AP News Digest 7:10 a.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 6 years, 1 month 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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NEW/DEVELOPING
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SOMALIA-ATTACK — A car bomb explodes at the gates of a military base in Somalia’s capital, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 14 others, with the toll expected to rise, police say. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group quickly claimed responsibility via its radio arm, Andalus. The group often targets military sites in Mogadishu and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, with little sign of being hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.SENT: 320 words.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — A last-ditch effort by Democrats to revive collapsing Capitol Hill talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money ends in disappointment. That makes it increasingly likely that Washington gridlock will mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 1,020 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK — U.S. hiring slows in July as the coronavirus outbreak worsened, and the government’s jobs report offered signs the economic damage from the pandemic could last far longer than many observers originally envisioned (sent).
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-BLACK VOTERS — Joe Biden’s controversial remarks about race this week risk alienating young Black voters who despise President Donald Trump but are not inspired by his Democratic rival. During two separate interviews with a Black and a Latina reporter this week, Biden made racially charged comments that some young Black activists and elected officials say turned off their peers. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 1,080 words, photo.
ELECTION SECURITY — Intelligence officials believe Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the November election, the U.S. counterintelligence chief says. U.S. officials also believe China does not want President Donald Trump to win a second term. By Deb Riechmann and Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
LEBANON-LIVES LOST — The enormous explosion in Beirut that killed scores of people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction across Lebanon’s capital touched off widespread mourning for the victims. Although mired for years in civil war and other regional violence, the city’s beauty and cosmopolitan nature attracted fashion designers, architects and business leaders, as well as migrants seeking to send money back home. In an instant, thousands of lives were affected by the blast. By Sarah El Deeb and Aya Batrawy. With LEBANON — Show of solidarity after blast as Lebanon braces for protest; LEBANON-FRANCE-NEOCOLONIALISM — Is France helping Lebanon, or trying to reconquer it?; LEBANON-THE-LATEST (all sent).
INDIA-PLANE — The plane swayed violently as it approached a hilltop runway drenched in monsoon rain, and moments later the special return flight for Indians stranded abroad by the pandemic skidded off, nosedived and cracked in two, leaving 18 dead and more than 120 injured. By Subramoney Iyer and Sheikh Saaliq. SENT: 650 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — The Australian state of Victoria recorded 466 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths, including another man in his 30s. The figures were released as the city of Melbourne remained in lockdown and under an overnight curfew. SENT: 490 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-FRANCE — The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez is requiring face masks outdoors starting Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties. SENT: 250 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-HEALTH-SECRETARY — U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar says he wants to learn about Taiwan’s “incredibly effective” response to the cornavirus even though the island did things that the U.S. has fumbled, such as having a unified strategy and citizens willing to wear masks. SENT: 650 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-WEST POINT-PHOTO-GALLERY — Cadets train at West Point amid a pandemic. SENT: 170 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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HOMELESS-WOMEN-PREDATOR-ARREST — More charges for man accused of preying on homeless women. SENT: 260 words, photo.
MARINES-SUNKEN SEA TANK — Remains of 9 killed in California Marine sinking recovered. SENT: 360 words.
VENEZUELA-FAILED-ATTACK — 2 ex-Green Berets sentenced to 20 years for Venezuela attack. SENT: 400 words.
OBIT-LORENZO-SORIA — Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and former editor of the Italian news weekly L’Espresso, has died, the association says. He was 68. SENT: 200 words, photos.
MTV-VMAS — MTV VMAS scraps indoor performances, moves to outdoor sets. SENT: 210 words, photo.
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ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-VP — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer went to Delaware to meet with Joe Biden as he nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, two high-ranking Michigan Democrats tell The Associated Press. It’s his first confirmed in-person meeting with a potential pick. By David Eggert. SENT: 350 words, photo.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — More protests are expected in Portland, Oregon, throughout the weekend following violent demonstrations this week that have brought more unrest to the Northwest city. Since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis protests have occurred nightly for 70 days. Friday night, Portland police declared an unlawful assembly at the Penumbra Kelly public safety building, ordering everyone in the area to leave. Authorities had previously warned people not to trespass on the property. SENT: 420 words, photos.
RACIAL-INJUSTICE-COLORADO — Prosecutors are investigating whether suburban Denver police officers should face criminal charges for putting four Black girls on the ground and handcuffing two of them after mistakenly suspecting they were riding in a stolen car, a district attorney says. SENT: 630 words, photo.
CENSUS-CITIZENSHIP — A coalition of states, cities and civil rights groups on Friday asked a federal judge to declare as unconstitutional President Donald Trump’s order seeking to exclude people in the country illegally from being part of the process for redrawing congressional districts. SENT: 320 words, photo.
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BELARUS-ELECTION - After 26 consecutive years in office, the autocratic leader of Belarus is confronting something unfamiliar as he tries to win a sixth term: circumstances beyond his control. Discontent over a worsening economy and his government’s dismissive response to the coronavirus pandemic has helped fuel the country’s largest opposition rallies since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when Alexander Lukashenko became independent Belarus’s first and only elected president, so far. SENT: 990 words, photos.
CZECH-WILDLIFE-SANCTUARY — Wild horses, bison and other big-hoofed animals once roamed freely in much of Europe. Now they are transforming a former military base outside the Czech capital in an ambitious project to improve biodiversity. Where occupying Soviet troops once held exercises, massive bovines called tauros and other heavy beasts now munch on the invasive plants that took over the base years ago. SENT: 630 words photos.
YEMEN-ATTACK — Airstrikes in northern Yemen kill as many as nine children, a United Nations official says, making it the third such attack with significant child deaths in that rebel-controlled region this month. The statement said at least seven more children and two women were injured, but added that the casualty figures were only preliminary and still under investigation. SENT: 380 words, photos.
IRAN-US-PLANE-INTERCEPTION — Iran is urging the United Nations to hold the United States accountable for the interception of an Iranian passenger plane by two U.S. fighter jets in the skies over Syria last month, which it called an “unlawful” and an “adventuristic act.” SENT: 410 words.
PALESTINIANS-GAZA — Hundreds of thousands of students in the isolated Gaza Strip return to schools after five months of closure, despite the ongoing pandemic that has seen school years postponed elsewhere across the globe. SENT: 290 words, photos.
MEXICO-BAD TOURIST ADS — It has been a bad week for Mexican tourism promotion, after “anything goes” tourism ads were pulled and Mexico was slapped with a U.S. “do not travel” advisory. It got worse when the English language version of the country’s tourism website appeared with hilarious mis-translations. Entire states like Hidalgo and Guerrero apparently got machine translated as “Noble” and “Warrior.” Worse, there was an inexplicable re-invention of the names of some fairly well-known tourist towns. SENT: 450 words, photo.
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FAA-SAFETY — Federal employees overseeing Boeing and other aircraft makers say they face pressure from the companies and fear retribution from their own bosses if they raise too many safety concerns, according to a survey of the workers that was delivered to Congress. By Airlines Writer David Koenig. SENT: 530 words, photo.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TV-SHARK WEEK — The pervasive effects of the coronavirus can be seen in this year’s Shark Week lineup, which includes programs that reflect the pandemic’s effect on shark behavior and research. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP — Harding Park is renowned for producing champions who are among the best in golf, from Byron Nelson to Tiger Woods, and a long list of Hall of Famers and major champions in between. Halfway through the PGA Championship, Li Haotong delivered his own footnote in history. With five birdies through 10 holes, and eight tough pars down the stretch, Li had a 5-under 65 on Friday and became the first Chinese player to lead after any round of any major. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 940 words, photos.
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