AP News Digest 6 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 1 month AGO
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All Times EST. 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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Adds BIDEN-CABINET, FEDERAL AGENCIES HACKED, IMMIGRATION-BORDER BIRTH, ELECTORAL COLLEGE-MEDIA, BUCKS-ANTETOKOUNMPO.
MINNESOTA-JUVENILE LIFER — Pardons board hearing underway.
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ONLY ON AP
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PUBLIC HEALTH-LEADER DEPARTURES — An investigation finds that at least 181 public health leaders in 38 states have resigned, retired or been fired since the beginning of the pandemic. By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Hannah Recht, Michelle R. Smith and Lauren Weber. SENT: 3,110 words, photos. Abridged version also available. With PUBLIC HEALTH-LEADER DEPARTURES-PORTRAITS (sent).
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ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — More than a month after the election, some of the nation’s highest-profile Republican holdouts are finally coming to terms with the fact that Joe Biden will be president soon. But President Donald Trump still hasn’t conceded. By Will Weissert. SENT: 950 words, photos. With ELECTION 2020-REPUBLICANS — Senate Majority Leader McConnell finally acknowledges that Biden won presidential election. SENT: 930 words, photos; CONGRESS-EXPLAINING ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE — How the final step in the Electoral College process will work. SENT: 950 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINES — Hundreds more hospitals around the country begin dispensing COVID-19 shots to their workers in a rapid expansion of the U.S. vaccination drive, while a second vaccine moves to the cusp of government authorization. The FDA says its preliminary analysis has confirmed the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. By Matthew Perrone, Lauran Neergaard and David Porter. SENT: 830 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOME TEST — Over-the-counter home test for COVID-19 gets US green light. SENT: 410 words, photos.
BIDEN-CABINET — President-elect Joe Biden is expected to pick his former rival Pete Buttigieg as secretary of transportation. The decision leaves the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, poised to become the first openly gay person confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet post. By Michael Balsamo, Jonathan Lemire and Thomas Beaumont. SENT: 760 words, photo.
FEDERAL AGENCIES HACKED — Some of America’s most deeply held secrets may have been stolen in a disciplined, monthslong operation being blamed on elite Russian government hackers. The possibilities of what might have been purloined are mind-boggling. By Frank Bajak. UPCOMING: 920 words by 7 p.m., photos.
NIGERIA-BOKO HARAM-SCHOOL ATTACK — Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claim responsibility for abducting hundreds of boys from a school in northern Nigeria in one of the largest such attacks in years. More than 330 students remain missing after gunmen with assault rifles attacked the school. Scores of others managed to escape. By Sam Olukoya and Carley Petesch. SENT: 980 words, photos.
IMMIGRATION-BORDER BIRTH — With the help of two Border Patrol agents, a Honduran woman gives birth on the banks of the Rio Grande after being pushed across the river in a tire. Her ordeal shows how lives routinely end up at risk on the U.S.-Mexico border. By Nomaan Merchant. SENT: 990 words, photos.
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GENETICALLY MODIFIED PIGS — U.S. regulators approve a genetically modified pig for food and medical products, making it the second such animal to get the green light for human consumption. SENT: 660 words, photo.
FRANCE-PARIS-GENDER EQUALITY — Paris city hall is fined for appointing too many women to top positions, a breach of a law aimed at ensuring gender balance. SENT: 200 words.
ONLINE SHOPPING-SCAMS — Online shopping scams are on the rise as thieves take advantage of the surge of people flocking to the internet during the pandemic. SENT: 550 words, photos.
CANADA-FASHION MOGUL-ARREST — Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is arrested on charges alleging he sexually assaulted women and girls. SENT: 420 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-SPORTS — To stay physically active while limiting the risk of infection, experts suggest activities you do alone or with members of your household. SENT: 210 words, graphic.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — The pace is intensifying as Washington negotiators try to reach agreement on COVID-19 relief. SENT: 880 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — With Americans, Britons and Canadians rolling up their sleeves to receive coronavirus vaccines, the route out of the pandemic now seems clear to many in the West. For poorer countries, the road will be far longer and rougher. SENT: 1,260 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — Midwestern states see drop in new virus cases. SENT: 710 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EMA-EXPLAINER — Pressure is building on the European Medicines Agency to approve the coronavirus shot made by Pfizer and the German company BioNTech. SENT: 880 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GERMANY — EU regulators move up Pfizer vaccine assessment to Dec. 21. SENT: 820 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SWEDEN — Health officials in Sweden, which opted not to respond to the first wave of COVID-19 with a national lockdown, misjudged the power of the virus’s resurgence, the country’s prime minister says. SENT: 570 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — The British government faces mounting calls to reassess its plans to ease coronavirus restrictions for a few days over Christmas. SENT: 600 words, photos.
ONE GOOD THING-OPERATION SANTA — Pandemic prompts scaled-back Christmas tradition in Alaska. SENT: 520 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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SENATE-GEORGIA-BIDEN — Fresh from the Electoral College affirming his victory, President-elect Joe Biden tells Georgians they must deliver two Democratic Senate runoff victories so his administration can confront the coronavirus pandemic and other national challenges. SENT: 990 words, photos, video.
BIDEN-INAUGURATION — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office outside the U.S. Capitol building as inauguration planners seek to craft an event that captures the traditional grandeur of the ceremony while complying with COVID-19 protocols. SENT: 660 words, photo.
MELANIA TRUMP — Melania Trump isn’t letting the pandemic break a decadeslong tradition of first ladies visiting a Washington children’s hospital at the holidays. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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ISRAEL-AUSTRALIA — Israel’s Supreme Court rejects an appeal challenging the extradition of a former teacher wanted in Australia on charges of child sex abuse. SENT: 500 words, photo.
JAPAN-TWITTER-KILLER — A Japanese court sentences a man to death for killing and dismembering nine people, most of whom had posted suicidal thoughts on social media. SENT: 300 words, photos.
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MINNESOTA-JUVENILE LIFER — Minnesota’s pardon board will consider freeing a Black man sentenced to life in prison as a teen in a high-profile murder case that has raised questions about the integrity of the criminal justice system that put him away. SENT: 810 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing from afternoon hearing.
RELIGION-CHURCH VANDALISM — Vandalism at four downtown Washington churches after rallies in support of President Trump is exposing rifts among people of faith as the nation confronts bitter post-election political divisions. SENT: 870 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks close broadly higher on Wall Street, breaking a four-day losing streak for the S&P 500. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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BRITAIN-ANTARCTIC-ICEBERG — The British Antarctic Survey says scientists will set off next month on a mission to find out the impact of a giant floating iceberg on the wildlife and marine life on a sub-Antarctic island. SENT: 390 words, photos.
MONARCH BUTTERFLY-THREATENED — Federal officials declare the monarch butterfly “a candidate” for threatened or endangered status. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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ELECTORAL COLLEGE-MEDIA — The Electoral College vote could be a tipping point for many in the conservative media: Do they continue echoing President Trump’s no-retreat stance, or do they begin moving on? By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 890 words, photo.
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BUCKS-ANTETOKOUNMPO — Two-time reigning MVP Gannis Antetokounmpo says he’s staying with the Milwaukee Bucks for at least five more seasons. SENT: 600 words, photo.
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HOW TO REACH US
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