AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT

AP: After lobbying, Catholic Church won $1.4B in virus aid

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.

The church’s haul may have reached -- or even exceeded -- $3.5 billion, making a global religious institution with more than a billion followers among the biggest winners in the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts, an Associated Press analysis of federal data released this week found.

Houses of worship and faith-based organizations that promote religious beliefs aren’t usually eligible for money from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But as the economy plummeted and jobless rates soared, Congress let faith groups and other nonprofits tap into the Paycheck Protection Program, a $659 billion fund created to keep main street open and Americans employed.

By aggressively promoting the payroll program and marshaling resources to help affiliates navigate its shifting rules, Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and other ministries have so far received approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans, AP found.

The Archdiocese of New York, for example, received 15 loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices. Its iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue was approved for at least $1 million.

___

Trump looks for political edge in latest high court rulings

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump won the White House on the promise of bringing a conservative shift to the Supreme Court. But this year and last, even with two justices Trump hand-picked, the court has shown it is no rubber stamp for him or his administration’s policies. That’s drawn the president’s ire and teed up a renewed battle over the court as Trump seeks political advantage ahead of November’s election.

In the last few weeks, as the court has handed down its biggest decisions of the term, Trump found himself with mounting losses and just a few wins. Trump’s high-profile defeats began in mid-June. First, the court ruled that a landmark civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment. Then, it said the Trump administration hadn’t acted properly in ending the 8-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects some 650,000 young immigrants from deportation.

Finally, on Thursday, in two cases about access to Trump’s financial records, the justices rejected broad arguments by Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department that the president is absolutely immune from investigation while he holds office or that a prosecutor must show a greater need than normal to obtain the records.

Despite White House’s claims of victory in the Thursday cases, Trump was livid -– lashing out on Twitter about the high court and painting its ruling as part of a pattern of “political prosecution” against him.

The rejection of Trump’s assertions of executive power was tempered by the practical impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to remand the cases to lower courts -– all but assuring that the potentially embarrassing disclosures won’t be required before his political fate is decided on Nov. 3.

___

WHO: Indoor airborne spread of coronavirus possible

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization is acknowledging the possibility that COVID-19 might be spread in the air under certain conditions — after more than 200 scientists urged the agency to do so.

In an open letter published this week in a journal, two scientists from Australia and the U.S. wrote that studies have shown “beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in the air.”

The researchers, along with more than 200 others, appealed for national and international authorities, including WHO, to adopt more stringent protective measures.

WHO has long dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus is spread in the air except for certain risky medical procedures, such as when patients are first put on breathing machines.

In a change to its previous thinking, WHO noted on Thursday that studies evaluating COVID-19 outbreaks in restaurants, choir practices and fitness classes suggested the virus might have been spread in the air.

___

Israelis angry at Netanyahu over new outbreak, economic pain

JERUSALEM (AP) — With an unprecedented new surge in coronavirus cases battering Israel’s economy, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants was dispatched to a TV studio recently to calm the nerves of a jittery nation. Instead, he dismissed expressions of some of the public's economic pain as “BS.”

The flippant comment by Cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi is symptomatic of what critics see as a bloated, out-of-touch government. It also has become a rallying cry for anti-Netanyahu protests spreading, like the virus, across the country.

One out-of-work Israeli erupted in anger during a live television interview, berating Netanyahu and warning the country is “going to burn” if aid is not given soon.

It is a dramatic turn of events for Netanyahu, who claimed credit and was widely praised for Israel's successful management of the early stages of the crisis. Now his approval ratings are plummeting, and public health experts warn that Israel is close to being unable to cope.

At the start of the pandemic, Netanyahu moved quickly to close the country's borders and impose strict measures to contain the virus. By May, Israel was among the first in the world to reopen its economy. Netanyahu boasted on TV that other countries were looking to Israel as a model.

___

AP Explains: Why India cases are rising to multiple peaks

NEW DELHI (AP) — In just three weeks, India went from the world’s sixth to the third-worst hit country by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. India's fragile health system was bolstered during a stringent monthslong lockdown but could still be overwhelmed by an exponential rise in infections.

Here is where India stands in its battle against the virus:

STEADY CLIMB, MULTIPLE PEAKS

India has tallied 793,802 infections and more than 21,600 deaths, with cases doubling every three weeks. It's testing more than 250,000 samples daily after months of sluggishness, but experts say this is insufficient for a country of nearly 1.4 billion people.

“This whole thing about the ‘peak’ is a false bogey because we won’t have one peak in India, but a series of peaks,” said Dr. Anant Bhan, a bioethics and global health researcher. He pointed out that the capital of New Delhi and India's financial capital, Mumbai, had already seen surges, while infections had now begun spreading to smaller cities as governments eased restrictions. The actual toll would be unknown, he said, unless India made testing more accessible.

___

Homeland Security gets new role under Trump monument order

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Protesters who have clashed with authorities in the Pacific Northwest are not just confronting local police. Some are also facing off against federal officers whose presence reflects President Donald Trump's decision to make cracking down on “violent mayhem” a federal priority.

The Department of Homeland Security has deployed officers in tactical gear from around the country, and from more than a half dozen federal law enforcement agencies and departments, to Portland, Oregon, as part of a surge aimed at what a senior official said were people taking advantage of demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd to commit violence and vandalism.

“Once we surged federal law enforcement officers to Portland, the agitators quickly got the message,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation.

The deployment represents somewhat of a departure for DHS, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is primarily focused on threats from abroad and border security. During the Trump presidency, its focus has been largely on carrying out the president’s tough immigration agenda. Now it is in the role of supporting Trump’s law-and-order campaign, raising questions about overstepping the duties of local law enforcement.

Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said his department did not request the assistance and did not coordinate efforts with the federal government amid often chaotic clashes that have ranged across several downtown blocks after midnight for weeks.

___

Seoul mayor's death causes sympathy, questions of his acts

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The sudden death of Seoul's mayor, reportedly implicated in a sexual harassment complaint, has caused an outpouring of public sympathy even as it has raised questions about a man who built his career as a reform-minded politician and self-described feminist.

Park Won-soon was found dead on a wooded hill in northern Seoul early Friday, about seven hours after his daughter reported to police he had left her a “will-like” verbal message and then left their home. Authorities launched a massive search for the 64-year-old Park before rescue dogs found his body.

Police said there was no sign of foul play at the site though they refused to disclose the cause of death. On Friday morning, Seoul officials said they were disclosing what they called Park’s “will” found at his residence at the request of his family.

“I feel sorry to everyone. I thank everyone who has been with me in my life,” the note shown on TV said. It continued with a request that his remains be cremated and scattered around his parents’ graves.

Park was a huge figure in South Korean politics. As a former human rights lawyer, Park led two of South Korea’s most influential civic groups and was mayor of Seoul, the South Korean capital city with 10 million people, since 2011. He was widely considered a leading liberal candidate for president when his political ally and current President Moon Jae-in’s single five-year term ends in 2022.

___

Scenes from hell: 1995 Srebrenica genocide in photos

SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — It's been 25 years since the slaughter of men and boys in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, but every year more bodies are found and reburied, and every year the survivors — mostly women — return to commemorate their fathers and brothers, husbands and sons.

At least 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys were chased through woods in and around Srebrenica by Serb troops in what is considered the worst carnage of civilians in Europe since World War II. The slaughter has been confirmed as an act of genocide.

On Saturday, eight newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre will be laid to rest in the memorial cemetery at Potocari, just outside Srebrenica. Among them will be Bajro Salihovic, whose partial remains were unearthed from a mass grave discovered last November and identified through DNA testing.

“They found just a few of his bones, but my mother and I decided to bury him this year so we will know where his grave is, where to go to say a prayer, to find some peace,” said his son Bahrudin, who himself survived the massacre by fleeing through the woods.

The Bosnian war pitted the country’s three main ethnic factions — Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims — against each other after the break-up of Yugoslavia. More than 100,000 people were killed in the conflict before a peace deal was brokered in 1995.

___

Authorities search for 'Glee' star believed to have drowned

Authorities planned Friday to renew the search for “Glee” star Naya Rivera, who is believed to have drowned in a Southern California lake while boating with her 4-year-old son.

Rivera, 33, disappeared after renting the pontoon boat for three hours Wednesday afternoon and taking it out on Lake Piru in Ventura County, the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

The lake an hour’s drive from Los Angeles was searched by dozens of people, most of them divers, with help from helicopters, drones and all-terrain vehicles. The search to recover Rivera’s body continued into the night Thursday before ending for that day.

The area where the boat was found is about 30 feet (9 meters) deep. Murky waters heavy with plants made it difficult for divers to see more than about a foot ahead of them, sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Donoghue said Thursday.

“If the body is entangled on something beneath the water, it may never come back up,” Donoghue said.

___

5 Things to Know for Today

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. CATHOLIC CHURCH WON $1.4 BILLION IN VIRUS AID Millions of dollars in taxpayer-backed aid went to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups, AP finds.

2. HIGH COURT DRAWS TRUMP’S IRE Even with two justices the president hand-picked, the Supreme Court has shown it is no rubber stamp for him or his administration’s policies.

3. ‘THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND CRUEL’ Students from countries as diverse as India, China and Brazil say they are scrambling to devise plans after a new U.S. immigration policy could potentially cost them their visas.

4. ‘SORRY TO ALL PEOPLE’ Seoul’s mayor left a note before he was found dead as South Koreans begin mourning the liberal legal activist seen as a potential presidential candidate.