AP News Digest 2 a.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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ONLY ON AP
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AP POLL-IMPEACHMENT — Americans remain closely divided about whether the Senate should move to convict and remove President Donald Trump from office, but are largely united in their belief--no matter where they sit on the political spectrum-- that there is little chance anything will come out of the Senate impeachment trial that could change their position, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. By Aamer Madhani and Hannah Fingerhut. UPCOMING: 1,000 words by 3 p.m., photo.
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TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT — The U.S. Senate is poised to hear opening arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, with Democratic House managers set to make their case that Trump abused power and should be removed from office. The president, meanwhile, asserts he's open to new witnesses, a major demand by Democratic prosecutors, but he immediately backtracks, suggesting it could never happen for national security reasons. By Lisa Mascaro and Zeke Miller. SENT: 700 words. UPCOMING: Senate trial resumes at 1 p.m., 1090 words by 6 p.m., with updates throughout the night. WITH: TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-HIGHLIGHTS — Highlights of day’s events. UPCOMING: Developing throughout the day, 600 words by 10 p.m., photo. WITH: TRUMP-FACT CHECK — President Trump gave a false account of some of the circumstances that got him impeached. SENT: 840 words.
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE — President Trump's defense hinges largely on arguments made in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson more than 150 years ago: that impeachment requires a crime. But most legal scholars disagree, including Jonathan Turley, the law professor called by Republicans in the House impeachment inquiry to argue against impeaching Trump. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 980 words, photos.
See full coverage of the impeachment inquiry in AP Newsroom.
BEZOS-SAUDI ARABIA — The phone of Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was hacked after receiving a file sent from an account used by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, United Nations experts said. The two experts called for an “immediate investigation” by the United States into information that suggests that Bezos' phone was likely hacked after he received an MP4 video file sent from the Saudi prince's WhatsApp account in May 2018. By Aya Batrawy. SENT: 975 words, photos.
CHINA-OUTBREAK — Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings, after warning that a new viral illness that has infected more than 400 people and killed at least 17 could spread further. SENT: 1,010 words, photos. WITH: CHINA-OUTBREAK-LESSONS FROM SARS —Years after SARS, a more confident China faces a new virus. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. WITH: MED--CHINA-OUTBREAK-SCIENCE SAYS — Science Says: What to know about the viral outbreak in China. SENT: 488 words, photos.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN — Harvey Weinstein faced a jury in a landmark moment for the # MeToo movement, with prosecutors painting him in graphic detail as a sexual predator who used his movie-magnate stature to abuse women. “He was not just a titan in Hollywood. He was a rapist,” prosecutor Meghan Hast told the jury of seven men and five women at the start of the former film executive's rape By Michael R. Sisak and Tom Hays. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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BRITAIN-OBIT-TERRY JONES — Terry Jones, a founding member of the anarchic Monty Python troupe who was hailed by a colleague as “the complete Renaissance comedian," has died after a battle with dementia. SENT: 675 words, photos.
AEROSMITH DRUMMER-LAWSUIT — Aerosmith's drummer is suing his bandmates because they won't let him play as the band is set to perform and be honored at Grammy events this week. SENT: 600 words, photos.
SHARK ATTACKS — Researchers say the number of unprovoked shark attacks around the world decreased last year, although they rose in the United States. SENT: 285 words.
MURDER CONVICTION VACATED — A man who served nearly three decades in prison for a triple killing in Philadelphia in what prosecutors called a “perfect storm” of injustice was freed after a judge threw out his conviction. SENT: 340 words, photos.
TELENOVA STAR-PUNCH — A Florida judge says a Mexican actor won't be able to return to his native country while he awaits trial on a charge that he fatally punched a man during a road rage confrontation. SENT: 200 words, photos.
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TRUMP-INAUGURAL COMMITTEE-LAWSUIT — The District of Columbia sues President Trump's inaugural committee and two companies that control the Trump International Hotel in the nation's capital, accusing them of “blatantly and unlawfully abusing nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family.” SENT: 850 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-IMPEACHMENT — The four senators seeking the White House want to be out campaigning, but they’re stuck sitting in the Senate as jurors at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. It represents a major political muzzle for Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Michael Bennet of Colorado -- all of whom want as much attention as they can get right now. By Will Weissert. UPCOMING: 900 words by 4 p.m., photos.
TRUMP — He held court amid the snow-capped Alps, trumpeting the wonders of the American economy to world leaders and global elites, but President Trump kept one eye firmly fixed on the impeachment drama back home. SENT: 515 words. UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m., photos, video. WITH: TRUMP-STATE OF THE UNION — President Trump says he wants to deliver the State of the Union as scheduled even if his impeachment trial is ongoing. SENT: 116 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-MAYORS — Two miles from President Trump’s impeachment trial, Michael Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg hope to draw a distinction between the possible and the practical. The two former mayors and current Democratic White House aspirants will be leading speakers at the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors this week, a bipartisan gathering where fixing potholes and storm drainage are more likely to come up than the removal of a president. That offers a chance for Bloomberg, a billionaire three-term former New York mayor, and Buttigieg, who until recently led South Bend, Indiana, to highlight their municipal leadership. By Brian Slodkyso. UPCOMING: 750 words by 2:30 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-SANDERS-OUR REVOLUTION — A watchdog group files a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that Our Revolution, a political nonprofit founded by Bernie Sanders, violated campaign finance law by accepting donations in excess of federal limits while boosting his White House ambitions. UPCOMING: 900 words by 2:30 p.m., photos.
BIRTH TOURISM — The Trump administration is unveiling new visa restrictions aimed at restricting “birth tourism," in which women travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children can have a coveted U.S. passport. SENT: 440 words, photo.
TRUMP-IRAN-MISSILE INJURIES — President Trump minimizes the severity of head injuries sustained by U.S. troops during the Iranian missile strikes on two Iraqi air bases as he was pressed on why he'd claimed no troops had been injured in the attacks. “I heard they had headaches and a couple of other things,” he says. SENT: 450 words, photo.
UNITED STATES-IRAN — The Trump administration is barring Iranian investors and business people from entering or staying in the United States on certain types of visas. SENT: 214 words.
SUPREME COURT-SCHOOL CHOICE — The Supreme Court's conservative majority appears ready to reinvigorate a Montana scholarship program that could make it easier to use public money to pay for religious schooling in many states. SENT: 626 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-SANDERS— Joe Biden seeks to ease tensions with Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders after the two candidates exchanged several volleys over Social Security and other matters. SENT: 720 words, photo.
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AUSCHWITZ-HOLOCAUST POLITICS — Over the next several days, world leaders will gather twice to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of Nazi Germany’s death camps. That there will be two competing ceremonies — one in Jerusalem on Thursday and the other at the Auschwitz site in southern Poland on Monday — underlines how politically charged World War II remains as nationalist governments in Russia and and Poland seek to use their own interpretation of the past for contemporary political gain. SENT: 1,090 words, photos. WITH: GERMANY-AUSCHWITZ SURVIVOR — Auschwitz survivor who was just 2 at liberation nurses scars. SENT: 1,020 words, photos. WITH: AUSCHWITZ-PORTRAITS OF SURVIVORS — AP PHOTOS: After Auschwitz, survivors still bear witness. SENT: 900 words, photos.
LEBANON-ANGRY-AT-BANKS — A severe financial crisis and unprecedented capital controls in Lebanon unite rich and poor in anger against a banking system they accuse of holding their deposits hostage. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
CHINA-INTERPOL —In her first comments about her imprisoned husband's sentence in China, the wife of former Interpol president Meng Hongwei dismissed his bribery conviction as “a lie, a fake case” and said he is being punished for using his senior position in the ruling Communist Party to push for reform from within. SENT: 620 words, photo.
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FOSTER CARE WOES — Americans who’ve spent time in foster care are far more likely than other adults to lack a college degree, health insurance and a stable health-care provider, according to a new federal analysis of unprecedented scope. By David Crary. SENT: 845 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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OLD GRAVEYARDS-CLIMATE CHANGE — Some tranquil spots chosen for graveyards centuries ago may no longer be as suitable with more intense storms, erosion and rising seas. SENT: 890 words, photos.
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ANIMALS ON PLANES — Airlines might soon be able to turn away cats, rabbits and all animals other than dogs that passengers try to bring with them in the cabin. The U.S. Transportation Department announced plans to tighten rules around service animals. The biggest change would be that only dogs could qualify. SENT: 550 words, photo.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES-TECH STARTUPS — California’s wildfires raged mostly in sparsely populated, forested areas, but the resulting smoky skies and rolling power outages were impossible to ignore in the state's heart of innovation: Silicon Valley. Yet there's a surprisingly lax attitude toward using technology to mitigate or prevent climate-related environmental disaster. By Rachel Lerman. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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TV-SESAME STREET-SYRIAN REFUGEES - “Sesame Street” in the past year has tackled everything from foster care to substance abuse. Now its latest effort is trying to help children suffering as a result of the Syrian civil war. By AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos.
MUSIC-GRAMMYWATCH-PREDICTIONS - The 2020 Grammy Awards are shaping up to be the night of the new kids, with Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X leading in nominations. Those acts, who all released huge No. 1 hits in the last year, have strong chances of beating their more-seasoned competitors, from Lady Gaga to Vampire Weekend to Ariana Grande. By AP Music Writers Mesfin Fekadu and Nekesa Mumbi Moody. SENT: 1,775 words, photos.
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BKN-SPURS-PELICANS — Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, the NBA's top overall draft choice, makes his regular season debut when the San Antonio Spurs visit New Orleans. Williamson has spent the past three months rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery the day before the season opened. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 9:30 p.m.
BBO—HALL OF FAME — Derek Jeter and Larry Walker are introduced as the newest Hall of Famers, a day after they were elected to Cooperstown. By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos, developing from 3 p.m. news conference.
BBN--METS-ROJAS — The New York Mets are finalizing a multiyear agreement with quality control coach Luis Rojas to make him the team’s new manager, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said. SENT: 320 words, photos, developing.
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