AP News Digest 2 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 6 years, 8 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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IRAN PLANE CRASH — Iranian demonstrators defied a heavy police presence to protest their country's days of denials that it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 people, the latest unrest to roil the capital amid soaring tensions with the United States. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through subway stations and sidewalks, many near Azadi, or Freedom, Square after an earlier call for people to demonstrate there. Other videos suggested similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities. By Joseph Krauss and Jon Gambrell. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. With LEBANON-HEZBOLLAH-SOLEIMANI — The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says Iran's missile attacks on two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces was only the start of the retaliation for America's killing a top Iranian general in a drone strike; UKRAINE-CRASH-TICKET CHANGE — Ticket change in Tehran saves Ukrainian's life (both sent).
UNITED STATES-IRAN — The Pentagon chief explicitly said he had seen no hard evidence that four American embassies had been under possible threat when President Trump authorized the targeting of Iran's top commander. Members of Trump’s national security team try to amplify voices of dissent in Iran by suggesting that the Islamic Republic is facing internal threat after denying and then admitting it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane. By National Security Writer Robert Burns. SENT: 990 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-UKRAINE CONSPIRACY THEORY-MISINFORMATION — A conspiracy theory years in the making is being pushed by President Donald Trump and his allies. That discredited theory blames Ukraine, and not Russia, for plotting to keep Trump out of the White House in 2016. High-ranking U.S. security officials, including Trump's FBI director, say there's nothing to support those claims. In fact, U.S. intelligence services agree Russia is the one that interfered in the 2016 elections. Still, the unsupported claims have muddied an impeachment case against Trump sparked by his request that Ukraine investigate Democrat Joe Biden, who could become Trump's 2020 election opponent and whose son sat on the board of a Ukrainian company. By Amanda Seitz, Eric Tucker and Richard Lardner. SENT: 2,000 words, photos, 970-word abridged version. This is the Monday Spotlight.
BRITAIN-ROYAL RIFT — Ensconced with aides at her royal retreat, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II prepared Sunday for a crisis family meeting to work out a future for Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, after their dramatic decision to walk away from royal roles. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 800 words, photos.
YOUTH CENTER-SEX ABUSE — More than two dozen men and women say they were physically, sexually and emotionally abused as children at New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center over the course of three decades, according to attorneys who have filed a class action lawsuit on their behalf. By Holly Ramer. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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JULIAN EDELMAN-ARREST — Patriots star Edelman arrested for vandalism in California. SENT: 160 words, photo.
IRAN-ATHLETE DEFECTS — Iran's only female Olympic medalist reportedly defects. SENT: 200 words, photos.
GERMANY-WORLD WAR II BOMBS — World War II bomb defused in Germany after mass evacuation. SENT: 140 words, photos.
MLK-ALABAMA JAIL — Alabama county to preserve jail remnant where Martin Luther King Jr. was held. SENT: 400 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-CARDINAL PELL — Drone flies over pedophile cardinal's Australian prison. SENT: 240 words, photo.
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TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says senators will “pay a price” if they block new witnesses from testifying in the impeachment trial of President Trump that could start by week’s end. While she says Americans expect a fair trial, a leading Republican senator predicts the case will end in a matter of days with an acquittal. SENT: 350 words, photo. UPCOMING: 750 words by 3 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-BLOOMBERG — Michael Bloomberg isn't going to be the loudest campaigner in the Democratic presidential race and he's not planning to spend time talking about his rivals. With the first votes to decide the nomination just weeks away, he acts more like he's running in a general election than a primary. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 4 p.m.
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FRANCE-SEXUAL CONSENT — France is experiencing what activists hope is a watershed moment for its fledgling #MeToo movement. That is coming with the success of an explosive new book: “Consent,” by Vanessa Springora. The literary editor alleges that she had a destructive underage sexual relationship with a feted French author. SENT: 1,040 words, photo
PHILIPPINES-VOLCANO — A small volcano near the Philippine capital that draws tourists for its picturesque setting in a lake erupted with a massive plume of ash and steam, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and forcing Manila's international airport to shut down. SENT: 670 words, photos, video.
CANADA-NUCLEAR PLANT — People throughout the Canadian province of Ontario awoke to an alarming alert of an “incident” at a nuclear plant just east of Toronto — only to later be told the message was a mistake. SENT: 520 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-WILDFIRES — Crews battling Australia's wildfires say that they have been able to turn from defense to offense for the first time in weeks thanks to a break in the weather. SENT: 760 words, photos. With AUSTRALIA-WILDFIRES-THE BEAST — Australian village ready for 'The Beast' to burn on through (sent).
LIBYA-CEASEFIRE — Libya's rival governments committed to an internationally brokered truce that took effect Sunday, though immediate reports of violations by both sides raised concerns it might not stick. SENT: 730 words, photo.
HONG KONG-PROTESTS — More than a thousand people attended a rally in Hong Kong to urge people and governments abroad to support the city's pro-democracy movement and oppose China's ruling Communist Party. SENT: 300 words, photos. With HONG KONG-HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH — Hong Kong authorities barred the head of Human Rights Watch from entering the Chinese territory, the advocacy group says. SENT: 310 words, photo.
TAIWAN-ELECTION — Fresh from a landslide reelection victory, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met with the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taipei, as China warned that countries should stick with recognizing communist-ruled Beijing as the rightful government of “One China," including Taiwan. SENT: 760 words, photos. With TAIWAN-ELECTION-ANALYSIS — AP Analysis: Taiwan vote signals growing divide with China; CHINA-TAIWAN ELECTION — China says world should stick to 'One China' after Tsai win; TAIWAN-CHINA-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS — China democracy activists cheered by Taiwan election results (all sent).
MEXICO-KILLINGS OF WOMEN-RED SHOES — Activists have set hundreds of pairs of painted-red women’s shoes on Mexico City's main square to call attention to the killings of women and girls across the country. SENT: 790 words, photos.
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BORDER PATROL-FREEZING CELLS — A years-old lawsuit challenging detention conditions in several of the Border Patrol’s Arizona stations will go to trial Monday as the agency as a whole has come under fire following several migrant deaths. SENT: 500 words, photos.
OPIOID-KICKBACK-SCHEME — The founder and former top employees of a pharmaceutical company are facing a reckoning for their role in a bribery scheme that prosecutors say boosted sales of a powerful, highly addictive painkiller and helped fuel the national opioid epidemic. Starting Monday, seven people who worked for Insys Therapeutics will appear in Boston to be sentenced by a federal judge. SENT: 570 words, photo.
CENSUS-CITIZENSHIP — The U.S. Supreme Court decided a citizenship question won't be on this spring's census form, but that doesn't mean the fight over it has ended in courtrooms across the country. SENT: 830 words, photo.
SEVERE STORMS — Thousands remained without electrical power after weekend storms ravaged parts of the Southeast and Midwest, causing 11 deaths, overturning cars, uprooting trees and reducing buildings to rubble. SENT: 330 words, photos.
HORSE RESCUE-OKLAHOMA — Horse industry experts say there's a growing problem of people being unable to care for their horses and other equine animals. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals hopes to tackle this problem with a new facility in Oklahoma that will accept any horse, no matter its condition. SENT: 770 words, photos.
NYPD-COMMISSIONER — New York City’s new police commissioner is drawing on his early days as a patrolman as he pushes the nation’s largest police department to cultivate deeper bonds with the communities it serves. Dermot Shea says that will be key to building trust and cutting crime. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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SAUDI-ARAMCO — Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco says its initial public offering raised a record $29.4 billion, a figure higher than previously announced, after the company used a so-called “greenshoe option” to sell millions more shares to meet investor demand. SENT: 260 words.
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OSCAR NOMINATIONS — Who will be celebrating Oscar morning? Brad Pitt for sure. Jennifer Lopez almost certainly. And very possibly the Obamas, too. Nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards, which will begin at 8:18 a.m. EST Monday, should bring plenty of star power to the Feb. 9 ceremony — a good thing, too, since the show will for the second straight year go without a host. By Jake Coyle. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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FBN-SEAHAWKS-PACKERS — Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers play their first playoff game under rookie coach Matt LaFleur, with a well-seasoned Seattle Seahawks team that knows a thing or two about postseason success their opponent at Lambeau Field in the NFC divisional round. By Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts at 6:40 p.m.
FBN-TEXANS-CHIEFS — Two of the NFL's premier young quarterbacks try to lead their teams to the AFC title game when Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans visit Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The teams met in Week 6, when the Texans rallied for a 31-24 victory, but both have changed considerably in the past three months. By Dave Skretta. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts 3:05 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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