AP News Digest 5:30 a.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months 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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ONLY ON AP
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CHINA-MAPPING THE OUTBREAK — As a growing number of countries block travel from China, experts warn that the expanding net of restrictions may be too late to stop the spread of a new virus that has claimed over 800 lives. The crucial moment for containment came in the weeks before Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the first coronavirus cases were reported, sealed its borders. By Erika Kinetz. SENT: 1,380 words, photos.
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THAILAND-SHOOTING — Thailand's prime minister says 27 people are dead, including the gunman who went on the bloodiest shooting spree in the country's history. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters that another 57 people have been wounded in the 16-hour rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima, a hub for Thailand’s relatively poorer and rural northeastern region. By Sakchai Lalit and Tassanee Vejpongsa. SENT: 950 words, photos, video.
AFGHANISTAN — The U.S. military says two American soldiers were killed and six wounded in a so-called insider attack in eastern Afghanistan. U.S. officials say an Afghan dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire late Saturday in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. SENT: 440 words, photos.
CHINA-OUTBREAK — China's death toll from the new virus outbreak has risen by 89 to 811, surpassing the number of fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, as other governments stepped up efforts to block the disease. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 1,020 words, photos. WITH: CHINA OUTBREAK-AT A GLANCE.
AFRICA-LOCUST OUTBREAK — The desert locusts in this arid patch of northern Somalia look less ominous than the billion-member swarms infesting East Africa in the worst outbreak some places have seen in 70 years. SENT: 920 words, photos.
FACEBOOK PRIVACY-ILLINOIS CHICAGO — A landmark $550 million settlement in a privacy lawsuit against Facebook can be traced back to a once obscure law in Illinois. The 2008 measure lets Illinois residents sue when companies fail to get consent for collecting and using biometric data. The class-action suit filed in 2015 accused Facebook of failing to tell three Illinois men and other users that its photo tagging feature was powered by facial recognition technology. Other big tech companies, including Google, have been targeted in similar suits. But the majority of Illinois cases have focused on fingerprint-based systems for tracking work hours. By Kathleen Foody. UPCOMING: 1,070 words, photos by noon.
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS-UTAH-MEXICO — Utah pays about 10 public employees travel to Mexico to fill their prescription medications. State officials say the program has saved Utah about $225,000 in the year since it's been created, and they are expanding the program to Canada. It's one of several ways states experimenting to cut the high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. California is looking at launching its own generic-drug label. Louisiana negotiated a flat fee for certain drugs. Other states are looking into importing drugs from other nations. By Lindsay Whitehurst. UPCOMING, 1,000 words, photos by 1 p.m.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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PAKISTAN-INDIA — A senior Pakistani police official says Indian soldiers fired at civilian areas along the highly militarized frontier in divided Kashmir. SENT: 220 words.
AUSTRALIA-WILDFIRES — Torrential rain lashing Australia’s east coast has extinguished a major wildfire and caused widespread flash flooding. SENT: 260 words.
BRITAIN-STORMS — Trains, flights and ferries have been cancelled and weather warnings issued across the United Kingdom as a storm with hurricane-force winds batters the region. SENT: 210 words.
PAKISTAN-CLIMBERS RESCUED — Pakistan's military says an army helicopter has rescued an American and a Finnish climber stranded on a mountain peak in the country's north. SENT: 140 words.
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ELECTION-2020-NEW-HAMPSHIRE —The battle for momentum in New Hampshire on Saturday night came down to how expressive fans in the cheap seats could be. Democrats made an effort to project an aura of unity in New Hampshire designed to pump up the party's base and each campaign's core supporters three days ahead of the state's presidential primary. SENT: 560 words, photos.
FACT CHECK-WEEK — President Donald Trump says the world is witnessing a great American economic revival that he brought on by reversing course from the Obama years. Yet the economy is not so different from the robust one he inherited and disparages at every turn. Trump's State of the Union speech came packed with assertions tailor-made for his reelection bid, during a week when his acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial emboldened him. The leading Democrats vying to replace him tangled in a debate before New Hampshire seeks to give shape to a race mangled in Iowa. A sampling of rhetoric of the past week. By Hope Yen and Calvin Woodward. SENT: 1,900 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
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NYPD-OFFICER SHOT — New York City's police commissioner says an officer was wounded by gunfire in the Bronx in “an assassination attempt.” Commissioner Dermot Shea says two uniformed officers were sitting in a police van on Saturday night when a man engaged them in conversation and then pulled out a gun “without provocation.” SENT: 460 words, photos.
NORTHWEST-STORMS — Waters covering roads in flood-hit northeastern Oregon begins to recede, allowing residents who spent the night in shelters to return and assess the damage, a Red Cross official says. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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CAMEROON ELECTION — Observers say a surge of violence is threatening to derail Sunday's parliamentary election in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. SENT: 660 words.
KASHMIR-EXECUTION ANNIVERSARY — Shops and businesses have shut in Indian-controlled Kashmir and authorities imposed a security lockdown in some parts of the disputed region’s main city after separatists called for a strike to mark the execution anniversary of a man who was convicted for an attack on Indian Parliament. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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OSCARS — The Oscars are here, already. After the shortest awards season in decades, the 92nd annual Academy Awards will get underway Sunday evening at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The red carpet is being rolled out two to three weeks earlier than usual in a bid to freshen up a ceremony and potentially boost ratings. SENT: 840 words, photos.
MEDIA-GAYLE KING — The head of CBS News says threats against news anchor Gayle King are reprehensible. CBS News President Susan Zirinsky's comment Saturday was evidence of a growing backlash against rapper Snoop Dogg and others who have criticized King following an interview this week that touched on sexual abuse charges against the late Kobe Bryant. SENT: 720 words, photos.
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK-LAQUAN SMITH — LaQuan Smith brought the sexy to New York Fashion Week in a mostly black collection of slinky evening dresses, ultra-short party wear and killer cold-weather coats of leather and fur. The Queens, New York-born luxury designer made a name for himself dressing Kim Kardashian, Beyonce and Rihanna. SENT: 430 words, photos.
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FBO--XFL OPENER -- The new XFL debuted with an entertaining game the D.C. Defenders won 31-19 over the Seattle Dragons. The first game of the brand-new football league had a punt blocked for a touchdown, a juiced-up crowd roaring for big plays and a player swearing during an in-game television interview. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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