AP News Digest 3:45 a.m.

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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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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AP POLL-CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION — About half of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should be charged for a crime for his role in the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, a new poll shows. Fifty-eight percent say Trump bears a great deal or quite a bit of responsibility for what happened that day. By Farnoush Amiri and Nuha Dolby. SENT: 980 words, photos, graphic. With: CAPITOL RIOT-INVESTIGATION – The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued a subpoena Wednesday to former White House counsel Pat Cipollone. By Nomaan Merchant. SENT: 870 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-CLARENCE THOMAS — After 30 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas’ influence has never been greater, and yet he remains a lightning rod for controversy. That includes recent questions about his wife’s role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his decision not to recuse himself from cases that involved it. By Jessica Gresko. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.

HONG-KONG —Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in Hong Kong ahead of the 25th anniversary of the British handover and after a two-year transformation bringing the city more tightly under Communist Party control. It is Xi’s first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 ½ years. He is expected to speak about Hong Kong’s future at a ceremony Friday marking the return of the former British colony to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997. Xi has not left China since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. . By Zen Soo. SENT: 550 words, photos.

MIGRANT-DEATHS-VICTIMS — Children set out hoping to earn enough to support their siblings and parents. Young adults who sacrificed to attend college thinking it would lead to success left their country disillusioned. A man already working in the U.S. who returned to visit his wife and children decided to take a cousin on his return to the U.S. By Delmer Martinez, Sonia Perez D. and Christopher Sherman. SENT: 1,350 words, photos.

RESILIENCE-STORIES-BEYOND-THE-BULLET — Jonathan Annicks was 18 when a gunman shot him outside his Chicago home, leaving him paralyzed and in a wheelchair. His shooter was never caught. The Associated Press first reported on his story a few months after the 2016 incident. Since then he’s gone to college and become a mentor for others with spinal cord injuries. While he’s shown the world a brave face and “can do” spirit, the years since the shooting have had ups and downs. By National Writer Martha Irvine. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — On the outskirts of a Ukrainian village stand the remnants of a small school that was partially destroyed in the early weeks of the Russian invasion. Surrounded by tall pine trees, the school’s broken windows offer glimpses of abandoned classrooms that are unlikely to see students again anytime soon. It is just one of many buildings in Yahidne that were shattered by the war. By Hanna Arhirova. SENT: 720 words, photos.

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TRENDING NEWS

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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. With R-KELLY-TIMELINE — R. Kelly timeline: Shining star to convicted sex trafficker (sent).

STOLEN OLYMPIC MEDAL — A stolen Olympic gold medal belonging to a member of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team has been found in Southern California, authorities say. SENT: 160 words, photo.

MOTHER-FATALLY-SHOT — A 20-year-old woman was fatally shot Wednesday night while she pushed her infant daughter in a stroller on the Upper East Side, police say. SENT: 200 words, photo.

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: 220 words, photo.

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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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UKRAINE-MARIUPOL-THEATER-BOMBING — Evidence suggests twin Russian airstrikes deliberately targeted a theater being used as a shelter in the besieged city of Mariupol, the rights group Amnesty International says in a report.

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: 310 words, photos

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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BIDEN’S ENERGY POINT MAN — Some climate advocates are concerned over what they see as an emphasis from the Biden administration and its point man for global energy problems on new, U.S.-heavy natural gas and infrastructure projects as part of an all-out effort to wrest Europe away from its reliance on Russian oil and gas. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-JACKSON — Nearly three months after she won confirmation to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson is officially becoming a justice. Jackson, 51, will be sworn as the court’s 116th justice, just as the man she is replacing, Justice Stephen Breyer, retires. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 400 words, photos. Ceremony expected to begin around noon.

BUTTIGIEG-ROADS-RACIAL EQUITY — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is launching a $1 billion first-of-its-kind pilot program aimed at helping reconnect cities and neighborhoods racially segregated or divided by road projects, pledging wide-ranging help to dozens of communities despite the program’s limited dollars. By Hope Yen. SENT: 690 words, photos.

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.

ELECTION-2022-WYOMING-CONGRESS — Liz Cheney is returning to Wyoming after a busy week of hearing public testimony before the House Jan. 6 committee to debate Republican primary challengers including Harriet Hageman, her Donald Trump-endorsed opponent. SENT: 350 words, photo.

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. 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).

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.

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INTERNATIONAL

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PHILIPPINES-MARCOS — Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted dictator, was sworn in as Philippine president Thursday in one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history but which opponents say was pulled off by whitewashing his family’s image. His rise to power, 36 years after an army-backed “People Power” revolt booted his father to global infamy, upends politics in the Asian democracy, where a public holiday, monuments and the Philippine Constitution stand as reminders of his father’s tyrannical rule. SENT: 880 words, photos

POLAND-BELARUS-BORDER-WALL — A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is expected to visit the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. SENT: 970 words, photos.

PERU MUMMY NEAREST — Hipólito Tica had saved for decades to finally build himself a proper house in a working class neighborhood of Lima. His problem was what to do about “the neighbors” — as he called the centuries-old mummies buried below. The mechanic had known they were there since the day in 1996 when he tried to dig a latrine on the lot, which is a few yards (meters) from the El Sauce archaeological site on the eastern edge of the Peruvian capital. SENT: 650 words, photos.

KASHMIR-HINDU-PILGRAMAGE — Thousands of Hindu devotees began an annual pilgrimage Thursday through mountain passes and meadows to an icy Himalayan cave in Indian-controlled Kashmir amid heavy security in the Muslim-majority region. SENT: 500 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers on Thursday at a flashpoint holy site in the occupied West Bank, wounding an Israeli military officer and two civilians, the Israeli army say. SENT: 270 words.

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NATIONAL

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CALIFORNIA-SCHOOL START TIME — Middle and high school students in California will be able to sleep a little bit later when the new school year starts. A first-in-the-nation law that goes into effect for the 2022-23 school year says high schools can’t start before 8:30 a.m. and middle schools can’t start before 8 a.m. Similar proposals are before lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts. SENT: 660 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-BUDGET — California lawmakers on Wednesday approved a nearly $308 billion spending plan that includes money to cover abortions for women who can’t afford them and the health care costs for low-income adults living in the country illegally while sending cash payments to most taxpayers to help offset record-high gas prices. SENT: 740 words, photos.

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.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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SCI-BIG-CATS-IN-BIG-CITIES — Los Angeles and Mumbai, India, share many superlatives as pinnacles of cinema, fashion, and traffic congestion. But another similarity lurks in the shadows, most often seen at night walking silently on four paws.These metropolises are the world’s only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines — mountain lions in one, leopards in the other — thrive by breeding, hunting and maintaining territory within urban boundaries. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after the U.S. economy contracted and China reported stronger factory activity. Shanghai and Hong Kong gained, while Tokyo and Seoul declined. Oil prices advanced. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 500 words, photo.

MYANMAR-KIRIN-MYANMER BREWERY — Kirin Holdings will sell its shares in Myanmar Brewery to its joint venture partner Myanma Economic Holdings Plc., the Japanese beverage giant said in a statement Thursday. SENT: 410 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BKN--NBA-FREE AGENCY — Let the talking begin. The trading, too, and eventually the signing. Free agency officially opens Thursday in the NBA, with teams able to begin negotiating at 6 p.m. Eastern with players who are not under contract — although, in reality, free agency and the slew of offseason movement is already off and running. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 920 words, photos. With BKN—76ers-Harden (sent).

TEN--WIMBLEDON — Two-time champion Andy Murray’s shortest stay at Wimbledon came to a close in the second round to 20th-seeded American John Isner, capping a disappointing afternoon and evening in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament’s main stadium for the locals. The host country’s other leading player, reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, was eliminated by Caroline Garcia of France. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 920 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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