AP News Digest 6 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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NEW/DEVELOPING

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Adds: LOUISIANA-POLICE-DEATH-CHARGED-DROPPED; TROPICAL-WEATHER-FUJIWHARA-EFFECT; RAPPER-KILLED-TRIAL; TYRE-NICHOLS; ARGENTINA-POVERTY; BALTIMORE-BRIDGE-COLLAPSE; STORM-SURGE-EXPLAINER; ELECTION 2024-TRUMP WATCHES; ELECTION 2024-ARAB AMERICANS; ELECTION 2024-POSTAL SERVICE; BIDEN-GUN VIOLENCE; TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT

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ONLY ON AP

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MILITARY-RECRUITING-REBOUNDS — The Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force say they will all meet their recruiting goals by the end of this month and the Navy will come very close. The results represent a slight uptick in young people joining the military, following several very difficult years and a swath of new programs and enticements. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 1,110 words, photos, audio.

AP POLL-ELECTION 2024-GENDER — Americans are more likely to believe that being a woman will hurt Kamala Harris’ chances in the November election, compared to eight years ago when Hillary Clinton was running. And they are more likely to believe that Donald Trump’s gender will help him, a new poll from Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. By Michelle L. Price and Linley Sanders. SENT: 840 words, photo.

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TOP STORIES

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MIDEAST-TENSIONS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry out “full force” strikes against Hezbollah until it ceases firing rockets across the border, dimming hopes for a cease-fire proposal put forth by U.S. and European officials. By Bassem Mroue and Melanie Lidman. SENT: 1,150 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: MIDEAST-TENSIONS-THE-LATEST; ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — At least 11 killed in Israeli strike that hit a school in northern Gaza (sent).

MIDEAST-TENSIONS-CEASE-FIRE-OBSTACLES — Israel and Hezbollah each have strong incentives to heed international calls for a cease-fire that could avert all-out war — but that doesn’t mean they will. Hezbollah is reeling after a sophisticated attack on personal devices killed and wounded hundreds of its members. Israeli airstrikes have killed two top commanders in Beirut in less than a week and pounded large areas of Lebanon, killing over 600 people, including some civilians. Israel clearly has the upper hand militarily. That could make it less willing to compromise. But it’s unlikely to achieve its goal of halting Hezbollah rocket fire with air power alone, and a threatened ground invasion of Lebanon poses major risks. By Joseph Krauss. SENT: 950 words, photos.

Click here for more on the AP’s plans for the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks and the start of the war in Gaza.

NYC MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to stay in office after federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing him of letting Turkish officials and businesspeople buy his influence with illegal campaign contributions and lavish overseas trips. By Jake Offenhartz. SENT: 1,170 words, photos, videos, audio. With NYC-MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS-THE-LATEST; NYC-MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS-BIOGRAPHY -- Who is Eric Adams? (sent)

CONGRESS-SECRET SERVICE — Members of a bipartisan House task force investigating the Trump assassination attempts have emphasized during their first hearing that the Secret Service, not local authorities, was responsible for the failures in planning and communications that led to a gunman being able to open fire on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. By Farnoush Amiri, Rebecca Santana and Colleen Long. SENT: 1,140 words, photos, video, audio.

TROPICAL-WEATHER — Tropical storm force winds begins battering Florida as Hurricane Helene prepared to make landfall, with forecasters warning that the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” surge along the coast and churn up damaging winds hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S. By Kate Payne and Heather Hollingsworth. SENT: 1,150 words, photos, videos, audio. With TROPICAL-WEATHER-FUJIWHARA-EFFECT — Hurricane Helene is unusual — but it’s not an example of the Fujiwhara Effect; STORM-SURGE-EXPLAINER — More deadly than wind, storm surge from Hurricane Helene could be devastating (bothsent).

UNITED STATES-UKRAINE — With American support for Ukraine at a partisan crossroads, Vice President Kamala Harris has slammed suggestions that Kyiv should cede territory for the sake of peace with Moscow as “dangerous and unacceptable.” By Chris Megerian. SENT: 1,310 words, photos, videos, audio. With RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukraine’s air defenses battled an overnight Russian aerial attack on the capital Kyiv for five hours, officials said. (sent).

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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GEORGIA-LGBTQ-RIGHTS — Dozens of Georgians stood in tearful silence in a central square near parliament last week to mourn Kesaria Abramidze, a transgender actor and model who was stabbed to death the previous day in her apartment. Some in the conservative South Caucasus nation of Georgia see a direct line between violent attacks, such as the one on the 37-year-old Abramidze, and a sweeping measure that severely restricted LGBTQ+ rights which was given final approval by parliament a day before the slaying. By Sophiko Megrelidze and Dasha Litvinova. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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RAPPER-KILLED-TRIAL — Justin Johnson was found guilty of murder in the death of rapper Young Dolph after the jury heard testimony from a co-defendant that the killing was part of a feud between rival record labels. SENT: 610 words, photos.

TYRE-NICHOLS — An FBI agent who interviewed two former Memphis police officers on trial in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols’ testified Thursday that they accepted accountability for participating. SENT: 630 words,

BRAZIL-X-SUSPENSION — X requests it be reinstated in Brazil after complying with judge’s orders, source says. SENT: 1,010 words, photos, audio.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2024-TRUMP WATCHES — Donald Trump launches a new business venture: diamond-encrusted watches. The Republican presidential candidate has unveiled the “Official Trump Watch Collection.” The most expensive costs $100,000. SENT: 600 words, photo.

ELECTION 2024-ARAB AMERICANS — The rapidly escalating war in the Middle East has heightened anger at Democrats from within Michigan’s Arab American community, just over a month before a presidential election in which Kamala Harris is counting on support from within a key party constituency. SENT: 970 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-POSTAL SERVICE — Lawmakers are uneasy about the U.S. Postal Service’s readiness for a crush of mail ballots for the November election because some of them feel burned by other Postal Service actions. SENT: 800 words, photos.

BIDEN-GUN VIOLENCE — President Joe Biden signs an executive order that aims to help schools make active shooter drills less traumatic for students yet still effective. 650 words, photos.

TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT — Special counsel Jack Smith files, under seal, a legal brief that prosecutors have said would contain sensitive and new evidence in the case charging Donald Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election. SENT: 400 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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LOUISIANA-POLICE-DEATH-CHARGED-DROPPED — Louisiana prosecutors on Thursday dismissed the most serious remaining charge in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, dropping a negligent homicide count against a veteran trooper seen on body-camera video dragging the Black motorist by his ankle shackles and forcing him to lie face down before he stopped breathing. SENT: 830 words, photos.

BALTIMORE-BRIDGE-COLLAPSE — A group of Baltimore longshoremen have sued the owner and manager of the ship that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, arguing the companies should compensate them for wages lost while the port was closed in the aftermath of the deadly disaster. SENT: 710 words, photos.

MISSISSIPPI-CIVIL-RIGHTS-PROBE — Police in a majority-Black Mississippi city discriminate against Black people, use excessive force and retaliate against critics, the Justice Department said Thursday in a scathing report detailing a slew of civil rights abuses by law enforcement in one of the poorest counties in America. SENT: 1,020 words, photos, audio.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ARGENTINA-POVERTY — Argentina’s poverty rate jumped from almost 42% to 53% during the first six months of Javier Milei’ s presidency, the statistics agency reported Thursday, a steep rise reflecting the pain of the country’s most intense austerity program in recent memory. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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MED-CANNABIS-PUBLIC-HEALTH -- A scientific panel is calling for a public health approach to marijuana that’s a big departure from “Just Say No.” The report was released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. It recommends a larger role for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in cannabis policy. The report comes as more Americans are using high-potency cannabis products that have health risks, especially with heavy use. SENT: 580 words, photo.

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BUSINESS/TECH

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OPENAI-FOR-PROFIT — OpenAI’s history as a nonprofit research institute that also sells commercial products like ChatGPT may be coming to an end as the San Francisco company looks to more fully convert itself into a for-profit corporation accountable to shareholders. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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ENT--TV-HODA KOTB — Hoda Kotb, a fixture at NBC for more than two decades, says she will leave her morning perch on the “Today” early next year, telling staffers “it’s time.” SENT: 480 words, photos, audio.

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SPORTS

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FBN-COWBOYS-GIANTS — The Dallas Cowboys will try to break a two-game losing streak when they face a team they have owned in recent years, the New York Giants, at MetLife Stadium. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts at 8:15 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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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.

Chicago White Sox fans sit in the stands with bags on their head during the 10th inning of a baseball game between the White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts as he singles during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Will Smith scored. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign event at Carnegie Mellon University, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Farmers march to protest the government of President Luis Arce, in El Alto, Bolivia, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

People clear the rubble in a front of a residential building heavily damaged after a Russian airstrike in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern village of Kfar Rouman, seen from Marjayoun, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Syrians fleeing the war in Lebanon, arrive at the Syrian-Lebanese border crossing in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

A Syrian boy fleeing the war in Lebanon with his family, arrives at the Syrian-Lebanese border crossing in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

NEW YORK (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to carry out “full force” strikes against Hezbollah until it ceases firing rockets across the border, dimming hopes for a cease-fire proposal put forth by U.S. and European officials.

Israel carried out a new strike in the Lebanese capital, which killed a senior Hezbollah commander, and the militant group launched dozens of rockets into Israel. Tens of thousands of Israeli and Lebanese people living near their countries' border have been displaced by the fighting.

Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting, where U.S. and European officials were putting heavy pressure on both sides of the conflict to accept a proposed 21-day halt in the fighting to give time for diplomacy and avert all-out war.

Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week as Israel dramatically escalated strikes, saying it is targeting Hezbollah’s military capacities. Israeli leaders say they are determined to stop the group's cross-border attacks, which began after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war in Gaza.

Israel’s “policy is clear," Netanyahu said. "We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

Just before his comments, the Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah drone commander, Mohammed Hussein Surour, in an airstrike in the suburbs of Beirut. Hezbollah later confirmed Surour's death.

The Health Ministry said two people were killed and 15 wounded in the strike. Associated Press photos of the scene showed a gutted apartment in a residential building in Dahiyeh, the mainly Shiite suburb where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

Until recently, Israel had rarely targeted sites in Beirut during the low-level conflict with Hezbollah that has been ongoing since October. However, in the past week, Israel has struck Beirut’s southern suburbs several times.

Over the past week, Israel has carried out several strikes in Beirut targeting senior Hezbollah commanders. One strike in eastern Lebanon on Thursday killed 20 people, most of them Syrian migrants, according to Lebanese health officials.

Israel hit 75 sites early Thursday across southern and eastern Lebanon and launched a new wave of strikes in the evening, the military said. Throughout the day, Hezbollah fired some 175 projectiles into Israel, the Israeli military said. Most were intercepted or fell in open areas, sparking some wildfires, though one rocket hit a street in a town near the northern city of Safed.

Israel has talked of a possible ground invasion into Lebanon to drive Hezbollah -- an Iranian-backed Shiite group that is the strongest armed force in Lebanon -- away from the border. It has moved thousands of troops to the north in preparation. Some 100,000 Lebanese have fled their homes in the past week, streaming into Beirut and points further north.

Israeli military vehicles transported tanks and armored vehicles toward the country’s northern border with Lebanon a day after commanders issued a call-up of reservists. Several tanks arrived in Kiryat Shmona, a hard-hit town just several miles from the border.

On another front, Israel’s military on Friday said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that set off air raid sirens across the country’s center. Sirens rang out across Israel’s populous central area, including the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv. Another missile from Yemen landed in central Israel about two weeks ago.

The escalation has raised fears of a repeat – or worse – of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah that wreaked destruction across southern Lebanon and other parts of the country and saw heavy Hezbollah rocket fire on Israeli cities.

“Another full-scale war could be devastating for both Israel and Lebanon,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after talks with his British and Australian counterparts in London.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was at the U.N. meeting with Israeli officials over the truce proposal. Speaking in an interview with MSNBC, he said major powers, the Europeans and Arab nations were united, “everyone speaking with one clear voice about the need to get that cease-fire in the north.”

“I can’t speak for him,” Blinken said of Netanyahu.

Hezbollah has not yet responded to the proposal. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed it, but his government has no sway over the group.

Netanyahu’s office downplayed the initiative, saying in a statement that it was only a proposal.

One of Netanyahu’s far-right governing partners threatened on Thursday to suspend cooperation with his government if it signs onto a temporary cease-fire with Hezbollah – and to quit completely if a permanent deal is reached. It was the latest sign of displeasure from Netanyahu’s allies toward international cease-fire efforts.

“If a temporary cease-fire becomes permanent, we will resign from the government,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Jewish Power party.

If Ben-Gvir leaves the coalition, Netanyahu would lose his parliamentary majority and could see his government come toppling down, though opposition leaders have said they would offer support for a cease-fire deal.

Hezbollah has insisted it would halt its strikes only if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israel has battled Hamas for nearly a year. That appears out of reach despite months of negotiations led by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

One day after Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel, bringing Israeli counterfire and a cycle of reprisals that has gone on near daily since. Hezbollah says its barrages are a show of support for Palestinians and that it is targeting Israeli military facilities, though rockets have also hit civilian areas.

Before this week, the cross-border exchanges had killed about 600 people in Lebanon, mostly militants but including more than 100 civilians, and about four dozen people in Israel, roughly half of them soldiers and the rest civilians. The fighting also forced tens of thousands to flee homes on both sides of the border.

Israel says its escalated strikes across Lebanon the past week are targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers and other military infrastructure. Since Monday, strikes have killed more than 690 people in Lebanon, around a quarter of them women and children, according to local health authorities.

The campaign opened with what is widely believed to be an Israeli attack on Sept. 18 and 19 detonating thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, killing at least 39 people and maiming thousands more, including civilians.

Hezbollah in turn has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel. Several people in Israel have been wounded. On Wednesday, the group fired on Tel Aviv for the first time with a longer-range missile that was intercepted.

Early Thursday, an Israeli airstrike hit a building housing Syrian workers and their families near the ancient city of Baalbek in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 19 Syrians and a Lebanese were killed, one of the deadliest single strikes in Israel’s intensified air campaign.

Hussein Salloum, a local official in Younine, said most of the dead were women and children. The state news agency had initially reported that 23 people were dead.

Lebanon, with a population of around 6 million, hosts nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands who are unregistered — the world’s highest refugee population per capita.

Mroue reported from Beirut, Lidman from Tel Aviv. Associated Press journalist Sam McNeil contributed to this report from Kiryat Shmona, Israel.

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the area at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A resident checks an apartment that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Thursday, Sept. 26, 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, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

A damaged building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man carries a damaged bicycle at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man carries pictures of his relatives standing at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Displaced children sit in a classroom in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south with their families, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced children play in a classroom at a school, in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south with their families, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A displaced boy sleeps in a classroom in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south with his family, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced youth hug as they take shelter at a school in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south with their families, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced people gather in the hallway of a school in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Volunteers distribute clothes to displayed women at a school in Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced women smoke waterpipes as they sit in a school in Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced people sit in a school yard in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced women and children sit in a classroom in Beirut, after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People take cover as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from Lebanon, in Safed, northern Israel, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People run to take cover as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from Lebanon, in Safed, northern Israel, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Ali Abdel Rahman Zorout, 5, who was wounded in an Israeli airstrike, poses for a picture at the Alaaeddine Hospital in Sarafand, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Fatima Abdel Rahman Zorout, 7, who was wounded in an Israeli airstrike, is wheeled on a gurney at the Alaaeddine Hospital in Sarafand, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man carries a damaged bicycle at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man stands on top of a damaged car at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man reacts in a damaged apartment at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

An emergency worker cuts concrete blocks as he searches for survivors at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in the town of Maisara, north of Beirut, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)