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: MIGRANT DEATHS-EXPLAINER-HEAT, MIGRANT DEATHS-MEXICO VICTIMS, MEDIA-LOCAL-NEWS, ABORTION-HEARTBEAT-BILLS-EXPLAINER, SUPREME COURT-JACKSON, ELMO-COVID-VACCINE, RUSSIA-UKRAINE-MISSING-AMERICANS, VOTER-ID-MISSOURI, TREASURER-INTERVIEW, ELECTION 2022-NEBRASKA, EMMETT TILL, UNITED-NATIONS-CONGO, BASQUIAT-ART INVESTIGATION, EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVE LIMITS .
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ONLY ON AP
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CLERGY-ABUSE-NEW-ORLEANS — The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them, officials and others familiar with the inquiry told The Associated Press. More than a dozen alleged abuse victims have been interviewed this year as part of the probe that’s exploring among other charges whether predator priests can be prosecuted under the Mann Act, a more than century-old, anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines for illicit sex. By Jim Mustian. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
AP POLL-BIDEN-ECONOMY — A growing and overwhelming majority of Americans say the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, including nearly 8 in 10 Democrats, according to a new poll that finds deep pessimism about the economy continues to plague President Joe Biden. Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults say the country is on the wrong track, and 79% describe the economy as poor, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. By Josh Boak and Emily Swanson. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION-CRIMES — The House Jan. 6 committee has heard dramatic testimony from former White House aides and others about Donald Trump’s relentless efforts to overturn the 2020 election — and his encouragement of supporters as they stormed the U.S. Capitol bent on achieving his goal. But the big question remains: Was any of it criminal? By Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.
R-KELLY — R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for using his R&B superstardom to subject young fans to systematic sexual abuse. The singer and songwriter was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking last year at a trial that gave voice to accusers who had once wondered if their stories were ignored because they were Black women. SENT: 890 words, photos.
FRANCE-PARIS ATTACK TRIAL — The only surviving attacker from the 2015 terrorist massacre at the Bataclan theater and other sites in Paris has been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. That is the most severe sentence possible in France, and very rare. Salah Abdeslam was the chief suspect in an exceptional trial over the attacks, which killed 130 people and were claimed by the Islamic State group. SENT: 940 words, photos. WITH: FRANCE-PARIS ATTACKS-THE SUSPECTS — 20 suspects in Paris terrorist attacks trial: Who they are. SENT: 895 words, photos.
MIGRANT-DEATHS — A Mexican immigration official says that in the chaotic minutes after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering in the Texas heat, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors. The driver and two other men from Mexico remained in custody Wednesday as the investigation continued into the tragedy that killed 53 people in the nation’s deadliest smuggling episode on the U.S.-Mexico border. By Paul J. Weber, Juan Lozano and Elliot Spagat. SENT: 1,055 words, photos. WITH MIGRANT DEATHS-EXPLAINER-HEAT - The combination of heat and humidity would have quickly created life-threatening conditions inside the packed, un-air-conditioned tractor-trailer where dozens of immigrants were found dead. By Tammy Webber. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 6:30 p.m. AND MIGRANT DEATHS-MEXICO VICTIMS — Two cousins from a remote community in southern Mexico were among the 67 people packed into a tractor-trailer and abandoned under the sweltering Texas sun. SENT: 860 words, photos.
ABORTION-CROSSING-STATE-LINES — The Supreme Court’s ruling allowing states to regulate abortion has set off a travel scramble in some parts of the U.S., as abortion providers redirect patients to states that still allow the procedure. A growing number of states are moving to mostly banning abortion. Clinics operators are moving, doctors are counseling crying patients, donations are pouring into nonprofits and one group is dispatching vans to administer abortion pills. By Heather Hollingworth and Lindsey Tanner. SENT: 1,135 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-JACKSON — The first Black woman confirmed for the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, is officially becoming a justice. Jackson will be sworn as the court’s 116th justice at midday Thursday, just as the man she is replacing, Justice Stephen Breyer, retires. SENT: 405 words, photos
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TRENDING NEWS
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EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVE LIMITS — Amazon is limiting how many emergency contraceptives consumers can buy, joining other retailers who put in place similar caps following the Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade. SENT: 450 words.
ELMO-COVID-VACCINE — Elmo got a COVID-19 vaccine. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, announced that Elmo had gotten vaccinated in public service announcement posted to YouTube. SENT: 225 words, photo
OBIT-MEDAL-OF-HONOR-RECIPIENT — Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at age 98. Williams’ foundation announced he died Wednesday at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, West Virginia. SENT: 875 words, photos
YELLOWSTONE-BISON-MAN-GORED — A Colorado man who Yellowstone National Park officials say got too close to a bison was thrown by the animal while trying to get himself and a child away from danger. SENT: 280 words, photos.
ISRAEL-BEN-&-JERRY'S — Unilever says it has reached a new business arrangement in Israel that will effectively end Ben & Jerry’s policy of not selling ice cream in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. SENT: 790 words, photos.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-MISSING-AMERICANS — The mother of a U.S. military veteran who went missing after he traveled to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia has spoken with her son by telephone. Relatives say Lois “Bunny” Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, answered a call from what appeared to be a Russian exchange and talked to son Alex Drueke on Tuesday for nearly 10 minutes. SENT: 315 words, photos
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Russian forces are battling to surround the Ukrainian military’s last stronghold in a long-contested eastern province, as shock still reverberates from a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall that killed at least 18 people. Moscow’s battle to wrest the entire Donbas region from Ukraine saw Russian forces pushing toward two villages south of Lysychansk while Ukrainian troops fought to prevent their encirclement. By Francesa Ebel and Yuras Karmanau. SENT: 1,238 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-SANCTIONS — A multinational task force designed to seize Russian oligarchs’ wealth has blocked and frozen $30 billion in sanctioned individuals’ property and funds in its first 100 days. The Treasury Department says that’s on top of yachts, other vessels and luxury real estate that have been impounded as well as $300 billion in Russian Central Bank funds that have been immobilized. SENT: 415 words, photo.
RUSSIA-RUBLE -- As the ruble strengthens to levels not seen in seven years, Russia’s minister of economic development warns that the country’s businesses could suffer if the trend persists. The ruble hit all-time lows in the first weeks after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in late February, dropping as much as 50%, to 150 against the U.S. dollar. SENT: 225 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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ABORTION-GOING-TO-COURT-EXPLAINER — After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that abortion is not a constitutional right, federal and state courts around the country saw a rush of activity as abortion rights advocates raised new legal challenges and states sought judges’ clearance to limit abortions. Some of the disputes involve state abortion bans or restrictions that have been on the books for generations. By GEOFF MULVIHILL and AMY FORLITI. SENT: 1,140 words, photos. With ABORTION — Louisiana’s attorney general is warning doctors against performing abortions, despite a judge’s order blocking the state from enforcing its ban on the procedure. SENT 520 words, photos.
ABORTION-HEARTBEAT-BILLS-EXPLAINER — Laws banning most abortions at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat”are beginning to take effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision. Court actions in states including Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee have revived laws stalled under Roe and left some abortion seekers and clinics scrambling. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
TREASURER-INTERVIEW — Mohegan Chief Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba, the nation’s first Native American U.S. treasurer, comes from a line of chiefs who instilled in her the need to keep her tribe healthy and to survive. In an Associated Press interview, Malerba says she will bring that mindset to two new jobs in Washington. SENT: 720 words, photos, video.
ELECTION 2022-NEBRASKA — A special election in Nebraska was supposed to be an easy win for House Republicans. It instead was the tightest race in decades in the GOP-dominated district, boosting confidence among Democrats hoping to energize voters by tapping into public outrage over the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling. By Grant Schulte and Michelle L. Price. SENT: 880 words, photos.
VATICAN-PELOSI — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, despite her position in support of abortion rights. Pelosi attended the morning Mass marking the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul. SENT: 865 words, photos.
SUPREME-COURT-INDIAN-COUNTRY — The Supreme Court has ruled that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes committed on tribal land when the victim is Native American. The 5-4 decision cut back on the high court’s ruling from 2020 that said a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation. That first decision left the state unable to prosecute Native Americans accused of crimes on tribal lands that include most of Tulsa, the state’s second-largest city with a population of about 413,000. SENT: 630 words, photo.
SUPREME-COURT-VETERAN — The Supreme Court has allowed a former state trooper to sue Texas over his claim that he was forced out of his job when he returned from Army service in Iraq. The justices ruled for Army veteran Le Roy Torres under a federal law that was enacted in 1994 in the wake of the Persian Gulf war to strengthen job protections for returning service members. SENT: 265 words, photo.
GIULIANI-ASSOCIATES-INDICTMENT — An associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment investigation was sentenced to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes. Lev Parnas had sought leniency on the grounds that he’d helped the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get the leaders of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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NATO-SUMMIT — NATO has declared Russia the “most significant and direct threat” to its members’ peace and security. It vowed Wednesday to strengthen support for Ukraine, even as that country’s leader chided the alliance for not doing more to help it defeat Moscow. By Jill Lawless, Joseph Wilson and Sylvie Corbet. SENT: 995 words, photos. WITH: NATO-SUMMIT-BIDEN — President Biden says the U.S. is enhancing its military presence in Europe for the long haul to bolster regional security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. SENT: 850 words, photos.
ISRAEL-POLITICS — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will not run in upcoming elections, after he led a broad but fragile coalition government that came unraveled barely a year after taking office. SENT: 425 words, photos.
UNITED-NATIONS-CONGO — The U.N. special envoy for Congo is warning that the M23 rebel group has increasingly acted as a conventional army during escalating military action in the country’s volatile east and could threaten the U.N. peacekeeping force charged with protecting civilians. SENT: 585 words, photos
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NATIONAL
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EMMETT TILL — A team searching a Mississippi courthouse for evidence about the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his 1955 kidnapping. And relatives of the victim say they now want the woman brought to justice nearly 70 years later. SENT: 840 words, photos
GUN CONTROL-NEW YORK — New York leaders plan to ban people from carrying firearms into many places of business unless the owners put up a sign saying guns are welcome. Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that she and lawmakers have agreed on the broad strokes of a gun control bill that the Democratic-led Legislature is poised to pass Thursday. SENT: 405 words, photo
VOTER-ID-MISSOURI — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has signed a law enacting a photo identification requirement for voters in advance of the November election. The photo ID requirement will take effect Aug. 28, meaning it won’t be in place for the Aug. 2 primaries. SENT: 525 words, photos
MEDIA-LOCAL-NEWS — Despite a growing recognition of the newspaper industry’s problems among politicians and philanthropists, a new report says a downward trend continues. A report from Northwestern University says local newspapers in the United States are dying at the rate of two per week. SENT: 445 words.
FLINT-WATER-EXPLAINER — Michigan authorities have long promised to hold key officials criminally responsible for lead in Flint’s water back in 2014 and 2015. There’s little to show more than eight years later. The state Supreme Court unanimously dismissed indictments Tuesday against former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight others. SENT: 745 words, photo
SCHOOL-SHOOTING-FLORIDA — A jury of seven men and five women have been sworn in for the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz. The final selections were made Wednesday with the defense using its final strikes to eliminate a banking executive and retired insurance executive who had tentatively been accepted. SENT: 780 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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WHO-ABORTION — The head of the World Health Organization has criticized the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the decision to no longer recognize a constitutional right to abortion “a setback” that would ultimately cost lives. SENT: 405 words, photo
CATCHING-WATER-POLLUTERS-DRONES — People who work to protect rivers and waterways have begun using drones to catch polluters in places where wrongdoing is difficult to see or expensive to find. The images they capture have already been used as evidence to accuse companies of wrongdoing. Now as the Clean Water Act turns 50, a network of Waterkeepers is looking to expand the use of this new investigative tool and is holding trainings. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
CLIMATE-ITALY-DROUGHT-RICE — The worst drought Italy has faced in 70 years is thirsting paddy fields in the river Po valley and jeopardizing the harvest of the premium rice used for risotto. Italy’s largest river, which is turning into a long stretch of sand due to the lack of rain, is leaving the Lomellina rice flats — nestled between the river Po and the Alps — without the necessary water to flood the paddies. SENT: 750 words, photos.
MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-MULTIPLE INFECTIONS — Medical experts warn that repeated COVID-19 infections are getting more likely as the pandemic drags on and the coronavirus evolves. By Laura Ungar. SENT: 985 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FEDERAL-RESERVE-POWELL-INFLATION — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there’s “no guarantee″ the central bank can tame runaway inflation without hurting the job market. SENT: 415 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks ended mostly lower on Wall Street Wednesday, keeping the market on track for its fourth monthly loss this year. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%. The benchmark index has been volatile all week, and is down 20% for the year as investors worry about inflation and rising interest rates. SENT: 775 words, photo.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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US BASQUIAT-ART INVESTIGATION — The Orlando Museum of Art has parted ways with its executive director in the days after the FBI raided the Florida museum and seized more than two dozen paintings attributed to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat but whose authenticity are under investigation for possible conspiracy and fraud. By Mike Schneider. SENT: 565 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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BKN-NBA-FREE-AGENCY — Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving have already decided their futures. For dozens of other players, decisions can start getting made Thursday when the NBA’s free agency negotiating window begins, ushering in the official start of a new league year. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 920 words, photos.
TEN-WIMBLEDON — Yet another of the highest-ranked players on the men’s tour is out of the tournament at Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal are not among them. Casper Ruud, the runner-up to Nadal at this year’s French Open, became the seventh of the top 11-ranked male players to be out of the grass-court Grand Slam for either losing early, injury, illness or being banned. SENT: 650 words, photos. WITH: Wimbledon-Raducanu, Wimbledon-Pegula, & Wimbledon-The Latest.
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HOW TO REACH US
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