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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ONLY ON AP

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MILITARY EXTREMISM — The number of U.S. service members and veterans who radicalize make up a tiny fraction of a percentage point of the millions and millions who have honorably served their country. But an Associated Press investigation has found that people with military backgrounds have been radicalizing at a faster rate than the general population. The investigation also found that extremist plots involving people with military backgrounds were more likely to involve weapons training or firearms than those plots that didn’t include someone with a military background. By Jason Dearen, Michelle R. Smith and Aaron Kessler. SENT: 4,160 words, photos, video. With MILITARY-EXTREMISM-TAKEAWAYS — SENT.

MCCONNELL-BIOGRAPHY — Mitch McConnell said after the 2020 election that then-President Donald Trump was “stupid as well as being ill-tempered” and a “despicable human being.” That’s according to a new biography of the Senate Republican leader that will be released later this month. McConnell made the remarks in private as part of a series of personal oral histories that he made available to Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 990 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

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ELECTION 2024-TWO RALLIES — Tune into a Donald Trump or Kamala Harris rally and you’ll hear a lot of grim talk. Trump pronounces his rivals evil and says they’re destroying the country. Harris calls Trump an existential threat to democracy and the foundations of American life. Yet their crowds are having a grand old time. By Carolyn Thompson, Jeff Amy and Calvin Woodward. SENT: 1,650 words, photos. With ELECTION-2024 — Harris calls on Republican voters to put ‘country first’ as Trump woos Latino voters; ELECTION-2024-INTERVIEW-TAKEAWAYS — Harris and Trump offer new details about policies and strategy in dueling interviews; and ELECTION 2024-TRANSITION — Harris and Trump are running markedly different transition efforts — SENT.

ELECTION 2024-HARRIS-BLUE WALL — With three weeks left in the presidential campaign, Democrat Kamala Harris is spending most of her days trying to shore up support in the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as she tries to avoid a repeat of Hillary Clinton’s collapse there eight years ago. By Chris Megerian and Will Weissert. SENT: 940 words, photos. With ELECTION-2024-HARRIS — Harris’ interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more; and ELECTION-2024-HARRIS-PLAGIARISM-ALLEGATIONS — Harris campaign calls plagiarism claims a partisan attack. Expert says it was ‘sloppy writing’ — SENT. Find a selection of election related photos in the AP Newsroom.

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-YEMEN — US long-range B-2 stealth bombers target underground bunkers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels; EGYPT-IRAN — Iranian foreign minister discusses regional tensions with Egyptian officials in Cairo; MIDEAST-WARS-GAZA-STUDENT — A Palestinian student was asleep in his tent at a hospital when an Israeli strike brought an inferno; and MIDEAST-WARS-THE-LATEST — An Israeli strike wounds 2 civilians in Syria, its military says — SENT.

MIDEAST-WARS-GAZA — The top U.N. humanitarian official accused Israel of blocking the delivery of desperately needed aid to Gaza, and the U.S. ambassador demanded that its government step up efforts to tackle the Palestinian territory’s ”intolerable and catastrophic humanitarian crisis.” Wednesday’s council meeting follows a U.S. warning to Israel to boost aid efforts dramatically or risk losing funding for weapons from its main supplier. By Edith M. Lederer. SENT: 710 words, photos.

OBIT-LIAM PAYNE — Former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local officials told Argentine media. He was 31. The spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality tells The Associated Press that police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man” and Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.” By Isabel Debre and Kaitlyn Huamani. SENT: 860 words, photos, videos, audio. With LIAM PAYNE — Death of ex-One Direction member Liam Payne at 31 sends shockwaves around the world — SENT.

CHURCH ABUSE-LOS ANGELES — The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades, in what an attorney said was the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese, it was announced. Attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee said in a joint statement, “While there is no amount of money that can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who have suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in accountability.” SENT: 370 words, photo.

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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

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BRIDGE COLLAPSE-TURNER STATION — In the aftermath of the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, residents of a historically Black community northeast of the city are facing an uncertain future. Many residents of this tiny peninsula had spent decades living in the shadow of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Now, some residents of Turner Station have seen their commute times increase drastically, making them question whether they can hold out until a new bridge is built. By Lea Skene. SENT: 1,680 words, photos.

JAPAN-RICE-FARMERS-CLIMATE-CHANGE — In the remote village of Kamimomi in Japan’s western Okayama Prefecture, a small group of rice farmers began their most recent harvest in sweltering heat, two weeks sooner than usual. The prefecture is called “the Land of Sunshine” because of its pleasant climate, but farmers working among the paddy fields and ancient rice terraces say that climate change is hurting the harvest of rice, long a cornerstone of Japan’s diet. By Ayaka McGill. SENT: 800 words, photos.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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EUROPE-NATO-UKRAINE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking support among European Union leaders for what he is calling his “victory plan” to end the devastating war with Russia. Zelenskyy will address European Union leaders holding a summit in Brussels. Then, he’ll shuttle across town to meet with NATO defense ministers. SENT: 600 words, photos. With AUSTRALIA-UKRAINE — Australia gives 49 aging Abrams tanks to Ukraine — SENT.

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MORE NEWS

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GROWLER CRASH-NAVY — Navy finds wreckage of fighter jet that crashed during training in Washington state. SENT: 410 words, photos, audio.

DEAF-MAN-TASER-ARIZONA — Phoenix officers punched and shocked a deaf Black man, body camera footage shows. SENT: 350 words, photos.

NEPAL-FEMALE-CLIMBER — Youngest female to climb 14 tallest peaks says novice climbers should be regulated. SENT: 130 words, photos.

ARGENTINA-MONOPOLY-MONEY — How a broke Argentine province is countering Milei’s deep austerity cuts. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, video.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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BIDEN-GERMANY — President Joe Biden has long believed diplomacy is about personal relationships — and he’ll spend Friday in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as his time in office is on the cusp of ending. There is also a planned meeting with other leaders in the “European Quad,” a group that in addition to Biden and Scholz includes French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. SENT: 610 words, photo.

EDUCATION-STUDENT-LOANS — A student loan cancellation program for public workers has granted relief to more than 1 million Americans — up from just 7,000 who were approved before it was updated by the Biden administration two years ago. SENT: 590 words, photo.

ELECTION-2024-ABORTION — Voters in nine states are deciding next month whether to add the right to abortion to their constitutions, but the measures are unlikely to dramatically change access — at least not immediately. SENT: 850 words, photos.

ELECTION-2024-VANCE-2020-ELECTION — In the months since he became Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance has repeatedly deflected questions about whether the Republican presidential nominee lost the 2020 election, saying he was focused on the future. During a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Vance was more declarative, saying “no” when asked about whether Trump lost the 2020 election. SENT: 330 words, photo.

ELECTION-2024-ELECTION-RULES-GEORGIA — A Georgia judge has declared that seven new election rules recently passed by the State Election Board are “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” The invalidated rules include three that had gotten a lot of attention — one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-NORTH CAROLINA-EARLY VOTING — Early in-person voting is starting up in the presidential battleground state of North Carolina. That includes in the mountains, where some potential voters still lack power and clean running water after Hurricane Helene’s epic flooding last month. SENT: 640 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-MARYLAND — In an election where the future of reproductive rights is on the ballot, Maryland’s all-male congressional delegation stands to gain an influx of women. The delegation has been all-male since 2016, but the state has a long history of female officeholders from both parties. By Lea Skene. SENT: 970 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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TEXAS EXECUTION — A Texas man who could be the first person in the U.S. executed for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome is facing a lethal injection Thursday evening amid assertions by his attorneys and a diverse coalition of supporters who say he’s innocent and was convicted on faulty scientific evidence. SENT: 920 words, photos, video. With SHAKEN BABY CASES-WHAT-TO-KNOW — What to know about shaken baby syndrome as a Texas man could be first in US executed over it — SENT.

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INTERNATIONAL

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BANGLADESH-SHEIKH-HASINA — A special court in Bangladesh has issued arrest warrants for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 others, including her close aides, on charges of crimes against humanity during a student-led uprising in July and August that forced her to flee the country. SENT: 280 words, photo.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — North Korea confirmed its recently revised constitution defines South Korea as “a hostile state” for the first time, two days after it blew up front-line road and rail links that once connected the country with the South. SENT: 870 words, photos, video, audio.

SOUTH-KOREA-HALLOWEEN-CRUSH — A South Korean court found the former police chief of the country’s capital and two other officers not guilty over a botched response to a Halloween crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in 2022. SENT: 470 words, photos.

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: 760 words, photos, video.

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BUSINESS/ TECH

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CHINA-ECONOMY — China has announced it will expand the amount of financing available for housing projects on a “white list” to 4 trillion yuan ($562 billion), seeking to reverse a slump in the property industry. SENT: 300 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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NLCS-DODGERS-METS — By the time Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate in the eighth inning, the Los Angeles Dodgers were already in control. Once the ball left his bat, Game 3 of the National League Championship Series was over. Ohtani launched a three-run homer and the Dodgers pulled away for an 8-0 victory against the choppy New York Mets that gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

LAKERS-LEBRON & BRONNY — LeBron James and his 20-year-son, Bronny, are about to become the first father and son to play on the same NBA team. Yet their historic pairing presents unique challenges that could affect the Los Angeles Lakers’ determination to become a title contender again. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. With LAKERS-NEPOTISM STIGMA — Nepotism debates surrounding LeBron and Bronny James stem from a longstanding stigma in America — SENT.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Richard A. Somma 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.

President Joe Biden, left, and former Presidents Barack Obama, center, and Bill Clinton, right, attend a memorial service for Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who died Oct. 10, 2024 at age 96, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The moon rises next to a neon Big Tex at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three-run home run against the New York Mets during the eighth inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A relative hugs Saray Barrios — whose husband, brother and brother in-law were arrested in a crackdown after protests against the election results — during a manifestation outside Tocuyito prison in Carabobo state, Venezuela, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacinto Oliveros)

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)

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)

Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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)

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders used a summit Thursday to seek ways to make the bloc a more hostile destination for migrants and asylum seekers following a recent surge in support for the extreme right, which has fomented opposition to foreigners.

As the summit opened in Brussels, EU leaders were already looking at plans to speed up initiatives to get unwanted migrants out of the bloc and process asylum applications far outside their borders, seeking to buttress a reputation as a “Fortress Europe.”

“We see that there is a different mood in Europe,” said Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who heads a government dominated by the party of far-right firebrand Geert Wilders.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that up to now, raising such issues was “a bit like shouting in an empty sports hall.” Now, she added, “there are many countries that work together on this.”

“A great number of Europeans are tired of us helping people from outside who commit crimes. Some are radicalized," she said. "It can’t go on like this. Therefore, there is a limit as to how many people we can help.”

The tenor of the debate is a far cry from 2015, less than a decade ago, when the EU was faced with a migration crisis. Well over a million migrants and refugees sought help then, mainly from the Middle East and Afghanistan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU's dominant national leader at the time, famously said, “We can manage that.”

Now, EU leaders want to manage and seal off their borders ever more tightly, embracing initiatives that would have looked unacceptable only a few years ago.

In recent weeks, Poland has said it wants to temporarily suspend the right to asylum, Italy has opened two centers to process asylum seekers outside its borders in Albania, and Germany has reinstated border controls — all of them measures going in the same direction.

The plan lays out rules for the 27 member countries to handle people trying to enter without authorization, from how to screen them to establish whether they qualify for protection to deporting them if they’re not allowed to stay. It also sets out a mechanism for burden-sharing, which has been rejected by Hungary and Poland.

But with the extreme right surging in the EU parliamentary elections in June and in other polls in Germany and Austria since, migration remains a trigger button for leaders.

Even if some 3.5 million migrants arrived legally in Europe in 2023, some 1 million others were on EU territory without permission.

Politically, populist and hard right parties have had success in pushing for tougher migration rules, and after wins in German regional elections, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is feeling the heat too.

He called the new EU asylum system “great progress” and pushed for it to be "introduced earlier everywhere in Europe.”

He said individual countries’ measures such as border controls introduced by Germany have led to “a significant reduction of irregular migration.”

He insisted that “not everyone can come” and added, ”the reduction of irregular migration is the precondition for the openness we need.”

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underscored that with an unusually detailed pre-summit letter to the leaders, insisting there was “no room for complacency” as she called for parts of the 2026 plan to be in place much sooner.

She also extends it to setting up “innovative” projects, like Italy's outsourcing of asylum applications to Albania. “We will also be able to draw lessons from this experience in practice,” von der Leyen wrote.

Schoof's Dutch government is looking at Uganda to set up the outsourcing. “These are innovative solutions that should in principle interest our colleagues here,” he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will also be presenting his plan to suspend the right for migrants to seek asylum, one of the fundamental rights established in Europe after World War II.

Poland has accused Belarus and Russia of organizing the mass transfer of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to the EU’s eastern borders to destabilize the West. Tusk says it is part of a hybrid war as Moscow continues its nearly three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Even though Tusk was criticized by several human rights organizations, others have shown understanding for Poland's predicament.

But EU nations have for years been deeply divided over how to deal with migrants arriving irregularly in the bloc and how to share the effort to deal with them, making it unlikely that any decisive action will come out of Thursday's summit.

Corder reported from The Hague. Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen talks to journalists during an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Latvia's Prime Minister Evika Silina arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Activists, holding pictures of the Italian and Albanian premiers dressed as police officers, protest at the entrance of the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, following the arrival of an Italian navy ship carrying the first group of migrants who were intercepted in international waters. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

Migrantw and security officials walk at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 after disembarking from the Italian navy ship Libra, carrying the first group of 16 migrants intercepted in international waters. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)

A migrant walks next to security officials at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 after he and other migrants disembarked from the Italian navy ship Libra carrying the first group of 16 migrants intercepted in international waters. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj)