AP News Digest 5:40 a.m.

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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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CONGRESS-BUDGET — Democrats drove their election-year economic package toward Senate approval, debating a measure that is less ambitious than President Joe Biden’s original domestic goals but touches deep-rooted party dreams of slowing global warming, moderating pharmaceutical costs and taxing immense corporations. By Alan Fram. SENT: 940 words, photos.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — An Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, the fighters say, their second leader to be slain amid an escalating cross-border conflict. By Fares Akram. SENT: 800 words, photos.

NEWTOWN SHOOTING-INFOWARS-MISINFORMATION — Alex Jones is facing a hefty price tag for his lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre — $49.3 million in damages, and counting, for claiming the nation’s deadliest school shooting was a hoax — a punishing salvo in a fledgling war on harmful misinformation. By Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 760 words, photos, video.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-ANIMALS — A 50-year-old Ukrainian woman has found a new purpose in life: Rescuing wild animals and pets from the front lines of the war in Ukraine. In cooperation with an animal protection group, Natalia Popova has saved more than 300 animals; 200 of them were evacuated abroad. Many were wild animals kept as pets at private homes before their owners fled Russian shelling and missiles. By Hanna Arhirova. SENT: 560 words, photos.

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TRENDING

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ANNE-HECHE-CRASH — Actor Anne Heche was in the hospital following an accident in which her car smashed into a house and flames erupted, a spokeswoman says. SENT: 460 words, photo.

MUSK-TWITTER — Elon Musk said his planned $44 billion takeover of Twitter should move forward if the company can confirm some details about how it measures whether user accounts are ‘spam bots’ or real people. SENT: 350 words, photo.

MARINE-CORPS-GENERAL — The first African American four-star general in Marine Corps history, Gen. Michael E. Langley, credited his father with telling him to “aim high” and predicted that his promotion would have an impact on younger people. SENT: 280 words, photo.

POLICE-CHIEF-RACIST-JOKE — A racist text message sent by a police officer has prompted officials in a small Alabama town to disband their police department and fire the police chief and assistant chief. SENT: 250 words.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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KENTUCKY-FLOODING-POLITICS — While Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was consoling families displaced by historic flooding in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, Republicans at the state’s premier political event on the other side of the state were campaigning to oust him from office in 2023. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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DEATH-VALLEY-FLOODING — Hundreds of hotel guests trapped by flash flooding at Death Valley National Park were able to drive out after crews cleared a pathway through rocks and mud, but roads damaged by floodwaters or choked with debris were expected to remain closed into next week, officials said. SENT: 700 words, photos.

TRIPLE MURDER-SUICIDE-OKLAHOMA — An Oklahoma City man fatally shot his three young children then shot and killed himself, according to police. SENT: 150 words.

FREDDIE-GRAY-OFFICER-PROMOTED — One of the six police officers who faced charges in the 2015 deadly arrest of Freddie Gray has been promoted from lieutenant to captain. SENT: 340 words, photos.

CTA-TRAINS-VIOLENT-CRIME — Chicago police and transit officials on Saturday pledged additional security for the city’s trains to stem a spike in violent crime after the shooting death of a passenger overnight. SENT: 360 words, photo.

0BIT-ELIASON — Marcus Eliason, an international journalist whose insightful reporting, sparkling prose and skillful editing graced Associated Press news wires for almost a half-century, has died. He was 75. SENT: 1,080 words, photo.

ALBUQUERQUE-MUSLIM-KILLINGS — Police say the killing of a Muslim man on Friday night in Albuquerque may be linked to the ambush shooting deaths of three Muslim men over the past nine months in New Mexico’s biggest city. SENT: 280 words.

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INTERNATIONAL

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COLOMBIA-PRESIDENT — Colombia’s first leftist president will be sworn into office, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups. SENT: 570 words, photos.

CUBA-OIL-FIRE — A fire set off by a lightning strike at an oil storage facility raged uncontrolled in the Cuban city of Matanzas, where four explosions and flames injured 121 people and left 17 firefighters missing. Cuban authorities said a unidentified body had been found late Saturday. SENT: 480 words, photos.

SKING-IN-AFRICA — While millions across Europe sweat through a summer of record-breaking heat, other people are skiing in Africa. This isn’t another sign of climate change but rather the fascinating anomaly of Lesotho. Lesotho is a tiny mountain kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa. It’s the only country on Earth where every inch of its territory sits more than 3,280 feet above sea level. That gives Lesotho snow and led to the creation of Afriski in the Maluti Mountains, which is Africa’s only operating ski resort south of the equator. SENT: 450 words, photos.

PAKISTAN-LAWMAKER TARGETED — Gunmen shot dead four people including two police in northwestern Pakistan in an attack targeting a provincial lawmaker from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party, police say. SENT: 170 words.

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SPORTS

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FBN–HALL OF FAME-INDUCTIONS — Tony Boselli becomes the first Jacksonville Jaguars player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with seven members of the Class of 2022, including Richard Seymour, LeRoy Butler and coach Dick Vermeil. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi. SENT: 750 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 [email protected] or call 844-777-2006.