AP Top News at 2:12 a.m. EDT

Hurricane Debby to bring heavy rains and catastropic flooding to Florida, Georgia and S. Carolina

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The center of Hurricane Debby is expected to reach the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday bringing potential record-setting rains, catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge as it moves slowly across the northern part of the state before stalling over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina. Debby was located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). The storm was moving north at 12 mph (19 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday evening. Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.

US and allies prepare to defend Israel as Netanyahu says it’s already in ‘multi-front war’ with Iran

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict. Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Anti-government protesters in Bangladesh plan to march to capital after a weekend of deadly clashes

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Anti-government protesters across Bangladesh planned to march to the capital, Dhaka, on Monday after a weekend of violence that left dozens of people dead, as the military imposed a curfew for an indefinite period and authorities cut off mobile internet in an attempt to stem the unrest. At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in clashes in the capital on Sunday, according to the country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo. Hundreds more were injured in the violence. The demonstrations began with students seeking to end a quota system for government jobs, but clashes with police and pro-government activists escalated into violence that left more than 200 dead.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunges nearly 13% as world markets tremble over risks to the US economy

BANGKOK (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged nearly 13% on Monday, extending sell-offs that shook world markets last week as worries flared over the state of the U.S. economy. Near closing time in Tokyo, the Nikkei was down more than 4,500 points at 31,341.29. The market’s broader TOPIX index fell 11.5% as selling picked up in the afternoon. A report showing hiring by U.S. employers slowed last month by much more than expected has convulsed financial markets, vanquishing the euphoria that had taken the Nikkei to all-times highs of over 42,000 in recent weeks. The Nikkei 225 dropped 5.8% on Friday and it is headed for its worst two-day decline ever.

Focus on economy and answer the Harris ‘Freedom’ message: What GOP strategists think Trump should do

One Republican strategist who has run campaigns against Donald Trump says he recognizes what the former president is doing against Vice President Kamala Harris, even as Trump swings back and forth between attacking her record and questioning her racial identity. It’s what he’s done against other opponents. “He figures out what their perceived weakness is and drills down on it,” said Terry Sullivan, who was a senior adviser to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 Republican presidential campaign. “He’s spending a few weeks probing, and I think he needs to take that time.” Harris’ entry into the presidential race after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid has changed basic assumptions about the campaign, as Democrats replaced an 81-year-old man with a fading ability to make his case with a 59-year-old woman who’s drawing new enthusiasm.

Harris once wanted to ban fracking. Trump wants voters in energy-rich Pennsylvania to remember

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Facing the need to win battleground Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris is swearing off any prior assertion that she opposed fracking, but that hasn’t stopped Republican Donald Trump from wielding her now-abandoned position to win over voters in a state where the natural gas industry means jobs. Last week, in his first appearance in Pennsylvania since Harris became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, Trump repeatedly warned that Harris would ban fracking — a position she held as a presidential primary candidate in 2019 — and devastate the economy in the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state. “She’s against fracking, she’s against oil drilling, she wants everybody to have one electric car and share it with the neighbors,” Trump told rallygoers at a Harrisburg rally on Wednesday, which was also his first appearance in the state since he was wounded in a July 13 assassination attempt in Butler County.

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif calls for end to bullying after backlash over gender misconceptions

PARIS (AP) — Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity,” and she called for an end to bullying athletes after being greatly affected by the international backlash against her. The Algerian athlete spoke about her tumultuous Olympic experience on Sunday night in an interview with SNTV, a sports video partner of The Associated Press. “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said in Arabic.

Voices across the globe express concern over increasing arrests in Venezuela after disputed election

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Voices across the globe expressed concern Sunday over the growing number of arrests in Venezuela following last weekend’s disputed elections. Pope Francis said Venezuela is “living a critical situation” in his traditional Sunday remarks at the Vatican, adding, “I appeal to all parties to seek the truth, to avoid all kinds of violence.” The remarks came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Saturday that the government has arrested 2,000 opponents. At a rally in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, Maduro pledged to detain more people and send them to prison. U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told CBS program “Face the Nation” Sunday that the Biden administration is worried the arrests could spark wider unrest.

UK leader Starmer condemns attack on asylum-seeker hotel as far-right violence spreads

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned an attack Sunday on a hotel housing asylum seekers that saw at least 10 police officers injured, one seriously, describing it as “far-right thuggery.” In a statement from 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the prime minister vowed that the authorities will “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” and that justice will be swift. Starmer’s statement came as more violence broke out across the country in the wake of a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded. “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,” he said.

More Olympians are set to compete in the Seine River. Here’s the latest on water quality concerns

PARIS (AP) — At the Paris Olympics, whether the water quality in the Seine River is safe enough to host some swimming events has been a major question. Bacteria levels in the river fluctuate constantly, and daily water samples are tested so organizers can assess the risk and determine whether swims in the long-polluted Paris waterway should go forward. Triathletes raced in the river Wednesday, and organizers said Sunday night that Monday’s triathlon mixed relay event would be held as planned with the swimming portion in the Seine. Testing will continue ahead of the marathon swimming races scheduled for Thursday and Friday.