AP News Digest 7 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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TOP STORIES

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TROPICAL-WEATHER — Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm over Georgia with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. The National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 40 miles east of Macon and about 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph at 5 a.m. Helene came ashore Thursday evening in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. At least three deaths have been reported. By Kate Payne and Heather Hollingsworth. SENT: 1,480 words, photos, videos, audio. WITH: TROPICAL-WEATHER-FUJIWHARA-EFFECT — Hurricane Helene is unusual, but not an example of the Fujiwhara Effect; STORM-SURGE-EXPLAINER — Storm surge from Hurricane Helene could be devastating. (All Sent).

JAPAN-POLITICS-ELECTION — Japan’s ruling party on Friday picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as leader. He will become prime minister next week. The party leadership win is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s ruling coalition currently controls the parliament. A record nine candidates, including two women, ran in a vote decided by the party’s lawmakers and grassroots members. SENT: 500 words, photos. WITH: JAPAN-POLITICS-NEXT LEADER — Ishiba is a veteran politician with deep policy experience, a taste for curry and anime and big challenges ahead of him. SENT: 500 words, photos.

LEBANON-ISRAEL-GAZA FEARS — Almost one year after launching its war on Hamas in Gaza, Israel has turned its focus on Lebanon, significantly ratcheting up the air campaign against its archenemy Hezbollah. Among many in Lebanon, there is fear that Israel’s military operations in Lebanon would follow the same Gaza playbook: Evacuation orders, mass displacement and overwhelming, deadly airstrikes Israel says target weapons and militants. By Kareem Chehayeb and Zeina Karam. SENT: 1,250 words, photos. WITH: LEBANON-ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH-RESOLUTION-1701 — What is the 2006 UN resolution that some hope could help to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict?; ISRAEL-LEBANON-WHAT-TO-KNOW — What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah; MIDEAST-TENSIONS-THE-LATEST — Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. (All Sent).

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-EUROPE — The war in Ukraine is entering a critical period as the European Union enters a new era. The EU has decided to take more responsibility for what it sees as an existential threat to security in its neighborhood. In a major move, it is preparing to help Ukraine rebuild its economy without waiting for the U.S. lead. EU envoys are working on a proposal to give Ukraine a hefty loan package worth up to $39 billion. It was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a trip to Kyiv last week. By Lorne Cook. SENT: 970 words, photos. WITH: ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-UKRAINE — Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as tensions have been rising between the two over how to defend the country in a war against Russia. SENT: 550 words, photos. Meeting at 9:45 a.m.

NYC MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS — New York City Mayor Eric Adams could make his initial court appearance Friday on charges that he accepted illegal campaign contributions and free overseas trips from people looking to buy his influence in city government. Adams is scheduled to appear at noon before a magistrate judge. An indictment accuses the Democrat of taking a variety of improper gifts from Turkish officials and businesspeople. Adams says he is innocent. By Jake Offenhartz and Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 500 words, photos, videos, audio. WITH: NYC MAYOR-INDICTMENT — A look inside the indictment; NYC-MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS-BIOGRAPHY — Who is Eric Adams? (Sent).

ELECTION 2024 — Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee to confront head-on one of her biggest vulnerabilities ahead of the November election. Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have criticized Harris relentlessly over the Biden administration’s record on migration. By Will Weissert and Jonathan J. Cooper. SENT: 800 words, photos. Speech at 7:45 p.m.

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ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — An Israeli airstrike hit a school sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 22, including women and children, the territory’s Health Ministry said. SENT: 450 words, photos, video.

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MORE NEWS

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BELGIUM-POPE — Belgium’s prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church’s horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups, demanding “concrete steps” to come clean with the past and put victims’ interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis’ visit on Friday. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

MEXICO-PRESIDENT’S-MORNING-SHOW — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s daily morning media briefings have provided him with direct line to his political base throughout nearly six years in office. López Obrador leaves office Monday. SENT: 1,270 words, photos.

ETHIOPIA-RELIGIOUS-FESTIVAL — Thousands of Ethiopians have gathered in the capital city to celebrate an annual religious festival, known as Meskel, distinguished by the lighting of bonfires according to the beliefs of the local Orthodox Christian faithful. SENT: 730 words, photos, video.

CLIMATE-GERMANY-BEER-OKTOBERFEST — Germany’s beer industry relies on education and research to combat the climate change that is wreaking havoc on farms and breweries across the country. Rising temperatures, drought and dreaded powdery mildew can wipe out entire crops. SENT: 1,110 words, photos, video.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2024-RELIGIOUS LOYALTY — Donald Trump recently reissued his loyalty test to religious Americans, declaring that he can best protect their freedoms while preemptively blaming some if he loses the presidential election in November. He said Jews and Catholics can vote for him and ace the test, but those who don’t, in his words, “need their head examined.” SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

ELECTION-2024-TARIFFS-EXPLAINER — Former President Donald Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China and a 20% tariff on everything else the United States imports. Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity. They are especially alarmed by Trump’s latest proposed tariffs. SENT: 1,190 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-DEBATE-HOW TO WATCH — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are meeting Tuesday for their first and only scheduled vice presidential debate. Here’s how to watch. SENT: 700 words, photo.

US-ELECTION 2024-ABORTION-LATINO VOTERS — Abortion-rights groups are courting Latino voters through door-knocking and Spanish-language ads. They say the fast-growing group could determine the outcome of abortion ballot measures across the U.S., particularly in states such as Arizona and Florida with large Latino populations. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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US-TITANIC TOURIST SUB — The operator of an experimental submersible that imploded while seeking out the sunken Titanic was either putting profits over safety, or taking calculated risks while pushing humankind’s boundaries. A Coast Guard panel investigating the Titan disaster plans to wrap up testimony Friday. SENT: 540 words, photos, video.

TEXAS-FAKE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS — The top elected official in a suburban Houston county has been indicted over allegations he created fake and racist social media posts when he ran for re-election in 2022. SENT: 480 words, photos.

US-COMMERCIAL-SEX-RING-ARRESTS — A Massachusetts woman accused of operating a high-end brothel network with wealthy and prominent clients is planning to change her plea to guilty in federal court Friday. SENT: 580 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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INDIA-DROWNINGS — Dozens of children have drowned while bathing in rivers and ponds as part of a three-day Hindu festival in eastern India. Heavy monsoon rains recently had raised the levels of waterways across Bihar state. Authorities say at least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in separate incidents across the state’s 15 districts. SENT: 170 words.

MIGRATION-GREECE — A dinghy carrying migrants toward the eastern Greek island of Kos capsized in rough weather overnight, leaving one person dead and 15 others rescued, while dozens more people were rescued from a yacht in southern Greece, the coast guard said Friday. SENT: 250 words.

MEXICO-MISSING STUDENTS — Families of the 43 students from a rural teacher’s college abducted 10 years ago in southern Mexico marked the painful anniversary Thursday disillusioned after a decade of unfulfilled government promises. SENT: 490 words, photos, video.

BRITAIN-EGYPT ACTIVIST — Rights groups and the family of Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah have urged authorities to release him when his five-year prison sentence ends next week. SENT: 520 words, photo.

CHINA-NUCLEAR-SUBMARINE — Satellite imagery showed China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier while under construction, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. SENT: 490 words, photo.

HUNGARY-ORBAN — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says his country always has and always will defend itself against foreign attacks in response to controversial statements by one of his closest aides suggesting Hungary wouldn’t have fought against a Russian invasion as Ukraine has done. SENT: 500 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/TECH

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CHINA-AUSTRALIA — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Friday welcomed Chinese efforts to stimulate its slowing economy, noting that its recent weakness has hurt Australia. He said Australia’s economy was slowing because of global economic uncertainty, high interest rates and China’s slowdown. SENT: 650 words, photo.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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KLINGHOFFER-VEHICULAR-MANSLAUGHTER — Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, a former Red Hot Chili Peppers member who has also played with Pearl Jam, has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor manslaughter charge in the death of a pedestrian. SENT: 270 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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DODGERS-CLINCH — The Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL West, rallying to beat the second-place San Diego Padres 7-2 on with a five-run outburst in the seventh inning. SENT: 320 words, photos.

ORIOLES-YANKEES — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 58th home run, going deep for the fifth straight game to help the New York Yankees clinch their second AL East title in three years with a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. SENT: 630 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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New York Yankees' Gerrit Cole celebrates with teammates after clinching the American League East title in a baseball game against Baltimore Orioles, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hugs a teammate after the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 7-2 in a baseball game to clinch the National League West division Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Lady Gaga poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'Joker: Folie A Deux' on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

FILE - Australian Finance Minister Jim Chalmers sits for an interview during the G-20 third Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBGs) meeting in Gandhinagar, India, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)

A masked youth takes part in a demonstration marking the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students from an Ayotzinapa rural teacher's college, in Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

FILE - Egypt's leading pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah speaks during a conference at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)

Religious leaders and Ethiopians celebrate Meskel, meaning the Cross in Amharic, is an annual religious holiday among Orthodox in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)

Bart Kemper, of Kemper Engineering, testifies Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation hearing into the June 2023 loss of the Titan submersible, in North Charleston, S.C. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Kate Kilroy/U.S. Coast Guard via AP, Pool)

FILE - Musician Josh Klinghoffer attends an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles, March 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his daily, morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

Palestinian supporters march near the United Nations headquarters at a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd as he exits the stage after speaking at the Israeli American Council National Summit, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

New York City Mayor Eric Adam talks to the members of the media at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. President Joe Biden, center, with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, front second left, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, front left, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, front second right, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, right, and other world leaders pose for a family picture of the launching of a Joint Declaration of Support for Ukrainian Recovery and Reconstruction, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in New York. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE- Emergency workers use excavators to clear the rubble at the site of Friday's Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Shigeru Ishiba, center, acknowledges after he was elected as new head of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) during the party's leadership election Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, Pool)

The St. Pete Pier is pictured among high winds and waves as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida panhandle, passing west of Tampa Bay, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary always has and always will defend itself against foreign attacks, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday after one of his closest aides provoked controversy by suggesting that Hungary wouldn't have fought against a Russian invasion as Ukraine has done.

Speaking to state radio, Orbán sought to downplay the remarks by his political director, Balázs Orbán, which stirred outrage among many in Hungary and led to calls for his resignation.

Speaking on a podcast on Wednesday, Balázs Orbán, who is not related to the prime minister, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made an “irresponsible” decision by opting to militarily defend his country after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Hungary, he said, has learned that “precious Hungarian lives” must be treated with caution rather than “offering them up” for defense.

Prime Minister Orbán called the comment “an ambiguous statement, which in this context is a mistake."

He emphasized that Hungary has “always defended itself, it will defend itself today and will continue to defend itself in the future by all possible means.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hungary, a NATO member, has taken an adversarial position toward its neighbor, and sought to block, delay or water down European Union efforts to provide financial and military support to Kyiv and to pass sanctions on Moscow over its war.

Such efforts have led to accusations from many European leaders that Hungary is acting to divide the EU and advance Russian interests.

Balázs Orbán’s statements angered many in Hungary who saw them as a suggestion that Hungarian fighters in an anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 had made a mistake by resisting Soviet occupation.

The uprising was eventually crushed by the Red Army, killing as many as 3,000 civilians and destroying much of the capital Budapest.

“Every country has the right to decide its own destiny for itself,” Balázs Orbán said. “But based on ’56, we wouldn’t have done what President Zelenskyy did two and a half years ago, because that was irresponsible.”

Hungary’s Cold War-era uprising looms large in the country’s consciousness as a symbol of its heroic struggle for independence and self determination. Some Hungarians view their government’s close ties to Russia today as a betrayal of the 1956 revolution’s efforts to force Soviet soldiers out of the country.

In response to the criticism, Balázs Orbán said in a post on social media Thursday that Hungary's government sees “no point” to the war in Ukraine, and that “hundreds of thousands of people have died ... for nothing.”

But on Friday, Prime Minister Orbán sought to diffuse the tensions by saying Hungary owes a debt of gratitude to the ”heroes” and “freedom fighters” who took up arms against Soviet oppression in 1956.

“If a person talks about such delicate issues, then it must be formulated very precisely, leaving no doubt about our position,” he said.

On Thursday, Hungary's most prominent opposition figure, Péter Magyar, called for Balázs Orbán’s resignation by Oct. 23, the 68th anniversary of the revolution.

“Such a man cannot hold public office alongside the Hungarian Prime Minister,” Magyar wrote.

FILE -Political director of Prime Minster Viktor Orban of Hungary, Balazs Orban, attends the Worldwide Freedom Initiative event in Paris, Nov. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)