Update on the latest news, sports, business and entertainment:

DETROIT (AP) —

UNITED STATES-AFGHANISTAN

General is highest ranking Army officer killed in Iraq or Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American general has become the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to be killed in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars.

A Pentagon spokesman says the general was killed in an apparent insider attack today by a member of the Afghan security forces. The shooting wounded another 15 people, about half of them Americans.

According to the spokesman, the assailant was dressed in an Afghan army uniform when he fired into a group of international soldiers at a defense university at a base west of Kabul. The shooter was then killed.

The attack occurred during a visit to the university by coalition members.

The number of so-called “insider attacks” — incidents in which Afghan security turn on their NATO partners — largely dropped last year. In 2013, there were 16 deaths in 10 separate attacks. In 2012, 53 coalition troops were killed in 38 separate attacks.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS

Israel-Hamas truce sets stage for talks on Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israelis and Palestinians each have a delegation in place in Cairo, for talks aimed at a long-term truce in Gaza.

Both sides halted cross-border attacks as a three-day cease-fire took effect this morning. The shelling stopped, and in Gaza City — where streets had been deserted during the war — traffic picked up and shops started opening. Israel says it has withdrawn the last of its ground forces from Gaza.

In the coming days, Egyptian mediators plan to shuttle between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations.

As details of the Palestinian demands emerge, there are signs that Hamas is willing to give Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a role in Gaza as part of rebuilding efforts. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in 2007, prompting the Egyptian and Israeli blockade of the territory.

The return of Abbas would presumably be aimed at reassuring Israel and Egypt, and allowing an easing of the closure.

A senior Israeli official says his government is willing to discuss an easing of Gaza border restrictions, but that it needs guarantees that Hamas will not be able to re-arm.

The situation on the ground in Gaza remains volatile, and any cease-fire violation could quickly derail the Cairo talks. There are wide gaps between the Israeli and Palestinian positions.

AMERICANS-EBOLA-SECOND PATIENT

Aid group: American with Ebola weak but improving

ATLANTA (AP) — The husband of the second American aid worker recently diagnosed with Ebola says the patient is weak but showing signs of improvement.

The president of the aid group SIM USA said Tuesday that Nancy Writebol’s husband described the woman as progressing. Bruce Johnson says he spoke with David Writebol, who said 58-year-old Nancy stood and got on a plane in Liberia with assistance to head to Atlanta for treatment. When she arrived Tuesday, she was wheeled in a stretcher.

David Writebol, still in Liberia, says the family was considering funeral arrangements, but now feels relieved and cautiously optimistic. He praised her treatment in Liberia.

SIM says it’s working to bring David Writebol home.

Johnson says SIM has spent nearly $1 million since the diagnoses of Nancy Writebol and the first American brought back, 33-year-old Dr. Kent Brantly. He works for Samaritan’s Purse. Johnson says that group has spent more than $1 million.

AFRICA SUMMIT

NEW: Obama announces $33B in commitments for Africa

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the U.S. must do more to boost its financial foothold in Africa as economies on the continent grow stronger.

Obama is speaking at a U.S.-Africa summit in Washington that has brought together business leaders and politicians. In conjunction with the summit, the White House is announcing $33 billion in commitments aimed at increasing U.S. economic ties with Africa.

A big part of the money, $14 billion, is coming from the private sector. Among the companies announcing new commitments are Coca-Cola and General Electric.

Tuesday’s business conference is part of an unprecedented three-day U.S.-Africa summit. Nearly 50 African leaders are in Washington for the meetings.

UNITED NATIONS-UKRAINE-RUSSIA

NEW: UN to meet on Ukraine humanitarian situation

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — At Russia’s request, the U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

The open session will be held late Tuesday.

Britain holds the Security Council presidency this month and its U.N. Mission said John Ging, the director of U.N. humanitarian operations, will brief council members.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin has repeatedly warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Fighting reached the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Tuesday as pro-Russian separatists and government troops exchanged rocket fire in neighborhoods on the edge of the city. The spread of fighting into the city could result in an alarming escalation in the humanitarian crisis gripping the country’s easternmost regions.

RUSSIA-SANCTIONS

Russians feeling the pinch of western sanctions

MOSCOW (AP) — It’s not just Russian billionaires feeling the pinch of western sanctions, even though they were the ones who were initially targeted.

Last week, tens of thousands of Russians who were sunning themselves on Italian beaches and Turkish resorts received an unpleasant surprise. Their tour companies had gone bust, stranding them and forcing them to pay double for a ticket to get home.

The bankruptcy was the fifth among major Russian tour companies in less than two months — a sign that cracks are appearing in Russia’s economy.

As a result of the sanctions, the Russian currency has fallen, hurting the ability of the average Russian to travel abroad and buy imported goods. And as new sanctions by the U.S. and Europe start to bite, companies worry about a looming recession, and a future without access to the West’s massive financial markets.

The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency. The West has imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies.

GAY MARRIAGE-UTAH

NEW: First gay marriage appeal awaits US Supreme Court

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has its first gay marriage case awaiting it when justices return in October.

Utah officials on Tuesday filed an appeal with the high court asking it to uphold the state’s gay marriage ban.

If the Supreme Court decides to take the case, it will be the first time the top court considers gay marriage since justices last year struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Supreme Court is under no obligation to the take the case, and legal scholars say it could wait for rulings from one or more of the five other appellate courts with gay marriage cases pending.

Utah officials announced last month they would take the state’s case directly to the nation’s top court rather than asking for another appellate review.

A federal appeals court in Denver ruled in June that states cannot deny same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry. The ruling upheld a December decision by a federal judge overturning Utah’s ban.

HEALTH OVERHAUL-TWO AMERICAS

Poll: Obama health law is a tale of 2 Americas

WASHINGTON (AP) — A major new poll finds that President Barack Obama’s health care law has become a tale of two Americas.

States that fully embraced the law’s coverage expansion are experiencing a significant drop in the number of uninsured residents, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

States whose leaders still object to so-called “Obamacare” are seeing much less change.

The survey, released Tuesday, found an overall drop of 4 percentage points in the share of uninsured residents for states accepting the law’s core provisions.

The drop was much smaller — 2.2 percentage points– in states that held back politically. Uninsured residents of those states still had access to a new federal insurance market.

Two southern states where the law found support led the nation in coverage gains. They were Arkansas and Kentucky.

OIL-REFINERIES-AIR-POLLUTION

Residents: Restrict emissions at oil refineries

GALENA PARK, Texas (AP) — Residents living near oil refineries and environmental activists are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt stricter emissions standards to reduce communities’ exposure to a cancer-causing chemical.

About 30 people addressed the federal agency during a hearing in suburban Houston on Tuesday about a proposal that would compel refineries for the first time to monitor and report emissions of benzene to nearby communities.

Tuesday’s meeting was the second and final public hearing required as part of a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project on behalf of communities near oil refineries.

The suit argued that the EPA was more than a decade late in reviewing and updating toxic air standards for refineries.

The federal agency has until April 2015 to issue a final rule.

MLB-DRUG INVESTIGATION

UPDATE: Clinic owner tied to MLB scandal to plead guilty

MIAMI (AP) — The owner of a defunct Florida clinic accused of providing steroids and other banned substances to Major League Baseball players has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge.

Prosecutors said at a news conference Tuesday that Anthony Bosch will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute testosterone.

Court documents say that from October 2008 through December 2012, Bosch willfully conspired to distribute the anabolic steroid testosterone.

Fourteen players associated with the Coral Gables clinic were disciplined last year by MLB, including a season-long 2014 suspension imposed on New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Also charged along with Bosch were six others who authorities said acted as recruiters.

HUMAN REMAINS-SUITCASES

UPDATE: Ex-cop charged with homicide says death accidental

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A former Wisconsin police officer says he killed a 19-year-old college student accidentally during a choking game that went too far.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Kenosha provides new details in the death of Jenny Gamez, a 19-year-old college student from Cottage Grove, Oregon.

The complaint charges 52-year-old Steven Zelich with first-degree intentional homicide, the equivalent of murder in Wisconsin.

Zelich told investigators Gamez’s death was an accident. But District Attorney Robert Zapf says it’s hard to believe Zelich killed two women accidentally in similar circumstances.

Gamez’s body and that of 37-year-old Laura Simonson of Farmington, Minnesota, were found in suitcases left along a rural Wisconsin highway in June.

Investigators say Zelich told them he met both women online and killed them during separate meetings for sex and bondage.

TOLEDO-WATER PROBLEMS

Ohio water crisis: Threat isn’t going away soon

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The worry over another water emergency along Lake Erie is far from over.

That’s because the algae that left behind toxins contaminating the drinking water of 400,000 people in Ohio isn’t supposed to peak until September.

Water plant operators and residents who get their water from the western end of Lake Erie will be holding their breath over the next few months.

The chances of more trouble will depend a lot the winds, rains and temperatures that determine how large the algae grow and where it ends up.

It’s still not clear what role the algae-induced toxin played in fouling the water supply for the city of Toledo beginning Saturday.

Investigators also are looking at the city’s aging water supply system and how it operates.

TROPICAL WEATHER

NEW: 2 major storms headed toward Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — People across Hawaii are getting ready for an unusual one-two punch from storms that are headed to the islands.

The National Weather Service says two storms are headed for Hawaii later this week that could be an effect of a developing El Nino pattern.

Officials say Hurricane Iselle could hit Hawaii by Friday and Tropical Storm Julio could hit two or three days later.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira says news of a second storm has heightened the urgency to prepare.

A grocery store in the coastal Oahu community of Waianae opened 15 minutes early Tuesday because people were already lining up to buy supplies.

Tamura’s Supermarket General Manager Charlie Gustafson says items such as bottled water, cans of Spam and Vienna Sausage are flying off the shelves.

SPURS-HAMMON

Spurs hire WNBA star Becky Hammon as assistant

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs have hired WNBA star Becky Hammon as an assistant coach.

The Spurs made the announcement Tuesday. Hammon plans to retire from the San Antonio Stars after this season. She joins South Carolina assistant Lisa Boyer, who served on John Lucas’s staff in Cleveland in 2001-02, as women to coach in the NBA.

Hammon spent some time around the Spurs during last season’s run to the championship, and coach Gregg Popovich says she made a strong impression. Popovich says he’s “confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs.”

It’s the latest trailblazing move for the Spurs, who hired European coaching legend Ettore Messina to join Popovich’s staff earlier this summer.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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