AP News Digest 2:15 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 6 years, 5 months AGO
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 at https://newsroom.ap.org.
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ONLY ON AP
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DEEPWATER HORIZON-DRILLING DEEPER —Ten years after an oil rig explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed an environmental nightmare in the Gulf of Mexico, companies are drilling in deeper and deeper waters, where payoffs can be huge but risks are greater than ever. Industry leaders and government officials say they’re determined to prevent a repeat of BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, which spilled 134 million gallons of oil that fouled beaches from Louisiana to Florida, killed hundreds of thousands of marine animals, and devastated the tourist economy. By Kevin McGill and Matthew Brown. SENT: 1,917 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,000 words is also available. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — Stores in Texas can begin selling merchandise with curbside service, and hospitals can resume nonessential surgeries. In Florida, people are returning to beaches and parks. And protesters are clamoring for more. Governors eager to rescue their economies and feeling heat from demonstrators and President Donald Trump are moving to ease restrictions meant to control the spread of the coronavirus, even as new hot spots emerge and experts warn that moving too fast could prove disastrous. By Paul Weber and Frank Jordans. SENT: 1,325 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP COALITION -- As the election shifts into a new phase, President Trump’s campaign is in the early stages of a broad effort to chip away at the Democratic Party’s advantage with African American and Latino voters. It’s a high-stakes bid that’s complicated by the coronavirus and Trump’s record of divisive rhetoric on immigration and race. But the effort is backed by tens of millions of dollars and a dominant digital operation, and some Democrats fear it may be working. Even a modest bump for Trump among such groups could prove devastating in the Democrats’ fight to defeat him this fall. By National Political Writer Steve Peoples. SENT: 970 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STATE PARTNERS — President Trump, in a roller-coaster week of reversals and contradictions, told governors to “call your own shots” on lifting stay-at-home orders once the coronavirus threat subsides. But then he took to Twitter to push some to reopen their economies quickly and tell them it was their job to ramp up testing. “This is mayhem,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "We need a coordinated approach between the federal government and the states.” By Geoff Mulvihill. SENT: 988 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP CREDIBILITY -- Public health experts are growing concerned that people will let their political views influence which officials to believe whenever parts of the country start reemerging from the pandemic’s restrictions. Polls show people trust President Trump to handle the coronavirus outbreak less than they trust federal public health officials or their own governors. That’s led to public confusion, which experts say is dangerous as the U.S. struggles to check the spread of the coronavirus. By Alan Fram and John Flesher. SENT: 930 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RACE — As a clearer picture emerges of COVID-19’s decidedly deadly toll on black Americans, leaders are demanding a reckoning of the systemic policies they say have made many African Americans far more vulnerable to the virus, including inequity in access to health care and economic opportunity. By Kat Stafford, Meghan Hoyer and Aaron Morrison. SENT: 1,230 words, photos, video.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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CHICAGO SKY-VIRUS -- Chicago Sky center Stefanie Dolson announces that she tested positive for the coronavirus, making her the first known Chicago professional athlete to contract COVID-19. SENT: 215 words.
ROUTE 66 HISTORIC SIGN — Historic sign to be part of planned Route 66 visitor center. SENT: 445 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHILD ABUSE HOTLINES -- With schools closed and teachers unable to report suspected cases of abuse, child welfare agencies have lost some of their best eyes and ears as the coronavirus pandemic strains families. States are reporting fewer calls to child abuse hotlines, not because officials believe there are fewer cases but because they’re going unreported. SENT: 710 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PERU-HOSPITAL — Doctors and nurses at one of Peru’s oldest hospitals say they’re struggling to treat a flood of patients even before the expected peak of new coronavirus cases. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-SKI WORKERS -- U.S. ski areas employ thousands of international college students each year to fill seasonal jobs during what is their summer break. About 1,500 from Latin America are still here, with some stranded at various resorts. They're getting help. SENT: 620 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEACHERS ON TV -- Educators in several states are broadcasting lessons over television airwaves to help keep students engaged while schools are shut down for the coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 650 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEDICAL DIASPORAS — Diaspora medical groups around the world are scrambling for ways to help combat the coronavirus back home, where they might be more needed than ever before. A global “brain drain” of medical professionals to richer countries has left developing nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and elsewhere. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CANADA-US - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday the U.S. and Canada have agreed to keep their border closed to nonessential travel for another 30 days and he said it will be undoubtedly longer before the restriction is removed. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA — Africa now has more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, while Nigeria said the president’s chief of staff had died. A total of 52 of the continent’s 54 countries have reported the coronavirus, with the overall number of cases more than 19,800. SENT: 280 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-FINAL FAREWELLS — An Israeli hospital is offering the families of coronavirus patients the rare opportunity to say goodbye to their dying loved ones in person. That’s in contrast to many hospitals around the world. SENT: 650 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PUERTO RICO — Puerto Ricans are becoming increasingly disgruntled with how the government is handling the COVID-19 crisis as details emerge, including the death a 29-year-old man who became the U.S. territory’s youngest victim after his father said he wasn’t tested the first two times he sought help at an emergency room. SENT: 470 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY-LIFESAVERS-PHOTO GALLERY — One nurse in the Italian city of Milan has isolated herself from her family while she treats COVID-19 patients. She has sent her daughter to live elsewhere for fear of infecting her and now only has her little dog for company. But she says she has found a new family, among the staff and patients at the hospital where she works. She says the patients “enter into your soul.” By Luca Bruno and Frances D’Emilio. SENT: 420 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-PENCE -- In a symbolic show of normalcy, Vice President Mike Pence gives the commencement address in a near-empty 46,692-seat football stadium at the Air Force Academy. The coronavirus forced the school to close the event to visitors, limit it to 30 minutes and livestream it to families, with the nearly 1,000 graduating cadets instructed to march 6 feet apart and sit 8 feet from one another. It’s Pence’s first trip outside Washington since March 7. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 2:30 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVY -- The Navy’s top admiral will soon decide the fate of the ship captain who was fired after pleading for commanders to move faster to safeguard his coronavirus-infected crew on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The review will also look at the command climate on the ship and higher up within the Pacific-based fleet, to determine if there are broader leadership problems in a region critical to America’s national security interests. A look at some of the admiral’s options, including reinstating the Roosevelt’s commander, and their benefits and pitfalls. SENT: 920 words, photos.
OBIT-PAUL O'NEILL — Paul O’Neill, a former Treasury secretary who broke with George W. Bush over tax policy and then produced a book critical of the administration, died. He was 84. SENT: 786 words, photos.
FACT CHECK-WEEK -- Over the past week, President Donald Trump was pretender to a throne that doesn’t exist as he claimed king-like powers over the coronavirus pandemic response and Congress. He also denied praising China’s openness in the pandemic, when he’s on record doing so repeatedly, and claimed far more Chinese than Americans are dying from COVID-19 when the numbers show the opposite. A look at his recent rhetoric and its relationship with reality. By Hope Yen and Calvin Woodward. SENT: 2,020 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd.
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INTERNATIONAL
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HONG KONG-PROTESTS — Hong Kong police have arrested at least 14 pro-democracy lawmakers, activists and a media tycoon on charges of joining unlawful protests last year calling for reforms. SENT: 250 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-YOUTH SPORTS — Youth sports is a $25 billion U.S. industry and it is essentially shut down. Many sponsors have been hit hard by the economic crisis, with parents seeking refunds. There is no sense of when, or whether, recovery might come. SENT: 900 words, photos.
FBN--NFL DRAFT-FASHIONABLE FLEX — Versatility, once a detriment, is all the fashion at the NFL draft. “Tweener” used to have a negative connotation in an age of specialization. Now, says one draft analyst, “it’s never been more important.” UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m. EDT.
SPORTS-DESERTED ICONS-KENTUCKY DERBY — The postponement of the Kentucky Derby from May to Labor Day weekend jarred a city whose identity is tied to the showcase event. But there is relief across horse racing and the city that this year’s race was not scrapped altogether. SENT: 850 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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