AP News Digest 2 p.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 7 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.
—————————
ONLY ON AP
—————————-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FIGHTING FOR BREATH — Guinea’s best hope for coronavirus patients lies inside a neglected yellow shed on the grounds of its main hospital: an oxygen plant that has never been turned on. But the foreign technicians and supplies needed to complete the job can’t get in under Guinea’s coronavirus lockdowns. Unlike many of Guinea’s public hospitals, the country's lucrative mines have a steady supply of oxygen. By Lori Hinnant, Carley Petesch and Boubacar Diallo. SENT: 2,400 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,080 words is available.
-------------------
-------------------
TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE — A federal appeals court orders the dismissal of the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, avoiding a protracted court fight that would have delved deeper into the reasoning for the Justice Department’s extraordinary decision to drop the charges. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 810 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 850 words by 5 p.m., photos.
CONGRESS-RUSSIA PROBE — Attorney General William Barr agrees to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next month for the first time as the panel examines whether he has inappropriately politicized the Justice Department. By Mary Clare Jalonick and Michael Balsamo. SENT: 900 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 950 words by 5 p.m., photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — Coronavirus hospitalizations and caseloads hit new highs in over a half-dozen states as signs of the virus’ resurgence mounted, with newly confirmed infections nationwide back near their peak level of two months ago. After trending downward for six weeks, the U.S. caseload has been growing again for over a week, particularly in the South and West. By Nomaan Merchant, Nick Perry and Ken Moritsugu. SENT: 790 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-YOUNGER CASES — Coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened — a disturbing generational shift that not only puts them in greater peril than many realize but poses an even bigger danger to older people who cross their paths. By Carla K. Johnson and Tamara Lush. SENT: 950 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-CONGRESS — A Republican policing bill hits a roadblock in the Senate, leaving the parties to decide whether to negotiate a compromise or walk away despite public outcry over the killings of Black Americans. The impasse threatens to turn the nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others into another moment that galvanizes the nation but leaves lawmakers unable to act. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 750 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 800 words by 4 p.m., photos, video.
RELIGION-LIBERTY TENSION -- Liberty University, a premier evangelical Christian school founded in 1971, is facing tough questions about equality as institutions across the country grapple with the stain of racism. Its president, Jerry Falwell Jr., recently apologized after posting a tweet invoking the blackface scandal that engulfed Virginia’s governor last year. But interviews with more than a dozen current and former students and employees of color point to significant doubt that the school’s culture is as welcoming as it claims. By Elana Schor and Sarah Rankin. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
Find more coverage of Racial Injustice in AP Newsroom.
BBO—A RETURN TO BASEBALL - By the time Major League Baseball returns in late July, it will have been more than four months since teams last played. The season is now going to be a 60-game sprint to the finish, held in ballparks without fans and featuring some unusual rules. There will be a designated hitter in the National League and extra innings will start with an automatic runner on second base. By Baseball Writer Ben Walker. SENT: 970 words, photos.
-----------------------------------------------
MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
-----------------------------------------------
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — A private sector report warns of widespread damage to the economy if Washington doesn’t deliver several hundred billion dollars in budget relief to states and local governments amid the coronavirus pandemic. The report from Moody’s Analytics warns that doing nothing to address the economic perils of states’ layoffs and cutbacks could cost some 4 million jobs. UPCOMING: 700 words by 4 p.m., photo.
INMATES-RELIEF CHECKS — Hundreds of thousands of dollars in coronavirus relief payments have been sent to people behind bars across the United States, and the IRS wants the money back. The federal tax agency is asking state officials to help claw back the cash it says was mistakenly sent. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOLDIERS HOME -- Investigators say leadership at a home for aging veterans in Massachusetts where nearly 80 residents sickened with the coronavirus have died made “substantial errors and failures” that helped the disease run rampant. A report released Wednesday says officials at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home packed dementia patients into a crowded unit as the virus began spreading and failed to properly isolate veterans already sickened with the disease. SENT: 650 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TOURISM MARKETING -- The coronavirus has upended the way cities and states market themselves as summer travel destinations. And some tourism officials are just emerging from an especially awkward position: telling potential visitors to stay home. The effects of the pandemic can be seen on promotional websites that acknowledge the new risks of travel. SENT: 835 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-THAT ATLANTIC OCEAN -- For those with family on one side and work obligations on the other, the Atlantic Ocean is becoming an enormous barrier once again in the coronavirus era. An AP journalist who used to fly across it five times a year and think nothing of it is now counting the lost birthdays, weddings, funerals and other family events being missed because she is so far away. SENT: 665 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-US-BORDERS -- Americans are unlikely to be allowed into Europe when the continent begins to reopen its borders from next week, due to how the coronavirus pandemic is flaring in the U.S. and President Trump’s ban on Europeans entering the United States. SENT: 670 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE-LOUVRE --After four months of virus-imposed inactivity, the “Mona Lisa” is going back to the grindstone. The world’s most visited museum is counting on the world’s most famous portrait to help lure back visitors. But the task promises to be tough. SENT: 700 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRAVEL QUARANTINES -- New York, Connecticut and New Jersey will require visitors from states with high coronavirus infection rates to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, beginning Thursday, the three governors said. SENT: 300 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA --Africa’s first participation in a COVID-19 vaccine trial has begun as volunteers received injections developed at the University of Oxford in Britain. The large-scale trial is being conducted in South Africa, Britain and Brazil. South Africa has nearly one-third of Africa’s confirmed virus cases with 106,000, including more than 2,100 deaths. SENT: 280 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN-PLASTICIZED HUGS-PHOTO GALLERY -- Plastic keeps virus, not love away from a nursing home in Spain. SENT: 360 words.
---------------------------------------------
MORE ON RACIAL INJUSTICE
---------------------------------------------
RACIAL INJUSTICE-DONATIONS -- A flood of donations during the surge of global protests following the death of George Floyd have left racial equality and social justice groups figuring out what to do with a surplus of cash. Some are pointing people to other organizations and developing long-term plans to put the donations to the best use. The donations have come from all corners of the U.S. and the globe. SENT: 1,075 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-PARKLAND ACTIVISTS --After a 2018 Florida high school massacre, the world watched as a group of mostly white, suburban students organized the massive March for Our Lives rally against gun violence, held in the nation’s capital. Now, many of those same students are using their prominence to support protests against racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd. The students are joining marches in cities across the nation and using their social media platforms to advocate for the cause. SENT: 830 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-CIVIL RIGHTS ICONS — Bob Moses, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young were among those who risked jail time, assaults and even assassination in the 1960s battles against racial segregation and for voting rights in the South. AP reporters have been asking ’60s leaders their thoughts on the current protests across the country. By Dan Sewell and Russell Contreras. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. With RACIAL INJUSTICE-THEN & NOW — Historian compares civil rights protests, then and now.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE ARBITRATION — Hundreds of law enforcement officers across the country have been fired, sometimes repeatedly, for violating policies but have gotten their jobs back after appealing their cases to an arbitrator who overturned their discipline. It’s an all-too-common practice that some law and policing experts say stands in the way of real accountability. By Martha Bellisle. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-FACIAL RECOGNITION --A Black man who says he was unjustly arrested because facial recognition technology mistakenly identified him as a suspected shoplifter is calling for a public apology from Detroit police. And for the department to abandon its use of the controversial technology. The complaint by Robert Williams is a rare challenge from someone who not only experienced an erroneous face recognition hit, but was able to discover that it was responsible for his subsequent troubles. SENT: 800 words, photo.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-WISCONSIN --Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues, attacked a state senator and threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. SENT: 800 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-SOUTH CAROLINA -- The historic South Carolina city of Charleston was removing a symbol of its legacy, with crews working through the night to take away a statue honoring John C. Calhoun, an early U.S. vice president whose zealous defense of slavery led the nation toward civil war. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.
---------------------------------------------
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
---------------------------------------------
ODD--GOAT PATERNITY LAWSUIT -- A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit seeking either a paternity test on her goats or a refund. SENT: 225 words.
ODD--SWIMMER UNHOOKS SHARK -- A swimmer in Delaware was caught on camera prying a shark’s mouth open with his hands this weekend in an effort to free it from a fishing hook. SENT: 190 words.
ROMANCE SCAM-COUPLE CHARGED — Federal prosecutors say a New Jersey couple helped run an international romance scam that used bogus profiles on dating websites to woo dozens of victims into giving up more than $6 million. SENT: 225 words.
BAYER-MONSANTO SETTLEMENT -- German pharmaceutical company Bayer says it’s paying up to $10.9 billion to settle a lawsuit over subsidiary Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, which has faced numerous lawsuits over claims it causes cancer. SENT: 200 words.
TOYOTA-RECALL - Toyota is recalling about 752,000 gas-electric hybrid vehicles worldwide because the engines can lose power and stall. SENT: 140 words.
TV-ECO CHALLENGE FIJI — Amazon Prime Video announces the premiere date for “World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji,” hosted by Bear Grylls and with 66 teams from 30 countries
——————————————————
——————————————————
TRUMP-ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — President Donald Trump faces a critical decision on Israel that could affect his support among a key part of his electoral base. Trump must decide whether to support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to annex significant parts of land the Palestinians claim for a future state, back a less comprehensive takeover, stay silent, or oppose it outright. His decision will be closely watched by all sides. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 990 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-WHY THE DELAY — The same factors that are delaying the vote count in Kentucky and New York will likely make it hard to know who won the presidential election on Election eve in November. An explainer. UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m., photos.
Find more coverage of the 2020 U.S. Elections in AP Newsroom.
TRUMP-CHILD WELFARE — Turning to a topic that generally bridges partisan divides, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at strengthening child-welfare programs nationwide. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m.
TRUMP-JUDICIAL-NOMINEE — The Senate approves the nomination of a Mississippi judge to a federal appeals court, the 200th federal judge named by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate. Cory Wilson was confirmed over Democratic objections that he has a record of working to undermine voting rights of African Americans and other minorities. SENT: 740 words, photo.
TRUMP-POLAND — President Trump meets with Poland’s leader to discuss transferring some U.S. troops to Poland to bolster NATO’s eastern flank against Russian aggression. The two also are to discuss energy security, including a natural gas pipeline being built so Russia can send more gas into Europe — an issue that has caused rifts between the U.S. and its European allies. UPCOMING: Developing from 2:15 p.m. White House arrival, 800 words by 5 p.m., photos, video.
UNITED STATES-TERRORISM REPORT — The Trump administration is claiming significant victories against global terrorism but says Iran continues to increase its support for extremists and that white supremacist attacks are on the rise. SENT: 268 words, photo.
PELOSI-HEATH CARE POLITICS — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveils a plan to expand the Obama-era health care law a day before the Trump administration is expected to ask the Supreme Court to overturn it. UPCOMING: 500 words by 4 p.m., photo.
————————————
————————————
KOSOVO-WAR CRIMES — Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and nine other former separatist fighters were indicted Wednesday on a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges, including murder, by an international court investigating their actions against ethnic Serbs and others during and after Kosovo’s 1998-99 independence war with Serbia. SENT: 560 words, photos.
OBIT-GREGORY-KATZ - Gregory Katz, an acclaimed correspondent for The Associated Press in London who recently led the news cooperative’s coverage of Brexit and the election of Boris Johnson as prime minister, died Tuesday. He had been ill in recent months and had contracted COVID-19. He was 67. By John Daniszewski. SENT: 950 words, photos.
ISRAEL-APARTHEID — Israel’s harshest detractors have for years labeled the country an apartheid state as a tactic primarily to describe its rule over Palestinians who were denied basic rights in occupied areas. And for the most part, Israel successfully pushed back against the fraught word. But as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moves closer to launching his annexation moves the term is increasingly becoming part of Israel’s political conversation. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
—————————
————————-
OBIT-KHRUSHCHEV’S SON -- Sergei Khrushchev, the son of late Cold War-era Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and who became a U.S. citizen in 1999, has died at his Rhode Island home, authorities said. He was 84. SENT: 250 words, photos.
——————————————
HEALTH & SCIENCE
——————————————
MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-DENTAL RECOVERY -- Nearly all U.S. dental offices will be cleaning teeth again by the end of June, but business as usual won’t return for a while. Expect social distancing, layers of protective gear and a new approach to some procedures as dentists get back to work. An economist with the American Dental Association says only 3% of dental offices were open for non-emergency care in April. He expects nearly all offices to be open by the end of this month. SENT: 740 words, photos.
RUSSIA-ARCTIC HEAT WAVE -- The Arctic is feverish and on fire — at least parts of it are. And that’s got scientists worried about what it means for the rest of the world. On Saturday, the thermometer hit a likely record of 38 degrees Celsius — or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit — in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk in Russia’s Sakha Republic. The World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that it’s looking to verify the temperature reading, which would be a record for the region north of the Arctic Circle. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
———————————————
———————————————
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks are down sharply on Wall Street as data showing new coronavirus cases in the U.S. have climbed to the highest level in two months rattles investors’ optimism for a relatively quick economic turnaround. SENT: 500 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated through trading, about 800 words by 5 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE — Businesses devastated by the coronavirus are expected to abandon offices and storefronts and potentially end a long boom in the nation’s commercial real estate market. Commercial landlords have reported an increase in missed rent payments and they expect vacancies to rise through the end of this year.. SENT: 965 words.
IMF-GLOBAL OUTLOOK -- The International Monetary Fund has sharply lowered its forecast for global growth this year because it envisions far more severe economic damage from the coronavirus than it did just two months ago. The IMF predicts that the global economy will shrink 4.9% this year, significantly worse than the 3% drop it had estimated in its previous report in April. SENT: 650 words, photos.
————————————
————————————-
TV-ISOLATION STORIES — After COVID-19 sickened filmmaker Jeff Pope and his family, he channeled the disease’s impact into dramatic stories of life under quarantine that were taped with social distancing. By TV Writer Lynn Elber. UPCOMING: 700 words, photo by 4 p.m.
—————-
—————-
BBO—VIRUS OUTBREAK-MLB — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred tells The Associated Press that the commissioner’s office, teams and the players’ association “owe it to our fans to be better than we’ve been the last three months.” By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 9 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.