An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe. The clash in the Midwest has illustrated in condensed form the tension between science and politics that has characterized the nation’s response to the outbreak from the White House on down. The virus has devastated the U.S. economy and killed over 170,000 Americans.

The AP plans the following coverage today of the virus outbreak. For up-to-the minute information, visit AP Newsroom’s coverage hub Find AP Virus Alerts here

SENT/DEVELOPING:

VIRUS OUTBREAK: An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe. SENT: 940 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FINANCIAL MARKETS: Stocks turned lower in late trading on Wall Street Wednesday, handing the S&P 500 a loss a day after it closed at a record high. SENT: 960 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PRESS CRACKDOWN: Governments around the world are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to justify crackdowns on press freedom. SENT: 800 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BUBBLES: Doctors checking comatose COVID-19 patients for signs of a stroke instead stumbled onto a new clue about how the coronavirus may harm the lungs. SENT: 710 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PHARMACY VACCINATIONS: Pharmacists in all 50 states are now allowed to give childhood vaccinations under a new directive aimed at preventing future outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases. The move is designed to help prevent vaccination rates from falling during the pandemic. SENT: 490 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WOMEN IN LOCKDOWN: Millions of women and girls globally have lost access to contraceptives and abortion services because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now the first widespread measure of the toll says India has been hit especially hard. Marie Stopes International says in a new report that nearly 2 fewer million women received services between January and June across 37 countries. SENT: 1010 words, photos.

MALL PARKING LOT-DRIVE INS: After being closed for months due to the pandemic, malls are bringing all types of drive-in entertainment to their massive parking lots, hoping to lure people back to their properties. SENT: 900 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GIG ECONOMY: The pandemic shuffled the deck for the so-called gig economy as fear of contracting the coronavirus led many who once traveled in shared vehicles to stay home, and grocery delivery services struggled to keep up with demand from people who didn’t want to risk stepping into a store, according to a new survey from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. SENT: 950 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-VIRUS: There’s a disconnect between coronavirus health guidelines and the scene at recent Trump and Pence campaign events. Hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stood and sat shoulder to shoulder in Yuma, Arizona, this week, against the advice of Trump’s own health experts. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN: London’s Heathrow Airport, the U.K.’s busiest, has unveiled a new coronavirus testing facility that it says could halve the length of time people have to stay at home after arriving from countries on the British government’s quarantine list. SENT: 640 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST: Iran surpassed 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, the health ministry said — the highest death toll for any Middle East country so far in the pandemic. SENT: 910 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-DUBAI-ALCOHOL ECONOMY: Dubai has again loosened laws governing alcohol sales and possession of liquor as the sheikhdom tries to claw its way out of an economic depression worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. The move comes as alcohol sales, a vital part of Dubai’s tourism and hospitality industry, have suffered greatly under lockdown restrictions imposed amid the pandemic. SENT: 980 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA: South Korean health workers have found more than 600 coronavirus infections linked to a Seoul church led by a vocal opponent of the country’s president as officials began restricting gatherings in the greater capital area amid fears that transmissions are getting out of control. Includes developments from throughout Asia. SENT: 850 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FUNERAL REFUSED: Noel Alexander had helped build the church and had been its music minister. After he died from COVID-19 at age 79, the minister had approved holding his visitation and funeral there. But when the first family member arrived at the church’s gymnasium-sized living center, two church officials told her neither Alexander’s body nor his family could come in for visitation or the funeral the following day. SENT: 700 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOST LIVES-BRAZIL-QUILOMBO LEADER: Carivaldina Oliveira da Costa was the matriarch who signed off on all decisions of her quilombo community, one of Brazil’s many groups that are descendants of escaped slaves. She died in June at age 79, coronavirus listed as one of the causes on her death certificate. SENT: 870 words, photos.

TV-LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA: A new four-part miniseries tackles relationship struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. SENT: 570 words, photos.

ALSO: VIRUS OUTBREAK-FLORIDA: The number of people in Florida confirmed to have died from the new coronavirus surpassed 10,000 Wednesday, as teachers and state officials argued in court over whether brick-and-mortar schools should be forced to reopen this month. SENT: 280 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VATICAN-VACCINE: Pope Francis is warning against any prospect that rich people would get priority for a coronavirus vaccine. SENT: 430 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA: For more than two months, the 11 million residents of Wuhan endured a strict lockdown as coronavirus raced around the city in central China. Now, some are letting loose en masse at rocking nighttime pool parties at a popular amusement park chain. SENT: 200 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN-DRIVE THROUGH HAUNTED HOUSE: Production company Kowagarasetai, roughly translated as Scare Squad, has launched a drive-through haunted house in Tokyo in response to the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 180 words, photos.

INTERACTIVES/GRAPHICS:

-US cases county-by-county. Embed code can be found in Coverage Plan. A static graphic also will be available in AP Newsroom.

-State trends (table): Trends in new cases and positivity rates for each U.S. state over the past 14 days.

-Case count (table): Searchable table of confirmed cases, including recoveries and deaths, by country, updated each hour.

-Interactive breakdown of unemployment filings by state with time scale for each (going back as far as 2000)

-Virus Europe Spread (map): An auto updating European map tracking the total confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from coronavirus.

Additional graphics and interactives include:

- Flattening the Coronavirus Curve (Chart): Chart compares the cumulative cases over time in some of the hardest hit countries by coronavirus.

-Virus Global Spread (table): Table of countries which have confirmed cases of the virus. Table also includes when the virus was initially reported and the number of deaths by country.

-Virus Global Spread (Map): Map of countries which have confirmed cases of the virus. Map also includes when the virus was initially reported and the number of deaths by country.

-Virus US State Map: State by state count of confirmed cases in the U.S.

-Virus US State Table: Table tracks the number of cases, recoveries and deaths for the US including its territories.

-Status of Cases Worldwide: Auto-updating once a day, this chart tracks the levels of active cases and deaths from COVID-19 around the world over time.

PHOTOS:

AP photos have moved from Austria, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Belgium, India, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, various US, Latin America locations.

VIDEO:

AP video has moved from Britain, France, UAE, Iran, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, various US, Latin America locations.