AP News Digest 2 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 years, 10 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.
---------------—--
---------------—-—
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — President Donald Trump pulled the plug on his freewheeling daily coronavirus briefings when they turned into a political liability this spring, but he is reviving them Tuesday, looking to halt a campaign-season erosion of support as new cases spike across the country. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 845 words. UPCOMING: Developing, Trump briefing at 5 p.m., 890 words by 5:30 p.m., photos, video.
PUBLIC HEALTH-FRONTLINE WORKERS -- Chantee Mack was a veteran public health worker, so she knew the coronavirus could kill. So she asked — twice — for permission to work from home. But the Prince George’s County health department in Maryland deemed her essential and said no. Eight weeks later, she was dead. The outbreak at the Maryland office that sickened 20 workers and killed Mack illustrates the tension between serving the community and protecting workers from a deadly disease. An ongoing Associated Press-KHN investigation finds that such outbreaks are a grim threat facing overburdened and underfunded health departments across the nation. By Laura Ungar.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — School reopening funds, jobless benefits and more virus testing are at stake as the White House and Congress open negotiations on the new COVID-19 aid package as Republicans try to resolve internal divisions and lawmakers try to meld the GOP’s emerging $1 trillion proposal with House Democrats’ more sweeping $3 trillion bill. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 900 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 900 words by 4 pm.
TRUMP-HOMELAND SECURITY-CITIES — President Trump’s talk about sending agents to Chicago and possibly other Democratic-led cities represents the latest effort by the president to use an agency created after the Sept. 11 attacks to protect the country from terrorists threats to supplement local law enforcement in ways that have alarmed critics. Trump has already deployed agents to Portland under the mantle of protecting federal buildings from protesters, even as local leaders say they have only exacerbated tensions. By Jill Colvin, Colleen Long and Ben Fox. SENT: 550 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 890 words by 5 p.m. photos. WITH: RACIAL INJUSTICE-FEDERAL AGENTS-Q&A — As initially portrayed, the federal agents deployed to Portland, Oregon had a limited role: protect federal property from vandalism. But now they have become part of a national debate on the use of federal power. UPCOMING: 850 words by 4 p.m., photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA HACKING — The Justice Department accuses two Chinese hackers of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of trade secrets and targeting firms developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 570 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 790 words by 5 p.m., photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEACHERS --As pressure mounts for teachers to return to their classrooms this fall, concerns about the pandemic are pushing many toward alternatives, including career changes, as some mobilize to delay school reopenings in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus. Teachers unions have begun pushing back on what they see as unnecessarily aggressive timetables for reopening. In a Michigan Education Association survey last month of 15,000-plus educators, 23% indicated they were considering retiring early or leaving the profession because of COVID-19, and 7% said they were actually doing so, according to the union. By Kantele Franko. SENT: 880 words, photos.
----------------------------------------------—-
MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
----------------------------------------------—-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ECONOMIC HARDSHIP-POLL — A new poll finds the coronavirus pandemic is having different effects on Americans’ economic well-being. For some, the virus has meant lost income or struggles to pay bills on time — particularly among Hispanic, Black and younger Americans. Others, most notably college-educated and older Americans, have transitioned to working from home or have experienced the nation’s economic decline through a dip in the value of their investments. SENT: 860 words, photos, graphics.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK -- Residents from 31 states must now quarantine for 14 days when arriving in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as dozens of states face rising positive COVID-19 rates. Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that the quarantine is “imperfect” but said the quarantine could help protect the states against the risk of increased spread. SENT: 625 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PRIVATE PROMS -- Amid the debate over how to reopen schools safely, some teens and parents are organizing private proms to replace events canceled because of the coronavirus. SENT: 500 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARGENTINA-PSYCHOLOGY -- Coronavirus quarantines are posing a special challenge for residents of Buenos Aires who want to continue their psychological counseling amid the lockdown. Statistics from the World Health Organization say Argentina has more than 227 psychologists per 100,000 residents, the world’s highest number per capita. After more than four months of strict quarantine, residents of the capital are going to extreme lengths to see their therapists. By Almudena Calatrava. SENT: 775 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN-CONTACT TRACING — With the coronavirus rebounding in parts of Spain, it appears Catalonia and other regions have not adequately prepared to trace new infections in what was supposed to be an early detection system to prevent a new cascade of cases. By Joseph Wilson. SENT: 1,050 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHEFSFORAMERICA — A Chicago restaurateur is now regularly delivering hundreds of meals to those hardest-hit by the pandemic. By Martha Irvine. SENT: 810 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-THE UNDEREMPLOYED — Thousands of Israelis have been forced to abandon their passion and profession and find any job that will pay the bills. SENT: 980 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-INDIA DEHLI -- More than one in five people in Delhi have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a study released Tuesday, indicating that most cases in the Indian capital region have gone undetected. The National Center for Disease Control tested 21,387 people selected randomly across Delhi, the state that includes New Delhi, and found that 23.48% had antibodies to the virus. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-GYMS — Is it safe to go to the gym during the pandemic? It depends on where you live and the precautions you and the gym take. SENT: 330 words, photo.
A separate wire advisory has been sent outlining the AP's complete coronavirus coverage.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
------------------------------------------—
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
------------------------------------------—
BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP -- Amber Heard denied that she fabricated injuries to show that her then-husband Johnny Depp had been violent toward her. SENT: 680 words, photos.
BRITAIN-VIVIENNE WESTWOOD-ASSANGE --Veteran fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood poses in a giant bird cage in London to show her support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and call for his extradition to the U.S. to be stopped. SENT: 250 words, photos.
WALMART-THANKSGIVING -- Walmart will close its namesake stores and Sam’s Clubs on Thanksgiving Day this year, saying that it wants to have its employees spend time with their families during the coronavirus. SENT: 315 words.
IRAQ-MISSING GERMAN -- An Iraqi security official and human rights monitors say a German woman has been kidnapped in Baghdad outside the arts center where she works. SENT: 480 words, photos.
—————————————————-
——————————————————
TRUMP-IMMIGRATION — President Donald Trump signs a memorandum that seeks to bar people in the U.S. illegally from being counted in congressional reapportionment. By Jill Colvin and Kevin Freking. SENT: 350 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 780 words by 5 p.m., photo, video.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — Joe Biden wants to spend more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars to dramatically improve care for older Americans, bolster low-income families’ tax credits and provide preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds — part of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s larger plan to remake an economy ravaged by the coronavirus. By Will Weissert and Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 580 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 1 p.m. Biden remarks, 800 words by 5 p.m., photos.
TRUMP-JIM RYUN — President Trump is awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor to Jim Ryun, a former Kansas congressman who was the first high school runner to clock a mile in under 4 minutes. SENT: 169 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on AP Newsroom.
———————
———————
ANTIFEMINIST LAWYER -- A law enforcement official says federal investigators are examining whether a suspect in the ambush shooting of a federal judge’s family in New Jersey is also responsible for the killing of a fellow men’s rights lawyer in California. Roy Den Hollander is suspected of posing as a FedEx driver when he opened fire at the judge’s home on Sunday, killing her son and wounding her husband. The federal agents are trying to determine whether he had any role in the killing of attorney Marc Angelucci in San Bernardino County, California, earlier this month. SENT: 600 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-MISSOURI -- President Trump believes St. Louis’ top prosecutor committed an “egregious abuse of power” in charging a couple who displayed guns during a protest against racial injustice last month outside their mansion, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. SENT: 550 words, photos.
GEORGE FLOYD-MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE — The Minnesota Legislature passed a broad slate of police accountability measures early Tuesday that includes a ban on neck restraints like the one that was used on George Floyd before his death in Minneapolis. SENT: 650 words, photos.
BRIBERY INVESTIGATION-OHIO — Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others were arrested in a $60 million federal bribery probe, a person briefed on the investigation confirmed. SENT: 285 words, photos.
----------------------—-
----------------------—-
EUROPE-SUMMIT — After four days and nights of wrangling, exhausted European Union leaders finally clinched a deal on an unprecedented $2.1 trillion budget and coronavirus recovery fund, after one of their longest summits ever. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
BRITAIN-RUSSIA — A long-awaited report on Russian influence in British politics criticizes the British government for its slow response to Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, with its authors saying it was “astonishing” that no one sought to protect that democratic process. SENT: 660 words, photos.
GERMANY-SYNAGOGUE ATTACK -- A 28-year-old German right-wing extremist went on trial for a Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue that is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in the country’s post-war history, telling the court he saw Jews as a threat to the white race. SENT: 850 words, photos.
——————————————
HEALTH & SCIENCE
——————————————-
MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK-ANTIBODIES -- New research suggests that antibodies the immune system makes to fight the new coronavirus may only last a few months in people with mild illness, but that doesn’t mean protection also is gone or that it won’t be possible to develop an effective vaccine. UPCOMING: 700 words by 4 p,m.
RETURN OF THE ORCA — The Orca is headed back to the waters of New England, but this time, its mission isn’t to hunt sharks. It’s to help save them. A group of ocean advocates and movie buffs is turning an old lobster fishing vessel into a replica of the Orca, the boat captained by the grizzled shark hunter Quint in “Jaws.” The work is taking place on Martha’s Vineyard, where Steven Spielberg shot the blockbuster movie in the 1970s. SENT: 470 words, photos.
SCI--SPACE STATION — Astronauts squeezed in one last spacewalk before turning their attention to the all-important end to SpaceX’s first crew flight. Making their fourth and final spacewalk in under a month, NASA’s Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy whipped through a variety of maintenance tasks outside the International Space Station. SENT: 400 words, photos, video.
——————————————
——————————————
TESLA-RICHES — Tesla’s stock price has nearly quadrupled so far this year, further enriching shareholders including the largest, CEO Elon Musk. His net worth, on paper anyway, surpassed billionaire Warren Buffett. The company is expected to come close to breaking even but skeptics still wonder if demand for the company’s expensive cars will fizzle. By Tom Krisher. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 2 p.m.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Energy companies and banks are leading stocks broadly higher on Wall Street, extending the market’s recent run of gains. SENT: 660 words, photos, developing.
FEDERAL RESERVE-SHELTON — In a shift, the Senate Banking Committee is likely to back Trump’s unconventional nomination of Judy Shelton for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in a party-line vote. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 810 words, photo.
—————————
————————-
BBO-SAFE AT HOME — As baseball attempts to play a shortened 60-game regular season amid the coronavirus pandemic, there’s some concern that home plate could become a hot spot for transmission. Social distancing elsewhere around the diamond is fairly easy, but with the batter, catcher and umpire gathered around the plate, it might not be possible for all parties to follow government guidance to avoid 10-15 minutes of close exposure to others. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 6 p.m.
BKN-NBA RESTART ARENAS — The NBA is about to reveal the arenas that will be used for the restart at Walt Disney World, and how they will be set up for games. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos, video by 3 p.m.
HKN-PLAYOFFS-COACHES’ FRESH START — Calgary, Dallas, Nashville, Minnesota, Vegas and Toronto have something in common. These teams all have coaches taking advantage of the NHL’s restart with training camps they never got to hold after taking over during the season. Now coaches like Geoff Ward, Rick Bowness and John Hynes get to show what they can do with a couple weeks of practices and meetings. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 4 p.m.
——————————————
HOW TO REACH US
——————————————
At the Nerve Center, Richard A. Somma can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Courtney Dittmar ( ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, Phil Holm (ext. 7636). Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.