AP News Digest 7 a.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 9 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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VIRUS OUTBREAK-VETERANS AFFAIRS — The Veterans Affairs Department, responsible for 9 million military veterans, says it was prepared for an onslaught of patients from the coronavirus. But interviews with nurses at facilities around the country, internal memos and a report for the agency’s inspector general tell another story. By Michael Casey and Hope Yen. SENT: 1,080 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,030 words has also been sent.
VIRUS OUTBREAK NURSING HOME VISITS — France has started to break the seals on its locked down nursing homes, allowing limited visitation rights for the families of elderly residents. The visits are proving bittersweet for some, too short and restricted to make up for weeks of isolation and loneliness. But they are shedding light on the immense emotional toll caused by locking down care homes. By John Leicester. SENT: 870 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — The coronavirus pandemic is cutting off the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims from their cherished Ramadan traditions as health officials battle to ward off new infections during Islam’s holiest month, haunted by multiple outbreaks traced to religious gatherings around the world. By Kathy Gannon and Angela Charlton. SENT: 1,170 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST; VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UN-HUMAN RIGHTS — U.N. chief: Pandemic is fast becoming a “human rights crisis.”
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GULF-TRAPPED LABORERS — Long a lifeline for families back home, migrant workers in oil-rich Gulf Arab states now find themselves trapped by the coronavirus pandemic, losing jobs, running out of money and desperate to return to their home countries as COVID-19 stalks their labor camps. By Jon Gambrell and Aya Batrawy. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — President Donald Trump is aiming for a swift nationwide reopening after the coronavirus shutdown, but he needs to convince Americans it’s safe to come out and resume their normal lives. Trump’s reelection likely rides on the pace of an economic rebound. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 990 words, photos, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MEAT-PROCESSING-SAFETY — Daily reports of giant meat-processing plants closing because workers tested positive for the coronavirus call into question whether slaughterhouses can remain virus-free. According to experts, the answer may be no. By Josh Funk. SENT: 970 words, photos. Also see MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK below.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-HISPANICS — Joe Biden’s tenure as Barack Obama’s vice president is complicating his efforts to deepen ties with Latinos who could be critical to winning the White House. For many Latinos, Biden’s embrace of the Obama years is a frightening reminder of when the former president ejected about 3 million people living in the U.S. illegally. By Will Weissert. SENT: 930 words, photo. With ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-BIDEN — Trump’s reelection team has been testing out new lines of attack against Biden.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.
US CHURCH-HAITI-CHILD-DEATHS — For a limestone mantel from the Waldorf Astoria, the church that owns the Olde Good Things antique stores asks for $8,500. But for the death of each child in a fire at a home it ran in Haiti, parents say the same church offered to pay just $50 to $100 in family compensation — along with $150 for funeral-related costs such as new clothes and transportation. By Michael Weissenstein and Ben Fox. SENT: 2,360 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — The House is reassembling in Washington to send Trump a fourth bipartisan bill to help businesses crippled by the coronavirus, an almost $500 billion measure that many lawmakers are already looking beyond. SENT: 690 words, photos. UPCOMING: 750 words after House assembles at 10 a.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STUDENT AID — The Trump administration says students who entered the United States illegally and most international students will be barred from receiving emergency education grants approved by Congress as part of a $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. By Education Writer Collin Binkley. SENT: 880 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INSURANCE CLAIMS — Millions of shuttered businesses have turned to their insurers to help recoup their losses following state-mandated closures, but that industry has widely rejected the claims, so businesses are suing to force them to pay. By Legal Affairs Writer Michael Tarm. SENT: 1,010 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LEAVING WUHAN — Getting into the Chinese city of Wuhan was the easy part as new infections had fallen to almost zero and travel restrictions were relaxed. SENT: 910 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BORIS JOHNSON-NZ NURSE — Nurse Jenny from New Zealand says that helping save somebody as notable as Boris Johnson in his battle with the coronavirus didn’t faze her thanks to her years of dealing with stressful situations in intensive care wards. SENT: 470 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-DRIVE-THRU-TESTING — Feeling sick and stressed, people in the states hardest hit by the coronavirus continue to line up at drive-thru testing sites. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
LIVES LOST-BROTHER TO BROTHER — Brothers who journeyed from rural Mexico to a life in the U.S. die one day apart from the coronavirus. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AUSTRALIA — A cruise ship that is the subject of a criminal investigation after it became Australia’s largest single source of coronavirus infections set off from the country’s shores a month after it was ordered by police to leave. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN-CRUISE SHIP — Japanese officials are investigating an outbreak of the coronavirus among crew members of a cruise ship in Nagasaki, which has puzzled authorities because the southern port city has a relatively low number of infections and the vessel has been docked for almost three months. SENT: 510 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY-MERKEL — German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for international cooperation on the development of a vaccination for the new coronavirus, saying that the pandemic transcends borders and can only be countered jointly. SENT: 570 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TURKEY — A Turkish Airlines plane has flown over the country drawing the Turkish flag in its flight path to mark centennial celebrations for the founding of the nation’s parliament. SENT: 320 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iranians are relying on deliverymen for many of their daily supplies amid one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus. SENT: 650 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — Social restrictions in Indonesia’s capital have been extended as Muslims in the world’s most populous Muslim nation prepare for a month of fasting. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
GROUND GAME — AP’s coronavirus podcast, “Ground Game: Inside the Outbreak,” today looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to agree to arguments over the telephone, with audio available live to the world for the first time. Listen to the podcast at https://appodcasts.com/category/ground-game/. Embed code is available on AP Coverage Plan.
A separate advisory has been sent detailing AP's complete pandemic coverage.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEVADA MAYOR — Mayor called reckless for urging Vegas to test reopening. SENT: 700 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EMPTY PLAYGROUNDS-PHOTO GALLERY — World’s playgrounds silent, lonely amid pandemic. SENT: 210 words, photos.
WOODS-MICKELSON — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson to stage TV match with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOVE BUS — Brussels love bus gives loud shout out during pandemic times. SENT: 460 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ABORTION — Court allows Arkansas ban on surgical abortions due to virus. SENT: 420 words.
OBIT-CHERYL-A-WALL — Literary scholar Cheryl A. Wall dies at age 71. SENT: 300 words.
AUSTRALIA-POLICE DEATHS — Truck kills four Australian police who stopped speeding driver. SENT: 250 words, photo.
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SEVERE WEATHER — Severe weather was moving through Mississippi after apparent tornadoes tore through parts of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, where five deaths included a trailer factory worker whose body was found a quarter mile from his workplace. SENT: 400 words, photos, video.
NATION’S REPORT CARD — The latest Nation’s Report Card gives eighth-grade students unsatisfactory marks in U.S. history, geography and civics. SENT: 530 words.
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GERMANY-SYRIA-TORTURE TRIAL — Two former members of Syria’s secret police appear in court in Germany accused of crimes against humanity for their role in a government-run detention center where large numbers of opposition protesters were tortured. SENT: 420 words, photos.
GREENLAND-UNITED STATES — Greenlanders say they welcome reports that the United States wants to invest in their island, but the money has to come without conditions. SENT: 570 words, photos.
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CHINA-OIL-BINGE — China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, is building up stockpiles of crude oil as global prices plunge due to the coronavirus outbreak. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 780 words, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Shares were mixed in Europe and Asia following a rally on Wall Street and a slight recovery in oil prices. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 510 words, photos. With EUROPE-ECONOMY — Eurozone economy shrinking by quarterly rate of 7.5%.
AUSTRALIA-VIRGIN-AP-EXPLAINS — Virgin Australia becomes the world’s largest airline to seek bankruptcy protection in the weeks since the coronavirus shutdown created a debt crisis. SENT: 590 words, photos.
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SCIENCE
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THAILAND-SEA MAMMALS — It’s rare to see a threatened species of sea mammal in shallow waters in southern Thailand but thanks to travel restrictions that have stripped popular destinations of crowds of tourists, a large group of dugongs has made their presence known. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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WHEELCHAIR LEAGUE — Brad Lang, a Marine veteran who lost both legs in an explosion while on patrol in Afghanistan in 2011, will compete in a new wheelchair football league that will play in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Kansas City. By Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner. SENT: 670 words, photo.
DRAFT PROSPECTS AT HOME — Fifty-eight prospects will take part remotely in the NFL draft, which has gone virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic. By Sports Writer Joe Reedy. SENT: 790 words, photos.
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