AP Trending Summary: National News at 11:21 p.m. EDT

Robert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of ‘Chinatown,’ dies at 89

NEW YORK (AP) — Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of “Shampoo,” “The Last Detail” and other films whose script for “Chinatown” became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, has died. He was 89. Towne won an Academy Award for “Chinatown” and was nominated three other times, for “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo” and “Greystoke.” Through his friendships with two of the biggest stars of the 1960s and ’70s, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, he wrote or co-wrote some of the signature films of an era when artists held an unusual level of creative control.

Ann Wilson announces cancer diagnosis, postpones Heart tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ann Wilson, lead singer of rock band Heart, says she has cancer. The band is postponing the remaining shows on its Royal Flush Tour. Wilson said in a statement Tuesday that she underwent a surgery to remove a cancerous growth and is recovering steadily, but that her doctors urged her to undergo preventive chemotherapy and take time off from performing “in order to fully recover.” That meant the rest of the shows on the North American tour will be postponed to dates in 2025. The band says all tickets purchased for the now-postponed shows will be honored and rescheduled dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

FDA approves a second Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow disease

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have approved a new Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease. It’s only the second drug that’s been convincingly shown to slow the memory-destroying condition. The Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s medication Tuesday for patients with early or mild cases of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. Kisunla is not a cure and slows worsening memory and cognitive problems by about seven months. The FDA approved a similar drug, Leqembi, from a Japanese drugmaker last year. Lilly’s drug has several possible advantages to that medicine, including requiring only one infusion per month instead of two.

Bronny James says he can handle ‘amplified’ pressure of playing for Lakers with his famous father

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Bronny James says the opportunity to play professionally alongside his famous father played no role in his decision to enter the NBA draft. Now that the 19-year-old son of LeBron James has been selected by the Los Angeles Lakers, Bronny says he can still handle all the extra attention and pressure while the James family makes basketball history. Bronny reiterated that he didn’t jump to the NBA just because his 39-year-old father is still an active player, acknowledging he didn’t necessarily share his father’s oft-stated dream of playing in the league together.

Arthur Crudup: What to know about the bluesman who wrote Elvis’s first hit and barely got paid

FRANKTOWN, Va. (AP) — Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup helped invent rock ‘n’ roll. His 1946 song “That’s All Right” would become the first single Elvis Presley ever released. And yet Crudup spent his later years working on farms on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. He received scant songwriting royalties because of an exploitative record contract. He died in 1974. The 70th anniversary of Presley’s recording of ”That’s All Right” is Friday. And while Presley’s version is considered a cultural milestone, Crudup has received some recognition in recent years. The bluesman was briefly portrayed in the 2022 biopic “Elvis.” And the state of Virginia plans to install a highway marker honoring Crudup.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett becomes first Democrat in Congress to call for Biden’s withdrawal from 2024 race

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Democratic lawmaker has become the first in the party to publicly call for President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee for president, citing Biden’s debate performance against Donald Trump failing to “effectively defend his many accomplishments.” Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas said Tuesday that Biden should “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.” Doggett represents an Austin-based district and is serving his 15th term in Congress. Doggett is the first sitting lawmaker in the Democratic Party to publicly state what many have been privately whispering behind closed doors since last week’s debate. Biden concedes the debate didn’t go well but says he’s ready to fight for another term.

Two plundered ancient Greek vases are repatriated from Switzerland

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two plundered marble vases that marked ancient Athenians’ graves more than 2,000 years ago, including one with an emotional family scene, have been returned to Greece from Switzerland. Greece’s Culture Ministry says in a statement that the two white marble works, which were decorated with relief sculptures, were brought back following a years-long legal battle. They will be exhibited at a museum with finds from the Kerameikos, the main cemetery of ancient Athens.

Ringleader of fire that killed 5 in Senegalese family, ripping hole in the community, gets 60 years

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for killing five members of an extended Senegalese family in a house fire. Victims’ friends and family told a judge in Denver on Tuesday that the 2020 fire has forever changed their lives and their community. Authorities say 20-year-old Kevin Bui plotted the fire out of revenge for a robbery after he mistakenly tracked his stolen iPhone to the house. No one in the home had anything to do with the robbery. He is the last of three friends to be sentenced for the fire and was portrayed by prosecutors as the ringleader.

Stripper sues Florida over new age restrictions for workers at adult entertainment businesses

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A 19-year-old and the club where she worked as a stripper have sued Florida’s attorney general and two local prosecutors. They want to stop enforcement of a new Florida law prohibiting adult entertainment businesses from employing people who are under age 21. They claim it violates their First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights. Serenity Michelle Bushey says that she lost her job at Cafe Risque in the Gainesville area after the law took effect on Monday. Florida lawmakers say the purpose of the law is to deter human trafficking. The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Tallahassee.

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier denied parole for 1975 killings of 2 FBI agents serving warrants

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier has been denied parole after spending most of his life in prison since his conviction in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in South Dakota. The U.S. Parole Commission says Tuesday that he won’t be eligible for another parole hearing until June 2026. His attorney argued that Peltier was wrongly convicted and said that the health of the 79-year-old was failing. The FBI and its current and former agents dispute Peltier’s claims of innocence. Peltier was active in the American Indian Movement, which began in the 1960s as a local organization in Minneapolis. The agents were killed during a standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.