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.

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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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NEW AND DEVELOPING

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Adds ELECTION 2024-HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS-OHIO; REL-VATICAN-FRANCE-ABUSE, BOAR'S HEAD-PLANT CLOSURE, FINANCIAL MARKETS, HAWAII WILDFIRE-REPORT, BRAZIL-STARLINK; ELIJAH MCCLAIN-PARAMEDIC SENTENCE; BOEING STRIKE-WHAT TO KNOW; POPE FRANCIS-NOTABLE QUOTES.

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ONLY ON AP

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HOSPITALS-PATIENT-DUMPING — An Associated Press analysis has found that hospitals are rarely fined for violating a federal law that is supposed to guarantee that patients with medical emergencies get the treatment they need. Only a dozen hospitals have been penalized over the last two years for violations of that law. That’s despite more than 100 hospitals turning away pregnant patients in that time, leaving some to miscarry in restrooms, deliver babies in cars or develop risky infections. By Amanda Seitz. SENT: 1,100 words, photo.

AP POLL-MEDIA FATIGUE — A new AP-NORC/USAFacts poll finds that about 6 in 10 Americans need to limit how much political news they get to avoid feeling information overload. Between political websites, social media and TV news channels dominated by political talk, it’s often hard to avoid, particularly in election season. By David Bauder and Linley Sanders. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

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VATICAN-POPE-US ELECTION — Pope Francis slammed both U.S. presidential candidates Friday for what he called anti-life policies on abortion and migration, and he advised American Catholics to choose who they think is the “lesser evil” in the upcoming U.S. elections. “Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ Francis said, not mentioning either by name. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 730 words, photos, audio. With REL-VATICAN-FRANCE-ABUSE — Pope says sex abuse is ‘demonic’ as he weighs in on new scandal in French church; POPE FRANCIS-NOTABLE QUOTES. (both sent).

ELECTION 2024 —Former President Donald Trump has refused to condemn recent racist and conspiratorial comments from right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with him earlier this week to the debate and several 9/11 memorial events. Trump acknowledged that Loomer has “strong opinions,” but said he was unaware of her recent comments, including a post on X in which she wrote that “the White House will smell like curry” if his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, wins in November. By Michelle L. Price and Colleen Long. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, video. With ELECTION 2024-HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS-OHIO — Donald Trump and JD Vance continue to make disparaging comments about Haitian migrants in Ohio, further stoking fears about false claims that they have been promoting as they argue their ticket is better suited than Democrats to reform U.S. immigration. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 8 p.m.

ELECTION 2024-ENERGY — Kamala Harris says the Biden-Harris administration has overseen “the largest increase in domestic oil production in history″ and warns the U.S. “cannot over rely on foreign oil.” The comments are at odds with Harris’ frequent boasts that she and President Joe Biden are champions in the fight to slow global warming. By Matthew Daly. SENT: 870 words, photos.

See more on Election 2024 here.

RUSSIA-UK — Russia accused six British diplomats of spying and said it decided to expel them. The U.K. said the “completely baseless” move came weeks ago and was linked to its action in May to revoke the credentials of an attaché at the Russian Embassy and limit Moscow’s diplomatic activities in London. By Dasha Litvinova and Jill Lawless. SENT: 770 words, photos. WITH: UNITED STATES-BRITAIN — President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet. (sent)

BOEING-STRIKE — Aircraft assembly workers walked off the job at Boeing factories near Seattle and elsewhere after union members voted overwhelmingly to go on strike and reject a tentative contract that would have increased wages by 25% over four years. By David Koenig, Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson. SENT: 940 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: BOEING-TURBULENT-TIMES — A strike would add to turbulent times at Boeing; BOEING STRIKE-WHAT TO KNOW (both sent).

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MORE NEWS

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JUSTIN-TIMBERLAKE-ARREST — Justin Timberlake has pleaded guilty to impaired driving, resolving the criminal case stemming from his June arrest in New York’s Hamptons. SENT: 780 words, photos.

CAT-SURVIVES-SEWER — A cat named Drifter is safe after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly 8 weeks. SENT: 380 words, photos.

INTERNATIONAL-RESCUE-WHICH-DOVER? — Police dispatchers in Delaware’s capital city are being lauded for helping direct rescuers to a boat foundering in the English Channel thousands of miles away. SENT: 320 words.

BRITAIN-BANKSY-THEFT — Two men have been charged with burglary over the theft of an artwork by street artist Banksy from a London gallery. SENT: 400 words, photo.

BOAR'S HEAD-PLANT CLOSURE — Boar’s Head closing Virginia plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak. SENT: 360 words.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-MISSILES-EXPLAINER — Ukraine is pushing for permission from its Western partners to use the long-range missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russia, as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. SENT: 570 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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GEORGIA ELECTION INDICTMENT-LAWMAKERS — A Georgia state Senate committee that had subpoenaed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with plans to question her about “alleged misconduct” related to her election case against Donald Trump was unable to do so because she didn’t show up. SENT: 870 words, photos. With GEORGIA ELECTION INDICTMENT-LT GOV — A special prosecutor decides not to pursue charges against Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones over efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss (sent).

ELECTION-2024-RUSSIAN-INFLUENCE-SANCTIONS — The U.S. State Department has announced new sanctions on Russian state media, accusing a Kremlin news outlet of working hand-in-hand with the Russian military and running fundraising campaigns to pay for sniper rifles, body armor and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine. SENT: 130 words, developing.

BIDEN-TARIFFS — The Biden administration is cracking down on cheap products sold out of China, expanding a push to reduce U.S. dependence on Beijing and bolster homegrown industry, but that could trigger higher prices for U.S. consumers who flock to popular shopping sites like Temu and Shein. SENT: 820 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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ELIJAH MCCLAIN-PARAMEDIC SENTENCE — A judge is freeing from prison a Colorado paramedic convicted in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became part of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the U.S. in 2020. SENT; developing. With photos.

NYC-MAYOR-INVESTIGATIONS — A consulting firm run by the brother of two top New York City officials is facing federal scrutiny over his work on behalf of companies that were seeking city contracts. Terence Banks is the brother of the city’s schools chancellor and deputy mayor for public safety. He started the firm in 2022 while working as a transit system supervisor. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.

REL-US-RECKONING-FERGUSON-PROTESTER — When the Black religious establishment arrived on the scene in Ferguson, Missouri, after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown Jr., protest organizer Brittany Packnett quickly realized something. The ideas they were proposing to cope with the tragedy were antithetical to the organic manner in which the protest movement arose. The clergy felt religiosity was the answer: hymns, prayer and the like. SENT: 1,490 words, photos. WITH: REL-US-RECKONING-FERGUSON-PROTESTER-TAKEAWAYS and RECKONING-CULTURAL RIPPLES (both sent).

HAWAII WILDFIRE-REPORT — Investigators reviewing the emergency response to last year’s devastating wildfire on Maui say in a new report they found no evidence Hawaii officials made preparations for it, despite days of warnings that “critical fire weather” was about to arrive. SENT: 1,200 words, photos. With WILDFIRES — Firefighters battling three major wildfires in the mountains east of Los Angeles are taking advantage of cooler weather. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video, audio.

TROPICAL-WEATHER — Shortly after Hurricane Francine’s storm surge flooded a cemetery in the Louisiana bayou town of Dulac, Lori-Ann Bergeron arrived to check on three generations of family graves. Their tombstones were fine, but neighboring caskets had emerged beside broken crosses and soggy flower bouquets. SENT: 930 words, photos, video, audio. WITH: TROPICAL-WEATHER-CARIBBEAN — Tropical Storm Gordon forms in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s forecast to stay away from land. (sent).

MEXICO-SINALOA-CARTEL — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the powerful longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, pleaded not guilty in New York on a 17-count indictment accusing him of narcotics trafficking and murder. SENT: 620 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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BRAZIL-STARLINK — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice seized about $3 million in frozen funds of social media platform X and satellite-based internet service provider Starlink, both companies controlled by billionaire Elon Musk. SENT: 480 words, photo.

VIETNAM FLOODS — The death toll in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam climbed to 233 as rescue workers recovered more bodies from areas hit by landslides and flash floods, state media reported. SENT: 770 words, photos, video, audio.

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BUSINESS

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FINANCIAL MARKETS — U.S. stocks rose closer to their records and closed out their best week of the year as hopes built for a big rate cut next week. SENT: 800 words, photo, audio.

CONGRESS-CHINA-BIOTECH — A San Jose-based biotechnology company that helps doctors detect genetic causes for cancer is among those that could be cut out of the U.S. market over ties to China. It underscores the possible tradeoffs between health innovation and a bipartisan push in Congress to counter Beijing’s clout. SENT: 840 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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TV-EMMYS-SLOW HORSES — The TV series “Slow Horses” is a critical darling that only seems to have had traction in the U.S. of late, now in its fourth season. Ignored at the Emmys for two seasons, it goes into Sunday’s telecast with nine nominations, including for best drama series. It’s star, Gary Oldman, calls it “a slow burn.” By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy: SENT: 800 words, photos and video.

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SPORTS

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FBN-DOLPHINS-TAGOVAILOA-EXPLAINER — Tua Tagovailoa is now dealing with the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last two seasons. And there are now questions about his future — both short-term and long-term. SENT: 900 words, photos. WITH: FBN-DOLPHINS-TAGOVAILOA — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion. (sent).

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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.

President Joe Biden speaks during the Violence Against Women Act 30th anniversary celebration on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Flares of northern lights color the sky over the White Mountains just after midnight, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, as viewed from a mountaintop in Chatham, N.H. Lights on the summit of Mount Washington can be seen on the ridgeline at left. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Visitors watch an immersive video during a press preview of the Edvard Munch exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. The exhibition will run from Sept. 14, 2024 to Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A holy man dressed as a Hanuman, Hindu god, participates in a protest against secularism, demanding the reinstatement of Nepal as a Hindu state and the restoration of the monarchy near parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

United States' Nelly Korda watches her shot on the first hole during a Solheim Cup golf tournament fourball match at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Gainesville, Va. (AP Photo/Matt York)

David Beckham arrives to attend the funeral service of Swedish soccer manager Sven-Goran Eriksson at Fryksände church in Torsby, Sweden, Friday Sept. 13, 2024. (Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson (19) runs with the football during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FILE - Justin Timberlake appears at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Presidential candidate Namal Rajapaksa arrives for a meeting along with his supporters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, second left, a candidate of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election, speaks during a joint news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - In this file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, staff members work in an inflatable COVID-19 testing lab provided by Chinese biotech company BGI Genomics, a subsidiary of BGI Group, in Beijing, June 23, 2020. (Chen Zhonghao/Xinhua via AP, File)

Professor Sander Woutersen, right, displays an oversized stuffed worm while accepting a shared Ig Nobel Prize in chemistry for working with a team of researchers using chromatography to separate drunk and sober worms, during a performance, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - Soldiers attend the Colonel's Review, the final rehearsal of the Trooping the Colour, the King's annual birthday parade, at Horse Guards Parade in London, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

FILE - The Line Fire jumps Highway 330 as an emergency vehicle is driven past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

Flares of northern lights color the sky over the White Mountains just after midnight, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, as viewed from a mountaintop in Chatham, N.H. Lights on the summit of Mount Washington can be seen on the ridgeline at left. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

FILE - South Africa's Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan appears at the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

Tombs are seen after being disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer works on the plane as he flies to Washington DC, for talks with President Joe Biden on resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)

An Indigenous person attends a ceremony celebrating the return of the Tupinamba Indigenous people's sacred cloak to Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. The garment, made from bird feathers and plant fibers, was repatriated to Brazil after having spent more than 300 years in the National Museum of Denmark. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Pope Francis, left, attends a traditional dance performed by the Caritas Technical Secondary School pupils in Port Moresby, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In this undated photo provided on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center right, inspects what they say is test-firing from their new launch vehicle of 600mm multiple rockets at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

People wade in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sep. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign rally at Bojangles Coliseum, in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump motions while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

International Aerospace Machinists member Clint Moore, center, builds burn barrels with fellow union members in preparation for strike if members recject a contract offer by airplane maker Boeing, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to say whether he's spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office, as reported in journalist Bob Woodward's latest book. But if the two did speak, Trump said, it would be “a smart thing” for the United States.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was pressed on his communication with the Russian president during a wide-ranging — and sometimes contentious — interview with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago. Woodward reports in his book “War” that Trump has had as many as seven private phone calls with Putin since leaving the White House and secretly sent the Russian president COVID-19 test machines during the height of the pandemic.

A Trump campaign spokesperson previously denied the report. During Tuesday's interview, Micklethwait posed the question to Trump directly: "Can you say yes or no whether you have talked to Vladimir Putin since you stopped being president?

“I don’t comment on that,” Trump responded. “But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing. If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing and not a bad thing in terms of a country.”

Trump said that Putin, who invaded neighboring Ukraine and who has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court, is well respected in Russia and touted his relationship with him, as well as the authoritarian leaders of North Korea and China.

“Look, I had a very good relationship with President Xi and a very good relationship with Putin, and a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un," he said. Of Putin, he later added, "Russia has never had a president that they respect so much.”

Woodward reported that Trump asked an aide to leave his office at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, so that the former president could have a private call with Putin in early 2024. The aide, whom Woodward doesn’t name, said there have been multiple calls between Trump and Putin since Trump left office, perhaps as many as seven, according to the book, though it does not detail what they discussed.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the reporting false. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the reporting about the calls was “not true.”

Trump’s relationship with Putin has been scrutinized since his 2016 campaign for president, when he memorably called on Russia to find and make public missing emails deleted by Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent. Trump publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence officials on whether Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help him, and Trump has criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's attack.

Later in Tuesday's interview, Trump refused to say whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the November election. He also claimed there was a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election, despite his supporters' violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Come on. You had a peaceful transfer of power compared to Venezuela,” Micklethwait responded.

Peoples reported from New York.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump walks off after an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait during an event with the Economic Club of Chicago, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)