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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ONLY ON AP
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CLERGY-ABUSE-NEW-ORLEANS SAINTS — The New Orleans Saints are going to court to keep the public from seeing hundreds of emails that allegedly show team executives doing public relations damage control for the area's Roman Catholic archdiocese to help it contain the fallout from a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis. By Jim Mustian. SENT: 985 words, photos.
AP POLL-TRUMP-FOREIGN POLICY — A new poll shows Americans are more likely than not to support President Donald Trump’s decision to order a drone strike that killed an Iranian general, even amid widespread skepticism about his foreign policy overall. The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was taken about two weeks after the Jan. 3 strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq. SENT: 750 words, photo.
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TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT — Democratic House prosecutors launch their final arguments at Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial after an impassioned plea to senators to convict him because in the U.S. “right matters.” By Lisa Mascaro, Eric Tucker and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1100 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 1 p.m. start of proceedings, 1100 words by 6 p.m., photos, video.
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-WITNESSES — Republicans appear increasingly unmoved by the Democratic push for witnesses in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial despite the impassioned appeals of Rep. Adam Schiff and the other House prosecutors. Democrats warn darkly that Republicans will live to regret not delving deeper into the Ukraine evidence. Yet they’re no closer to persuading four Republicans to break with their party in a critical vote expected next week. By Mary Clare Jalonick and Andrew Taylor. UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m.
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-EPSTEIN — Two of the lawyers on President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team have had another client in common: Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr both helped the late billionaire hedge fund manager and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein win a lenient sentence for abusing underaged girls. By Aamer Madhani. UPCOMING: 1,000 words by 4 p.m., photos.
See full coverage of the impeachment inquiry in AP Newsroom.
TRUMP-ABORTION — As he heads into the 2020 election, President Trump says it’s his “profound honor" to be the first president to attend the “March for Life,” the annual anti-abortion gathering in Washington, one of the movement’s highest profile and most symbolic events. Trump uses his speech to attack Democrats as embracing “radical and extreme positions" on abortion. By Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,100 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 12:15 p.m. remarks, 1,100 words by 4 p.m., photos, video. With TRUMP-ABORTION-CALIFORNIA — The Trump administration is threatening California with a potential loss of federal health care funds over the state's requirement that insurance plans cover abortions. SENT: 610 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on AP Newsroom.
IRAN-MISSILE INJURIES — The Pentagon says 34 U.S. troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries suffered in this month's Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base, and 17 remain under medical observation. President Trump had initially said he was told that no troops had been injured. The military said symptoms were not immediately reported after the strike and in some cases became known days later. By National Security Writer Robert Burns. SENT: 530 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 700 words by 4 p.m., photos, video.
CHINA OUTBREAK — China expanded its lockdown against the deadly new virus to an unprecedented 36 million people and rushed to build a prefabricated, 1,000-bed hospital for victims as the outbreak cast a pall over Lunar New Year, the country's biggest, most festive holiday. The number of confirmed cases around the world climbed sharply to more than 850, with at least 25 deaths, all of them in China. By Yanan Wang. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT HIGHLIGHTS — Highlights of the day’s Senate trial. UPCOMING: Developing from 1 p.m. proceeding, 700 words by 8 p.m., photo.
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-SUPREME COURT — Social media users urge people to call Chief Justice John Roberts about the impeachment trial. Some demand a fair trial; others want witnesses, and some just want Roberts to control the Senate. But the court doesn’t have a comment line, so they’re out of luck. SENT : 140 words, photo.
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MORE ON CORONAVIRUS
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SCIENCE SAYS-CHINA OUTBREAK-VIRUS — The new pneumonia-like virus from China has the world on edge because it’s a close cousin to viruses that killed hundreds in separate outbreaks. While it’s too early to tell if this latest threat will prove as deadly, health authorities are drawing on lessons from that grim past. UPCOMING: 800 words by 3 p.m., photos.
MED--CHINA-OUTBREAK-US — A Chicago woman is the second U.S. patient diagnosed with the dangerous new virus from China. SENT: 650 words, photos.
CHINA-OUTBREAK-CITIES CUT OFF — Cutting off access to entire cities with millions of residents to try to stop a new virus outbreak is a step few countries other than China would consider. SENT: 750 words, photos.
CHINA-OUTBREAK-MUTED NEW YEAR — A viral outbreak that has killed more than two dozen people and sickened hundreds has put a damper on Lunar New Year festivities. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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TV-STAR WARS-EWAN MCGREGOR — Ewan McGregor says any delay in completing work on in his new Obi-Wan Kenobi “Star Wars” streaming series will be brief and is aimed at making it better. SENT: 265 words, photos, video.
FBN--ANTONIO BROWN — NFL free agent Antonio Brown was released on bail Friday after a night in a Florida jail, where he turned himself in to face charges that he and his trainer attacked the driver of a moving truck that carried some of his possessions from California. SENT: 610 words, photos.
GERMANY SHOOTING — 6 killed in Germany shooting, including suspect's parents. SENT: 285 words, photos.
GERMANY-SPEED LIMIT — Germany's biggest car club says it is shifting its position on the introduction of a general speed limit on the Autobahn to “neutral.” SENT: 286 words, photo.
SOCIAL WORKER-HUMAN TRAFFICKING — Authorities are accusing a former child services caseworker of recruiting a mother into prostitution in exchange for a favorable custody recommendation. SENT: 175 words.
CHICK-FIL-A-NURSING MOTHER — Mothers have come to the defense of a woman who says she was asked to cover up while breastfeeding inside a Chick-fil-A in Georgia. SENT: 300 words.
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TRUMP-MAYORS — President Trump speaks to mayors from around the country. UPCOMING: Developing from 4:15 p.m. remarks, 500 words by 6 p.m.., photos, video.
COUNTERFEITING CRACKDOWN — The Trump administration is launching a crackdown on the counterfeit clothing, medicine and other goods flooding into the U.S. in increasing waves with the rise of e-commerce. UPCOMING: 790 words by 4:30 p.m., photos.
UNITED STATES-POMPEO — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine next week, making his first trip to the country at the heart of President Donald Trump's impeachment. SENT: 820 words, photo, video.
BORDER PATROL — A longtime Border Patrol official is picked to head the agency. SENT: 740 words, photo.
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TURKEY-EARTHQUAKE — Turkey's emergency management agency says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has shaken the country's east, injuring at least two people. SENT: 180 words. Developing.
VATICAN-US-PENCE — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, discussing the anti-abortion march in Washington and telling the pontiff, "You made me a hero" back home by granting him a private audience. The pope and the vice president had a private hour-long conversation. SENT: 600 words, photos.
BRITAIN-FACIAL RECOGNITION — London police will start using facial recognition cameras to pick out suspects from street crowds in real time, in a major advance for the controversial technology that raises worries about automated surveillance and erosion of privacy rights. SENT: 615 words, photo.
BOLIVIA-BIBLE RETURNS — Hoisting a large leather Bible above her head, Bolivia’s new interim president delivered an emphatic message hours after Evo Morales fled under pressure, the end of a nearly 14-year presidency that celebrated the country’s indigenous religious beliefs like never before. “The Bible has returned to the palace,” bellowed Jeanine Añez. SENT: 2,247 words, photos. An abridged version of 871 words is also available.
ITALY-WITHERING LEFT — This weekend's regional elections in the left-wing stronghold of Emilia-Romagna will be a test of Rome's weak coalition government. Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing League, is betting that a victory for his anti-migrant populist party will weaken the government and land him in power. SENT: 825 words, photos.
INDIA WOMEN'S PROTEST — In the Indian capital’s Shaheen Bagh neighborhood, a group of Muslim women sit in the middle of a street in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The women have taken turns maintaining an around the clock sit-in for more than a month. SENT: 560 words, photos, video.
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AUSCHWITZ-BROOKLYN WOMAN'S MISSION — Seventy five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, a survivor recounts the story of her life in the concentration camp, Dr. Mengele and her life in Brooklyn after WWII. Eighty-nine-year-old Bronia Brandman and an older brother were the only members of her immediate family who survived. She believes her mission is to tell her story and that's the driving force of her life. SENT: 1,095 words, photos.
HOUSTON EXPLOSION — A massive explosion leveled a warehouse in Houston, leaving two people dead, damaging nearby buildings and homes and rousing frightened residents from their sleep miles away, authorities said. The explosion happened about 4:30 a.m. inside a building at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, which makes valves and provides thermal-spray coatings for equipment in various industries, authorities said. SENT: 830 words, photos, video.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN — It's the defense's go-to question at Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial: If he's such a monster, why did some of his accusers stay in friendly contact with him for years after the alleged assaults? Prosecutors sought to give jurors some answers by calling to the stand a forensic psychiatrist who testified about the same topic at the Pennsylvania trial that led to Bill Cosby’s 2018 conviction on charges of sexually assaulting a woman. SENT: 465 words, photos.
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DOT ORG-DOMAIN NAMES — The company that controls the dot-org online universe is putting it up for sale, and nonprofits are raising concerns about the move. SENT: 810 words, photo.
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FILM-SUNDANCE-TAYLOR SWIFT – The normally private Taylor Swift premiered an intimate documentary Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival in which the pop star discloses a past eating disorder, chronicles her inner battle over speaking forthrightly about politics and says her victorious 2017 sexual assault court case was a dramatic turning point in her life. By AP Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT: 650 words, photos, video.
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TEN--AUSTRALIAN OPEN — The Australian Open is jolted in the third round by what seems to signal a generational shift. First, Serena Williams, 38 and “way too old to be playing like this,” loses to China’s Wang Qiang. Then Coco Gauff, all of 15 and calling this “crazy,” upsets defending champion Naomi Osaka. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
GLF--FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN — Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy move over to the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines for the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 8 p.m.
GYM—USA GYMNASTICS-CULTURE WARS — Olympic champion Simone Biles is optimistic about the future of USA Gymnastics. Biles says the organization seems open to change in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal. SENT: 1,600 words, photo.
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