AP News Digest 6 p.m.

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan in AP Newsroom.

———————————-

NEW/DEVELOPING

———————————-

LEBANON-FRANCE; ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CAMPUS-PROTESTS; SEVERE-WEATHER; RUSSIA-NAVALNY; TEXANS-DELL SHOT; VAMPIRE FACIALS-HIV TRANSMISSION; ELECTION 2024-CONGRESS-GEORGIA; PARTY VENUE SHOOTING-FLORIDA; PARKER RETIRES.

————————————————-

WEEKEND COVERAGE

————————————————-

For weekend stories, please click here for the Weekend Lookahead digest.

——————————

TOP STORIES

——————————

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — The White House said President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza. By Tia Goldenberg, Jon Gambrell and Samy Magdy. SENT: 980 words, photo, videos, audio. With LEBANON-FRANCE — Top French diplomat arrives in Lebanon in attempt to broker a halt to Hezbollah-Israel clashes.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CAMPUS-PROTESTS — Protests are roiling college campuses nationwide as administrators with graduation ceremonies next month face demands that schools cut financial ties to Israel against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war. By Carolyn Thompson and Margery Beck. SENT: 1,190 words, photos, videos, audio. With ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CAMPUS-PROTESTS-AMNESTY — College protesters seek amnesty to keep arrests and suspensions from trailing them; ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CAMPUS-PROTESTS-GLANCE.

SEVERE-WEATHER — Tornadoes killed four people in Oklahoma and left thousands without power after a destructive outbreak of severe weather flattened buildings in the heart of one rural town and injured at least 100 people across the state. By Ken Miller. SENT: 710 words, photos.

RUSSIA-NAVALNY — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 270 words, photo.

HAWAII-TAINTED-WATER-TRIAL-PREVIEW — Richelle Dietz and her family have been using bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth ever since 2021, when leaking jet fuel infiltrated the water system on their military base. Dietz is among 17 people suing the United States over health problems they blame on the tainted water. The outcome could help determine the success of other cases involving 7,500 people. By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher. SENT: 950 words, photos.

BLACK-CHURCH-WOMEN PASTORS — With rousing sermons, and even a prominent gender-discrimination lawsuit, women are making a strong case for a greater share of leadership in the Black Church, though they face obstacles in the form of a long-entrenched patriarchal culture. By Darren Sands. SENT: 1,350 words, photos. This is the Monday Spotlight.

—————————————————

SPOTLIGHTING VOICES

—————————————————

AFRICA-FARMING’S CLIMATE CHALLENGE — From ancient fertilizer methods in Zimbabwe to new greenhouse technology in Somalia, farmers across the heavily agriculture-reliant African continent are looking both to the past and future to respond to climate change. By Farai Mutsaka, Omar Faruk and Desmond Tiro. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

INDIGENOUS-WILD ONION DINNERS — Wild onions are among the first foods to grow at the tail end of winter in the South, and generations of Indigenous people place the alliums at the center of an annual communal event that highlights their heritage. By Graham Lee Brewer. SENT: 900 words, photos, video.

————————————————

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

————————————————

UNITED STATES-MIDEAST-BLINKEN — Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken will visit the Mideast again this coming week. What can he achieve this time? SENT: 550 words, photos. With MIDEAST-TENSIONS — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim downing U.S. Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft.

——————————————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

——————————————————

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — Ukraine’s troops have been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the embattled east, the country’s army chief said, warning of a worsening battlefield situation as Ukrainian forces wait for much-needed arms from a huge U.S. aid package to reach combat zones. SENT: 770 words, photos.

———————————

MORE NEWS

———————————

MEDIA-CBS DAN RATHER — Once dominant at CBS News before a bitter departure, Dan Rather makes his first return in 18 years. SENT: 470 words, photos.

TEXANS-DELL SHOT — Texans receiver Tank Dell shot in Florida, sustains minor wound. SENT: 100 words, photo.

VAMPIRE FACIALS-HIV TRANSMISSION — CDC says it’s identified first documented cases of HIV transmitted through cosmetic needles. SENT: 280 words, photo.

FILM-BOX OFFICE — Zendaya tennis movie “Challengers” scores at weekend box office. SENT: 830 words, photos, audio.

—————————————————

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

—————————————————

ELECTION 2024-BIDEN MOCKING TRUMP — President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president’s thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders. SENT: 1,070 words, photos, videos, audio.

ELECTION 2024-THREE PRESIDENTS — As Trump campaigns for a return to the White House, he often reaches back more than 40 years to belittle Biden by comparing him to 99-year-old former President Jimmy Carter. SENT: 1,270 words, photos.

BIDEN-CORRESPONDENTS-DINNER — The war in Gaza spurred large protests outside a glitzy roast with Biden, journalists, politicians and celebrities but went all but unmentioned by participants inside, with Biden instead using the annual White House correspondents’ dinner to make both jokes and grim warnings about Republican rival Trump. SENT: 1,040 words, photos, videos.

ELECTION 2024-CONGRESS-GEORGIA — Brian Jack sought to make a debate among Republican candidates for an open Georgia congressional seat all about his close ties to Trump, while the other contenders ignored Trump’s endorsement of Jack. SENT: 620 words, photos.

—————————

NATIONAL

—————————

PARTY VENUE SHOOTING-FLORIDA — A teenage gunman wounded 10 people when he opened fire after fighting broke out during a private event at a Florida party venue, authorities said. SENT: 350 words.

POLICE SHORTAGES-HIRING INCREASES — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows. SENT: 870 words, photos, audio.

—————————————

INTERNATIONAL

—————————————

IRAQ-LGBTQ LAW — Human rights groups and diplomats criticized a law that was quietly passed by the Iraqi parliament over the weekend that would impose heavy prison sentences on gay and transgender people. SENT: 490 words, photo, video.

JAPAN-POLITICS — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing party, stung by an extensive slush funds scandal, appeared to have lost all three seats in parliamentary by-elections, according to media exit polls and preliminary results. SENT: 520 words, photo.

ITALY-MUSSOLINI ANNIVERSARY — Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution. SENT: 480 words, photos, audio.

CAMBODIA-EXPLOSION — A funeral was held for 20 soldiers who died at an army base in southwestern Cambodia in a huge explosion of stored munitions that also wounded several others and damaged nearby houses. SENT: 440 words, photos.

PERU-EMBATTLED REPORTER — One of Latin America’s most storied journalists, Gustavo Gorriti has endured death threats from drug traffickers, survived Peru’s harrowing Shining Path insurgency and a kidnapping by silencer-toting military intelligence agents during a 1992 presidential power grab. Then an aggressive lymphatic cancer struck the 75-year-old. Now, a smear campaign, amplified by complicit, cowed or indifferent broadcast and print media, portrayed him as Public Enemy No. 1. SENT: 1,310 words, photos.

—————————

BUSINESS

—————————

DISNEY CHARACTERS-UNIONS — The character performers at Disneyland in California have said they filed a petition for union recognition. SENT: 970 words, photo.

DUBAI-AIRPORT — Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, will move its operations to the city-state’s second, sprawling airfield in its southern desert reaches “within the next 10 years” in a project worth nearly $35 billion, its ruler said. SENT: 540 words, photos.

———————

SPORTS

———————

PARKER RETIRES — Three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker announced she’s retiring after 16 seasons. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. SENT: 690 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.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews observe the part of the intercepted ballistic missile that fell in the desert near the city of Arad, Israel, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The suspected Israeli killing of Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria on April 1 prompted Iran's retaliatory barrage last weekend of more than 300 missiles and drones that the U.S., Israel and regional and international partners helped bat down without significant damage in Israel. And then came Friday's apparent Israeli strike. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg)

A car lies on its side after being knocked over during a tornado that tore through downtown Sulphur, Okla., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ken Miller)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe reacts after getting a yellow card during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Le Havre at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Pope Francis is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People light candles during a vigil for three police officer in front of Chile's police headquarters in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, April 27, 2024. Armed assailants ambushed and killed three law enforcement officers in southern Chile on Saturday before setting their car on fire, authorities said. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Emergency personnel clean up the damage in Minden, Iowa on Saturday, April 27, 2024, after a tornado the previous evening. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Demonstrators hang a Palestinian flag out a window at the Washington Hilton hotel during a protest over the Israel-Hamas war, at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Saturday April 27, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Police arrest protesters attempting to camp in support of Palestinians on Washington University's campus in St. Louis, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Christine Tannous/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Standing in his dress uniform in the back of his Aurus convertible, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was driven around Red Square to review the troops during last week's Victory Day parade. It was to be his last inspection in that role.

Over the weekend, President Vladimir Putin replaced Shoigu — the 68-year-old was the longest serving member of his Cabinet — in a rare Kremlin shake-up that took place even as a Russian offensive in northeastern Ukraine was making gains.

Just as stunning was the choice to replace Shoigu — Andrei Belousov, a 65-year-old economics expert who has never dealt with the military or other law enforcement agencies.

Putting Belousov in charge of the Defense Ministry was seen as a way to tighten control over military spending and put the burgeoning defense sector in sync with the rest of the economy, hit hard by Western sanctions.

The reshuffle caught more than a few pundits by surprise, and some mysteries are yet to unfold.

Shoigu’s job seemed to be in jeopardy early in the 2022 invasion as Russia suffered battlefield setbacks that drew the ire of Russia's hawks. He and the chief of the military’s General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, were widely blamed for the failure to capture Kyiv as well as a hasty retreat by Russian troops from northeastern and southern Ukraine amid a stiff counteroffensive.

Last year, Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin unleashed a blistering and profane verbal attack on Shoigu and Gerasimov, accusing them of incompetence and corruption. In June, Prigozhin launched a mutiny to demand their ouster, seizing the military headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and sending his soldiers-for-hire on a march on Moscow that he called off hours later.

Two months later, Prigozhin and his top lieutenants died in a suspicious plane crash widely seen as Kremlin payback, while Shoigu seemed to shore up his position. The Kremlin denied involvement.

Even though he has held the defense minister's job for 11 1/2 years, Shoigu's fortunes seemed to take a further downturn last month. His deputy, Timur Ivanov, was arrested on bribery charges and hauled into court still in his military uniform. Ivanov had been Shoigu’s top associate since before becoming defense minister, and Kremlin watchers saw it as a serious blow.

But Putin is known to abhor firings under pressure, and the staunchly loyal Shoigu — who has accompanied the president on vacations in the Siberian mountains over the years — was no exception. Shoigu got a soft landing, shifted to heading the presidential Security Council and replacing Nikolai Patrushev. The role is roughly similar to the U.S. national security adviser.

Patrushev, a longtime hawkish and powerful member of Putin’s inner circle, will get a new appointment to be announced soon, the Kremlin said, leaving another unanswered question.

“Shoigu is moving into a respectable and powerful position because he is loyal, and he and Putin are friends,” Dara Massicot, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment’s Russia and Eurasia Program, said on the social media platform X.

While Shoigu gets a dignified exit from the Defense Ministry, Belousov "will probably make organizational changes,” Massicot said.

Putting an economist in charge of the Defense Ministry was seen as a way of better managing what is an increasing drain on Russia's wealth as the war's third year drags on.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized the need to integrate the military sector more closely with the economy to “put it in sync with the current dynamics.”

Belousov graduated from the economics faculty of Moscow State University and held a succession of senior government jobs before serving as Putin’s economic adviser in 2013-20. Since then, he was a deputy prime minister in charge of economic strategies, advocating stronger state controls.

Deeply religious, Belousov has talked repeatedly about needing to uphold “traditional family values” putting him in line with Putin’s conservative agenda.

When Moscow illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, Belousov reportedly was the only member of Putin’s economic team who immediately supported the move.

Belousov isn’t Russia’s first civilian defense minister. Although Shoigu loved wearing the uniform, he had no military background; before becoming the minister, he had led the Emergency Situations Ministry, responsible for civil defense and addressing natural disasters. Previous defense ministers were Anatoly Serdyukov, the head of tax police, and Sergei Ivanov, the former foreign intelligence chief.

But Belousov’s predecessors all got the job in peacetime while he takes over in what many military analysts see as a decisive moment in the war — when Russia is trying to take advantage of a slowdown in the West sending weapons to Ukraine.

The Kremlin sought to ease the widespread bewilderment over choosing Belousov as defense minister by emphasizing that Gerasimov — the chief of the General Staff — actually directs the fighting in Ukraine.

“The chief of the General Staff is in many ways the key person who reports directly to the commander-in-chief, Putin, and the minister is really just to ensure that the military have what they need,” said Mark Galeotti, head of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy.

“Having an economist, someone who has been speaking about the need to basically subordinate much of the economy to the needs of the defense sector, actually makes a certain amount of sense. It’s now essentially a financial administrator’s job,” he said in a commentary.

Galeotti said Putin could still replace Gerasimov, describing him as “unimaginative, prone to truly wasteful operations,” and “absolutely unwilling to actually tell the commander-in-chief, to tell Putin, some of the realities of war. The Ukrainians must be hoping that he stays.”

Belousov is widely expected to purge the ministry of Shoigu’s top associates -– a move that would hardly encourage stability at a key moment in the conflict.

Still, Massicot and other observers believe that some popular commanders whom Shoigu saw as rivals and tried to sideline — including Gen. Sergei Surovikin, known to have longtime links to Prigozhin and credited for building multilayered defenses that stymied Ukraine's botched counteroffensive last summer — could again get senior positions.

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, said Putin’s key motive was to rein in graft in the top brass, embodied by figures like Ivanov, who was arrested in April and accused of taking massive bribes.

“The situation with Timur Ivanov has shown that corruption has exceeded all limits,” Markov said. Another task for Belousov will be to work more closely with industries to modernize the military quickly, he added.

Putin likely expects Belousov to better integrate the Defense Ministry’s agenda with broader economic policies, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank.

“This effort sets conditions for a fuller economic mobilization, suggesting that the Kremlin continues to prepare for a protracted war in Ukraine,” it said.

Alexandra Prokopenko of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center also sees Belousov’s appointment as a sign the Kremlin envisions a long war.

“Putin’s priority is war; war of attrition is won by economics,” she wrote. “Belousov is in favor of stimulating demand from the budget, which means that military spending will at least not decrease but rather increase.”

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is driven along Red Square in an Aurus car during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 9, 2024, marking the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

FILE - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is driven along Red Square in an Aurus car during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2024, marking the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Kremlin says Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree appointing Sergei Shoigu as secretary of Russia’s national security council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev. The appointment Sunday comes after Putin proposed to appoint Andrei Belousov as the country’s defense minister instead of Shoigu, who has served in the post for years. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov speaks to the mobile phone before a meeting of the Skolkovo Foundation Board of Trustees in Moscow region, Russia, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed removing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from his post. Putin nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for the role. His appointment must now be approved by Russian lawmakers. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Pool Photo via AP)

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed removing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from his post. Putin nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for the role. His appointment must now be approved by Russian lawmakers. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, gestures as he speaks to Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov prior to a meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin with the top military brass in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. The Kremlin says Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree appointing Sergei Shoigu as secretary of Russia's national security council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev. The appointment Sunday comes after Putin proposed to appoint Andrei Belousov as the country's defense minister instead of Shoigu, who has served in the post for years. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed removing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from his post. Putin nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for the role. His appointment must now be approved by Russian lawmakers. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, talks with Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, left, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu after a meeting with military leaders in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 19, 2023. The Kremlin says Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree appointing Sergei Shoigu as secretary of Russia's national security council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev. The appointment Sunday comes after Putin proposed to appoint Andrei Belousov as the country's defense minister instead of Shoigu, who has served in the post for years. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu leave Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 9, 2024, marking the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed removing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from his post. Putin nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for the role. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, center, gestures as he waits to attend a ceremony inaugurating Vladimir Putin as President of Russia at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed removing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from his post. Putin nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov for the role. His appointment must now be approved by Russian lawmakers. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is driven along Red Square in an Aurus car during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 9, 2024, marking the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)