AP News Digest 3:25 am

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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SACRED RIVERS-NEW ZEALAND-WHANGANUI — In 2017, New Zealand passed a groundbreaking law granting personhood status to the Whanganui, which is revered by the Māori people. The Associated Press followed the river upstream to find out what its status means to those whose lives are entwined with its waters. For many, its enhanced standing reflects a wider rebirth of Māori culture and a chance to reverse prolonged degradation of the river. By Nick Perry. SENT: 2,570 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,150 words is also available. With SACRED RIVERS-NEW ZEALAND-WHANGANUI-PEOPLE — Whanganui River “always makes things better for me."

AP POLL-CLIMATE — Americans are less concerned now about how climate change might impact them personally — and about how their personal choices affect the climate — than they were three years ago, a new poll shows, even as a wide majority still believe climate change is happening. The June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows majorities of U.S. adults think the government and corporations have a significant responsibility to address climate change. By Hannah Fingerhut and Nuha Dolby. SENT: 990 words, photos, video, graphic.

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TOP STORIES

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TAIWAN-US-LAWMAKERS — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation of U.S. Congress members in a further sign of support among American lawmakers for the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory. SENT: 480 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — The children and teens who remain in eastern Ukraine are retreating into social media, video games and other digital technology to cope with the isolation and stress of Russia’s war that rages on the nearby front line. Cities have largely emptied after hundreds of thousands have evacuated from the embattled Donetsk region. The youth who remain face loneliness and boredom as painful counterpoints to the fear and violence Moscow has unleashed on Ukraine. By Justin Spike. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

ELECTION 2022-MURKOWSKI-CHENEY — They hail from their states’ most prominent Republican families. They have been among the GOP’s sharpest critics of former President Donald Trump and supported his impeachment. But for all their similarities, the political fortunes of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming are poised to diverge after Tuesday’s primary elections. By Becky Bohrer. SENT: 1,150 words, photos. Also see MORE ON ELECTION 2022 below.

IRAN-SALMAN RUSHDIE — An Iranian government official denied that Tehran was involved in the assault on author Salman Rushdie in western New York, in remarks that were the country’s first public comments on the attack. SENT: 260 words, photo.

NORTHEAST DROUGHT — Climate change in the northeastern U.S. generally means wetter weather and rising sea levels, but this summer has brought another extreme: severe drought that's made lawns crispy and has farmers begging for rain. By Jennifer McDermott. SENT: 980 words, photos, video. Also see WESTERN DROUGHT-COLORADO RIVER below.

FACEBOOK-BRAZIL-MISINFORMATION — Facebook failed to detect blatant election-related misinformation in ads ahead of Brazil’s 2022 election, a new report from Global Witness has found, continuing a pattern of not catching material that violates its policies the group describes as “alarming.” By Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 840 words, photo.

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TRENDING

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AMUSEMENT PARK-SHOOTING — Three injured in shooting at amusement park near Chicago. SENT: 200 words.

FUNDRAISER-CRASH — Police: Man drives into fundraiser crowd in Pennsylvania, then kills mother. SENT: 530 words, photos.

VEHICLE-RESTAURANT CRASH — Police: Two dead after SUV crashes into North Carolina restaurant. SENT: 180 words, photos.

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MORE ON ELECTION 2022

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ELECTION 2022-WHAT TO WATCH — Elections on Tuesday in Wyoming and Alaska could relaunch the political career of a former Republican star, Sarah Palin, and effectively end the career of another, Liz Cheney, at least for now. SENT: 920 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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WESTERN DROUGHT-COLORADO RIVER — There’s not enough water from the Colorado River to quench the thirsty West as climate change sets in, but even though the U.S. government has given a deadline next week to make plans to give up water, not much is expected to change as stubborn states cling to the water they were allocated a century ago. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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AFGHANISTAN-ANNIVERSARY — Afghanistan is marking one year since the Taliban seized Kabul and its Western-backed government fled their advance, sending its economy into a tailspin as the militants still struggle to govern the nation. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 4 a.m.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — South Korea's president offered “audacious” economic assistance to North Korea if it abandons its nuclear weapons program while avoiding harsh criticism of the North days after it threatened “deadly” retaliation over the COVID-19 outbreak it blames on the South. SENT: 990 words, photos.

JAPAN-WWII ANNIVERSARY — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida renewed Japan’s no-war pledge at a somber ceremony as his country marked the 77th anniversary of its World War II defeat, but he did not mention Japanese wartime aggression. SENT: 550 words, photos.

INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY — The prime minister pledged to work with vigor to turn poverty-ridden India into a developed country in the next 25 years. SENT: 520 words, photos.

VENEZUELA-TEACHERS — Public school teachers across Venezuela have been marching by the thousands, threatening to strike and or even to abandon their profession because the government paid them only a fraction of the bonus they get at the end of every school year in July. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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CHINA ECONOMY — China’s central bank trimmed a key interest rate to shore up sagging economic growth at a politically sensitive time when President Xi Jinping is trying to extend his hold on power. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 560 words, photos. With JAPAN-ECONOMY — Japan economy grows 2.2% in second quarter on revived consumer spending.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares were mixed in Asia after China’s central bank cut a key interest rate and Japan reported its economy picked up momentum in the last quarter. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 650 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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OBIT-ANNE HECHE — Anne Heche, the Emmy-winning film and television actor whose dramatic Hollywood rise in the 1990s and accomplished career contrasted with personal chapters of turmoil, died of injuries from a fiery car crash. She was 53. SENT: 920 words, photos, video.

R KELLY — Jury selection is set to begin for the trial of R&B superstar R. Kelly on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges. SENT: 440 words, photos. UPCOMING: Trial scheduled for 11 a.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Wally Santana (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.