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TOP STORIES

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CONGRESS-ELECTIONS BILL — The Democrats’ expansive elections and voting bill is all but certain to be rejected in a key test vote Tuesday in the Senate, providing a dramatic example of Republicans’ use of the filibuster to block legislation and forcing hard questions for Democrats over next steps. By Brian Slodysko, Christina A. Cassidy and Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.

UNITED STATES-IRAN — Biden administration officials are insisting that the election of a hard-liner as Iran’s president won’t affect prospects for reviving the faltering 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. But there are already signs that their goal of locking in a deal just got tougher. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee SENT: 910 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOMES — Deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes soared by 32% last year, with two devastating spikes eight months apart, a government watchdog says in the most comprehensive look yet at the ravages of COVID-19 among its most vulnerable victims. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 920 words, photos.

NKOREA-US — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed prospects for an early resumption of diplomacy with the United States saying Tuesday that U.S. expectations of talks would “plunge them into a greater disappointment.” Kim Yo Jong’s blunt statement indicates that the diplomatic impasse over North Korea’s nuclear program is likely to continue unless the North suffers greater pandemic-related economic difficulties and needs urgent outside assistance, some experts said. By Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung. 760 words, photos.

LEBANON-INVISIBLE ELDERLY — Lebanon’s elderly are suffering. With virtually no national welfare system, they are left to fend for themselves amid their country’s economic turmoil. In their prime years, they survived 15 years of civil war that started in 1975 and bouts of instability. Now, in their old age, many have been thrown into poverty by one of the world’s worst financial crises in the past 150 years. By Sarah El Deeb. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

WILDFIRES-BURNING THE WOODS — Six decades after University of California forestry professor Harold Biswell experimented with prescribed burns and was treated with ridicule, he is seen as someone whose ideas could save the U.S. West’s forests. Hundreds of millions of acres of forests have become overgrown and prone to wildfires that have devastated towns, triggered massive evacuations and blanketed the West Coast in smoke. Today, officials want to sharply increase prescribed burns. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 1,310 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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RAIDERS-GAY PLAYER — Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib becomes the first active NFL player to come out as gay. SENT: 720 words, photos.

EURO 2020-MUNICH-RAINBOW COLORS — UEFA has declined the Munich city council’s application to have its stadium illuminated in rainbow colors for Germany’s final European Championship group game against Hungary on Wednesday. The governing body said in a statement Tuesday that it understands the intention behind the proposal but “must decline this request” because of its political context — “a message aiming at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament.” SENT: 470 words, photos.

GOOGLE-ANTITRUST — European Union regulators have launched a fresh antitrust investigation of Google, this time over whether the U.S. tech giant is stifling competition in digital advertising technology. SENT: 360 words, photo.

AUSTRALIA-MICE PLAGUE — A plague of mice that has ravaged vast swathes of eastern Australia has forced the evacuation of a prison while authorities repair gnawed electrical wiring and clear dead and decaying mice from wall cavities and ceilings. SENT: 320 words, photos.

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MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-HUNGARY-IMMUNITY CARDS — Hungary was the only of ten host countries to allow full crowds in Euro 2020 soccer stadiums. It’s just one of the privileges enjoyed by carriers of the government-issued immunity cards, attesting that they have received at least one vaccine dose or recovered from COVID-19. Others include access to services and venues like hotels, spas, concerts, theatres and indoor restaurant dining. SENT: 760 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PHILIPPINES — The Philippine president has threatened to order the arrest of Filipinos who refuse COVID-19 vaccination and told them to leave the country if they would not cooperate with the efforts to contain the pandemic. President Rodrigo Duterte who is known for his public outbursts and brash rhetoric, said in televised remarks Monday night that he has become exasperated with people who refuse to get immunized then help spread the coronavirus. SENT: 380 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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RACIAL INJUSTICE-TRUMP PHOTO OP — A federal judge dismisses most of the claims filed by activists and others who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House. SENT: 470 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Palestinians and Jewish settlers have hurled stones, chairs and fireworks at each other overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood where settler groups are trying to evict several Palestinian families. The threatened evictions fueled protests and clashes in the runup to last month’s 11-day Gaza war. SENT: 500 words, photos.

FRANCE-SARKOZY TRIAL — The trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is concluding in Paris, after a month during which the court sought to determine whether he broke laws on campaign financing in his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid. Prosecutors requested a six-month prison term, as well as a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 3,750 euros ($4,468). Sarkozy has denied wrongdoing. SENT: 580 words, photos.

ONE GOOD THING-SERBIA ROMA BAND — A female Roma, or Gypsy, band in Serbia has used music to preach women’s empowerment within their community. Formed in 2014, “Pretty Loud” symbolically seeks to give a louder voice to Roma girls, encourage education and steer them away from the widespread custom of early marriage. SENT: 660 words, photos.

PHILIPPINES DUTERTE-ICC — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he’s ready to face possible charges in any local court for the thousands of killings under his anti-drug crackdown but never before the International Criminal Court which he has repeatedly ridiculed. SENT: 440 words, photos.

AUSTRALIA-BARRIER REEF — Australia says it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists are applauding the U.N. World Heritage Committee’s proposal. The committee in a draft report on Monday recommended that the world’s most extensive coral reef ecosystem be added to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. SENT: 750 words, photos.

SRI LANKA-SHIP FIRE —Nearly a hundred carcasses of turtles with throat and shell damage, as well as a dozen dead dolphins and a blue whale, have washed ashore in Sri Lanka since a container ship burned and sank. Ecologists believe the deaths were directly caused by the fire and release of hazardous chemicals while the X-Press Pearl burned for 12 days and sank last week. SENT: 430 words, photos.

BRITAIN-AIRCRAFT CARRIER-IS-RUSSIA — British Royal Navy commanders say the U.K.’s newest aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is helping to take on the “lion’s share” of operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq. Meanwhile Russian warplanes are trying to keep tabs on its cutting-edge F-35 jet in a “cat-and-mouse” game with British and U.S. pilots. SENT: 620 words, photos.

HONG KONG-CARRIE LAM — Hong Kong’s leader says foreign governments are “beautifying” acts that endanger national security when they criticize the recent crackdown on a pro-democracy newspaper in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. SENT: 330 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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INDIGENOUS-BOARDING SCHOOLS — U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other federal officials are expected to announce steps that the federal government plans to take to reconcile the legacy of boarding school policies on Indigenous families and communities. The recent discovery of children’s remains buried at the site of what was once Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school has rekindled interest in that legacy both in Canada and the United States. SENT: 500 words, photos. DEVELOPING: Will develop from 12:50 p.m. MT address.

BOY SCOUTS-BANKRUPTCY — Attorneys for the Boy Scouts of America have submitted another revised reorganization plan as they continue to work toward a goal of emerging from bankruptcy this fall. A plan filed late last week increases the amount of money from the BSA and its local councils that would go into a trust fund for survivors of child sex abuse. SENT: 750 words

PRIDE PARADE CRASH — The 77-year-old driver who accidentally slammed his truck into fellow members of a gay chorus group says he was devastated by the crash at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida. SENT: 700 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-DRIVER RAMPAGE — Authorities say a pickup truck driver rammed two people in Northern California, killing one, and injured three other people in a rampage that included attacking people with a crowbar and pulling a gun. The driver was shot and wounded Monday by another gun-wielding man but is expected to survive. SENT: 360 words.

POLICE SHOOTING-COLORADO — Authorities say a gunman is believed to have shot and killed an officer and another person in a shopping district in a Denver suburb before being fatally shot by police. SENT: 580 words photos.

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BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY

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FEDERAL RESERVE — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the economy is growing at a healthy clip, and that has accelerated inflation. Still, in written testimony to be delivered at a congressional oversight hearing Tuesday, Powell reiterated his view that inflation’s recent jump to a 13-year high would prove temporary. SENT: 500 words, photos.

JAPAN-NISSAN SHAREHOLDERS — Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida has pleaded for patience from disgruntled shareholders and promised a turnaround at the Japanese automaker. Nissan is projecting a third year of losses as it struggles to distance itself from a scandal over its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. SENT: 540 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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ITALY-MILAN-FASHION-ARMANI — Giorgio Armani hinted at his succession plans on Monday as he staged his first live runway show since the pandemic, and following a fall that landed him the hospital for two weeks. The 86-year-old designer has usually demurred from answering questions about the future of his fashion empire, but the issue seems to have pushed to the forefront after a bad fall that fractured his left humerus, requiring 17 stitches and hospitalization. SENT: 630 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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FOREIGN SUBSTANCES — Major League Baseball starts its crackdown on sticky stuff and foreign substances, wit Umpires are now doing regular checks of all pitchers for tacky substances that could be used to doctor baseballs. By Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-NCAA ANALYSIS — The Supreme Court ruling against NCAA has left it vulnerable to more legal challenges. The court ruled unanimously the NCAA cannot impose caps on education-related benefits schools provide to their athletes because that is a violation of antitrust law. SENT: 970 words, photos.

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