AP News Digest 3 am
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — Multiple people were killed or wounded in the largest attack on Lviv’s civilian infrastructure since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, destroying entire floors of a residential building that was struck and leaving the streets below covered in rubble. Four were killed and nine others injured, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported, as emergency service workers searched in the debris for more people trapped. SENT: 200 words, photos. More to come.
HOTTEST DAY-GLOBALLY — Earth’s average temperature remained at a record high Wednesday, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records. It’s the latest marker in a series of climate-change-driven extremes. The average global temperature was 17.18 C (62.9 F), according to a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world’s condition. That matched a record set Tuesday, and came after a previous record of 17.01 C (62.6 F) was set Monday. By Seth Borenstein and Melina Walling. SENT: 650 words, photos. With CHINA-HEAT WAVE — Beijing orders outdoor work to be halted as scorching summer heat soars.
PHILADELPHIA-SHOOTING VICTIMS — A father who was preparing to walk his eldest daughter down the aisle. An aspiring actor who appeared as an extra in the “Creed” movie franchise. A teenager who tried to help a wounded friend. These are the stories of those who were killed in what has been the deadliest among a rash of U.S. shootings that occurred around the July Fourth holiday. By Claudia Lauer and Beatrice Dupuy. SENT 850 words, photos.
OBAMA-THREAT ARREST — Federal prosecutors say former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was the home address of former President Barack Obama the same day a man with guns in his van was arrested near the property. They said Taylor Taranto kept two firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition inside a van he had driven cross-country. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 520 words, photo.
BIDEN-SOUTH CAROLINA — President Joe Biden is heading to South Carolina to make the case that his major climate investment bill, and other legislative victories, are helping keep the economy in the deep red state humming. By Aamer Madhani and Meg Kinnard. SENT: 990 words, photo. UPCOMING: 1,100 words after 1:15 p.m. speech.
UNITED NATIONS-GUANTANAMO DETAINEES — Detainees at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been allowed to meet with a U.N. independent investigator. They told the investigator about the scant contacts with their families, the psychological and physical scars of the torture and abuse they experienced, and their hopes of leaving. By Edith M. Lederer. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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EL PASO-SHOOTING-VICTIMS — Nearly four years after a white gunman killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in a racist attack that targeted Hispanic shoppers, relatives of the victims are packing a courtroom near the U.S.-Mexico border to see Patrick Crusius punished for one of the nation’s worst mass shootings. The sentencing phase is the first time families have had the opportunity to address Crusius face-to-face since the Aug. 3, 2019, shooting. By Morgan Lee and Paul J. Weber. SENT: 840 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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ORIOLES-YANKEES-CAMERAMAN-INJURED — Cameraman at Yankee Stadium injured by wild throw from Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson. SENT: 440 words, photos.
BRITAIN-KEVIN SPACEY TRIAL — Accuser says Kevin Spacey grope wasn’t a caress: ‘It was like a cobra ... angry’. SENT: 850 words, photos.
TOBY KEITH-CANCER — Toby Keith’s shows at his Oklahoma music venue mark return to stage after revealing cancer diagnosis. SENT: 210 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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TRUMP-CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS — A valet for Donald Trump accused of helping the former president hide classified documents from federal authorities is due back in a Florida court after an earlier appearance was postponed. By Adriana Gomez Licon and Eric Tucker. SENT: 340 words, photos. UPCOMING: 700 words after 11 a.m. hearing.
ELECTION 2024-HOUSE-CALIFORNIA — California is again emerging as a critical battleground in the fight to control the U.S. House. Leaders in both parties are predicting they can flip seats in the liberal state in next year’s election. By Michael R. Blood. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-PENCE-UKRAINE — Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis do not grasp the broader implications of their call for limited military assistance to Ukraine, former Vice President Mike Pence told The Associated Press in Iowa. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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TEACHER DEATH-TEENS — The first of two Iowa teenagers who pleaded guilty to beating their high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat will be sentenced. SENT: 240 words, photos. Sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Updates to come.
HAWAII-CLIMATE CHANGE-CESSPOOLS — Hawaii has 83,000 cesspools, more than any other state, and many are close to the shoreline. The system has long been unsanitary but it’s increasingly an environmental problem, too. Rising seas are eroding Hawaii’s coast near homes with cesspools. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.
LOS ANGELES-DEPUTIES-USE OF FORCE — The Los Angeles County sheriff says a bystander’s cellphone footage showing a deputy violently tackling a woman while she filmed a man being handcuffed, then pepper-spraying her in the face, is “disturbing,” and community groups called for the department’s new chief to hold his agency accountable. SENT: 800 words, photo, audio.
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INTERNATIONAL
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SOUTH AFRICA-GAS LEAK DEATHS — At least 16 people, including three children, were killed by a leak of a toxic nitrate gas being used by illegal miners to process gold in a settlement of closely packed metal shacks, South African police and local officials said. SENT: 640 words, photos, video.
FRANCE-POLICE SHOOTING-TRIALS — French courts are working overtime in fast-track trials for more than 3,600 people arrested in unrest sparked by the police killing of a 17-year-old boy captured on video. SENT: 800 words, photos.
MIDEAST-INTERNATIONAL-INERTIA — The European Union’s border-monitoring mission in Gaza once raised Palestinian hopes of independence. Today, it is an extreme example of the West’s willingness to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into a moribund vision of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. By Josef Federman. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
CARIBBEAN-US-BLINKEN — U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said that a multinational force is needed to help Haiti’s National Police restore order, echoing recent appeals made by U.N. officials who warn that the country’s insecurity is worsening. SENT: 390 words.
MEXICO-VIOLENCE — A violent drug cartel is suspected of leaving a severed human leg found hanging from a pedestrian bridge in Toluca, just west of Mexico City. Before the day was out, parts of at least two bodies had turned up around the city. SENT: 300 words.
CHINA-CRITICAL MINERALS — A human rights advocacy group says it found allegations of dozens of labor and environmental abuses by Chinese-invested companies involved in mining or processing minerals used in renewable energy. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares slipped in Asia after Wall Street drifted downward following a rally that sent it roaring 16% higher for the year so far. By Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 620 words, photos, audio.
META-TWITTER-RIVAL — Meta unveiled an app to rival Twitter on Thursday, appearing to target users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned — and frequently changed — by Elon Musk. By Business Writer Kelvin Chan. SENT: 620 words, photos, audio.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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ARETHA FRANKLIN-WILL — Five years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. An unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled. SENT: 820 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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