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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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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US-TROPICAL-WEATHER — Hurricane Helene has caused dozens of deaths and billions of dollars of destruction across a wide swath of the southeastern U.S. as it raced through, and more than 3 million customers go into the weekend without any power and for some a continued threat of floods. Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams. At least 44 people have been killed across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. By Stephen Smith, Kate Payne and Heather Hollingsworth. SENT: 1,150 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: TROPICAL WEATHER-RESCUES — Rescue missions after Helene’s flooding include dozens stranded on Tennessee hospital roof. SENT: 1,190 words, photos; TROPICAL-WEATHER-REPORTER-RESCUE — Fox weather reporter interrupts live hurricane shot to rescue woman from car in floodwaters; TROPICAL-WEATHER-ATLANTIC — Isaac strengthens into a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean and Tropical Storm Joyce forms; TROPICAL-WEATHER-JOHN TROPICAL — Tropical Storm John comes ashore again along Mexico’s Pacific coast; TROPICAL-WEATHER-NORTH-CAROLINA — Torrential rains flood North Carolina mountains; TROPICAL-WEATHER-WHAT-TO-KNOW — What to know about Hurricane Helene and flooding. (All Sent).

MIDEAST-TENSIONS-THE-LATEST — Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah targets pounded areas around Lebanon’s capital overnight. The streets of Beirut’s southern suburbs were empty and smoke was rising as the sun came up Saturday. The United Nations says the number of those displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has more than doubled, with more than 211,000 people now displaced. At least 20 primary health care centers have shut down in hard-hit areas of Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cut his United States visit short to return to Israel. SENT: 890 words, photos; WITH: LEBANON-NASRALLAH — Hassan Nasrallah has been leading Hezbollah since 1992 turning it into Lebanon’s most powerful force. SENT: 680 words, photos.

UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY-ISRAEL — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled to the world from the United on Nations on Friday that the multiple conflicts in the Middle East were far from resolved. He vowed to continue to battle the Lebanese Hezbollah and defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip until “total victory.” Shortly after he spoke, blasts rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut and the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah’s headquarters. By Tia Goldenberg. SENT: 1,110 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: UN-GENERAL-ASSEMBLY-NORWAY-PALESTINIANS — European, Arab and Islamic nations have launched an initiative to strengthen support for a Palestinian state and its institutions and prepare for a future after the war in Gaza and escalating conflict in Lebanon, Norway’s foreign minister said Friday. SENT: 710 words, photos.

CHINA-FAKE NEWS — In its bid for global influence, China is expanding its use of propaganda and fake news throughout the world, often disguising it with fake journalists and dubious sites posing as legitimate news sources. Experts and security officials say Beijing sees the efforts as a cost-effective way to spread pro-China content and compete with the West. By Didi Tang and David Klepper. SENT: 970 words, photos.

US-NYC MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS-DEFENSE — For months, New York City Mayor Eric Adams refused to criticize the federal authorities investigating his administration. Not anymore. The day his indictment on corruption charges became public, Adams defiantly suggested without evidence that prosecutors had gone after him because he had criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. The U.S. attorney who brought the case said it had nothing to do with politics. By Anthony Izaguirre. SENT: 790 words, photo. WITH: NYC-MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS-TV-SHOOT — As political scandal grips NYC, a fictional press conference puzzles some New Yorkers. SENT: 470 words, photos.

US-JIMMY CARTER-100-THEN AND NOW — Already the longest-lived of the 45 men to serve as U.S. president, Jimmy Carter is about to reach the century mark. Carter remains under home hospice care and will turn 100 on Tuesday. Carter has seen the U.S. population nearly triple. And for all the shifts in U.S. politics, some things stay the same. Or at least come back around. Carter was born in an era of isolationism, protectionism and white Christian nationalism. All three of those elements are prominent features of the right in Donald Trump’s Republican Party. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.

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MORE NEWS

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SNL-50TH SEASON PREMIERE — “Saturday Night Live” is about to begin its 50th season. Jean Smart will host. The 73-year-old “Hacks” and “Designing Women” star who just won her sixth Emmy has never hosted the sketch comedy institution. Jelly Roll will be the musical guest. Former cast member Maya Rudolph is reportedly returning to the show this season to play Vice President Kamala Harris. SENT: 350 wors, photos.

US-MIRACLE CONDOR-ARIZONA RELEASE — Another chapter in one of the greatest comeback stories in the world of endangered species is being written with the release of four young California condors north of the Grand Canyon. SENT: 990 words, photo.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2024-TRUMP — Donald Trump is set to make a campaign stop in a small western Wisconsin town where a Venezuelan national allegedly attacked a woman. The visit to Prairie du Chien comes as Republicans work to parlay frustration over illegal immigration into votes for Trump. By Todd Richmond. SENT: 580 words, photos. Speech at 3:30 p.m.

ELECTION 2024-DEBATE-VANCE — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has a reputation for being informed, articulate and all but unflappable. Those qualities will no doubt be on display when the Yale-educated U.S. senator from Ohio meets Tim Walz on the debate stage Tuesday. By Julie Carr Smyth. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-DEBATE-WALZ — Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz knows how to lean into abortion rights on the debate stage. He’s done it before. Just ask the Minnesota governor’s Republican opponent in the 2022 campaign, Dr. Scott Jensen. He says Walz is a nimble debater but sometimes prone to word salad. By Steve Karnowski. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.

CENTRAL PARK FIVE-GET OUT VOTE — A few dozen New Yorkers boarded a bus in Harlem on Friday with civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton and members of the group formerly known as the Central Park Five, bound for Philadelphia, where they toured the city hoping to energize the youth vote ahead of the 2024 election. SENT: 970 words, photos, video.

US--ELECTION 2024-NORTH CAROLINA-GOVERNOR — North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson received burns during a campaign appearance Friday evening in his bid for governor, but his campaign says he is in good spirits and will contiue on the campaign trail. SENT: 290 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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US-COLORADO SUPERMARKET SHOOTING-CONNECTIONS — Daughter finds “earth angel” in woman who made her dad laugh before 2021 Colorado supermarket shooting. It’s one of several connections that Erika Mahoney has made with those impacted by the shooting. SENT: 1,020 words, photos, video.

TYRE-NICHOLS — A friend of one of the former Memphis police officers standing trial in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols testified Friday that he is a kind-hearted, humble person who did his job “by the book.” SENT: 580 words, photos.

VOTER-ID-NORTH-CAROLINA — A North Carolina appeals court on Friday blocked students and employees at the state’s flagship public university from providing a digital identification produced by the school when voting to comply with a new photo ID mandate. SENT: 640 words.

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INTERNATIONAL

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GAMBIA-REMITTANCES — Around 10% of Gambia’s population of 2.5 million has migrated to places in Europe in search of economic opportunities. And though the absence weighs heavily on their communities in rural areas, many say the risk of migrating is worth it. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

EL-SALVADOR-US-PEACE-CORPS — U.S. Peace Corps volunteers returned to El Salvador Friday for the first time since the American force left in 2016 because of violence in the Central American country. SENT: 370 words, photo.

MEXICO-CARTEL-SURVEILLANCE-CAMERAS — Mexican authorities uncover 24 drug cartel surveillance cameras in city on the border with Arizona. SENT: 300 words, photo.

BRAZIL-GREEN-LAKE — The lake in Sao Paulo’s iconic Ibirapuera Park has turned green in recent weeks, as Brazil grapples with a historic drought, both amusing and alarming parkgoers. SENT: 260 words, video.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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ASTEROID-MINI-MOON — Earth will have a temporary “mini moon” for two months. The mini moon is actually an asteroid about the size of a school bus. SENT: 270 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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DODGERS-OHTANI — Shohei Ohtani is locked in at the plate, on the bases, for the NL MVP and now on the Triple Crown. It’s been that kind of late-season surge for the Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter who has already invented the 50-50 club. SENT: 490 words, photos.

TIMBERWOLVES-KNICKS-TRADE — The Minnesota Timberwolves are sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round draft pick in a franchise-altering deal. SENT: 820 words, photos.

WIMBLEDON-EXPANSION — A proposal by Wimbledon organizers to expand the site of the Grand Slam tournament with 39 new tennis courts has been given the green light by local authorities. But some locals have objected to the plans over concerns about the environmental impact. SENT: 270 words, photo.

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HOW TO REACH US

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The Nerve Center 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.

FILE - An aerial view of All England Tennis Club on day seven of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 8, 2019. (Thomas Lovelock/AELTC via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) drives to the basket over Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) during the second half in Game 4 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson, File)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches the flight of his three-run home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Anthony Molina in the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

This image released by NBC shows Jean Smart during promos for "Saturday Night Live" on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, at Studio 8H in New York. (Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via AP)

Lamin Sanneh, center, who supports 22 family members and rarely receives remittances from his migrant brother, plows in Kaiaf , Gambia, on July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

RowVaughn Wells, mother of Tyre Nichols, closes her eyes during a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse during the trial of three former Memphis police officers accused of killing her son Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Erika Mahoney, whose father, Kevin Mahoney, was killed in a 2021 supermarket attack in Boulder, Colo., holds a family photo in Boulder County, Colo., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Yusef Salaam, New York City Council member and a member of ‘The Central Park Five,’ poses for a portrait at the National Action Network headquarters in the Harlem neighborhood of New York as members of the organization prepare to depart on a Get Out the Vote bus tour on Friday, Sep. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Noreen Nasir)

FILE - Former Presidents George Bush, left, and Jimmy Carter, right, stand with President Clinton during a kick-off rally for the President's volunteer summit at Marcus Foster Stadium in Philadelphia, PA., April 27, 1997. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File)

New York City mayor Eric Adams leaves Manhattan federal court after an appearance, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - Visitors pass the Chinese Communist Party flag at the museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Cochise College Douglas Campus in Douglas, Ariz., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a town hall campaign event at Macomb Community College, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hailey Morgan, right, surveys the damage to their flooded home after returning with her children, Aria Skye Hall, 7, left, and Kyle Ross, 7, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Fla. Morgan stayed with her grandmother and her children in Hernando, Fla., as the storm made landfall. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rose from Beirut’s southern suburbs Saturday morning and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes.

Attacks on Hezbollah targets by fighter jets Friday continued into the early hours Saturday after the army said it told residents to evacuate three buildings it was targeting.

Hours before the strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations, vowing that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue — further dimming hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire. Netanyahu abruptly cut his United States visit short and returned to Israel.

More than 720 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict escalated Monday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The United Nations says the number of those displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has more than doubled, with more than 211,000 people now displaced. At least 20 primary health care centers have shut down in hard-hit areas of Lebanon, the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas after it stormed into Israel, sparking the Israel-Hamas war. Top Israeli officials have threatened to repeat the destruction of Gaza in Lebanon if the Hezbollah fire continues, raising fears that Israel’s actions in Gaza since Oct. 7 would be repeated in Lebanon.

Here’s the latest:

CAIRO — An Israeli airstrike killed at least two people and wounded 11 others in the central Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, the Awda hospital said.

The strike hit a house late Friday in the camp, according to the hospital which received the casualties in the first hours of Saturday.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the nearly year-long war. Over the past few days, the Israeli military has carried out strikes in northern and central Gaza, which they said were targeting Hamas militants operating from civilian areas.

TEL AVIV — Hezbollah launched more than two dozen projectiles toward Israel Saturday morning, triggering sirens in more than 100 cities and towns across Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said a surface-to-surface missile was fired from Lebanese territory and fell in an open area in central Israel. Israeli media said the missile fell in the sea.

No injuries or damages were reported, according to Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services.

While Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire since Oct. 8 mostly in the area around the border, in the past weeks, the strikes have targeted much deeper into both countries.

This week, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including dozens of women and children, according to Health Ministry statistics. A number of people have been injured in Israel.

BEIRUT — Patients in hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs will be evacuated to medical centers in the capital and the nearby Mount Lebanon region, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says.

In a statement carried by state news agency early Saturday, the ministry called on hospitals in Beirut and Mount Lebanon to stop receiving cases that can be delayed in order to receive patients evacuating from the hard-hit southern suburb Dahiyeh.

The ministry’s decision came after a night of Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh, a predominantly Shiite district. The ministry also called on hospitals and medical centers to care for ill people who fled Dahiyeh overnight as a result of the airstrikes.

BEIRUT — Smoke rose from Beirut’s southern suburbs Saturday morning and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes.

Explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, with flames lighting up the pre-dawn darkness. Fire raged from at least one location, and smoke and flames were seen from above Beirut early Saturday. Residents reported jets flying overhead.

In a short statement, the Israeli military described the sites it hit as belonging to Hezbollah. Authorities there did not immediately acknowledge if there were any casualties.

Shelters set up in the city center for people displaced by the onslaught were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches, or in their cars. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said it killed a Hezbollah missile unit commander and his deputy during a strike in southern Lebanon earlier in the week.

Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that its air forces killed Muhammad Ali Ismail, who it said was responsible for directing “numerous terror attacks” against Israel, including the firing of rockets towards Israeli territory.

The Tuesday strike also killed the commander’s deputy, Hussein Ahmad Ismail, it said.

There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah.

BEIRUT — The United Nations said the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah has forced at least 20 primary health care centers to shut down in hard-hit areas of Lebanon.

The U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said in the latest escalation that began earlier in the week, Israeli airstrikes impacted 25 water facilities, affecting access to clean water for nearly 300,000 in high-risk areas.

The escalation since Sept. 23 has also more than doubled the number of those displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon. There are now over 211,000 people displaced, some 85,000 of them now living in public schools and other shelters spread around the country’s north and east.

A new phase of escalation began Friday, when Israel targeted Hezbollah’s leader in the southern suburb of Beirut, in one of the largest blasts to hit the Lebanese capital in years. The fate of the group’s leader is still unknown. After the initial strike early Friday evening, Israeli warplanes continued to pound buildings and targets in the southern suburb for over six hours. Smoke and balls of fire covered the Beirut skyline for hours.

Flame and smoke rise from Israeli airstrikes hit a residential area that is a Hezbollah stronghold, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2015 file photo, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah addresses a crowd during the holy day of Ashoura, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, 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)

Mourners chant slogans as they carry the coffin of Hezbollah drone commander, Mohammed Hussein Surour, during his funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israeli soldiers work on tanks in northern Israel on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese citizens watch smoke rise from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)