AP News Digest 7 a.m.
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 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.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT-BENEFITS — U.S. jobless claims likely remain high as layoffs persist. SENT: 130 words, photos. UPCOMING: Report at 8:30 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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VENEZUELA-SANCTIONS EVASION — One of Asia’s biggest asphalt companies is helping Venezuela skirt harsh U.S. sanctions by moving hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of the state-run oil company PDVSA, according to an Associated Press investigation. Internal documents obtained by the AP show that Thailand’s Tipco Asphalt has been making payments to dozens of third parties at PDVSA’s instructions in exchange for cheap oil. By Joshua Goodman. UPCOMING: 3,600 words, photos by 8 a.m. An abridged version of 1,050 will also be available.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UKRAINE — Coronavirus infections in Ukraine began surging in late summer, and the ripples are hitting towns like Stebnyk in the western part of the country. The chief doctor at the only hospital in the town of 20,000 people is watching the rise with alarm and anguish. The hospital is supposed to hold 100 patients but is treating 106 patients with COVID-19. Ukraine imposed a tight lockdown in March, slowing the number of cases, but they started rising again and the government closed the borders at the end of August. By Mstyslav Chernov and Yuras Karmanau. SENT: 920 words, photos.
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ELECTION 2020-DEBATE — Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic challenger Kamala Harris trad barbs through plexiglass shields in a debate dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. Harris says President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic is “the greatest failure of any presidential administration”; Pence says Trump has constantly put the American people first. By Steve Peoples, Kathleen Ronayne, Michelle L. Price and Jill Colvin. SENT: 940 words, photos, videos. With ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-FACT CHECK — Misstatements on the coronavirus, Russia, the economy and more; ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-TAKEAWAYS — A more civil debate; ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-THE SCENE — Plexiglass takes the stage.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
HOMELAND SECURITY-IMMIGRATION POLITICS — The Department of Homeland Security has rolled out a series of immigration measures in recent days. The agency is helping to revive an issue that was at the heart of Trump’s successful 2016 campaign, but largely on the back burner in the current one. By Ben Fox and Elliot Spagat. SENT: 920 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — Trump is crediting an experimental drug treatment with helping his recovery from COVID-19 and suggesting his diagnosis could be a “blessing in disguise” for the nation’s battle against the pandemic. But there is no way for the president or his doctors to know whether the drug had any effect. By Aamer Madhani, Jill Colvin and Matthew Perrone. SENT: 1,280 words, photos, video.
Find more coverage of Trump and the virus in AP Newsroom.
TROPICAL-WEATHER — Louisiana residents still recovering from the devastation of a powerful hurricane less than two months ago brace for another hit as Hurricane Delta steams north through the Gulf after swiping Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. By Stacey Plaisance and Rebecca Santana. SENT: 790 words, photos. With TROPICAL-WEATHER-THE-LATEST.
PAKISTAN-FRANCE-ASSAILANT — Ali Hassan was only 15 when he left Pakistan to be smuggled to Europe, following the path of his older brother and many other young men from his home country dreaming of a better life. Nearly three years later, Hassan is today in a Paris jail after allegedly attacking and seriously wounding two people with a meat cleaver. Before the Sept. 25 attack, he proclaimed in a video he was seeking vengeance after the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo published caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. By Kathy Gannon. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
NOBEL-LITERATURE — The Nobel Prize for literature is awarded to American poet Louise Glück on “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” SENT: 270 words, photo. UPCOMING: Developing, photos, video.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-THE FLY — A fly on Vice President Pence’s head generates buzz. SENT: 340 words, photos.
PEOPLE-MORGAN WALLEN — Morgan Wallen dropped as “SNL” performer after breaking COVID rules. SENT: 120 words, photo.
CALIFORNIA-FORMER-CONGRESSWOMAN-HACK — “Former staff" claim abuse by ex-Rep. Hill in Twitter hack. SENT: 400 words, photo.
BRAZIL-NEYMAR-CYBERCRIME — Rio judge ends Neymar’s cybercrime probe linked to rape case. SENT: 280 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-CIRCLING SHARK — Drone video shows Australian surfer’s close call with shark. SENT: 380 words.
THAILAND-THAI AIRWAYS — Thai Airways ensures grounded flying fans can still take off. SENT: 640 words, photos.
HONG KONG-SCROLL AUCTION — Ancient Chinese scroll sells for $41.8 million in Hong Kong. SENT: 210 words, photo.
BRITAIN-EARTHSHOT PRIZE — Prince William, David Attenborough launch “Earthshot” award. SENT: 400 words, photos.
FINLAND-PRIME-MINISTER-FOR-A-DAY — Teen assumes Finland’s PM post for a day in “Girls Takeover.” SENT: 300 words, photos.
TOKYO-COE-TAKE-A-KNEE — Sebastian Coe supports athletes’ right to take knee on Olympic podium. SENT: 400 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — The British government is mulling fresh restrictions on everyday life in England amid mounting fears that hospitals in some parts of the country may soon be overwhelmed by growing numbers of patients laid low by the coronavirus. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ISRAEL — The Israeli government extends an emergency provision that bars public gatherings, including widespread protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for an additional week. SENT: 400 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GERMANY — Germany is seeing a sharp jump in new coronavirus infections, a development that is raising fears the pandemic is picking up pace in a country that so far has coped better than many of its European neighbors. SENT: 330 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SPAIN — A court in Madrid strikes down a national government order that imposed a partial lockdown in the Spanish capital and its suburbs, siding with regional officials who had resisted stricter measures against one of Europe’s most worrying virus clusters. SENT: 240 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SRI-LANKA — Authorities in Sri Lanka close key government offices and further expanded a curfew to contain a surging coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 200 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NEW-YORK — Anger and resentment flare in New York City neighborhoods facing new coronavirus shutdowns, with some residents saying the state is unfairly targeting Orthodox Jewish communities as it tries to stamp out hot spots before they spread. SENT: 980 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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ELECTION-SECURITY-MAIL-BALLOT-MIXUPS — Several high-profile cases of voters getting incorrect blank absentee ballots in the mail are raising questions about how often such mix-ups occur and whether they could affect this year’s presidential election. By Technology Writer Frank Bajak. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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POLICE-SHOOTING-WISCONSIN-MALL — A Black Wisconsin police officer who fatally shot a Black teenager outside a suburban Milwaukee mall in February won’t be charged because he had reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary, a prosecutor says. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
WHALES OF NEW YORK — If you’re young and hungry, the place to go is New York City — even if you weigh 25 tons and have a blowhole. SENT: 660 words, photos, video.
COLLEGE-STUDENT-KILLED — A tech worker pleaded guilty to strangling a Utah college student whose disappearance over a year ago sparked a search that ended with the discovery of her charred remains in his backyard. SENT: 630 words, photos.
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INDONESIA-LABOR-PROTESTS — Protests in many Indonesian cities turned violent as thousands of enraged students and workers criticized a new law they say will cripple labor rights and harm the environment. SENT: 360 words, photos.
GREECE-GOLDEN DAWN — A Greek court is expected to sentence the 18 former lawmakers of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party, including its leader, a day after the three-member panel of judges delivered a landmark verdict deeming the party a criminal organization. SENT: 400 words, photos.
NKOREA-MILITARY PARADE — Speculation is rampant North Korea will hold a massive military parade and unveil powerful new missiles this weekend to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its ruling party’s founding. SENT: 930 words, photos.
MYANMAR-ROHINGYA — The de facto detention of 130,000 ethnic Rohingya in squalid camps in Myanmar amounts to a form of apartheid, a human rights group alleges in urging the world to pressure Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to free them. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Global shares were mostly higher on optimism that U.S. stimulus may be coming after all, as Trump appeared to reverse his earlier decision to halt talks on another economic rescue effort. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 680 words, photos.
FACEBOOK-ELECTION-PREP — Facebook says it’s readied new safeguards for the 2020 U.S. elections that have it better prepared to deal with candidates who prematurely declare victory or contest official results and the possibility of voter intimidation by alleged — and potentially armed — “poll watchers.” By Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 390 words, photo.
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ELECTION 2020-NBA — Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat is honest about it: Elections simply have not been overly important to him — until now. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 990 words, photos.
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RACIAL-INJUSTICE-SESAME-STREET — In the wake of the national reckoning on race, “Sesame Street” is teaching children to stand up against racism. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 510 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEDIA — Medical experts at news organizations have been asked to assess Trump’s condition before millions of people without being able to examine him or see a complete medical chart. By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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