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.

Time is running short to join our exclusive U.S. election webinars! Click here to join the AP Customer Zone group “You’re Invited” to register for our webinar series that will help your newsroom prepare for the General Election. You also can view recordings of other election webinars, as well as recordings of our ongoing series.

——————————-

NEW/DEVELOPING

——————————--

ELECTION-2024; ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-HARRIS; ELECTION 2024-TRANSITION; ELECTION 2024-INTERVIEW TAKEAWAYS; ELECTION 2024-FOX NEWS; ITALY-SURROGACY BAN; TEXAS EXECUTION; HIV TRANSPLANT; DC-PANDAS; GROWLER CRASH-NAVY; JIMMY CARTER-VOTING; SUPREME COURT-POWER PLANTS; TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT; ELECTION 2024-INTERVIEW TAKEAWAYS; ETHEL KENNEDY MEMORIAL; CALIFORNIA-MENENDEZ-BROTHERS-CASE; JOURNALIST KILLED-LAS VEGAS; CANADA-INDIA; LETTERS OF INTENT; WOMEN’S SPORTS FOUNDATION-AT 50; OBIT-LIAM PAYNE; MEXICAN SECURITY CHIEF-SENTENCING.

——————————

ONLY ON AP

——————————

CANADA EUTHANASIA-DOCTORS AND ETHICS — A homeless man refusing long-term care, a woman with severe obesity, grieving widows. Each euthanasia request sparked debate among Canadian doctors and nurses struggling with the ethics of one of the most permissive laws globally on the practice. That’s according to forum messages provided to The Associated Press by a participant on condition of anonymity due to confidentiality. By Maria Cheng and Angie Wang. SENT: 2,280 words, photos. With CANADA-EUTHANASIA-DOCTORS-AND-ETHICS-TAKEAWAYS.

——————————

TOP STORIES

——————————

ELECTION-2024 — Kamala Harris urged Republican voters to put “country first” and abandon Donald Trump. Trump addresses Latino voters, defending his call for mass deportation of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally even as he nods to a need for immigrant labor. By Will Weissert, Adriana Gomez Licon and Thomas Beaumont. SENT: 530 words, photos. With ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-HARRIS — Trump offers an uncharacteristic compliment to Harris, noting her ability to “survive” — though it comes with a subtle jab; ELECTION 2024-TRANSITION — Harris and Trump are running markedly different transition efforts; ELECTION-2024-THE-LATEST; Find a selection of election related photos in the AP Newsroom. Also see ELECTION 2024-INTERVIEW TAKEAWAYS and ELECTION 2024-FOX NEWS below.

MIDEAST-WARS — Israeli airstrikes pounded areas across Lebanon, killing at least 27 people over the past 24 hours, officials said, including more than a dozen in a southern town where Israeli bombardments in previous conflicts are seared into local memory. By Mohammad Zaatari, Kareem Chehayeb and Sally Abou Aljoud. SENT: 1,220 words, photos, video, audio. With MIDEAST-WARS-THE-LATEST

ITALY-SURROGACY BAN — Italy criminalized citizens who go abroad to have children through surrogacy, a measure slammed by opponents as “medieval” and discriminatory to same-sex couples. By Giada Zampano and Paolo Santalucia. SENT: 360 words, photo.

TEXAS EXECUTION — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request for clemency for a man who this week could be the first person in the U.S. executed for a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. By Juan A. Lozano. SENT: 880 words, photo. With SHAKEN BABY CASES-WHAT-TO-KNOW — What to know about shaken baby syndrome.

HIV TRANSPLANT — People with HIV can safely receive donated kidneys from deceased donors with HIV, according to a large study that comes as the U.S. government is on the verge of expanding the practice — a move that could shorten the wait for organs for all, regardless of HIV status. By Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson. SENT: 560 words, photos.

GENDER-WAGE-GAP — The first widening of the gender wage in 20 years is the latest indication that many women have paid a price for leaving the workforce at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, either because they lost their jobs or because they quit because of caretaking responsibilities. But the finding in a recent Census Bureau report captures a complicated moment for women in the post-pandemic recovery, and not all the news is bad. By Business Writers Alexandra Olson and Claire Savage. SENT: 1,230 words, photos, audio.

——————————————————

SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

——————————————————

CONGO-MENTAL HEALTH — Years of conflict in eastern Congo have created a dire mental health crisis. Aid groups say the number of people seeking care has spiked as fighting intensifies. Some of the worst affected struggle to survive in cramped, violent displacement sites that aren’t conducive to recovery. By Sam Mednick and Ruth Alonga. SENT: 1,110 words, photos, video.

———————————

MORE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

———————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-VICTORY-PLAN — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told lawmakers that Ukraine’s Western partners are increasing pressure to negotiate with Russia, but he hinted such talks would be unfavorable to Kyiv as he unveiled what he called his “victory plan” for the war. SENT: 1,010 words, photos, audio.

——————————-

MORE NEWS

——————————-

DC-PANDAS — D.C.’s newest power couple, pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao, are settling into their new home at the National Zoo. SENT: 760 words, photos.

GROWLER CRASH-NAVY — U.S. Navy fighter jet with two on board crashes during training in Washington state. SENT: 390 words, photos, audio.

JIMMY CARTER-VOTING — Jimmy Carter, at age 100, casts his 2024 ballot by mail. SENT: 250 words, photos.

——————————————————

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

——————————————————

ELECTION-2024-TRUMP-AGE — If he wins next month’s election, Donald Trump would be the oldest person in U.S. history elected president. Yet the 78-year-old Republican nominee is refusing to disclose new details about his physical or mental well-being, breaking decades of precedent. SENT: 1,600 words, photos. An abridged version of 980 words is also available.

SUPREME COURT-POWER PLANTS — The Supreme Court allows a Biden administration rule aimed at limiting planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants to remain in place as legal challenges play out. SENT: 530 words, photo.

TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT — The federal judge overseeing the election interference case against Donald Trump directs prosecutors to provide the former president’s lawyers any Justice Department information related to a separate investigation into Mike Pence’s handling of classified documents. SENT: 610 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-INTERVIEW TAKEAWAYS — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump embark on an interview blitz that offered new details about their policy priorities and their political strategies. SENT: 810 words, photos. With ELECTION 2024-FOX NEWS — Harris brings her campaign to Fox News Channel, a place many Democrats have long considered enemy territory.

ETHEL KENNEDY MEMORIAL — President Joe Biden caps a memorial service for Ethel Kennedy by recalling the wife of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy as “a hero in her own right.” Biden was joined by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton in speaking at the memorial service. SENT: 910 words, photos.

————————

NATIONAL

————————

MEXICAN SECURITY CHIEF-SENTENCING — The man once heralded as the architect of Mexico’s war on drug cartels was sentenced to more than 38 years in a U.S. prison for taking massive bribes to aid drug traffickers. SENT: 710 words, photo.

CALIFORNIA-MENENDEZ-BROTHERS-CASE — More than a dozen family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez made an emotional call for their release from prison, saying they were “brutalized” and sexually abused by their father and then “vilified” by a society that was not ready to hear that boys could be raped. SENT: 900 words, photos, audio.

JOURNALIST KILLED-LAS VEGAS — A former Las Vegas-area Democratic elected official was sentenced to serve at least 28 years in Nevada state prison for killing an investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of his conduct in office two years ago and exposed an intimate relationship with a female coworker. SENT: 890 words, photos, audio.

EDUCATION-HURRICANES — Tens of thousands of students in the Southeast are dealing with school disruptions after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc so severe — on homes, campuses and municipal power and water systems — that some districts have no idea when they will reopen. By Education Writers Jocelyn Gecker, Moriah Balingit and Michael Melia. SENT: 1,080 words, photos, audio. With HURRICANE-RECOVERY-FUNDING — Federal money to help states hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton nears $2 billion.

————————————

INTERNATIONAL

————————————

CANADA-INDIA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada’s national police force went public with its allegations against Indian diplomats this week because it had to disrupt violent acts in Canada including drive-by-shootings, extortions and even murder. SENT: 720 words, photos, video.

NIGERIA-TANKER-EXPLOSION — More than 140 people, including children, were killed in Nigeria when an overturned gasoline tanker truck exploded in flames while they tried to scoop up fuel, emergency services said. Dozens more were injured. SENT: 350 words, photos, audio.

———————————————

HEALTH & SCIENCE

———————————————-

CLIMATE-COSTLY-HURRICANES — Monstrous hurricanes Helene and Milton caused so much complex havoc that damages are still being added up, but government and private experts say they will likely join the infamous ranks of Katrina, Sandy and Harvey as super costly $50-billion-plus killers. By Science Writer Seth Borenstein. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, video.

——————————————

ENTERTAINMENT

—————————————-

OBIT-LIAM PAYNE — Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local officials told Argentine media. SENT: 100 words, photo. UPCOMING: Developing, will be updated, video.

——————

SPORTS

——————

LETTERS OF INTENT — The time-honored tradition of high school athletes proudly sitting behind a table and signing a national letter of intent is a thing of the past. In its place starting in a matter of weeks, athletes will ink their name to something different — a financial aid package that will likely be tied to a revenue-sharing contract. By National Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.

WOMEN’S SPORTS FOUNDATION-AT 50 — Billie Jean King started the Women’s Sports Foundation with a $5,000 check. She’s turned that investment into $100 million and a half century of helping girls and women achieve their dreams through travel and training grants, local sports programs and mentoring athletes and coaches. By Sports Writer Melissa Murphy. SENT: 860 words, photos.

——————————————

HOW TO REACH US

——————————————

At the Nerve Center, Jerome Minerva 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.

This illustration provided by Caltech depicts the orbits of brown dwarf twins, Gliese 229Ba and Gliese 229Bb, with a separation only 16 times larger than the distance between Earth and the Moon. The pair of stars orbits a cool M-dwarf star every 250 years. (K. Miller, R. Hurt/Caltech/IPAC)

Ukrainian servicemen of Khartia brigade fire D-30 Howitzer towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Israeli security forces survey damage to a home struck by a rocket fired from Lebanon in the town of Majd al-Krum, northern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, arrives at Trenton-Mercer Airport, in Mercer County, New Jersey, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, en route to a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A supporter greets Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump after a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

John Olsen, from left, his daughter Alice and his wife Ruby, of Ankeny, Iowa, cast their ballots during early voting at the Polk County Election Office, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A man rides a bicycle in front of a banner reading: "A rape is a rape," in Avignon, southern France, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Forgiato Blow wears a necklace with a likeness of former President Donald Trump before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Tyra Banks walks the runway during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Ineos Britannia crosses the finish line as they win the race 5 of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 4, in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) — Surrounded by more than 100 former Republican office holders and officials, Democrat Kamala Harris urged GOP voters on Wednesday to put “country first” and abandon Donald Trump.

The Democratic presidential candidate made her case to Republican voters that the patriotic choice was her party in next month's election because Trump is “unstable” and “unhinged" and would eviscerate democratic norms if given a second White House term.

“America must heed this warning," said Harris, speaking at a rally near where Gen. George Washington led hundreds of troops across the Delaware River to a major victory in the Revolutionary War.

Joined by the former lawmakers and government officials for a rally in the Philadelphia suburbs, Harris said, “Anyone who tramples on our democratic values as Donald Trump has, anyone who has called for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution of the United States as Donald Trump has, must never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States."

The rally was part of Harris' effort to appeal to a swath of Republican voters in battleground states that she believes still can be swayed.

With 20 days to go, Harris is hoping to tear away any Republican or on-the-fence voter by warning that Trump is looking to govern with “unchecked power.” She has pledged to nominate a Republican to her Cabinet and create a bipartisan council to advise her on policy matters if elected.

Meanwhile, Trump addressed Latino voters in Miami, Florida. It's a group that historically has leaned Democratic but that Republicans have made inroads with.

Trump is walking a tightrope as he looks to woo Latino voters.

On Wednesday, he defended his call for mass deportation of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, even as he nodded to a need for immigrant labor during a town hall-style event on Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language network.

“We want workers, and we want them to come in, but they have to come in legally, and they have to love our country,” the Republican presidential candidate said during the event, scheduled to air Wednesday evening. Trump was answering the question of Jorge Velásquez, a farm worker who said most people doing such jobs are undocumented and suggested, if they're deported, food prices will increase.

Trump then returned to his criticism of Harris for being a critical player in the Biden administration's that presided over an influx of migrants with criminal backgrounds.

The event featured pointed questions for Trump, about his wife Melania's support for abortion rights, noted in her new memoir, and about the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters who breached the building in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results.

“Your own vice president doesn’t want to support you now," said Ramiro Gonzalez, of Tampa, Florida, a Republican who said he was no longer registered with the party but wanted to give Trump the chance to win him back. Gonzalez was referring to former Vice President Mike Pence, who has disavowed Trump in light of Jan. 6.

Trump's response: “Hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn’t come because of me. They came because of the election. They thought the election was a rigged election. That’s why they came."

“That was a day of love from the standpoint of the millions," Trump told Gonzalez.

Harris was in Bucks County, a vote-rich stretch of suburban Philadelphia where Democrats have held a narrow advantage in recent presidential elections. Her advisers believe she needs to improve her margins in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs to win the state's 19 electoral votes.

Harris was joined for her rally by former Reps. Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois as well as Republican officials from every administration going back to Ronald Reagan.

“No matter your party, no matter who you voted for last time, there is a place for you in this campaign,” Harris said. “The coalition we have built has room for everyone who is ready to turn the page on the chaos and instability of Donald Trump.”

Several of the GOP surrogates said that supporting a Democrat felt awkward but was necessary due to Trump's rejection of electoral norms and his support of the rioters who tried to stop the certification of his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

“You know, Donald Trump may be running as a Republican, but the truth is, he does not share those long held Republican values of supporting democracy, of standing for the rule of law, and a faithfulness to the Constitution as a Republican," Kinzinger said. “That saddens me.”

Harris tapped a couple, Pennsylvania farmers Bob and Kristina Lange who had previously backed Trump, to introduce her at the rally. Bob twice voted for Trump and Kristina backed him in 2016.

“Never in a million years did either of us think that we’d be standing here supporting a Democrat,” Kristina Lange said. “But we’ve had enough. We’ve had enough.”

Some of the rallygoers who have voted Republican in the past said they were looking for the party to rewind to its fiscal conservative roots.

“We need more Republicans to stand up and say, ‘This is not what our party is about, this is not what we are about,’” said Sarah Larson, 53, of East Rockhill Township, who last voted for a Republican presidential candidate in 2008 when John McCain was at the top of the ticket. “It’s not what we recognize anymore as Republican values - which is less government, more freedom - right now."

Trump and Harris also campaigned in Pennsylvania Monday, when the Republican was in nearby Oaks while Harris was on the opposite end of the state in Erie County, among Pennsylvania's most closely divided counties over the past two presidential contests.

Harris' simplest path toward the 270-vote winning threshold in the Electoral College is by carrying a trio of northern battleground states, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Harris campaigned in Detroit Tuesday and planned to campaign in three Wisconsin cities Thursday.

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Maryclaire Dale in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, contributed reporting.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris talks with former Rep. Jim Greenwood, R-Pa., before she speaks during a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a Univision town hall, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a Univision town hall, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Doral, Fla., with Televisa's Enrique Acevedo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a Univision town hall, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris hugs a child after speaking during a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, in Washington Crossing, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republicans who are supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris stand on stage during a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a Univision town hall, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - In this combination image, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/File)