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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TOP STORIES _______________

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-TRUST — President Trump has faced criticism for straining the truth and undermining institutions of government during his first three years in office. Now, he faces a critical challenge as he grapples with the global threat of the new coronavirus: Asking Americans to believe him and follow him. By Aamer Madhani. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 3 p.m. With TRUMP-VIRUS OUTBREAK — Trump to detail US coronavirus efforts, Schumer seeks $8.5B. SENT: 860 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing; Trump news conference scheduled for 6 p.m.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK — Crews scrubbed everything from money to buses, military bases were on high alert and quarantines were enforced Wednesday from a beachfront resort in the Atlantic to a remote island in the Pacific, as the world worked to halt the fast-spreading virus that for the first time counted more new cases outside China than inside the country where the epidemic originated. By Kim Tong-Hyung and Matt Sedensky. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-AT A GLANCE (sent)

ELECTION 2020 — Eyeing a South Carolina victory to rescue his presidential ambitions, Joe Biden claims one of the state's most coveted endorsements as Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders marched past the blistering assault from his rivals on the debate stage the night before. And Pete Buttigieg, a leading critic of both Biden and Sanders, canceled multiple events on the day saying he was sick. By Steve Peoples, Meg Kinnard and Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,210 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing. With ELECTION 2020-DEMOCRATS-UNITY - Speaker Nancy Pelosi urges party unity amid Bernie Sanders' surge in the Democratic presidential primary, even as House Democrats worry about a volatile election season that could threaten their majority. UPCOMING: 650 words, photo by 5 p.m.

Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

CONGRESS-LYNCHING — Sixty-five years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, Congress is set to approve legislation designating lynching as a hate crime under federal law. The bill, named after Till, is intended to send a powerful message to confront violent racism and hatred that continues decades after the black teenager was murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman. By Matthew Daly. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m.

PLANTATIONS-HIDDEN HISTORY — The National Register of Historic Places is the government’s official honor roll for more than 95,000 sites that are important to the story of the United States. Yet it’s also just another place where the U.S. largely skirts the evil of slavery on antebellum plantations. An Associated Press review found that register entries often ignore the topic of slavery or mention it only in passing. By Jay Reeves. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.

SHARAPOVA RETIRES — Maria Sharapova is quietly walking away from tennis at the age of 32, ending a career that featured five Grand Slam titles, time at No. 1 in the WTA rankings and a 15-month doping ban. SENT: 530 words, photos. With SHARAPOVA RETIRES-CAREER TIMELINE

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK

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VATICAN-ASH WEDNESDAY — Pope Francis celebrated the Ash Wednesday ritual kicking off the Catholic Church's Lenten season in traditional fashion, while other Masses in northern Italy were canceled over fears of the new coronavirus. SENT: 540 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-US-SKOREA MILITARY — The U.S. and South Korean militaries, used to being on guard for threats from North Korea, face a new and formidable enemy that could hurt battle readiness: a virus spreading around the world that has infected more than 1,200 people in South Korea. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

TOKYO-VIRUS-OUTBREAK — Tokyo Olympic organizers and the Japanese government went on the offensive after a senior IOC member said the 2020 Games were being threatened by the spread of a viral outbreak, with their fate probably decided in the next three months. By Sports Writer Stephen Wade. SENT: 880 words, photos. With OLY-SWIMMING-VIRUS OUTBREAK — AP Interviews: Swimmers concerned Olympics will be canceled, SENT: 640 words, photos.

SOC-LYON-ITALIAN FANS — As black-and-white clad Juventus fans mingled in the restaurants and bars of Lyon ahead of a Champions League game, the decision to let the match go ahead amid a coronavirus outbreak in nearby Italy met with a defiant stance from France's health minister but criticism from others. SENT: 790 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran girded for a long battle against the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly across the country and the wider Middle East, even though officials in the Islamic Republic had earlier minimized the outbreak that has now killed 19 people, the highest toll outside of China. SENT: 930 words, photos.

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BRITAIN-PRINCE HARRY — Call me Harry: Prince eschews royal label in Scotland speech. SENT: 290 words, photos.

SUITCASE KILLING — Woman accused of leaving her boyfriend in suitcase to die. SENT: 220 words.

LOUISIANA JUDGE-RACIAL SLURS — Louisiana governor: Judge should resign after racial slurs. SENT: 440 words.

FLASH-GORDON-ARTWORK-AUCTION — Original “Flash Gordon” comic strip art headed to auction. SENT: 170 words, photo.

OBIT-CLIVE CUSSLER — Clive Cussler, the million-selling adventure writer and real-life thrill seeker, dies at 88. SENT: 170 words, photo.

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BLOOMBERG-ONLINE STRATEGY — Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign is pouring money into an unconventional online campaign that is testing the rules of internet platforms and blurring the lines between political ads, satire and misinformation. After a late entry into the Democratic primary, the billionaire former mayor has used paid social media influencers, a satirical video with edited clips of his opponents, and posts that exploit loopholes in platform policies. In just a matter of weeks, Bloomberg has outspent opponents on every platform and transformed the online political ad game. By David Klepper and Amanda Seitz. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m.

ELECTION 2020-KLOBUCHAR-BLACK VOTERS — As she struggles to compete for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Amy Klobuchar's relationship with African American voters could be her downfall as the race for the Democratic presidential nomination moves to states like South Carolina, where black voters are key to victory. Some black activists and community leaders in the Minnesota senator's home state describe her as indifferent when it came to responding to their concerns on issues. By Amy Forliti and Sara Burnett. SENT: UPCOMNG: 1,260 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-SANDERS-EDUCATION — When Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiled a plan to make college free in the 2016 Democratic race, it was seen as a radical idea from a fringe candidate. But when he returned to the 2020 race with the same idea, it got a different reception: Instead of pushing him aside, it has helped propel him to the front. By Collin Binkley. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-WANING-WEST COAST-GOP — Demographic shifts are helping push the Republican Party into a nosedive along the West Coast. The last Republican presidential candidate that California went for was George H.W. Bush. For Oregon and Washington, it was Ronald Reagan. Now Republicans in the three states are struggling to hold seats in Congress, statehouses and city councils. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 930 words, photos.

MILITARY-BORDER WALL — Lawmakers from both parties tell Pentagon leaders the Defense Department is undermining its own efforts to get military money by diverting billions of dollars for the construction of President Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 420 words, photos.

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GAS EXPLOSIONS — A utility company will pay the largest criminal fine ever imposed for breaking a federal pipeline safety law — $53 million — and plead guilty to causing a series of natural gas explosions in Massachusetts that killed one person and damaged dozens of homes, federal officials say. SENT: 640 words, photos.

SANCTUARY CITIES-GRANTS — The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with U.S. immigration enforcement, a federal appeals court in New York ruled in a decision that conflicted with three other federal appeals courts. SENT: 660 words, photo.

MISSING GIRL-TENNESSEE — The mother and grandmother of a missing 15-month-old girl are now in the same Tennessee jail after giving conflicting accounts about the toddler's disappearance. SENT: 430 words.

PUERTO RICO-CRUISE SHIP DEATH — An Indiana man charged in his young granddaughter’s fatal fall from a cruise ship’s open window in Puerto Rico agreed to plead guilty in her July 2019 death, explaining that he was doing so “to try to help end part of this nightmare for my family.” SENT: 630 words.

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TRUMP-INDIA-PROTESTS — At least 20 people were killed in three days of clashes in New Delhi apparently sparked by President Donald Trump's first state visit to India, with the death toll expected to rise as hospitals were overflowed with dozens of injured people, authorities say. By Sheikh Saaliq and Emily Schmall. SENT: 930 words, photos. With TRUMP-INDIA-PROTESTS-HOSPITAL — Victims of Delhi's deadly communal clashes fill hospital. Also see INDIA-LOVING TRUMP below.

EGYPT-MUBARAK FUNERAL — Egypt held a full-honors military funeral for the country's former autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for decades before he was ousted in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that swept much of the region. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Stocks rose solidly in midday trading Wednesday as investors regained an appetite for risk after two days of heavy losses. SENT: 460 words, photos.

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SPAIN-PLACIDO DOMINGO-CANCELLATION — The Spanish government has canceled the participation of tenor Plácido Domingo in Madrid’s La Zarzuela light opera theater in May, a day after the legendary singer said he accepted “full responsibility” for his actions that led to accusations of sexual misconduct. SENT: 560 words, photo.

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