Virus Outbreak, ADVISORY

More than a million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. That’s the word from a Labor Department report that indicates companies are cutting more jobs as the coronavirus surges through the Sunbelt and some of the nation’s most populous states. Layoffs in Florida, Georgia and California rose by tens of thousands. The number of laid-off workers seeking assistance remained stuck at 1.3 million. That number is lower than the previous week but still illustrates the devastation wrought by widespread shutdowns. It was the 17th consecutive week that jobless claims surpassed 1 million.

SENT/DEVELOPING:

VIRUS OUTBREAK: More than a million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, indicating that companies are cutting more jobs as the resurgent coronavirus scythes through the Sunbelt and some of the nation’s most populous states. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL: With Europe’s summer vacation season kicking into high gear for millions weary of months of lockdown, scenes of drunken British and German tourists on Spain’s Mallorca island ignoring social distancing rules and reports of American visitors flouting quarantine measures in Ireland are raising fears of a resurgence of infections in countries that have battled for months to flatten the COVID-19 curve. SENT: 1050 words, photos.

BRITAIN-RUSSIA-VACCINE HACK: Britain, the United States and Canada say Russia is trying to steal information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine. SENT; developing.

FINANCIAL MARKETS: Wall Street drifted to a lower close Thursday after mixed reports on the economy highlighted its uncertain path, including one showing that layoffs continue at a stubbornly steady pace. SENT: 800 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA VACCINE: A state-owned Chinese company is boasting that its employees received doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine even before the government approved testing in people. Whether SinoPharm’s claim is viewed as heroic sacrifice or a violation of international ethical norms, it underscores the enormous stakes as China competes with Western companies to be first with a vaccine. SENT: 1220 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PRISON RELEASES: There has been a major drop in the number of people behind bars in the U.S. An analysis by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press found that between March and June, more than 100,000 people were released from state and federal prisons. SENT: 1150 words, photos.

PUBLIC HEALTH-MOSQUITO CONTROL: In a normal year, the Delaware County, Ohio, health department would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week. But this year, because of COVID-19, the mosquitoes will fly free. SENT: 1590 words, photos. A 1000-word abridged also has moved.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHITE HOUSE: Disagreements over the White House’s handling of the coronovirus pandemic are tumbling into public view. SENT: 820 words, photos.

BRITAIN ECONOMY: Unemployment across the U.K. has held steady during the coronavirus lockdown as a result of a government salary support scheme, but there are clear signals emerging that job losses will skyrocket over coming months. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-PREGNANCY: Can a pregnant woman spread the coronavirus to her fetus? Probably, but it seems to happen rarely and there’s a good explanation for why that is. SENT: 340 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is comparing President Donald Trump to “the man who refuses to ask for directions.” She is pleading with the White House to seek input from the nation’s scientific leaders to reverse the rise in coronavirus cases and deaths. SENT: 800 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: President Donald Trump’s plans for a grand convention keep shrinking. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK: New York City won’t open malls and museums Monday even if the city moves into Phase 4 as Gov. Andrew Cuomo promises more crackdowns on bars and restaurants. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FAMILY SPREAD: A Florida businessman is fighting COVID-19 at a hospital intensive care unit after likely being infected by his son. The case highlights the outcome dreaded by authorities. As the virus infected more young Floridians, it inevitably spread to older and more vulnerable people at a higher risk. SENT: 660 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARKANSAS: Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has issued an order requiring people to wear masks in public throughout the state, which is dealing with a surge in coronavirus cases. SENT: 610 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GEORGIA: Mayors in Atlanta and other Georgia cities say they want their requirements for people to wear masks in public to remain in place, even after Gov. Brian Kemp explicitly forbade cities and counties from mandating face coverings. SENT: 750 words, photos. VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA SALONS: Those who run salons say California’s order to close their doors in an effort to slow the rise of coronavirus cases threatens their ability to survive after months of mounting bills. SENT: 880 words, photos.

BOLIVIA-PANDEMIC AND POLITICS: Bolivia is grappling with two crises: the pandemic and bitter political discord ahead of elections scheduled for September, nearly a year after the chaotic ouster of the former president, Evo Morales. SENT: 490 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL: Israel’s Health Ministry says the country has reached a new daily record of confirmed coronavirus cases as a new nationwide lockdown to curb the pandemic appears imminent. SENT: 690 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA: Central African Republic’s health minister is blasting the “big inequality crisis” in coronavirus testing as he sees rich countries like Britain conduct scores of thousands of tests daily while his own struggles to obtain supplies for a couple hundred at most. SENT: 660 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA: Australia’s coronavirus hot spot, Victoria state, moved to increase available hospital beds and reported a record 317 new infections. Also includes other developments in Asia. SENT: 880 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA: India’s virus cases have surged another 32,695, taking the nation closer to 1 million.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-SHAKESPEARE TO YOU: Some of the actors with the Vermont Shakespeare Festival are keeping the bard in peoples’ minds this summer by doing free, short performances of some of Shakespeare’s most memorable works. SENT: 570 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-PANDEMIC PREGNANCY: For one writer, plans for a well-timed pregnancy have proven fruitless. She’s navigating being sick, being isolated from her support system and taking care of a toddler and newly adopted dog with nowhere to go. SENT: 640 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK FASHION: Masks made of cotton and other washable materials have become a big seller and fashion item as face coverings have been increasingly mandated to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. SENT: 600 words, photos.

ALSO:

MEDIA-USA TODAY-NAVARRO: The newspaper USA Today says that presidential aide Peter Navarro’s column about Dr. Anthony Fauci that it solicited and published did not meet its fact-checking standards. SENT: 330 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH AMERICA BORDERS: The U.S., Canada and Mexico have agreed to keep their shared borders closed to non-essential traffic until at least late August because of COVID-19. SENT: 165 words

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota health officials say it doesn’t appear the July 3 Mount Rushmore fireworks attended by President Donald Trump turned into a hotbed of coronavirus infections, either among South Dakotans or out-of-state tourists. SENT: 380 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-UTAH-CROWDED MEETING: Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that people crowding into a public meeting in Utah to push for an exception to mask requirements in schools was foolish and reflects an almost mob mentality. SENT: 250 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-THUNDERBIRDS: Coronavirus among U.S. Air Force personnel has grounded the Thunderbirds. SENT: 250 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK FIGHT: Investigators have identified a man who they say pulled a gun on a shopper in a Florida Walmart store. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officials said in a Facebook post that the dispute happened Saturday afternoon. SENT: 200 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TARGET MASK MANDATE: Target and CVS Health have joined the list of the nation’s largest retailers that will require customers to wear masks as cases of COVID-19 spike. SENT: 260 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-DETROIT SCHOOLS: Police say they arrested at least 11 protesters who tried to block buses from picking up Detroit students. It’s the fourth day of demonstrations against voluntary summer classes during the coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 190 words, photos.

NETHERLANDS-VIRUS OUTBREAK-EXHIBITION: A museum in the Dutch city of Leiden has finally opened an exhibition on contagious diseases through the ages after a long delay caused by the disease currently sweeping the world — COVID-19. SENT: 400 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-DISTANCE CAFE: A new Tel Aviv noodle chain is offering a pandemic-friendly approach: meals on the go with no human contact. SENT: 440 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA-FIELD HOSPITAL: Authorities in South Africa have decided to reduce the capacity of a COVID-19 field hospital in Cape Town and send some of its supplies to other areas of the country where they are desperately needed. SENT: 510 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BANGLADESH-FAKE TESTS: Officials say security officials in Bangladesh have arrested the owner of two hospitals that issued thousands of fake coronavirus test reports as he attempted to flee the country to India. SENT: 370 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN MOURNING: Spain has held a solemn ceremony in Madrid to pay homage to the nation’s victims of the new coronavirus and workers who put their lives at risk during the worst of the pandemic. SENT: 430 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CAN'T SIT HERE-PHOTO GALLERY: Stacked chairs are a symbol of California reclosing amid a resurgence of the coronavirus. SENT: 240 words, photos.

INTERACTIVES/GRAPHICS:

-US cases county-by-county. Embed code can be found in Coverage Plan. A static graphic also will be available in AP Newsroom.

-State trends (table): Trends in new cases and positivity rates for each U.S. state over the past 14 days.

-Case count (table): Searchable table of confirmed cases, including recoveries and deaths, by country, updated each hour.

-Interactive breakdown of unemployment filings by state with time scale for each (going back as far as 2000)

-Virus Europe Spread (map): An auto updating European map tracking the total confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from coronavirus.

Additional graphics and interactives include:

- Flattening the Coronavirus Curve (Chart): Chart compares the cumulative cases over time in some of the hardest hit countries by coronavirus.

-Virus Global Spread (table): Table of countries which have confirmed cases of the virus. Table also includes when the virus was initially reported and the number of deaths by country.

-Virus Global Spread (Map): Map of countries which have confirmed cases of the virus. Map also includes when the virus was initially reported and the number of deaths by country.

-Virus US State Map: State by state count of confirmed cases in the U.S.

-Virus US State Table: Table tracks the number of cases, recoveries and deaths for the US including its territories.

-Status of Cases Worldwide: Auto-updating once a day, this chart tracks the levels of active cases and deaths from COVID-19 around the world over time.

PHOTOS:

AP photos have moved from Britain, Germany, India, Switzerland, Philippines, Israel, Finland, Spain, Japan, various US, Latin America locations.

VIDEO:

AP video has moved from France, Greece, Israel, Spain, Philippines, Australia, various US, Latin America locations.