — The leaders of two parties in Israel’s outgoing government coalition announced Sunday that they would run as political partners in the upcoming parliamentary elections. SENT: 250 words.

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NATIONAL

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CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — A wildfire threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park has more than doubled in size since Saturday afternoon. SENT: 530 words, photos.

US-SHOOTING-JULY FOURTH PARADE — A business district that had been blocked since the deadly July 4 parade mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park has reopened. SENT: 430 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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UBER-INVESTIGATIVE-REPORT — As Uber aggressively pushed into markets around the world, the ride-sharing service lobbied political leaders to relax labor and taxi laws, used a “kill switch″ to thwart regulators and law enforcement, channeled money through Bermuda and other tax havens and considered portraying violence against its drivers as a way to gain public sympathy, according to a report. SENT: 410 words, photo.

CRYPTOCURRENCY-PENSIONS — The plunge in prices for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies provides a cautionary tale for the handful of public pension funds that have dipped their toes into the crypto pool. SENT: 1,275 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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FILM-BOX OFFICE — “Thor: Love and Thunder” earned $143 million in its opening weekend in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. It’s a franchise best for the God of Thunder and another success story of the summer 2022 box office season. SENT: 680 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BKL—ALL-STAR GAME — A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and the rest of the WNBA All-Stars wore Brittney Griner’s name and her No. 42 on the back of their jerseys for the second half of Team Wilson’s 134-112 victory over Team Stewart. It was another moment in the league’s continued push for Griner’s release from her detention in Russia. SENT: 700 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski 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 http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.