AP News Digest 2 p.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 in AP Newsroom.

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TOP STORIES

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BRITAIN-ELECTION — Britain’s Labour Party swept to power Friday after more than a decade in opposition, as a jaded electorate handed the party a landslide victory and the mammoth task of reinvigorating a stagnant economy and dispirited nation. Labour leader Keir Starmer became prime minister, taking charge in 10 Downing St. hours after the votes were counted and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak was hustled out. By Brian Melley and Jill Lawless. SENT: 1,150 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: BRITAIN-ELECTION-STARMER — Starmer's delivery of a sensational election result is the latest reinvention for a man who went from human rights attorney to hard-nosed prosecutor and from young radical to middle-aged pragmatist; BRITAIN-ELECTION-SUNAK — Rishi Sunak’s campaign in the UK election showed his lack of political touch; BRITAIN-ELECTION-ROYALS-EXPLAINER — Starmer didn't officially become PM until a choreographed ceremony with King Charles III; BRITAIN-ELECTION-BEHIND THE BLACK DOOR — British PM’s 1st day at 10 Downing St. will stretch from nuclear weapons briefing to Larry the cat; BRITAIN-ELECTION-THINGS TO KNOW; and BRITAIN-ELECTION-THE-LATEST, all sent.

ELECTION 2024-BIDEN — President Joe Biden is fighting to save his endangered reelection effort Friday as he holds a rally and sits down for a network television interview in a pivotal battleground state, with his every answer sure to be scrutinized for evidence of his competency and fitness to run for office. No matter what happpens, it’s a watershed moment for Biden, who is under pressure to bow out of the campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump ignited concern that the 81-year-old Democrat is not up for the job for another four years. By Colleen Long, Zeke Miller and Seung Min Kim. SENT: 1,230 words, photos, video, audio. Will be updated.

ELECTION 2024-CAPITOL RIOT — Former President Donald Trump still claims the 2020 election was stolen and has promised that if he wins the presidency again, he will pardon his supporters who violently beat police and broke into the U.S. Capitol to try to overturn the legitimate results. To counter the misinformation, officers who were there that day are working with President Joe Biden’s campaign, attending events in swing states to make sure voters don’t forget what happened. By Mary Clare Jalonick. With CAPITOL RIOT-FACT FOCUS — A look at Trump’s misleading claims about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol (Sent.)

IRAN-ELECTION — Iran was holding a runoff presidential election Friday pitting a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker, though both men earlier struggled to convince a skeptical public to cast ballots in the first round that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Government officials up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei predicted a higher participation rate in the runoff. However, online videos purported to show some polls empty while a survey of several dozen sites in Tehran saw light traffic amid a heavy security presence on the streets. By Jon Gambrell and Nasser Karimi. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video. WITH: IRAN-ELECTION-THE-LATEST.

TROPICAL-WEATHER — Hurricane Beryl roared ashore on the Yucatan Peninsula near the resort town of Tulum on Friday, whipping trees and knocking out power after leaving a trail of destruction that killed at least 11 people across the Caribbean. Beryl hit Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane but weakened over land, with a downgrade to tropical storm expected before it reemerges into the Gulf of Mexico and likely regains hurricane strength before a second landfall near the U.S. border. By Martín Silva and John Myers Jr. SENT: 850 words, photos, videos, audio.

VATICAN-SCHISM — The Vatican has excommunicated its former ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, after finding him guilty of schism, an inevitable end for the arch-conservative who became one of Pope Francis' most ardent critics and a symbol of the polarized Catholic Church in the U.S. and beyond. Schisms — when someone withdraws submission to the pope or from the communion of Catholics who are subject to him — have happened regularly in the church’s 2,000-year history but are considered particularly dangerous as they threaten the unity of the church. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,100 words, photo. With VATICAN-ASIA — Pope to preside over interfaith meeting in Indonesian mosque during longest, most challenging trip. (Sent.)

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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ZIMBABWE-THE-FRIENDSHIP-BENCH — In Zimbabwe, talk therapy involving park benches and a network of grandmothers has become a saving grace for people with mental health issues. Now the concept is being adopted in parts of the U.S. and elsewhere. The Friendship Bench was started by a local psychiatrist. Grandmothers from the community are equipped with basic training in problem-solving therapy and have become trusted listeners, inspired by traditional practice in which grandmothers were the go-to people for wisdom in rough times. By Farai Mutsaka. SENT: 940 words, photos.

MONGOLIA-ELECTION-NEW-GENERATION — Tsenguun Saruulsaikhan, at 27 the youngest member of Mongolia’s parliament, is part of a rising generation of leaders who are puzzling out their country’s future after three decades of democracy. Younger Mongolians helped deliver a setback to the ruling party — which also held power in the communist days — in last week’s parliamentary elections after three decades of democracy. “We are trying to figure out what democracy actually means,” said Tsenguun, who is also among an increased contingent of women in parliament. SENT: 930 words, photos.

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ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-SETTLEMENTS — Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades and advanced plans to build thousands of new settlement homes, according to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group. The AP has mapped the expansion of settlements and outposts from 1967 until now. SENT: Interactive map, graphics, 200 words.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Palestinian authorities say seven people were killed Friday during an Israeli military operation in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin, where the Israeli military said it had been carrying out “counterterrorism activity” that included an airstrike. SENT: 450 words, photos, video.

PALESTINIANS-HOME-GAMES — The Palestinian soccer team is determined to host a game for a change after advancing further than ever in World Cup qualifying. The football association has proposed playing games in the third stage of its Asian qualification campaign in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. SENT: 540 words, photo.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-HUNGARY — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Moscow on Friday for a rare meeting by a European leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed peace proposals for Ukraine, which triggered condemnation from Kyiv and some European leaders and officials. SENT: 1,050 words, photos, video.

NATO-SUMMIT-UKRAINE — NATO leaders plan to pledge next week to keep pouring arms and ammunition into Ukraine at current levels for at least another year, hoping to reassure the war-ravaged country of their ongoing support and show Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will not walk away. SENT: 900 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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US-FATAL CRASH-MANHATTAN — Three people were killed and eight others injured, four critically, when a pickup truck drove into a group celebrating the Fourth of July holiday in New York City. SENT: 320 words, photo.

JAPAN-ELECTION-ODD-CANDIDATES — Tokyo elects a new governor this weekend, but residents say personal publicity stunts have overtaken serious campaigning to a degree never seen before. There are nearly nude women in suggestive poses, pets, an AI character and a man practicing his golf swing. SENT: 620 words, photos.

AUSTRALIA-CROCODILE-NUMBERS — Crocodile numbers in Australia’s Northern Territory must be either maintained or reduced and cannot be allowed to outstrip the human population, the territory’s leader said after a 12-year-old girl was killed while swimming. SENT: 430 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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US-BALLOT MEASURES-ABORTION — Organizers of an effort to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban face a Friday deadline to submit enough signatures to try to put their proposal before voters in November. If they’re successful, Arkansas would be the sixth state where election officials are validating signatures on abortion measures. SENT: 1,390 words, photo.

ELECTION 2024-WISCONSIN-DROP BOXES — The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that officials can place ballot drop boxes around their communities in this fall’s elections, overturning its own ruling two years ago limiting their use in the presidential swing state. SENT: 700 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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ABORTION-KANSAS — Kansas’ highest court strongly reaffirmed Friday that the state constitution protects abortion access, striking down a ban on a common second-trimester procedure and laws regulating abortion providers more strictly than other health care providers. SENT: 950 words, photos.

MONSOON-EXPLAINER — Thunderstorms are hopscotching around the Southwestern U.S., bringing much-needed moisture to the region. The trick this season will be avoiding more devastating flooding in communities that have been ravaged by wildfires in recent years. SENT: 970 words, photos, video.

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INTERNATIONAL

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AFGHANISTAN-POST-OFFICE — Afghanistan’s national postal service wants to put mailboxes on every street across the country, part of a plan to modernize a service long challenged by bureaucracy and war. It will be a leap in a country where most of the population is unbanked, air cargo is in its infancy and international courier companies don’t deliver even to Kabul. SENT: 710 words, photos.

FRANCE-ELECTION — Candidates in France’s pivotal and polarizing legislative elections are making their last push for the second and decisive round of voting after a three-week campaign marked by hate speech, verbal abuse and physical attacks. SENT: 430 words, photos.

GERMANY-FRANCE-ELECTION — The German government expressed concern about a possible victory of the far-right National Rally in France on Sunday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and many Germans fear the nationalist French party would no longer support the close relationship with Germany built since the end of World War II. SENT: 930 words, photos.

SOUTH KOREA-POLITICIAN ATTACKED — A South Korean court says a man who stabbed the country’s opposition leader in the neck earlier this year has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. SENT: 450 words, photos.

MIGRATION-MEDITERRANEAN — A report released Friday by the U.N. refugee and migration agencies and the Mixed Migration Centre research group estimated land routes in Africa are twice as deadly as the sea lanes across the Mediterranean. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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BUSINESS

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FEDERAL RESERVE-INDEPENDENCE — The Federal Reserve is highlighting the importance of its political independence at a time when Donald Trump, who frequently attacked the Fed’s policymaking in the past, edges closer to formally becoming the Republican nominee for president. SENT: 450 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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SOC--EURO 2024-PORTUGAL-FRANCE — France and Portugal play for a spot in the European Championship semifinals, which means either Kylian Mbappe or his professed role model, Cristiano Ronaldo — two of the biggest stars in world soccer — will be heading home. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Match starts at 3 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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The Nerve Center 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 AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.

Coco Gauff of the United States plays a backhand return to Sonay Kartal of Britain during their third round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Germany's Florian Wirtz celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Spain's Dani Olmo, right, celebrates with Spain's Alvaro Morata after scoring his sides first goal during a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

President Joe Biden waves as he arrives to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to a campaign trip in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Argentina's Nicolas Tagliafico, left, and Alexis Mac Allister, right, fight for the ball with Ecuador's John Yeboah during a Copa America quarterfinal soccer match in Houston, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic plays a forehand return to Britain's Jacob Fearnley during their second round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A person looks at an election poster board for Tokyo gubernatorial election Monday, July 1, 2024, in Tokyo. Tokyo elects a new governor on Sunday, July 7, but residents say personal publicity stunts have overtaken serious campaigning to a degree never seen before. There are nearly nude women in suggestive poses, pets, an AI character and a man practicing his golf swing. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Workers arranges passports in the main post office in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. In parts of Afghanistan where there are no street names or house numbers, utility companies and their customers have adopted a creative approach for connecting. They use mosques as drop points for bills and cash, a "pay and pray" system. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

Fireworks burst above the National Mall, and from left, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol building during Independence Day celebrations on Thursday, July 4, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Clouds dissipate after a rainstorm during the monsoon season Friday, June 28, 2024, in Monument Valley, Ariz. Thunderstorms are hopscotching around the Southwestern U.S., bringing much-needed moisture to a region where every drop counts. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

FILE - A demonstrator holds a sign protesting the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade outside the Arkansas Capitol, June 24, 2022, in Little Rock, Ark. Organizers of an effort to scale back Arkansas' abortion ban face a Friday, July 5, 2024, deadline to submit enough signatures to try and put their proposal before voters in November's election. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)

Siridzayi Dzukwa, a grandmother, right, talks to a colleague while seated at a bench in Hatfcliffe on the outskirts of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, Saturday, May 11,2024. In Zimbabwe, talk therapy involving park benches and a network of grandmothers has become a saving grace for people with mental health issues. Now the concept is being adopted in parts of the United States and elsewhere. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Homes destroyed by Hurricane Beryl lie in Clifton, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

FILE - Former President Jair Bolsonaro addresses supporters during a rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 25, 2024. Brazilian police indicted Bolsonaro on Thursday, July 4, 2024, for money laundering and criminal association, sources say. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to vote for the presidential runoff election in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians began voting Friday in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. A picture of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini hangs on top right. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - Rioters wave flags on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. Former President Donald Trump said during a debate with President Joe Biden last week that the attack on the Capitol involved a "relatively small" group of people who were "in many cases ushered in by the police." (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

President Joe Biden speaks during a barbecue with active-duty military service members and their families on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria make their way through supporters as they arrive at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras Parliamentary constituency where the Starmer is standing for election, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer shakes hands with his supporters at the Tate Modern in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Labour Party Starmer says voters "have spoken and they are ready for change" as an exit poll points to landslide win, and is expected to be the next British Prime Minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal Monday, in the wake of a chaotic election result that left neither left, right, nor center with a majority in the National Assembly.

A broad left-leaning coalition, the New Popular Front, took the most seats in Sunday’s runoff but fell short of a majority.

It surged ahead of the far-right National Rally, which placed third behind Macron's centrist party. Voter turnout was high.

The outcome leaves France facing the stunning prospect of a hung parliament and threatens political paralysis in a pillar of the European Union and Olympic host country.

The far right drastically increased the number of seats it holds in parliament but fell far short of expectations.

What happens next in this nuclear-armed nation has potential to impact the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability.

Currently:

— With French voters split between left, center and right, political paralysis threatens.

— Global markets are mixed as France faces weeks of uncertainty.

— Here's a guide to how French elections work and what could happen next.

— How Marcon went from successful political newcomer to weakened leader.

Here’s the latest:

The government in Germany, which together with France has long been viewed as the engine of European integration, expressed relief Monday that the nationalist far right had not become the strongest party in its key partner country.

“For now, a certain relief prevails that things that we feared have not materialized,” a spokesperson for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Berlin. “Only time will tell what happens with this election result and France will decide.”

“The German-French relationship is a very special one,” Steffen Hebestreit added. “It is certainly also the core for the fact that we are experiencing Europe in peace and freedom.”

Members of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Cabinet trickled into the presidential palace on Monday after chaotic election results left no political faction with a clear majority.

Among the arrivals late Monday morning were the prime minister named by Macron just seven months ago, and the interior minister.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has said he would offer his resignation Monday but said he would stay “as long as duty requires.” His departure would leave France without a head of government less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics.

Attal on Sunday made clear that he disagreed with Macron’s decision to call the surprise elections. The results of two rounds of voting left no clear path to form a government for either the leftist coalition that came in first, Macron’s centrist alliance, or the far right.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave after voting for the second round of the legislative elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, northern France, Sunday July 7 2024. Voting has begun in mainland France on Sunday in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and its inward-looking, anti-immigrant vision — or produce a hung parliament and political deadlock. (Mohammed Badra, Pool via AP)

Supporters of the Socialist Party react after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at their election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Supporters of the Socialist Party react after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at their election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Far-right National Rally party president Jordan Bardella delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, at the party election night headquarters in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Far-left La France Insoumise - LFI - (France Unbowed) founder Jean-Luc Melenchon, delivers his speech after the second round of the legislative elections Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France's snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. A coalition of the French left that quickly banded together to beat a surging far right in legislative elections won the most seats in parliament but not a majority, according to polling projections Sunday, a stunning outcome that threatens to plunge the country into political and economic turmoil. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal walks back to the Prime Minister residence after delivering a speech following the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. A coalition of the French left that quickly banded together to beat a surging far right in legislative elections won the most seats in parliament but not a majority, according to polling projections Sunday, a stunning outcome that threatens to plunge the country into political and economic turmoil. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)