AP News Digest 2:05 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 6 years, 2 months AGO
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — Tensions mount over whether to reopen schools in the United States despite a resurgent coronavirus outbreak, as global health officials warn that the pandemic will only intensify unless more countries adopt comprehensive plans to combat it. By Adriana Gomez Licon and Adam Geller. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,100 words, photo. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST
UNITED STATES-CHINA — U.S. officials say the Trump administration is poised to escalate its actions against China by stepping squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues dividing them and rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. By Matthew Lee and Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 870 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — With U.S. virus cases spiking and the death toll mounting, the White House is working to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert as President Donald Trump keeps pushing to reopen the economy. By Jill Colvin, Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 5 p.m.
FEDERAL EXECUTION — A U.S. district judge orders a new delay in federal executions, hours before the first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a federal prison in Indiana. The Trump administration immediately appealed to a higher court, asking that the executions move forward. By Michael Balsamo. SENT: 1,000 words photos. UPCOMING: Developing, appeals pending. With FEDERAL EXECUTION-VICTIMS' FAMILY — Family members of three people slain in Arkansas more than 20 years ago are among the most vocal opponents to the federal government’s plan to execute one of the men convicted of killing their loved ones. SENT: 840 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ELECTION ASSISTANCE -- The demand for mail-in ballots is surging, election workers need training, and polling booths might have to be outfitted with protective shields during the COVID-19 pandemic. As officials prepare for the Nov. 3 election, one certainty is clear: It’s coming with a big price tag. By Andrew Taylor and Christina A. Cassidy. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
RENAMING THE REDSKINS — The nation’s capital is about to get a new sports nickname -- what could go wrong? Experts in branding, crisis communication and comedy look at possible nicknames for the Washington NFL team. Do you play with the city’s less-than-loving image and go with Gridlock, Bureaucrats or Swamp Monsters? Or go for more traditional Warriors, Generals or Red Tails? How rebranding works and doesn’t. By Seth Borenstein. UPCOMING: 600 words by 4 p.m., photos. With FBN-REDSKINS-NICKNAME — The Washington NFL franchise announced Monday it is dropping the “Redskins” name and Indian head logo, bowing to recent pressure from sponsors and decades of criticism that they are offensive to Native Americans. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-MASKS — Amid pervasive backsliding on social distancing, Britain and France are weighing whether to require people to wear masks in public places. Scientists say the two countries’ governments should have done so ever since they started easing lockdowns — like many other European nations did. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ABORTION PILL — A federal judge agreed to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill. SENT: 520 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TEXAS-GOP-CONVENTION — The Texas Supreme Court on Monday upheld Houston’s refusal to allow the state Republican convention to hold in-person events in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 400 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY-VICTIMS — A Facebook group created to let Italian families mourn their coronavirus dead has turned into an activist group that is providing testimony and evidence to prosecutors investigating whether any crimes contributed to Italy’s COVID-19 toll.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GENERATION GAP? — Millennials, you’re taking a big hit again. And you’re not OK, either, boomers. Sometimes at odds, America’s two largest generations have something to agree on: the coronavirus pandemic has smacked many at a pivotal time in their lives. By Dan Sewell SENT: 1,100 words and photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-OCRACOKE-ISLAND —A secluded tourist destination on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is having an extremely tough year. Ocracoke Island is recovering from the most damaging hurricane in its recorded history and the near-economic paralysis wrought by one of the world’s worst pandemics. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING - COOKED WITH LOVE — In Egypt, volunteers cook, donate food or make contactless deliveries to coronavirus patients’ homes. Fatma Youssef stuffs rice, chicken or meat and vegetables into boxes spread on her dining table. On some, she scribbles “Be well” in Arabic; on others, she writes “Together, we will get through this.” Youssef and others hope the meals will help nurse quarantined patients back to health and provide them with some respite. Says Basma Mostafa who thought of the idea: “I’m amazed.” SENT: 590 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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MISSING TV STAR — A body was found at a Southern California lake during the search for “Glee” star Naya Rivera, authorities say. SENT: 380 words, photo. UPCOMING: Developing from 5 p.m. news conference.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS — More than 200 universities are backing a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s new restrictions on international students, arguing that the policy jeopardizes students’ safety and forces schools to reconsider fall plans they have spent months preparing. By Collin Binkley. SENT: 845 words. UPCOMING: Developing from expected Trump administration court filings, 900 words by 5 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-DEFUND THE POLICE-PAC — Amid Americans’ national reckoning on racism, a coalition of progressive groups is forming a political action committee to back local candidates who want to redirect money away from traditional police departments into other social services. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 865 words, photos.
TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE — A federal judge demands more information about President Donald Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 250 words, photos.
ELECTION-2020-CALIFORNIA-UNCOUNTED VOTES — More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary, according to data obtained by The Associated Press that highlights a glaring gap in the state’s effort to ensure every vote is counted. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, California is part of a growing number of states increasing mail-in balloting to avoid crowds at polling places. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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POLAND-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — Polish President Andrzej Duda declared victory in a runoff election in which he narrowly won a second five-year term, acknowledging the campaign he ran was often too harsh as he appealed for unity and forgiveness. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
EGYPT-SEXUAL ASSAULT — More than 100 allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape against a former student at a top university have roiled Egypt for the past two weeks. It’s sparking a renewed #MeToo campaign in a country where sexual assault and harassment are rampant. The accused young man was arrested last week from his home in a gated community outside Cairo. By Samy Magdy SENT: 920 words, photos.
RUSSIA-GAY COUPLES — When Russian voters approved a package of changes to the country’s constitution on July 1, among the provisions was a stipulation that marriage is only between a man and a woman. That has dashed hopes of LGBT couples that they might someday enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples. Although Russia decriminalized homosexuality decades ago, animosity against the LGBT community remains high, gay rights parades have been banned and adoption by same-sex couples is forbidden. SENT: 870 words, photos.
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KLOBUCHAR-JUVENILE LIFER-BURRELL-REVIEW — An independent panel of legal experts will review the conviction of a Black teenager who was sentenced to life for the 2002 death of a girl who was struck by a stray bullet in Minneapolis. A yearlong AP investigation highlighted flaws in the case. SENT: 830 words, photo.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN-ASSOCIATE — One or more victims of Jeffrey Epstein plan to tell a judge that his ex-girlfriend should be denied bail on charges that she recruited teenage girls for him to sexually abuse in the 1990s, prosecutors say. SENT: 310 words, photo.
NAVY SHIP FIRE — Firefighters were still battling a blaze on a Navy combat ship that injured at least 57 people and sent smoke billowing over San Diego. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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MARS MISSIONS — Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth — big time. Three countries — the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates — are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick succession beginning this week, in the most sweeping effort yet to seek signs of ancient microscopic life while scouting out the place for future astronauts. By AP Science Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Here comes the latest hurdle for the pandemic-defying stock market to leap with ease, investors hope: the worst quarter for profit growth in more than a decade. Stocks climbed worldwide, adding to their stellar gains of recent months, as CEOs across the country prepare to tell their investors how much money they made, or lost, in the spring as the coronavirus pandemic pounded the economy. . SENT: 880 words, photos.
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BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP — Johnny Depp accused Amber Heard of hitting him with a “haymaker” punch during an altercation near the end of their volatile marriage, as the star wrapped up testimony in his libel suit against a British tabloid newspaper that accused him of domestic abuse. SENT: 900 words, photos.
OBIT-KELLY PRESTON — Kelly Preston, who played dramatic and comic foil to actors ranging from Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire” to Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Twins,” has died, husband John Travolta said. She was 57. Travolta said in an Instagram post that his wife of 28 years died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. SENT: 710 words, photos.
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SPORTS-WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN — There will be no Midsummer Classic in baseball this season. There hasn’t even been a regular season MLB game yet because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of baseball’s best gathering this week at Dodger Stadium for the All-Star Game, players are at their home ballparks for summer camp to prepare for the start of the season July 23-24. SENT: 530 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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