AP News Digest 3 a.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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ONLY ON AP

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AP POLL-ELECTION 2024-VP CANDIDATES — Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, is less popular among voters than his Democratic rival, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. As both running mates prepare for next week’s debate, Democrats are more positive about Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris than Republicans are about Vance and former President Donald Trump. By Linley Sanders. SENT: 550 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

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MIDEAST-TENSIONS — Hezbollah launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv early Wednesday, in a further escalation after Israel carried out strikes on Lebanon that killed hundreds of people and the militants fired rockets across wider areas of northern Israel. The Israeli military said it intercepted the surface-to-surface missile, which set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, and there were no reports of casualties or damage. The military said it struck the site in southern Lebanon from which the projectile was launched. By Abby Sewell and Melanie Lidman. SENT: 870 words, photos, videos, audio. With MIDEAST-TENSIONS-THE-LATEST — Israel intercepts Hezbollah’s farthest strike yet in 11 months of exchanges; MIDEAST-TENSIONS-US-NAVY — U.S. Navy replenishment ship operating in Mideast was damaged after refueling warships, officials say; LEBANON-HEZBOLLAH-EXPLAINER — What is Hezbollah, the group battling Israel in Lebanon? — SENT.

ISRAEL-LEBANON-ENDGAME — It has been a devastating week for Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon. Israel says its objective is to secure the border so that tens of thousands of people who fled under Hezbollah fire nearly a year ago can return to their homes. But it’s far from clear that its recent operations — as tactically successful as they were — will bring that about. By Joseph Krauss. SENT: 1,190 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-WOMEN — Republican men are struggling to speak to women, using language that is being criticized as tone-deaf and patronizing as they try to win over a crucial voting bloc that has emerged as a core weakness in Donald Trump’s bid to return to White House. Trump has cast himself as a “protector” of women, saying he will save them from fear and loneliness. By Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,260 words, photo. ELECTION-2024 — Trump calls for 100% tariffs on cars made in Mexico as part of US manufacturing plan; ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-RUSSIA — Trump praises Russia’s military record in argument to stop funding Ukraine’s fight — SENT.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-ZELENSKYY’S-PLAN — The victory plan that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will present to the White House this week asks the Biden administration to do something it has not achieved in the two and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine: act quickly to support Kyiv’s campaign. By Samya Kullab and Lorne Cooke. SENT: 1,010 words, photos, videos, audio. With UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY-UKRAINE — Ukraine’s president calls for unspecified global ‘action’ to force Russia into peace — SENT.

UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY — The head of the United Nations warned gathered leaders that impunity, inequality and uncertainty are driving modern civilization toward “a powder keg that risks engulfing the world” — the latest clarion call from Antonio Guterres that the global situation is becoming intolerable and unsustainable. By Edith M. Lederer and Jennifer Peltz. SENT: 902 words, photos, videos, audio. ; UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY-CLIMATE-TUVALU’S-TREPIDATIONS — Young people in island nations face an existential question: Should they stay or should they go?; UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY-IRAN — Iran’s president tells the UN that his country wants to play a ‘constructive role’ in world affairs; and UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY-DAILY-BRIEFING — What to know from the UN: Biden stops by, Gaza takes the spotlight, a dour world outlook prevails — SENT.

TROPICAL-WEATHER — Tropical Storm Helene was rapidly strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and expected to become a hurricane while moving north along Mexico’s coast toward the U.S., prompting residents to evacuate, schools to close and officials to declare emergencies in Florida and Georgia. By Heather Hollingsworth and Luis Alberto Cruz. SENT: 720 words, photos. With TROPICAL-WEATHER-EXPLAINER; and TROPICAL-WEATHER-THE-LATEST — SENT.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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SUDAN-SOUTH-DARFUR-MATERNAL-MORTALITY — Mothers and children in the Sudanese region of South Darfur are experiencing one of the “worst” health emergencies in the world, humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders said, one of the consequences of the violence that has engulfed the country since April 2023. Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, said in its latest report that 114 maternal deaths occurred during the period from January to mid-August 2024. SENT: 480 words, photo.

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MORE NEWS

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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-SEAN COMBS — Woman alleges Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs raped her on video in latest lawsuit. SENT: 630 words, photos, video.

OMG-GIRLZ LAWSUIT — Jury awards teen pop group OMG Girlz $71.5 million in battle with toy maker over “L.O.L.” dolls. SENT: 440 words, photo.

FAT BEAR WEEK — The chunkiest of chunks face off in Alaska’s Fat Bear Week. SENT: 390 words, photos.

NEWTOWN-SHOOTING-INFOWARS — Judge to approve auctions liquidating Alex Jones’ Infowars to help pay Sandy Hook families. SENT: 900 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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CONGRESS-BUDGET — Congress is expected to give swift approval to a temporary spending bill that would keep federal agencies funded when the new fiscal year begins next Tuesday, avoiding a potential shutdown showdown just weeks before the Nov. 5 election. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 590 words, photos. Votes expected late afternoon.

ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-SHOOTING-ATTEMPT — A man who authorities say staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida and wrote of his desire to kill him was indicted on an attempted assassination charge. SENT: 830 words, photo.

ELECTION-2024-NORTH-CAROLINA-GOVERNOR — North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson said his campaign has hired a law firm to help investigate a CNN report stating he made explicit racial and sexual posts on a pornography website’s message board. SENT: 730 words, photo.

JIMMY CARTER-OUTSIDER — As Jimmy Carter nears his 100th birthday this October 1st, he remains in hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia. It’s where he wanted to be. Carter has spent most of his life as a political outsider, even as president. Historian Amber Roessner says Carter always understood the insiders’ rules — he just didn’t want to play by them. SENT: 1,360 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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MISSOURI-EXECUTIONS — A Missouri man convicted of breaking into a woman’s home and repeatedly stabbing her was executed over the objections of the victim’s family and the prosecutor, who wanted the death sentence commuted to life in prison. SENT: 920 words, photos. With TEXAS-EXECUTION — Texas man who waived his right to appeal death sentence is executed for killing infant son — SENT.

TITANIC-TOURIST-SUB — An engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to testify in front of the Coast Guard about the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic. SENT: 530 words, photos, video.

CHEMICAL-LEAK-OHIO — Students in school buildings and residents in neighboring homes were told to evacuate after a dangerous chemical began leaking from a railcar near Cincinnati. SENT: 260 words, photos, video. With TRAIN-DERAILMENT-OHIO — EPA data make it hard to know the extent of the contamination from last year’s Ohio derailment — SENT.

CATHOLIC-ASSOCIATION-WORKERS-LAWSUIT — A federal judge is allowing more than 8,000 Catholic employers nationwide to reject government regulations that protect workers seeking abortions and fertility care. SENT: 1,050 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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KASHMIR-INDIA-ELECTION — Under elaborate security, residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir began casting their votes in the second phase of a staggered election for a local government. SENT: 580 words, photos.

CHINA-MISSILE-LAUNCH — China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. The ICBM carried a dummy warhead and fell into a designated area of the sea, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. SENT: 250 words, photo.

SRI LANKA-BALANCING TIES — The Marxist lawmaker who won Sri Lanka’s presidency faces a key challenge in how to balance ties with his country’s two most crucial partners, India and China, as he seeks to draw foreign investment and pull the economy out of the doldrums. SENT: 850 words, photos.

CAMBODIA-CANAL — Cambodia’s plans to build the massive canal linking the Mekong to a port on on its own coast on the Gulf of Thailand are raising alarm that the project could devastate the river’s natural flood systems, worsening droughts and depriving farmers on the delta of the nutrient-rich silt that has made Vietnam the world’s third-largest rice exporter. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.

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CLIMATE

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CLIMATE-CENTRAL-EUROPE-FLOODS — Human-caused climate change doubled the likelihood and intensified the heavy rains that led to devastating flooding in Central Europe earlier this month, a new flash study found. SENT: 600 words, photos, video.

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TRENDS & CULTURE

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OAKLAND A’S-END OF AN ERA — The Athletics already have carved out Jekyll-and-Hyde legacy as one of Major League Baseball’s most successful and sad-sack franchises. As the A’s close out 57 seasons in Oakland before moving to Sacramento and then Las Vegas, it’s heralding the end of an era that’s crushing a community’s soul. SENT: 1,050 words, photos. An abridged version is available.

ELECTION-2024-MELANIA-TRUMP — Former first lady Melania Trump is telling her story her way. In a series of videos ahead of the Oct. 8 publication of her self-titled memoir, the Slovenian-born model is defending her nude photos and her renovation of the White House Rose Garden, as well as sticking up for motherhood. SENT: 1,290 words, photos.

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BUSINESS

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BOEING-STRIKE-FAA — Boeing is giving the union representing striking factory workers more time to consider a revised contract offer with bigger pay increases and more bonus money, but it was unclear whether the union would schedule a ratification vote on the proposal. SENT: 1,010 words, photos, video, audio.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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PARKINSON’S-EXPLAINER — More than a decade after retiring from football, Brett Favre says he has Parkinson’s disease. Favre told a congressional hearing that he had been recently diagnosed. There are nearly 90,000 new Parkinson’s cases each year in the U.S., according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. SENT: 380 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Lorian Bélanger 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.

Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni enters the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

A resident carries a dog amid smoke from fires in a forested area in the Guapulo neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)

Fishermen push a boat in the Aleixo Lake during dry season in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump dances after speaking at a campaign event Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Katie Mimura, left, and Hisako Kaneko, center, who traveled from Japan to show support for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump walk outside before a rally at Ed Fry Arena in Indiana, Pa., Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

A protester waves a Lebanese flag as demonstrators gather to protest against the war on Gaza and Israeli military strikes on Lebanon in front of the Los Angeles Federal Building on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Smoke rises behind a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike on Khiam village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

AP News Digest 3 a.m.

AP News Digest 3 a.m.

A Lebanese fleeing the Israeli bombardment, arrives at the Syrian-Lebanese border crossing in Jdaidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

It has been a devastating week for Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon.

Bombs hidden in the group's pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens of people and wounded thousands — many of them Hezbollah members. Israeli strikes on Beirut killed two of Hezbollah's top commanders. And Israel has bombed what it said were 1,600 militant sites across large parts of Lebanon, killing hundreds of people and displacing thousands.

Israel says its objective is to secure the border so that tens of thousands of people who fled under Hezbollah fire nearly a year ago can return to their homes. But it's far from clear that its recent operations — as tactically successful as they were — will bring that about.

“No one either in or out of the defense establishment has any clue as to how to translate these brilliant operational achievements into political benefit, into a real victory that will stop the war in the north,” columnist Nadav Eyal wrote in Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

“As long as Hezbollah retains any firepower, the northern border will not be able to return to normal.”

Hezbollah began firing into Israel the day after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza. Its stated aim was to pin down Israeli forces in the north to help its ally Hamas, which — like Hezbollah — is backed by Iran. The Lebanese militant group has said it would cease the attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, which appears increasingly unlikely.

Hezbollah's response to the past week's escalation has seemed meager. The hundreds of rockets and drones it has fired into northern Israel — including areas much farther from the border than it hit previously — have caused few casualties and only scattered damage.

The militants fired a longer-range missile early Wednesday that targeted Tel Aviv for the first time, marking a clear escalation. The Israeli military said it intercepted the projectile, and there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Experts say Hezbollah is holding more such weapons in reserve.

The footage on Monday of Israeli strikes sending up plumes of dust and smoke seemed grimly familiar.

The American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the NATO campaign in Libya in 2011, and the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State group in 2014 all began with massive airstrikes lighting up the sky. In each case, the war dragged on for months or years, and ground forces played a crucial role.

Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza began with nearly three weeks of heavy airstrikes across the territory, followed by a full-scale ground invasion. Nearly a year later, Hamas is still putting up a fight and holding scores of hostages.

With Hezbollah, Israel has so far adopted narrower objectives — not the disarmament or defeat of the Lebanese militant group, but a new arrangement in which militants retreat from the border and halt their attacks.

But even that may not be possible without a ground invasion.

There's also the risk of mission-creep, as America discovered after its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ground on for years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban. NATO airstrikes initially aimed at preventing a feared massacre in Benghazi morphed into a seven-month campaign of regime change from which Libya has yet to fully recover.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant boasted that Monday's strikes alone had taken out tens of thousands of Hezbollah's rockets and missiles.

“This is the most difficult week for Hezbollah since its establishment," he added. "A blow has been dealt to the chain of command, to the terrorists themselves on different levels, to their shooting capabilities and to their morale.”

Hezbollah has acknowledged suffering heavy blows, but even if Gallant's assessment is correct, it still has considerable resources.

“The rocket unit is still active, Hezbollah has absorbed the initial shock, and the battle has only begun,” said Qassim Qassir, a former Hezbollah member who wrote a book about the group. “Hezbollah has only used a small part of its capabilities."

The militant group was established with the help of Iran following Israel's 1982 invasion and occupation of Lebanon, and it seeks Israel’s destruction. It has survived countless battles with Israeli forces, replaced several slain commanders over the years and rearmed after a monthlong war in 2006.

Hezbollah claims to have some 100,000 fighters. Before the latest hostilities, it was believed to have some 150,000 rockets and missiles, including long-range projectiles capable of hitting anywhere inside Israel, and some precision-guided missiles.

Its more sophisticated weapons are likely being held in reserve as it seeks to avoid triggering an all-out war.

Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst and founder of the Alma Research and Education Center, a think tank focused on the northern border, said Hezbollah has concealed its weapons in different parts of the country, including in areas close to Beirut where it has a strong presence.

“Hezbollah was building redundancy, so they spread their munitions and infrastructure all over, and that’s why that many targets are being attacked, because it’s everywhere,” she said.

Hezbollah is far more advanced militarily than Hamas. Hezbollah also has a far larger area in which to operate, extensive supply lines linking it more directly to Iran, and networks of tunnels potentially even more extensive than those in Gaza.

In the event of a ground invasion, Hezbollah fighters could be joined by thousands of fighters from fellow Iran-backed groups from Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere in the region.

Israel says it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion but is prepared for one, and has sent thousands of battle-hardened forces from Gaza to the northern border. If the air campaign fails to bring Hezbollah to heel, Israeli leaders will be tempted to send them in.

Even if the goal is only to carve out a buffer zone to better secure the north, the risks are great.

Most Israelis are insulated from the air war by distance and Israel's missile defense systems, but a ground invasion would mean more casualties and protracted fighting for soldiers and reservists already weary from a year of war in Gaza.

Hezbollah waged an 18-year-long insurgency against Israel the last time it occupied Lebanon, eventually forcing it to withdraw, and another prolonged occupation could be similarly costly.

Israel has already faced international outrage over the war in Gaza, including ongoing investigations by top world courts, and risks even greater isolation if it launches a similar campaign in Lebanon.

Hezbollah also has few good options.

Halting its rocket fire on the north in the face of Israeli pressure would likely be seen by its supporters — and its patron Iran — as a humiliating capitulation and an abandonment of the Palestinians.

Escalating its attacks, either by launching more sophisticated rockets or targeting major cities like Tel Aviv, could bring an even more crushing Israeli response or an all-out war that devastates Lebanon — with Hezbollah at risk of being blamed.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah already faces criticism from many Lebanese who accuse him of tying their country’s fate to Iran and inviting war at a time of financial ruin.

That leaves it stuck with the status quo, in which Israel carries out increasingly heavy strikes while Hezbollah makes do with a relatively restrained response.

For Hezbollah, and the Lebanese people, that might make the coming weeks even worse.

Associated Press reporters Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on villages in the Nabatiyeh district, seen from the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese soldiers secure the area near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man who was injured in the explosion of one of the handheld devices, sits outside the Eye Specialist hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israeli security forces examine the site hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo//Ariel Schalit)

Israeli security and rescue forces work at the site hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Gil Nechushtan)

People who fled the southern villages amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes Monday, sit in their cars as they are stuck in traffic at a highway that links to Beirut city, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hezbollah supporters carry pictures of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during Akil's funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburb, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah supporters carry pictures of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburb, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah supporters carry pictures of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil, during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburb, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah supporters shout slogans during the funeral procession of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil and militant Mahmoud Hamad in Beirut's southern suburb, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A boy checks the damage to a building hit in an Israeli airstrike in the southern village of Akbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man watches rescuers sift through the rubble as they search for people still missing at the site of Friday's Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Emergency workers use excavators to clear the rubble at the site of Friday's Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike on Mahmoudieh mountain, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on the Mahmoudieh mountain, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)