AP News Digest 3 a.m.

Myanmar War On Doctors (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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.

______________

ONLY ON AP

______________

MYANMAR-WAR ON DOCTORS — In Myanmar the military has declared war on health care workers. Medics were early and fierce opponents of the military’s takeover of the nation’s government in February. Security forces are arresting, attacking and killing medical workers and have dubbed them enemies of the state. Medics have been driven underground amid a global pandemic and the country’s already fragile healthcare system is crumbling. Myanmar is now one of the most dangerous places on earth for healthcare workers, with 240 attacks this year. That’s nearly half of the 508 globally tracked by the World Health Organization and by far the highest of any country. By Kristen Gelineau and Victoria Milko. SENT: 2,670 words, photos, video. An abridged version of this story is available.

______________

TOP STORIES

______________

VIRUS OUTBREAK — The pressure of hosting an Olympics during a pandemic is evident in Japan The Games begin July 23, with organizers determined to hold them, even with no spectators watching. While Japan has made remarkable progress to vaccinate its population against COVID-19, the drive is losing steam because of supply shortages. Tens of thousands of visitors are coming to a country that is only 13.8% fully vaccinated, and gaps in border controls have emerged, highlighted by two members of the newly arrived team from Uganda testing positive for the highly contagious delta variant. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says the country “must stay on high alert.” By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.

BUILDING COLLAPSE-MIAMI — A ramped-up rescue effort at the collapsed South Florida condo building is facing new threats from the weather as a tropical storm approaches the state. Officials say lightning forced crews to pause the search Monday for victims of the June 24 collapse in Surfside, and a garage area in the rubble filled with water. The latest forecasts showed Tropical Storm Elsa moving westward, mostly sparing South Florida. By Adriana Gomez Licon and Bobby Caina Calvan. SENT: 400 words, photos, video. WITH: BUILDING COLLAPSE-LEGAL FALLOUT — The legal fallout from the deadly building collapse in Surfside, Florida, is already underway. It includes at least five lawsuits and a planned grand jury investigation. The litigation comes even as rescuers remain at the site hoping to find survivors. By MaryClaire Dale and Curt Anderson. SENT: 850 words, photos,

Find more on the building collapse in the AP Newsroom hub.

CAPITOL BREACH-STILL WANTED — Six months after the Capitol insurrection, the Justice Department is still hunting for scores of rioters, even as the first of more than 500 people already arrested have pled guilty. The struggle reflects the massive scale of the investigation and the grueling work still ahead for authorities. By Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police say they have arrested nine people on suspicion of engaging in terrorist activity, after uncovering an attempt to make explosives and plant bombs across the city. The arrests come amid a political divisive time in Hong Kong. Police said six of those arrested are secondary school students. The group were attempting to make explosives in a homemade laboratory in a hostel. Police said the accused planned to bomb courts, traffic tunnels and railways as well as trash bins on the streets. The suspects are between 15 and 39 years old. By Zen Soo. SENT: 420 words, photos.

AFGHANISTAN-LAST FOOTHOLDS — As America’s “forever war” rapidly winds down, the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions in Kabul are looking at a worsening security situation and how to respond. In the countryside, districts are quickly falling to Taliban insurgents and America’s warlord allies are re-arming their militias. Meanwhile, there is still no deal on securing operations at Kabul’s international airport, a prerequisite for a continued presence of foreign diplomats and aid workers in Afghanistan. By Kathy Gannon. SENT 1,100 words, photos.

TROPICAL WEATHER-ATLANTIC — Tropical Storm Elsa, back over water but still producing heavy rains over Cuba, was expected to move near the lower Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday expanded an existing state of emergency to cover a dozen counties that span an area of Florida where Elsa is expected to make a swift passage on Wednesday. By Andrea Rodriguez. SENT: 480 words, photos.

______________________________

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

_______________________________

RUSSIA PLANE — Local officials say a plane with 28 people on board has gone missing in the Russian Far East region of Kamchatka on Tuesday. SENT: 220 words. Developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-SOUTH KOREA — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says Israel is sending thousands of coronavirus vaccine doses to South Korea in exchange for a future shipment of the jabs. SENT: 200 words.

R-KELLY — R. Kelly’s new lawyers want a judge to postpone his Aug. 9 sex trafficking trial in New York City, arguing they haven’t had enough time to prepare because he’s under a mandatory jail quarantine. SENT: 460 words, photo.

OBIT-RICHARD DONNER — The filmmaker who turned Christopher Reeve into “Superman” and Mel Gibson and Danny Glover into cop buddies in “Lethal Weapon” has died. Richard Donner was 91. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

PEOPLE-GWEN STEFANI-BLAKE SHELTON — “The Voice” coaches Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton celebrate their nuptials during a weekend wedding in Oklahoma. SENT: 170 words, photo.

________________________

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

________________________

SENATE-SINEMA — Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is known for doing the unthinkable in Washington: spending time on the Republican side of the aisle. A holdout to changing the Senate’s filibuster rules, she faces enormous pressure to act as voting rights in her own state and others hang in the balance. UPCOMING: 1,300 words by 6 a.m., photos.

GALESBURG VOICES-AMERICAN CROSSROADS — In the small Illinois city of Galesburg, people aren’t talking about the arguments consuming the nation’s capital. They’re talking about local crime, race, post-pandemic life and whether they can still get along with each other in divisive times. Galesburg is in one of only a few dozen swing districts in the U.S. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.

_______________

INTERNATIONAL

_________________

AFGHANISTAN-BAGRAM AIRFIELD — Afghan military officials say the U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by slipping away in the night, without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander. He discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left. Afghanistan’s army showed off the sprawling air base on Monday, providing a rare first glimpse of what had been the epicenter of America’s war to unseat the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

IRAQ-MILITIA COMMANDER — The leader of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia has vowed to retaliate against America for the deaths of four of his men in a U.S. airstrike along the Iraq-Syria border last month. He says it will be a military operation everyone will talk about. SENT: 800 words, photos.

NILE DAM DISPUTE — Egypt says Ethiopia has begun filling the reservoir of a controversial dam on the Nile River’s main tributary. The move will likely increase tensions in the Horn of Africa ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the dispute, which also includes Sudan. SENT: 430 words.

VATICAN-POPE — Pope Francis is convalescing in a special 10th floor suite at a Rome hospital following intestinal surgery. The Vatican says Francis is in good condition after a three-hour operation that involved removing half of his colon. He is expected to stay in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic, which has a special suite reserved for popes, for about seven days, assuming no complications. SENT: 600 words, photos.

JAPAN MUDSLIDE — Rescue workers dig through sludge and debris looking for more than 20 people who may be trapped after a torrent of mud, trees and rocks ripped with a roar through a Japanese seaside resort town, killing at least four people. SENT: 780 words, photos.

ONE GOOD THING-ROMANIA MONUMENTS — Romania’s Ambulance for Monuments has a simple task: to race around the country giving critical care to as many historical buildings as possible that are in an advanced state of decay, or pre-collapse — before it’s too late. UPCOMING: 980 words by 4 a.m., photos.

___________

NATIONAL

___________

DROUGHT-GREAT SALT LAKE — The Great Salt Lake in Utah has been shrinking for years, and a drought gripping the American West could make this year the worst yet. The receding water is already affecting nesting pelicans that are among millions of birds dependent on the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. Sailboats have been hoisted out of the water to keep them from getting stuck in the mud. SENT: 1,210 words, photos, video.

GALESBURG VOICES-AMERICAN CROSSROADS — In the small Illinois city of Galesburg, people aren’t talking about the arguments consuming the nation’s capital. They’re talking about local crime, race, post-pandemic life and whether they can still get along with each other in divisive times. Those concerns stood out in nearly 30 interviews with residents. SENT: 1,350 words, photos.

__________________

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

__________________

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL — The 74th Cannes Film Festival gets underway with the premiere of “Annette,” starring Adam Driver. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. UPCOMING: 1,100 words by 11 a.m., photos, video. Updates through the day.

__________________

SPORTS

__________________

STANLEY CUP — Josh Anderson scored his second goal 3:57 into overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens avoided elimination by defeating the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Pat Maroon and Barclay Goodrow scored for the Lightning who are attempting to become the NHL’s second team to win consecutive titles in the NHL’s salary-cap era. The series shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday night. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

WIMBLEDON — 2018 Wimbledon champ Angelique Kerber meets Karolina Muchova in one quarterfinal Tuesday, while six women who’ve never been this far at the All England Club also try to get to the semifinals. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Play starts 8 a.m.

___________________

HOW TO REACH US

___________________

At the Nerve Center, Shameka Dudley-Lowe 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(at)ap.org or call 844-777-2006.