AP News Digest 6:15 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.

——————————————-

NEW/DEVELOPING

——————————————

Adds: ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-THE-LATEST; SENATE-REPRODUCTIVE-CARE; TYRE-NICHOLS; KENTUCKY-INTERSTATE-SHOOTING; HAITIAN-IMMIGRANTS-SPRINGFIELD-PHOTO-ESSAY; ELECTION-2024-SUSPICIOUS-PACKAGES; ISRAEL-LEBANON-REMOTE-OPERATIONS; ELECTION 2024-RUSSIA; FBN-DOLPHINS-TAGOVAILOA; BRIDGE-COLLAPSE; COLORADO-SUPERMARKET-SHOOTING

——————————

TOP STORIES

——————————

LEBANON-ISRAEL-EXPLODING-PAGERS — Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah have exploded near simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people – including an 8-year-old girl -- and wounding several thousand, officials said. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack. Among those wounded was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon. By Bassem Mroue. SENT: 990 words, photos, videos, audio. With EXPLODING-PAGERS-WHAT-T0-KNOW; MIDEAST-TENSIONS-THE-LATEST; ISRAEL-LEBANON-REMOTE-OPERATIONS — Israel has a long history of pulling off complex attacks like the exploding pagers (sent).

ELECTION 2024-TRUMP — Florida law enforcement officials will launch their own criminal investigation into the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that will run parallel to the federal probe, Gov. Ron DeSantis announces. The governor said Florida prosecutors will pursue the most serious charges available under state law, including attempted murder, in the state-level investigation into Ryan Wesley Routh, who was charged Monday with federal firearms offenses. By Alanna Durkin Richer and Stephany Matat. SENT: 640 words, photos, videos, audio. With ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-THE-LATEST (sent).

ELECTION-2024 — Vice President Kamala Harris has struck a measured tone, even steering clear of mentioning Donald Trump by name in an interview with Black journalists that starkly contrasted with the former president’s own, highly contentious, recent appearance before the same group. By Will Weissert. SENT: 820 words, photos, audio. Trump event at 7 p.m.

ELECTION 2024-ELON MUSK — Social media posts by X owner Elon Musk are raising concerns that he will use his immense platform to question the legitimacy of the vote in the U.S. presidential election and perhaps call for resistance if Republican nominee Donald Trump loses. By Ali Swenson. SENT: 1,330 words, photo.

FRANCE-RAPE-TRIAL — A 71-year-old French man admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious in their bed. His wife of 50 years, who has divorced him since his arrest, also got to speak, telling the court that she feels completely betrayed. By Diane Jeantet. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, videos, audio.

SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-DIDDY — Sean “Diddy” Combs is headed to jail to await trial in his federal sex trafficking case, after a judge ordered him to be held without bail in a case that accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes. The music mogul pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The indictment against him also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video. By Andrew Dalton, Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister. SENT: 1,240 words, photos, videos, audio. With DIDDY-THINGS-TO-KNOW; SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-SEAN-COMBS-TIMELINE; SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-DIDDY-THE-LATEST.

—————————————————

SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

—————————————————

LITHIUM-DRILLING-ARIZONA-TRIBE — Members of an Arizona tribe are trying to persuade a federal judge to extend a temporary ban on exploratory drilling for a lithium project near lands they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries. The case is among the latest legal fights pitting Native American tribes and environmentalists against President Joe Biden’s administration as green energy projects encroach on lands that are culturally significant. By Scott Sonner and Gabriel Sandoval. SENT: 720 words, photos.

——————————

MORE NEWS

——————————

TYRE-NICHOLS — A former Memphis police officer has testified that he punched a “helpless” Tyre Nichols at least five times while two colleagues held his arms and said “hit him,” then lied to his supervisor about their use of force in a beating that proved fatal. SENT: 730 words, photos.

KENTUCKY-INTERSTATE-SHOOTING — Authorities shift their strategy while trying to track down an interstate highway shooter in Kentucky, pulling searchers from the woods to bolster patrols in communities near where the gunman opened fire, hitting a dozen vehicles and wounding five people. SENT: 890 words, photos.

——————————————————

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

——————————————————

ELECTION-2024-VANCE — Tensions flared last fall in western Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley with news that several dozen refugees would be resettled in and around the city of Eau Claire, one of several midsize cities across the U.S. that has grappled with refugee resettlement. The city serves as a backdrop to a campaign rally Tuesday with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, who has heavily focused on immigration and anti-immigrant rhetoric as he and former President Donald Trump campaign for the White House. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.

HAITIAN-IMMIGRANTS-SPRINGFIELD — Ohio have stationed state police at Springfield schools in response to a rash of bomb threats — the vast majority that officials said came from overseas —- after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance falsely said legal Haitian immigrants in the small city were eating dogs and cats. SENT: 680 words, photos. With HAITIAN-IMMIGRANTS-SPRINGFIELD-PHOTO-ESSAY — Life continues for Ohio community after Trump falsely accused Haitians of eating pets (sent).

ELECTION-2024-HARRIS — Vice President Kamala Harris has decried Republican Donald Trump for inflammatory rhetoric about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and on other topics, saying voters should make sure he “can’t have that microphone again.” SENT: 1,140 words, photos, video. With ELECTION-2024-HARRIS-ABORTION -- Vice President Kamala Harris says Donald Trump’s role in undoing national abortion rights is to blame for the death of Amber Thurman. (sent).

SENATE-REPRODUCTIVE-CARE — Republicans have blocked for a second time this year legislation to establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization, arguing that the vote is an election-year stunt after Democrats forced a vote on the issue. SENT: 680 words, photo, audio.

ELECTION 2024-RUSSIA — A new Microsoft report details how Russia-linked actors are now going full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Kamala Harris. SENT: 930 words, photo.

ELECTION-2024-SUSPICIOUS-PACKAGES — The FBI and U.S. Postal Service are investigating suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in more than 10 states, but there were no immediate reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material. SENT: 810 words, photos.

CONGRESS-BUDGET — House Speaker Mike Johnson will move ahead with a temporary spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, despite the headwinds that prompted him to pull the bill from consideration last week. SENT: 610 words, photos.

————————

NATIONAL

————————

BRIDGE-COLLAPSE — The families of the six construction workers killed in the collapse of Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge plan to file legal claims against the owner and manager of the container ship that lost power and struck the bridge. SENT: 870 words, photos.

COLORADO-SUPERMARKET-SHOOTING — The father of a mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket has testified at his murder trial that he thought his son may have been possessed by an evil spirit before the attack. SENT: 510 word, photo.

TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB — A key employee who labeled a doomed experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage testified Tuesday that the tragedy could have been prevented if a federal safety agency had investigated his complaint. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, video, audio.

JEFFREY-EPSTEIN-MAXWELL-TRIAL — A U.S. court upheld disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction on sex trafficking charges for helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein abuse underage girls. SENT: 500 words, photo.

TROPICAL-WEATHER -- The Carolinas brace for a storm that forecasters warned could bring heavy rain — as much as 6 to 8 inches in some spots. But one narrow band got a “firehose” that dumped as much as 20 inches in a so-called 1,000-year flood that shocked many with its intensity. SENT: 850 words, photos.

––––––––––———––––

INTERNATIONAL

––––––––––———––––

KASHMIR-INDIA-ELECTION — In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many people boycotted elections for decades in protest against Indian rule. But in the run-up to the local election beginning Wednesday, many are willing to buck that trend and use their vote to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party the power to form a local government in the disputed region. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.

MALI-EXPLOSIONS — Islamic militants have attacked a military training camp and other locations in Mali’s capital Tuesday, sparking deadly gunbattles and the temporary closure of a nearby airport before troops were able to subdue the assailants, officials said. No details of casualties were immediately released. SENT: 620 words, photos, audio.

——————————————

BUSINESS/ TECH

——————————————

INSTAGRAM-TEEN-ACCOUNTS -- Instagram is introducing separate teen accounts for those under 18 as it tries to make the platform safer for children amid a growing backlash against how social media affects young people’s lives. SENT: 1,010 words, photos. With SOCIAL MEDIA-PARENT TIPS -- Keeping children safe on social media: What parents should know to protect their kids. (sent-story originally moved on 6/17/24).

———————————————

ENTERTAINMENT

———————————————

ENT-MUSIC-WHITNEY-HOUSTON-CONCERT-FILM — Whitney Houston’s epic concert in South Africa staged after President Nelson Mandela’s landmark election will be hitting theater screens this fall. Houston’s performance in 1994 has been turned into a fully-remastered theatrical release called “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban).” SENT: 500 words, photo.

——————

SPORTS

——————

FBN-DOLPHINS-TAGOVAILOA — The Miami Dolphins have placed Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve after the quarterback was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years. Tagovailoa will be sidelined for at least four games. He will be eligible to return in Week 8 when the Dolphins host Arizona, but has to complete a series of tests and assessments required by the NFL’s concussion protocol before he can return to the field. SENT: 620 words, photos.

——————————————

HOW TO REACH US

——————————————

At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva can be reached at 800-845-8450, ext. 1600. For photos, Donald E. King 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 man carries a fire extinguisher and seeks on the phone while a metalworking warehouse burns in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Chris Lindstrom (63) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Smoke rises from fire in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The head of the agency that manages protected areas, Mauro Pires, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A firefighter attempts to put out a forest fire spreading in the environmentally protected area of Brasilia National Park during the dry season in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Mauro Pires, the head of the agency that manages protected areas, told the local press that the fire is man-made and appears to have started near the edge of the presidency's official countryside residence. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A pipeline with a giant plume of fire burns Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

FILE - Israeli soldiers move next to destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Law enforcement officials work outside of the Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t show up in Turkey on Thursday for proposed direct peace talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was waiting for him in the capital of Ankara after challenging the Kremlin leader to face-to-face discussions on ending their 3-year-old war.

With Putin absent, the Russian delegation was in Istanbul and it wasn’t clear whether the sides would meet for their first such talks since March 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor the previous month.

Zelenskyy said the Russian delegation appeared to be merely “decorative.” Speaking at the airport in Ankara, he said the next steps for talks would be decided after his upcoming meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who welcomed Zelenskyy with an honor guard at the presidential palace in Ankara.

Putin’s absence punctured hopes of a breakthrough in peace efforts that were given a push in recent months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders. It also raised the prospect of intensified international sanctions on Russia that have been threatened by the West.

“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a NATO meeting taking place separately in Turkey. “The talks ... hopefully may open a new chapter.”

The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the U.N., and continues along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.

The diplomatic maneuvering began over the weekend when European leaders met Zelenskyy in Kyiv and urged the Kremlin to agree to a full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a first step toward peace. Putin later responded by proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. Then came Zelenskyy's challenge to Putin to hold face-to-face talks.

After days of silence, the Kremlin finally responded Thursday, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Putin has no plans to travel to Istanbul in the next few days.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not surprised that Putin was a no-show. Trump had pressed for Putin and Zelenskyy to meet but brushed off Putin’s apparent decision not to attend.

“I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump told reporters as he took part in a business roundtable with executives in Doha, Qatar, on the third day of his visit to the Middle East.

Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, is leading the Russian team that will also include three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks in Istanbul.

Also absent from the talks were Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, both of whom represented Russia at the talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia in March.

The top-level Ukrainian delegation included Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak, a Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy will sit at the negotiating table only with Putin, said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.

Details about whether, when and where the Ukrainian delegation might meet their Russian counterparts were unclear. Russia said the talks have been postponed until the afternoon “at the initiative of the Turkish side”

Tass said the talks were to take place in a presidential office on the Bosporus, in Istanbul.

Putin met Wednesday evening with senior government officials and members of the delegation in preparation for the talks, Peskov said. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov, and National Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu also attended.

The Kremlin billed Thursday’s talks as a “restart” of peace negotiations that were held in Istanbul in 2022 but quickly fell apart. Moscow accused Ukraine and the West of wanting to continue fighting, while Kyiv said Russia’s demands amounted to an ultimatum rather than something both sides could agree on.

Russia's delegation then was also headed by Medinsky.

Putin's proposal came after more than three months of diplomacy kickstarted by Trump, who promised during his campaign to end the devastating war swiftly — though it's been hard to pull off. The Trump administration in recent weeks indicated that it might walk away from the peace effort if there was no tangible progress soon.

Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, met with U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio and Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday night in the Turkish city of Antalya, which is hosting NATO foreign ministers to discuss new defense investment goals as the U.S. shifts its focus to security challenges away from Europe.

Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine’s support for Trump’s mediation efforts and thanked the U.S. for its continued involvement, urging Moscow to “reciprocate Ukraine’s constructive steps” toward peace. "So far, it has not,” Sybiha said.

On Thursday morning, Sybiha also met with other European foreign ministers, including his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, who in a post on X reiterated the call for a ceasefire and the threat of “massive sanctions” if Russia doesn't comply.

“We’re in a very difficult spot right now, and we hope that we can find the steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any war in the future," Rubio said Thursday.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, also in Antalya for the NATO talks, accused Moscow of not being willing to to engage in a serious peace process.

“We have one chair empty, which is the chair of Vladimir Putin. So now I guess the entire world has realized that there’s only one party not willing to engage in serious peace negotiations, and that certainly is Russia," Valtonen said.

Barrot echoed her sentiment: “In front of Ukrainians there is an empty chair, one that should have been occupied by Vladimir Putin,” he said. “Vladimir Putin is dragging his feet and in all evidence does not want to enter into these peace discussions.”

—-

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels; Illia Novikov and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; and Matthew Lee in Antalya, Turkey, contributed.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures to journalists as he leaves upon his arrival at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to journalists as he arrives at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian official plane, background, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on board lands at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on forthcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on forthcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)