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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TOP STORIES
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JAPAN-ELECTIONS — Japanese went to the polls in the shadow of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, gunned down while making a campaign speech for the governing party that cruises to a likely major victory. Amid voting, police in western Japan sent the alleged assassin to a local prosecutors’ office for further investigation toward pressing murder charges, the day after a top regional police official acknowledged possible security lapses that allowed the attacker to get so close and fire a bullet into the still-influential former Japanese leader. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka’s opposition political parties will meet to agree on a new government a day after the country’s president and prime minister offered to resign in the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s economic crisis. By Krishan Francis. SENT: 740 words, photos, video. With SRI LANKA-CRISIS-EXPLAINER — Why Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed and what’s next? (sent).
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — An estimated 22 million tons of grain are blocked in Ukraine, and pressure is growing as the new harvest begins. The country usually delivers about 30% of its grain to Europe, 30% to North Africa and 40% to Asia. But with the ongoing Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, millions of tons of last year’s harvest still can’t reach their destinations. One local expert says that without opening the Black Sea ports, he doesn’t see any solution for Ukrainian farmers to survive. That would lead to disruptions of the world’s food supply, especially for developing countries in Africa. By Hanna Arhirova. SENT: 810 words, photos.
UKRAINE-WAR-MUSLIMS — On Eid al-Adha, an important religious holiday in Islam, Ukrainian Mufti turned fighter Said Ismahilov asked fellow Ukrainian muslims to pray for victory and for those still living in areas under Russian occupation. Muslims make up almost 1 percent of the population in Ukraine, which is predominantly Orthodox Christian. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
CAPITOL-RIOT-INVESTIGATION-HIGHLIGHTS — It would have been something never quite seen in America. The sight of a defeated president, Donald Trump, standing at the Capitol with a mob of supporters contesting the 2020 election outcome. The House hearings into the riot of Jan. 6, 2021, are providing dramatic new insight about Trump’s intentions on that day in history. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,600 words, photos.
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TRENDING
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SOUTH-AFRICA-BAR-SHOOTING — A mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg’s Soweto township has killed 14 people and left three others in critical condition, according to police. SENT: 270 words.
WWE-VINCE-MCMAHON — The longtime World Wrestling Entertainment impresario Vince McMahon agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, the Wall Street Journal reports. SENT: 330 words, photos.
ARMY ADVISER-JILL BIDEN — A retired three-star Army general has been suspended from his duties as an adviser to active-duty officers, an Army spokeswoman says. The suspension followed reports that his social media account carried a comment critical of first lady Jill Biden. SENT: 190 words, photo.
BABY-FORMULA-FACTORY — Production of baby formula has resumed at the Abbott Nutrition factory in Michigan whose February shutdown over contamination contributed to a national shortage, a company spokesman said. SENT: 370 words, photo.
OBIT-WWII-VETERAN — Joseph Raymond Goulet, a veteran who landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day, has died. The New Hampshire resident died on July 4. He was 99. SENT: 300 words, photos.
LOUISIANA POLICE LEADER-SPEEDING — The superintendent of Louisiana State Police acknowledges he was pulled over for speeding in an unmarked work vehicle but did not receive a ticket from one of his own officers. SENT: 450 words, photo.
NEGLECTED CHILDREN LIVING IN MUSEUM — A Nevada couple was found secretly keeping a cache of weapons and living with their two kids at a northern Nevada children’s museum where they worked, authorities say. SENT: 350 words.
SPAIN-RUNNING-OF-THE-BULLS — Thrill seekers avoided any gorings for a fourth straight bull run at Pamplona’s San Fermín Festival. SENT: 210 words, photos.
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MORE ON JAPAN ABE
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JAPAN-ABE-HANDMADE-FIREARMS — The shooting sent shudders through low-crime, orderly Japan: A high-profile politician gets killed by a man emerging from a crowd, wielding a handmade firearm so roughly made it’s wrapped up in tape. SENT: 430 words, photos.
US-JAPAN-BLINKEN — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pay a brief condolence visit to Japan next week following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the State Department say. SENT: 350 words, photo.
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MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-DEVELOPMENTS — Russian rockets hit the eastern Ukraine town of Chasiv Yar, destroying a five-story apartment building and killing at least six people, the region’s governor say. SENT: 240 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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BALKANS-WILD-RIVERS — It took a decade of court battles and street protests, but Balkan activists fighting to protect some of Europe’s last wild rivers have scored an important conservation victory in Bosnia. A new electricity law, which passed Thursday, bans the further construction of small hydroelectric power plants in the larger of Bosnia’s two semi-independent entities. Still, the new law only highlights the long road ahead to protect such rivers across the entire Balkans from being degraded, diverted and commercialized by people with connections to the region’s corruption-prone political elite. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
THAILAND-US — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Thailand as the Biden administration moves to show its commitment to Southeast Asia in the face of a relentless push for influence in the region from China. SENT: 390 words, photos.
NETHERLANDS-FARMER-PROTESTS — Dutch farmers are embroiled in a summer of discontent that shows no sign of abating. Their target? Government plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia that they say threaten to wreck their way of life. The Dutch government aims to slash nitrogen emissions by 50% by 2030 and has earmarked an extra 24.3 billion euros ($25.6 billion) to fund the necessary changes. SENT: 860 words, photos.
INDONESIA-EID-AL-ADHA — A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has disrupted ritual slaughter of animals to mark Eid al-Adha as millions of Muslims across Indonesia were celebrating one of the biggest holidays in the Islamic calendar. SENT: 690 words, photos.
NIGERIA-CHILD MALNUTRITION — Nigeria is grappling with child malnutrition in its troubled northwest region where armed groups have been targeting rural communities. The food crisis is worsened by an already existing hunger in this part of the West African nation which government statistics say has a 40% poverty rate. SENT: 570 words, photos.
NICARAGUA-CRACKDOWN — After ordering the expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa, the Nicaraguan government has now gone after one of the few local newspapers that dared to report on the nuns being removed. SENT: 480 words, photo.
GERMANY-ENERGY — The Canadian government says it will allow the delivery to Germany of equipment from a key Russia-Europe natural gas pipeline that has undergone maintenance — equipment the absence of which Russia’s Gazprom cited last month as a reason for more than halving the flow of gas. SENT: 400 words, photo
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NATIONAL
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NATIVE AMERICANS-BOARDING SCHOOLS — U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visits Oklahoma for the first stop on a yearlong nationwide tour to hear about the painful experiences of Native Americans who were sent to government-backed boarding schools designed to strip them of their cultural identities. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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TEN—WIMBLEDON — Too nervous to wave, Elena Rybakina stepped into the Centre Court sunshine before the Wimbledon final and kept a firm double-grip on the black-and-red straps of the racket bag slung over her shoulders. No wave. Not much of a look around. Her play early on betrayed some jitters, too, which makes sense considering it was her debut in a Grand Slam title match. SENT: 785 words, photos.
BKL--WNBA ALL-STAR GAME-PREVIEW — The WNBA is celebrating its biggest stars during its All-Star weekend while continuing to push for the release of Brittney Griner, who is being held in Russia after she was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, 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.
