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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ONLY ON AP
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OCEAN-FISHERIES-CAMEROON-FISHING FLAGS — Cameroon has emerged as one of several go-to countries for the widely criticized “flags of convenience” system, under which companies can — for a fee — register their ships in a foreign country even though there is no link between the vessel and the nation whose flag it flies. The ships are supposed to abide by that nation’s fishing agreements with other countries. But experts say weak oversight and enforcement of fishing fleets by countries with open registries like Cameroon offer shipping companies a veil of secrecy that allows them to mask their operations. By Richa Syal and Grace Ekpu. SENT: 2,690 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,090 words is also available.
PHILIPPINES-RUSSIA-HELICOPTER DEAL — The Philippine government has scrapped a deal to purchase 16 Russian military transport helicopters due to fears of possible U.S. sanctions, Philippine officials said. By Jim Gomez. SENT: 600 words, photo.
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TOP STORIES
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FEDERAL RESERVE — The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a hefty three-quarters of a point for a second straight time in its most aggressive drive in three decades to tame high inflation. By Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 792 words, photos. WITH: FEDERAL-RESERVE-RATE-HIKES — The Fed’s latest hike, its fourth since March, will further magnify borrowing costs for homes, cars and credit cards, though many borrowers may not feel the impact immediately. SENT: 1094 words, photo. WITH FINANCIAL MARKETS — Technology companies led a broad rally for stocks on Wall Street Wednesday as investors welcomed another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. SENT: 415 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-RUSSIA-GRINER — The U.S. has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says. SENT: 960 words, photos, video. WITH RUSSIA-GRINER — American basketball star Brittney Griner testified at her drug possession trial in Russia that an interpreter translated only a fraction of what was said during questioning when she was detained at Moscow’s airport in February and that officials told her to sign documents without explaining what they said. By Vladimir Isachenkov. SENT: 800 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-TAIWAN-PELOSI — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s interest in traveling to Taiwan is stirring grave political and military warnings at the highest levels in Washington and Beijing. By Lisa Mascaro. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 8 p.m. With UNITED STATES-PELOSI-TAIWAN-MILITARY — The Pentagon is developing plans for any contingency. SENT: 1,250 words, photos. With CHINA-UNITED STATES — President Biden plans to speak with China’s Xi Jinping Thursday. SENT: 860 words, photo, video.
GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS — The last two former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights have been sentenced in federal court. J. Alexander Kueng was sentenced Wednesday to three years and Tou Thao got a 3 1/2-year sentence. They were convicted in February of two counts of violating Floyd’s civil rights. By Amy Forliti. SENT: 799 words, photos.
CONGRESS-BUDGET — In an unexpected turnabout, Sen. Joe Manchin announces he has reached an expansive agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on health care costs, energy and climate issues, taxing higher earners and large corporations and reducing federal debt. By Alan Fram. SENT: 300 words, photo. UPCOMING: 700 words by 7 p.m.
CONGRESS-GUNS — Gun makers have taken in more than $1 billion from selling AR-15-style guns over the past decade, at times marketing them as a way for young men to prove their masculinity, even as the number of mass shootings increases, according to a House investigation. By Lindsay Whitehurst. SENT: 790 words, photos.
MED-OPIOIDS-FDA-PROMISES — As U.S. opioid deaths mounted in 2016, the incoming head of the Food and Drug Administration promised a “sweeping review” of prescription painkillers in hopes of reversing the worst overdose epidemic in American history. Dr. Robert Califf even personally commissioned a report from the nation’s top medical advisers that recommended reforms, including potentially removing some drugs from the market. But six years later, opioids are claiming more lives than ever, and the FDA has not pulled a single drug from pharmacy shelves since the report’s publication. By Matthew Perrone. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Shipping companies are not rushing to export millions of tons of trapped grain out of Ukraine, despite a breakthrough deal to provide safe corridors through the Black Sea. That is because explosive mines are drifting in the waters, ship owners are assessing the risks and many still have questions over how the deal will unfold. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DEVELOPMENTS — Ukrainian troops used American-supplied precision rocket launchers to knock out a vital bridge used by Russia to supply its forces in an occupied region of southern Ukraine, officials said. SENT: 640 words, photos.
GERMANY-RUSSIA-GAS — Russia’s Gazprom halved the amount of natural gas flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe to 20% of capacity. SENT: 520 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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OBIT-TONY-DOW – Tony Dow, who as Wally Cleaver on the sitcom “Leave It to Beaver” helped create the popular and lasting image of the American teenager of the 1950s and 60s, died Wednesday. He was 77. By Andrew Dalton. SENT: 855 words, photos.
TV-JEOPARDY-NEW-HOSTS – “Jeopardy!” is giving itself two answers to the question of who gets to host the quiz show — Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings. Bialik and Jennings have been serving as rotating hosts since Mike Richards exited the show amid controversy after a short tenure as the late Alex Trebek’s replacement. By Lynn Elber. SENT: 407 words, photos.
LOTTERY JACKPOT - Now that the Mega Millions lottery jackpot has topped $1 billion for only the fourth time, plenty of people who rarely play the game are considering risking $2 or joining an office pool in hopes of an immense payoff. Buying a ticket is a cinch, but it’s easy to be confused about the odds, how the prizes are set and how the winning will eventually be paid out. SENT: 531 words, photos. WITH TOP-US-LOTTERY-JACKPOTS – A list and look at the ten largest lottery jackpots that have been won in the U.S. SENT: 160 words, photo.
INFLATION-BODEGAS — The bacon, egg and cheese, a classic bodega breakfast sandwich that is a staple in many a New Yorker’s diet, is not as cheap as it used to be because of inflation. SENT: 310 words, photos.
BRITAIN-OBIT-LOVELOCK — The British environmental scientist whose influential Gaia theory sees the Earth as a living organism gravely imperiled by human activity has died on his 103rd birthday. SENT: 540 words.
ANGOLA-BIG-PINK-DIAMOND — A big pink diamond of 170 carats has been discovered in Angola and is claimed to be the largest such gemstone found in 300 years. SENT: 220 words, photos.
SPAIN-SHAKIRA — The public relations firm that represents Shakira says the Colombian pop singer has opted to go to trial instead of accepting a deal offered by Spanish prosecutors to settle allegations she defrauded Spain’s government of 14.5 million euros ($15 million) in taxes. SENT: 200 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CONGRESS-COMPUTER CHIPS — The Senate passes a bill designed to encourage more semiconductor companies to build chip plants in the United States. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 880 words, photos.
FEDERAL BUDGET — The Congressional Budget Office says the end of pandemic-era spending, fast economic growth and higher tax revenues have caused the federal debt this year to be lower than forecast. SENT: 460 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIDEN — President Biden emerges from five days of isolation after contracting the coronavirus, telling Americans that “COVID isn’t gone” but saying serious illness can be avoided with vaccines, booster shots and treatments. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.
SPYWARE-HOTEL RWANDA — Technology experts urge Congress to oppose the use of commercial spyware in the U.S. and discourage investment in spyware that has been used to hack the phones of dissidents, journalists and diplomats. SENT: 890 words, photos.
CAPITOL RIOT-OFFICER’S DEATH — A West Virginia man initially charged with attacking a police officer who died after the U.S. Capitol riot pleads guilty to misdemeanor offenses. SENT: 860 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-REPUBLICANS-EXTREMISM — A congressional candidate whose compelling personal story of military valor and unfathomable loss helped him win Trump’s support is connected to right-wing extremists. SENT: 1,510 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,020 words is also available.
ELECTION 2022-MISSOURI-SENATE — Democrats are feeling bullish about their chances for an upset in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race if scandal-tarred former Gov. Eric Greitens becomes the Republican nominee. But they’re divided on which of their two top candidates is the best bet for a victory in November. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
PALESTINIANS-JOURNALIST KILLED — The niece of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh says Secretary of State Antony Blinken refused her face-to-face appeal for help initiating a U.S.-led investigation. The U.S. says it believes Israeli forces fired the shot that killed the veteran television correspondent in the West Bank in May. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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SHOOTING-JULY FOURTH PARADE – A grand jury has indicted the man accused of opening fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, on 117 felony counts. Prosecutors announced the grand jury’s decision against Robert Crimo III on Wednesday. SENT: 266 words. Developing.
ABORTION — A Wyoming judge temporarily blocked the state’s abortion ban on the day it took effect, siding with a firebombed women’s health clinic and others who argued the ban would harm healthcare workers and their patients and violate the state constitution. By Mead Gruver. SENT: 628 words, photo.
SCHOOL-SHOOTING-FLORIDA — Jurors in Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz’s death penalty trial have now seen evidence of his growing obsession with mass killings. Prosecutors on Wednesday presented hundreds of internet posts and searches the 23-year-old made in the months before he murdered 17 at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. By Terry Spencer. SENT: 926 words, photos.
MOTORCYCLES-CRASH — The last rider in a group of Marine motorcycle club members testified Wednesday that he saw a “ball of flame” and then a truck “plowing through motorcycles like a bowling ball” in a 2019 crash in New Hampshire that killed seven bikers. By Kathy McCormack. SENT: 599 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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IRAQ-PROTESTS — Hundreds of Iraqi protesters breached Baghdad’s parliament, chanting curses against Iran, in a protest against the selection of a nominee for prime minister by Iran-backed parties. By Ali Abdul-Hassan and Samya Kullab. SENT: 568 words, photos.
HUNGARY-ORBAN — One of Viktor Orban’s closest associates has resigned in protest over what she called a “pure Nazi” speech given by the Hungarian prime minister in which he railed against Europe becoming a “mixed race” society. It was a rare rebuke from within the governing ranks of the Hungarian leader, who has long been accused by the European Union of eroding democratic institutions and norms. SENT: 480 words, photos.
REL--CANADA-POPE-QUEBEC’S CATHOLICS — Pope Francis arrives in Quebec at a time when many French Canadians are not only continuing to move away from religion but explicitly rejecting it. They are embracing secularization decades after the Catholic Church was the rock on which their forbears built their identity. These days pews are rarely filled, hundreds of churches have closed and the provincial government has banned public service workers from wearing religious symbols. SENT: 860 words, photos.
PHILIPPINES-EARTHQUAKE — A strong earthquake set off landslides and damaged buildings in the northern Philippines, killing at least five people and injuring dozens. In the capital, hospital patients were evacuated and terrified people rushed outdoors. SENT: 590 words, photos.
ARGENTINA-EVITA — Argentines have gathered to mourn iconic Argentine leader María Eva Duarte de Perón, 70 years after her death. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI—PELICANS-VANISHING ISLANDS — Raccoon Island, a barrier isle an hour’s boat ride off the coast of Louisiana, is one of the few remaining refuges for the iconic brown pelicans. SENT: 1,510 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,000 words is also available.
SCI-NASA-MARS — NASA is launching two more mini helicopters to Mars in its effort to recover Martian rocks and soil samples and bring them to Earth. Under the plan, NASA’s Perseverance rover will do double duty and transport samples to the rocket that will launch them off Mars a decade from now. By Marcia Dunn. SENT: 415 words, photos.
HIV-STALLED-PROGRESS — Hard-won progress against HIV has stalled, putting millions of lives at risk, according to an alarming report on how the collision with the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises is jeopardizing efforts to end AIDS. By Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 858 words, photos.
MED--VITAMIN D — More research says it’s time to abandon the craze over vitamin D. Taking high doses of “the sunshine vitamin” doesn’t prevent broken bones in generally healthy older Americans, researchers reported. By Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 539 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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META-RESULTS – Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta posted its first revenue decline in history Thursday, dragged by a drop in ad spending as the economy falters — and as competition from rival TikTok intensifies. By Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 306 words, photo.
WARREN-BUFFETT-REDLINING — A Pennsylvania mortgage company owned by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett discriminated against potential Black and Latino homebuyers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware, the Department of Justice said, in what they are calling the second-largest redlining settlement in history. By Ken Sweet. SENT: 576 words, photos.
SOUTHWEST-AIRLINES-FAA – Federal officials say Southwest Airlines and its pilots union have resisted some investigations into accidents and other incidents, and have pushed to close the matters quickly. The findings were disclosed Wednesday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which represents federal whistleblowers. By David Koenig. SENT: 511 words, photo.
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SPORTS
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BBO-YANKEES-METS — With both New York teams in first place, Mets ace Max Scherzer faces Aaron Judge and the Yankees in the finale of their two-game Subway Series at Citi Field. Domingo Germán is scheduled to make his second start of the season for the Yankees. By Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 7 p.m.
ORIOLES-HOLLIDAY – Jackson Holliday slipped on a Baltimore Orioles jersey, jammed the team’s cap over his shaggy, sandy blond hair and grinned broadly as the cameramen clicked away. The 18-year-old high schooler and No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 amateur signed a contract with an $8.19 million signing bonus and a slot value of $8,846,900. By David Ginsburg. SENT: 537 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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