AP News Digest 2:15 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 4 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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TROPICAL-WEATHER — One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. pounded the Gulf Coast with wind and rain as Laura roared ashore in Louisiana near the Texas border, unleashing a fearsome wall of seawater and killing at least one person. Louisiana took the brunt of the damage when the Category 4 system barreled over Lake Charles, an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people. Laura’s powerful gusts blew out windows in tall buildings and tossed around glass and debris. Police spotted a floating casino that came unmoored and hit a bridge. By Gerald Herbert, Melinda Deslatte and Stacey Plaisance, SENT: 1,070 words, photos, videos. With TROPICAL-WEATHER-OIL — Oil industry assesses damages at refineries, plants. SENT: 740 words, photo; TROPICAL-WEATHER-THE-LATEST (sent)
TROPICAL WEATHER-FEMA — As it cuts a destructive path through Louisiana, Hurricane Laura is also testing an already-stretched Federal Emergency Management Agency. Amid concerns about vacancies in senior FEMA leadership positions, the agency is working with local and state authorities to respond to the hurricane and its aftermath. That’s on top of COVID-19, the California wildfires and the Iowa storms that made 2020 an unprecedentedly disastrous year. By Ben Fox. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 4 p.m.
Find more coverage of Hurricane Laura in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-RNC — As a confluence of crises, as well as the chants of protesters, loom outside the White House gates, President Donald Trump will stand on the South Lawn to deliver his acceptance speech to a divided nation, presenting himself as the last barrier protecting the American way of life under siege from radical forces. By Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. UPCOMING: 900 words by 5 p.m., with updates from events starting at 8:30 p.m. Trump expected to speak about 10:30 p.m., 1,100 words by 11 p.m., photos, video. With ELECTION 2020-RNC-THE LATEST (sent), ELECTION 2020-RNC-FACT CHECK, ELECTION 2020-RNC-TAKEAWAYS (upcoming)
ELECTION 2020-RNC-LINEUP — If speaking time at the Republican convention is a measure of President Donald Trump’s favor, his family wins by a landslide, followed by a slate of Cabinet members and aides. Plenty of Republican luminaries, including an ex-president, wouldn’t place at all. By Laurie Kellman. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 6 p.m.
Find more coverage of the conventions and Election 2020 on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
POLICE SHOOTING-UNANSWERED QUESTIONS — Days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, law enforcement authorities have left a host of questions unanswered -- an approach that has not only fueled anger and speculation but runs counter to what an increasing number of American police forces are doing. Many are promptly releasing accounts and video of police shootings, in part to fend off rumors and unrest. By Lindsay Whitehurst and Alanna Durkin Richer. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos, by 3:30 p.m.
POLICE SHOOTING-WISCONSIN-VIGILANTES — Repeated calls for armed vigilantes to travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to protect businesses following the police shooting of Jacob Blake spread across social media in the hours before two people were shot to death and a third was wounded during a third night of unrest in the city. By Barbara Ortutay and Anita Snow. SENT: 650 words, photo. With POLICE-SHOOTING-WISCONSIN — Groups that had taken to Kenosha’s streets with long guns were nowhere to be seen following somber protests and no widespread unrest for the first night since the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. ------------------------------------------------------
MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — Despite a spike in coronavirus infections, authorities in Europe are determined to send children back to school. They want to narrow learning gaps between haves and have-nots that deepened during virus lockdowns – and to get their parents back to work. By Angela Charlton. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GLOBAL-SCHOOLS — Case by case: How nations are going back to school -- or not. sent: 1,080 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VENEZUELA-QUARANTINE — Many Venezuelans are balking at getting tested for the new coronavirus for fear of being locked up in mandatory isolation centers if they’re found to be infected. Analysts say that’s making it harder to contain the virus in a country where the health system has already been crippled by years of shortages and mismanagement. SENT: 900 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-DYING-ALONE — When Augusto Briceño hugged his mother in her bed in the COVID-19 intensive-care ward, he said he sensed the warmth of her body through his protective gloves, and felt full of peace. Despite his grief, Briceño said he felt lucky. The Mater Dei hospital in Buenos Aires is one of the few but growing number in Latin America that allows relatives to be with patients dying of the novel coronavirus, clad in face covering, shield, and protective clothing against infection. SENT: 630 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-PAKISTAN-TOXIC-TROLLING — The trolls have gone online in Pakistan since authorities imposed a nationwide lockdown earlier this year to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Social media trackers say the lockdown sparked a 50% increase in internet use in this conservative Muslim nation of over 220 million people — along with an explosion of hate speech and incitement. By Kathy Gannon. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY — Most of Germany will impose a minimum fine of 50 euros ($59) for breaching mask-wearing rules as coronavirus infections rise again, Chancellor Angela Merkel said. SENT: 500 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-MASKS — Does a face mask protect me, or just the people around me? It likely provides protection for both. SENT: 250 words, graphic.
VIRUS OUTBREAK–ONE GOOD THING-TEENS TAKE ACTION — In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, communities across the country have discovered a powerful resource that has stepped forward to make a difference: America’s teenagers. They have delivered groceries to older adults, offered online tutoring, emailed sick children, helped feed the hungry. SEN: 600 words, photos.
Find more all-format coverage of the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-MINNEAPOLIS UNREST — An emergency curfew expired and downtown Minneapolis was calm after unrest broke out following what authorities said was misinformation about the suicide of a Black homicide suspect.. SENT: 670 words, photos.
RACIAL-INJUSTICE-CALIFORNIA-PROTESTS — Hundreds marched in two California cities over the shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, setting fire to property and damaging businesses. SENT: 180 words.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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INNOCENT MAN-DNA EVIDENCE — Innocent Florida inmate to be released after 37 years. SENT: 380 words.
RECALL APP — US rolls out free app for alerts on vehicle recalls. SENT: 260 words, photo.
PEOPLE-KATY PERRY-ORLANDO BLOOM — Smile!: Katy Perry gives birth to a baby girl named Daisy. SENT: 190 words, photo.
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ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — Democrat Joe Biden steps up his critique of President Donald Trump, arguing that he’s fueling violence in cities to help his political prospects. By Will Weissert. SENT: 300 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-RNC-CORONAVIRUS — It was a scene out of another era: Vice President Mike Pence shaking hands with and first-bumping audience members who had rushed to the front of the rope line, standing shoulder-to-shoulder to greet him and the president after Pence’s headline speech at the Republican National Convention. As the president has tried to push past a plague threatening his reelection, convention organizers have tried to put the pandemic in the rear view mirror, no matter the 42,000 new cases diagnosed Wednesday, or the more than 2,700 new deaths logged across the country since the week began. By Jill Colvin. UPCOMING: 850 words by 5 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-RNC-HATCH ACT — Complaint alleges Secretary of State Mike Pompeo committed an “egregious violation” of the Hatch Act by delivering a video-taped speech from Israel to the Republican National Convention. By Brian Slodysko. SENT: 410 words, photos.
ELECTION-2020-MASSACHUSETTS-SENATE — The long political shadow of the Kennedy family is hovering over the contest between U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy lll, who’s hoping to oust Markey in next week’s Democratic primary. SENT: 880 words, photo.
TRUMP-NBA — Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff says NBA protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, are “absurd and silly.” By Aamer Madhani and Deb Riechmann. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES-ROGUE FIREFIGHTERS — With California firefighters strapped for resources, residents have organized to put out flames themselves in a large swath of land burning south of San Francisco, defending their homes despite orders to evacuate and pleas by officials to get out of danger. SENT: 870 words, photos. With CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — Thousands may go home as California firefight progresses. SENT: 670 words, photos.
BRIBERY-INVESTIGATION-OHIO — FirstEnergy Corp. was once blamed for its part in triggering North America’s largest blackout nearly 20 years ago. Now, the multistate power company is again facing intense scrutiny — this time for its role in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme that has ensnared one of Ohio’s most powerful politicians. While FirstEnergy and its executives have denied wrongdoing and have not been criminally charged, federal investigators say the company secretly funneled millions to secure a $1 billion legislative bailout for two unprofitable Ohio nuclear plants then operated by an independently controlled subsidiary called FirstEnergy Solutions. SENT: 1,310 words, photo.
REL-LIBERTY-UNIVERSITY-WHAT’S-NEXT — Jerry Falwell Jr.’s resignation as president of Liberty University following revelations of a sexual relationship between his wife and a business partner of the Falwell family has stirred conflicted emotions at the school founded by his father. SENT: 990 words, photos.
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NEW-ZEALAND-MOSQUE-SHOOTING-SENTENCING — The white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in the country. SENT: 840 words, photos.
BELARUS-PROTESTS — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that he stands ready to send police to Belarus if protests there turn violent, but added in an interview that there is no such need now and voiced hope that the situation in the neighboring country will stabilize. SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
RUSSIA-NAVALNY — Russian authorities say they have found no indication so far that opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s coma, which his allies and German doctors treating him believe may have been brought about by poisoning, was caused by a criminal act. SENT: 580 words, photos.
MALI-CRISIS — Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita returned home after being detained for 10 days by the ruling military junta that staged a coup d’etat last week, a family member says. SENT: 770 words, photos.
LEBANON — Lebanon is in such a deep political and economic crisis the country risks collapsing altogether, France’s foreign minister says, ahead of the French president’s visit to the country next week. SENT: 440 words, photo.
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FEDERAL-RESERVE-POWELL-SPEECH — The Federal Reserve announced a significant change in how it manages interest rates by saying it plans to keep rates near zero even after inflation has exceeded its 2% target level. The change means the Fed is prepared to tolerate a higher level of inflation than it generally has in the past. And it means that borrowing rates for households and businesses — for everything from auto loans and home mortgages to corporate expansion — will likely remain ultra-low for years to come. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 910 words, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Stocks are pushing further into record heights on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve made a major overhaul to its strategy, one that could keep interest rates lower for longer. SENT: 650 words, photos.
TIKTOK-POSSIBLE-SALE — Walmart says it may join Microsoft to buy the U.S. business of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned video app that has come under fire from the Trump administration. SENT: 400 words, photo.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — Just over 1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the coronavirus outbreak continues to threaten jobs even as the housing market, auto sales and other segments of the economy rebound from a springtime collapse. SENT: 630 words, photo. With ECONOMY-GDP — U.S. economy plunged an annualized 31.7% in second quarter. SENT: 340 words, photo.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-TYRESE — R&B singer and actor Tyrese releases a powerful song and music video about the Black experience and racial injustice, and proceeds will benefit the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed by police officers. By Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu. SENT: 740 words, photos.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-SPORTS — NBA players will stick around at Disney for another restart — just not Thursday. The league’s schedule will remain quiet for at least another day, leaving the basketball courts in the bubble as silent as the tennis courts at the home of the U.S. Open. Whether playoffs or practices, many in sports just weren’t ready yet to play ball. By Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney and Tim Reynolds. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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