AP News Digest 2 p.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. Find the AP’s top photos of the day in Today’s Photo Collection. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in AP Newsroom.

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WEEKEND COVERAGE

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For weekend stories, please click here for the Weekend Lookahead digest.

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TOP STORIES

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MIDEAST-TENSIONS — A missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels has landed in an open area in central Israel and triggered air raid sirens at its international airport, in the latest reverberation from the nearly yearlong war in Gaza. Israel hinted that it would respond militarily. By Natalie Melzer and Ohad Zwigenberg. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video, audio.

TRUMP-HARRIS-SILICON-VALLEY — Being a venture capitalist carries a lot of prestige in Silicon Valley. So when some of the industry’s biggest names endorsed former President Donald Trump and the onetime VC he picked for a running mate, JD Vance, people took notice. Hundreds of other VCs threw their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris, drawing battle lines over which presidential candidate will be better for tech innovation and the conditions startups need to thrive. By Sarah Parvini and Matt O'Brien. SENT: 1,300 words, photos.

ELECTION-2024-HARRIS-GAY-MARRIAGE — Two decades ago, a Democratic nominee for president might not have dreamed of endorsing gay marriage. But on Valentine’s Day in 2004, when Kamala Harris was San Francisco’s newly elected district attorney, she was performing one of the first same-sex unions in the United States. To LGBTQ leaders, that history validates their deep support for the Democrats’ White House candidate. By Dan Merica and Chris Megerian. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.

ABORTION-RURAL-CLINIC — A new abortion clinic brought the debate over reproductive rights to a small college town in the southeast corner of Kansas, one of the few states left in the region still allowing abortions. Its location is strategic, accessible for residents of Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, a religious, Republican-leaning semi-rural location like this would have been unlikely to host an abortion clinic, but that is changing across the country. By Heather Hollingsworth and John Hanna. SENT: 1,620 words, photos, video. With ABORTION-RURAL-CLINIC-TAKEAWAYS — SENT. Eds: This is the Monday Spotlight.

ASIA-POPE-GOING ROGUE — Pope Francis’ longest and farthest trip has proven that despite his age, ailments and eight hours of jet lag, he can still pull off an ambitious trip to Asia. That’s especially true when he’s in his element: in the peripheries of the world, among people forgotten by the big powers, where he can go off-script to respond to the spirit of the moment. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.

MED-CHILDHOOD-VACCINATIONS — Kentucky’s largest city has been praised for managing to raise childhood vaccination rates at a time when may places are trying to prevent further declines. But Louisville’s success is limited and the city has not been able to achieve herd immunity thresholds so far. City officials face challenges that include tight funding, misinformation and well-intended bureaucratic rules that discourage doctors from giving kids shots. By Medical Writer Mike Stobbe. SENT: 1,250 words, photos, video.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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HISPANIC-HERITAGE-MONTH-EXPLAINER — Huge celebrations across the U.S. are expected to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the awe-inspiring diversity and culture of Hispanic people. Celebrated each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the month is a chance for many in the U.S. to learn about and celebrate the contributions of Hispanics. According to census figures, there are more than 65 million people identified as ethnically Hispanic in the U.S. By Fernanda Figueroa. SENT: 760 words, photo.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Two people died in a missile attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, local officials say, as Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone and missile attacks. SENT: 380 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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FILM-BOX-OFFICE — ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is No. 1 again at the box office and The Daily Wire movie “Am I Racist?” cracks the top five. SENT: 610 words, photos, audio.

EMMYS — “Shogun,” “The Bear” and “Baby Reindeer” are at the top of the queue as the Emmys arrive. SENT: 780 words, photos. With EMMYS-HOW-TO-WATCH — SENT.

PRIVATE-SPACEFLIGHT — Tech billionaire returns to Earth after the first private spacewalk. SENT: 470 words, photos.

NIGERIA-BOAT-DROWNED — At least 40 people are missing after a boat capsizes in Nigeria, authorities say. SENT: 190 words.

BRITAIN-ROYALS — Britain’s royal social media accounts has posted 40th birthday wishes for Prince Harry, marking the milestone celebration despite longstanding strains. SENT: 160 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION-2024-HARRIS-DEBATE — Kamala Harris is trying to turn the presidential debate with Donald Trump into an ongoing source of momentum. She’s hoping to rekindle the kind of energy she generated when she replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket earlier this summer. There probably won’t be another debate before the Nov. 5 election, so the Harris campaign is turning key moments from the from the Philadelphia faceoff into television advertising to keep up the pressure. SENT: 1.010 words, photos.

ELECTION-2024-PENNSYLVANIA-SENATE — Before he ran for the Senate in Pennsylvania, David McCormick was a big name on Wall Street as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund. But McCormick’s Wall Street days have provided grist for attacks by Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. Casey is pressing the case that the hedge fund invested in Chinese companies that are considered part of Beijing’s military and surveillance industrial complex. SENT: 1,180 words, photo.

TRUMP-TRAIN-TRIAL-THINGS-TO KNOW — A Texas jury will soon decide whether a convoy of supporters of then-President Donald Trump violently intimidated former Democratic lawmaker Wendy Davis and two others on a Biden-Harris campaign bus when a so-called “Trump Train” boxed them in for more than an hour on a Texas highway days before the 2020 election. SENT: 660 words, photos.

ELECTION-2024-JD-VANCE — Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance did not back away on Sunday from the false claims he and Donald Trump have been making that Haitians in an Ohio community are abducting and eating pets, even as the state’s GOP governor and other officials insist there is no evidence of such behavior. SENT: 630 words, photos, audio.

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NATIONAL

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HAITIAN-IMMIGRANTS-SPRINGFIELD-CHURCHES — For many Haitian immigrants, Sunday mornings in Springfield, Ohio, are spent joyfully worshipping God as they sing and pray in their native Creole. This Sunday, they needed that uplifting balm more than ever. Their community is reeling from false accusations that they are eating their neighbor’s cats and dogs. The now viral and highly politicized rumors are being fueled by former President Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance and others. SENT: 720 words, photos.

NYC-MAYOR-INVESTIGATION — The top legal adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams resigned abruptly over the weekend, the latest sign of instability in the Democrat’s administration as it deals with multiple federal investigations. SENT: 370 words, photos.

AHMAUD-ARBERY-PROSECUTOR-CHARGED — The family of Ahmaud Arbery is waiting for stalled court proceedings to resume in the case of a former Georgia prosecutor accused of interfering with the police investigation into the Black man’s killing. SENT: 920 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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CENTRAL-EUROPE-FLOODING — The death toll was rising in Central European countries after days of heavy rains caused widespread flooding and forced mass evacuations. SENT: 780 words, photos, video.

MIGRATION-FRANCE-BRITAIN — At least eight people died during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel from northern France, French maritime authorities say. SENT: 520 words, photo.

BANGLADESH-US — A high-level U.S. delegation meets with the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, to affirm “dedication to fostering inclusive economic growth,” according to the American embassy in Dhaka. SENT: 460 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ TECH

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ENERGY TRANSITION-CHARGERHELP — The race is on to build out a convenient and fully functional network of electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S. Entrepreneur Kameale Terry foresaw one issue this would create: keeping that charger network up and running. One study found that more than 21% of the fast chargers known as “DC Fast” -- the ones that currently charge in about 20 minutes -- in California’s Bay Area were not operating. Terry founded the company ChargerHelp! to provide help and deploy technicians in real time, when drivers need it. SENT: 1.020 photos, video.

CANADA-AIRLINE-STRIKE — Air Canada and the union representing its pilots have come to terms on a labor agreement that is likely to prevent a shutdown of Canada’s largest airline. SENT: 530 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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FBC--T25-COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL — Texas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the first time in 16 years, replacing Georgia after the Bulldogs struggled to remain unbeaten. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. 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 AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.

A resident with his dog is taken by a rubber boat from his flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Canelo Alvarez lands a right to Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) kicks the ball away from Philadelphia Union midfielder Leon Flach (31) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Local residents sit on a bench on a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Mourners carry the casket of Ana Cristina Irimie, a math teacher killed during a shooting at Apalachee High School, after her funeral service at Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel and Gardens in Buford, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden, left, holds up the arm of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, while on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Mehmet, left. the father of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, attends prayers during his daughter's funeral outside the central mosque of Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A police officer inspects the area around a fire after the military said it fired interceptors at a missile launched from Yemen that landed in central Israel on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Weather forecasters sometimes warn of storms that unleash such unusual rain they are described as 100-year or even 500-year floods.

Here’s what to know about how scientists determine how extreme a flood is and how common these extreme events are becoming.

Scientists use math to help people understand how unusual a severe flood is and how to compare the intensity of one flood to another.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, one statistic scientists use is the percentage chance that a flood of a specific magnitude will happen. A 500-year flood means such an event has a 1 in 500 chance, or 0.2%, of occurring in a year.

Another concept scientists use is how frequently an event of a certain intensity is expected. For example, a meteorologist can look at the average recurrence interval of an anticipated flood and see that a similar event is only expected once every 25 years.

Agencies have preferred expressing the percent chance of a flood occurring rather than the recurrence interval because that statistic better represents the fact that rare floods can happen within a few years of each other. It's sort of like rolling a pair of dice and getting double six's twice in a row. It's rare, but statistically possible.

Another term people hear during an impending flood is that it could be a once-in-a-generation or once-in-a-lifetime event, a casual way of saying a flood could be unlike anything many people have experienced.

Houston, Texas, was struck by three 500-year flood events from 2015 through 2017, according to local officials at the time. The events included Hurricane Harvey, the heaviest recorded rainfall ever in the U.S. Homes and businesses were destroyed and cars were swept away by the floods.

Although math can calculate how often to expect floods of specific magnitudes, nature has its own plans, including irregularity. Many interconnected systems in the environment, such as local weather patterns and larger events like El Nino, can contribute to the changing likelihood of floods.

Since the early 1900s, precipitation events have become heavier and more frequent across most of the U.S. and flooding is becoming a bigger issue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Gases emitted by humans, like carbon dioxide and methane, are warming the atmosphere, allowing it to hold more water vapor. For every 1 degree of Fahrenheit that the temperature warms, the atmosphere can hold nearly 4% more water, which is a 7% increase for every 1 degree Celsius, said Victor Gensini, professor of atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University. That vapor eventually falls back to the ground as rain or snow. “We’ve absolutely seen a shift in the probability distribution of heavy rainfall over the last three decades,” Gensini said.

Other regions have experienced drought due to changing precipitation patterns. According to NASA, major droughts and periods of excessive precipitation have been occurring more frequently. Globally, the intensity of extreme wet and dry events is closely linked to global warming.

This story has been corrected to show that the three 500-year flood events in Houston took place over three years, not 24 months. It has also been corrected to show that the origin of the calculations about 500-year flood events in Houston were from local officials, not researchers at the University of Chicago.

Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - Cars are submerged on a freeway flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey near downtown Houston, Texas, on Aug. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)