AP News Digest 3:40 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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BIDEN-NEVADA-LITHIUM-MINE — A huge lithium mine under construction in northern Nevada is at the center of a dispute over President Joe Biden’s clean energy agenda. The administration says the mine will produce battery material needed to meet Biden’s goal for half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030. But Native American tribes and environmentalists say the mine at Thacker Pass will harm wildlife habitats, degrade groundwater and pollute the air in a remote area dotted with sagebrush. The mine also could destroy a sacred site where U.S. troops massacred dozens of Paiute tribal members after the Civil War. SENT: 1,330 words, photos, video.
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TOP STORIES
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TITANIC-TOURIST SUB — Rescuers in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean raced against time to find a missing submersible carrying five people on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that sank more than a century ago. The submersible named the Titan, part of a mission by OceanGate Expeditions, carried a pilot, a renowned British adventurer, two members of an iconic Pakistani business family and another passenger. By Ben Finley and Holly Ramer. SENT: 1,290 words, photos, video. With TITANIC-TOURIST SUB-EXPLAINER.
ELECTION 2024-DESANTIS-NEWSOM — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there’s no chance he’s running for president in 2024. But he wants to make clear that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running, is “weak” and “undisciplined” and “will be crushed by Donald Trump.” Meanwhile, DeSantis likes to mock Newsom’s apparent “fixation” on Florida. Welcome to one of the fiercest rivalries in U.S. politics. By Steve Peoples and Michael R. Blood. SENT: 1,500 words, photo. An abridged version of 870 words is also available.
TRUMP-INVESTIGATIONS-EASTMAN — An effort to disbar conservative attorney John Eastman, who devised ways to keep Trump in the White House after his defeat in the 2020 election, will begin in Los Angeles. Eastman is expected to spend the day testifying before the State Bar of California in a proceeding that could result in him losing his license to practice law in the state. He faces 11 disciplinary charges stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy that was aimed at helping Trump remain in power by disrupting the counting of state electoral votes. By Stefanie Dazio and Michael R. Blood. SENT: 730 words, photos. UPCOMING: Hearing at 1 p.m.
CHINA-US — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said they agreed to “stabilize” badly deteriorated U.S.-China ties, but America’s top diplomat left Beijing with his biggest ask rebuffed: better communications between their militaries. After meeting Xi, Blinken said China is not ready to resume military-to-military contacts, something the U.S. considers crucial to avoid miscalculation and conflict, particularly over Taiwan. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. With GERMANY-CHINA – New Chinese premier makes first foreign trip to Europe as part of Beijing’s outreach.
UNITED STATES-INDIA — President Biden is honoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state visit this week, even though Modi’s government has stayed on the sidelines in Russia’s war with Ukraine and human rights activists have expressed alarm about the state of India’s democracy. By Aamer Madhani and Krutika Pathi. SENT: 1,270 words, photos. With INDIA-MODI-YOGA DIPLOMACY — Living la vida yoga: India’s Modi will bend leaders into shape on International Yoga Day.
BRITAIN-POLITICS-BORIS JOHNSON — Britain’s House of Commons resoundingly endorsed a report that found Boris Johnson lied to lawmakers about lockdown-flouting parties in his office, a humiliating censure that strips the former prime minister of his lifetime access to Parliament. Lawmakers backed the finding that Johnson was in contempt of Parliament by 354 votes to 7, after a debate in which many argued it was crucial to show voters that politicians are obliged to follow the rules and tell the truth. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 810 words, photos.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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VATICAN-INFLUENTIAL-NUN — A French nun is charting an unprecedented period of reform in the Catholic Church as one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican. Sister Nathalie Becquart is the first female undersecretary at the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops, which is gearing up for a big meeting in October on empowering rank-and-file Catholics to have a bigger say in the life of the church. SENT: 1,120 words, photos, video.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — The Kremlin’s spokesman said that U.N. aid workers who want to visit areas ravaged by the recent Kakhovka dam collapse in southern Ukraine can’t go there because fighting in the war makes it unsafe. SENT: 800 words, photos.
RUSSIA-NAVALNY — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny urged his supporters to begin a broad campaign against Moscow’s actions in Ukraine as he went on trial on new charges of extremism that could keep him behind bars for decades. SENT: 780 words, photos. With RUSSIA-NAVALNY-TIMELINE.
EUROPE-AIR DEFENSE — French President Emmanuel Macron is urging European nations to seek more independence on airspace defense. He advocates against relying too much on the U.S., a long-divisive issue that takes on new urgency because of Russia’s war in Ukraine. SENT: 540 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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BEBE-REXHA-CONCERT INJURY — Pop star Bebe Rexha says she’s OK after being hit in the face and injured by a cellphone hurled from the audience at a hometown show in New York. SENT: 330 words, photo.
OBIT-MILTON POWELL — Houston rapper Big Pokey dies after collapsing at show in Texas. SENT: 190 words, photos.
STONEWALL MONUMENT-VANDALISM — LGBTQ+ pride flags vandalized at Stonewall National Monument three times during Pride month. SENT: 220 words, photo.
TROPICAL WEATHER-BRET — Tropical Storm Bret forms in the Atlantic, with a possible hurricane threat to Caribbean islands. SENT: 320 words.
NETHERLANDS-REMBRANDT TATTOOS — High art becomes body art as visitors to Amsterdam’s Rembrandt House Museum get inked. SENT: 390 words, photos.
ITALY-ANCIENT TEMPLES — Ancient Roman temple complex, with ruins of building where Caesar was stabbed, opens to tourists. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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ELECTION-2024-REPUBLICANS — For now, no one comes close to Trump in his command of the voters who’ll decide the Republican Party’s presidential nominee next year. But his path beyond the primary is far more perilous as he faces significant and growing questions about his ability to appeal to a broader, more moderate set of voters in a potential general election matchup against Biden. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-BIDEN — Biden ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024. At the first of two Monday fundraisers, Biden said democracy itself was at stake in the 2024 election and said his administration had reinstilled “a sense of confidence in the Constitution.” SENT: 680 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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TEXAS-ATTORNEY GENERAL-IMPEACHMENT — Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton said she will “carry out my duties” ahead of the historic impeachment trial of her husband, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, but did not outright say whether or not she will recuse herself on a vote to remove him from office. SENT: 230 words, photo.
MEDICAID-STATES — About 1.5 million people have lost Medicaid coverage in more than two dozen states as a post-pandemic purge of the rolls gets underway. Data analyzed by The Associated Press show some states have dropped coverage for more than half the people whose eligibility cases were decided in April or May. By David A. Lieb and Andrew DeMillo. SENT: 1,270 words, photos. This is the Tuesday spotlight.
YOUTH CLIMATE LAWSUIT-MONTANA — Montana officials sought to downplay a first-of-its-kind trial taking place over the state’s obligations to protect residents from climate change, saying that a victory by the young plaintiffs would not change approvals for fossil fuel projects. SENT: 750 words, photos.
SEVERE-WEATHER-MISSISSIPPI — Multiple tornadoes swept through Mississippi on Sunday into Monday, killing one and injuring nearly two dozen, officials. State emergency workers were still working with counties to assess the damage from storms in which high temperatures and hail in some areas accompanied tornadoes. SENT: 700 words, photos, video.
WEEKEND SHOOTINGS — Mass shootings and violence killed and wounded people across the U.S. over the weekend, including 60 in the Chicago area alone. The shootings happened in cities and rural areas alike. SENT: 1,380 words, photos, videos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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JORDAN-YOUNG GENERATION — The royal wedding of 28-year-old Crown Prince Hussein and his Saudi bride earlier this month represented the pinnacle of the monarchy’s efforts to establish the heir as the face of Jordan’s next generation. SENT: 1,360 words, photos.
NIGERIA-FUEL SUBSIDY-CLIMATE — Nigeria’s removal of a subsidy that helped reduce the price of gasoline has increased costs for people already struggling with high inflation. SENT: 930 words, photos.
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN — The international rights group Amnesty International called on Pakistan’s government to stop what it described as random arrests of Afghan refugees, including those with Pakistani visas. SENT: 320 words.
GUATEMALA-ELECTION-EXPLAINER — This has been one of the most turbulent election seasons in Guatemala’s modern history. Some of the most popular aspirants will be on the sidelines in Sunday’s voting because electoral authorities and courts blocked some from running and canceled the candidacies of others who were initially allowed to enter the race. SENT: 780 words, photos.
MIGRATION-GREECE — The number of confirmed victims from one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean rose to 81 after three more bodies were found off southern Greece, as more survivors claimed that the battered trawler had been under tow by another vessel just before it sank with hundreds of people aboard. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israeli military forces raided a refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Monday, igniting the fiercest day of fighting in years. At least five Palestinians were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, and over 90 others were wounded, Palestinian health officials said. SENT: 910 words, photos, video.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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HIMALAYAN-MELTING GLACIERS — Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a report. SENT: 560 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian shares mostly slip after U.S. markets were closed for a national holiday. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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MILAN-FASHION-WEEK-WATCH — With temperatures rising, Milan designers focused on fluidity in dressing, allowing the body to move without constrictions. By Fashion Writer Colleen Barry. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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WTA’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY -- This week marks the 50th anniversary of the meeting at a London hotel where Billie Jean King and nearly 60 other female tennis players agreed to form what today is known as the Women’s Tennis Association. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 6 a.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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