AP News Digest 7 a.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.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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LEBANON — Huge fire breaks out at Beirut port a month after explosion. SENT: 110 words. UPCOMING: Developing, will be updated; photos, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT-BENEFITS — Many more likely sought U.S. jobless aid as layoffs persist. SENT: 150 words, photos.
BRITAIN-ASSANGE — Assange extradition hearing paused over COVID-19 risk. SENT: 150 words, photos.
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ONLY ON AP
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK SHORTAGES — White House officials say the United States has all the medical supplies needed to battle COVID-19, but health care workers, hospital officials and even the FDA say that’s not the case. Shortfalls of medical N95 respirators and other protective gear started in March, and the American Medical Association’s president says the tremendous pressure on the supply chain continues today. By Martha Mendoza, Juliet Linderman, Thomas Peipert and Irena Hwang. SENT: 2,070 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,000 words is also available.
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TRUMP-WOODWARD BOOK — President Donald Trump’s own words are redirecting attention to his handling of the pandemic when he can least afford it — less than two months before Election Day. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump said of the threat from the virus in a March conversation with journalist Bob Woodward. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 830 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-WOODWARD BOOK-GLANCE — Trump’s thoughts on Kim Jong Un, racial unrest and a mysterious new weapon; TRUMP-WOODWARD BOOK-TIMELINE.
CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — A Northern California wildfire threatened thousands of homes after winds whipped it into a monster that incinerated houses in a small mountain community and killed at least three people. Several other people have been critically burned and hundreds, if not thousands, of homes and other buildings are believed to have been damaged or destroyed by the North Complex fire northeast of San Francisco, authorities say. By Terence Chea and Brian Melley. SENT: 680 words, photos. With WILDFIRES-RAPID-SPREAD — California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST-WILDFIRES — Numerous wildfires burned in Oregon’s forested valleys and along the coast, destroying hundreds of homes and causing mass evacuations. Farther north, flames devoured buildings and huge tracts of land in Washington state. Officials say the number of simultaneous fires and perhaps the damage caused was unprecedented. By Andrew Selsky and Gillian Flaccus. SENT: 860 words, photos, video.
HOMELAND SECURITY-WHISTLEBLOWER — An official at the Department of Homeland Security says he was pressured by agency leaders to make his intelligence reports reflect the priorities of the Trump administration. Brian Murphy says he was demoted for refusing to alter his reports on such matters as Russian interference in the election and the extent of the threat posed by white supremacists. By Ben Fox. SENT: 840 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-POLITICAL-PANDEMIC — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long cultivated a symbiotic relationship with the country’s ultra-Orthodox parties, doling out generous subsidies and leaving their insular way of life unperturbed in exchange for ironclad backing that has helped crown him Israel’s longest serving leader. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic raging and the Jewish High Holidays approaching, Netanyahu finds himself caught between his ultra-Orthodox partners and the need to drive down surging infection rates. By Tia Goldenberg. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom and below.
SEPT-11-ANNIVERSARY — In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged. The 19th anniversary of the terror attacks will be marked by dueling ceremonies at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza and a corner near the World Trade Center, reflecting a divide over the memorial’s decision to suspend a cherished tradition of relatives reading victims’ names in person. By Jennifer Peltz. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — A GOP coronavirus relief package is facing dire prospects in a Senate test vote. SENT: 660 words, photos. UPCOMING: 800 words after Senate vote, timing uncertain.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — India reported another record spike of 95,735 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours as the virus spreads beyond its major cities. SENT: 570 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-AUSTRALIA — Australia’s government ramps up pressure on a state government to relax pandemic border restrictions after a woman was refused permission to attend her father’s funeral and a dying dad was told he was only allowed to be visited by one of his four children. SENT: 390 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONE-GOOD-THING-NEPAL-HEALTH-WORKERS — At one of the largest hospitals in Nepal, a pharmacist and taxi driver have teamed up to feed COVID-19 patients, doctors, nurses and health workers. SENT: 500 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-EMPLOYERS — Employers are generally not required to tell workers when someone in the workplace has tested positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 280 words, graphic.
A separate wire advisory has been sent outlining AP's complete coronavirus coverage.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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UM-DEARBORN-ONLINE-SEGREGATION — University apologizes for setting up segregated online sites. SENT: 300 words.
CHINA-AMBASSADOR-TWITTER — China says ambassador hacked in “like” of pornographic tweet. SENT: 180 words.
CZECH-LION CUBS — Rare Barbary lion cubs born in Czech zoo park. SENT: 150 words, photos.
CHINA-US — China denounces U.S. visa revocations as racial discrimination. SENT: 240 words, photo.
BRITAIN-SCOTLAND-DERAILMENT — Derailed train in Scotland hit “washed-out rocks and gravel.” SENT: 290 words.
GERMANY-SWINE-FEVER — Germany confirms first case of swine fever on its territory. SENT: 160 words, photo.
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TRUMP-POLITICS AS UNUSUAL-ANALYSIS — When it comes to the Trump presidency, Americans are confronting questions they’re not used to asking. By Calvin Woodward. SENT: 900 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-SENATE-OFFSHORE DRILLING — Trump’s decision to extend a ban on offshore drilling could give a boost to Republican senators in tough reelection races: South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Georgia’s Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. SENT: 860 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
A separate wire advisory has moved outlining today’s AP election coverage.
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GREECE-MIGRANT CAMP BLAZE — Little remains of Greece’s notoriously overcrowded Moria refugee camp after a second fire overnight destroyed nearly everything that had been spared in the original blaze, leaving thousands more people in need of emergency housing. SENT: 700 words, photos.
BREXIT — Top European Union and British officials are holding an emergency meeting in London over Britain’s plan to break part of the Brexit divorce agreement, a move the EU says would demolish any goodwill to reach a trade agreement. SENT: 540 words, photos.
ASEAN — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asks Southeast Asian nations to reconsider deals with Chinese companies blacklisted by Washington for building island outposts he says Beijing is using to “bully” rival claimants in the disputed South China Sea. SENT: 600 words, photos.
AP EXPLAINS-INDIA-CHINA-MILITARY STANDOFF — Tensions along the disputed India-China border seem to be getting worse, three months after their deadliest confrontation in decades. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
JAPAN-POLITICS-OPPOSITION-MERGER — Members of a Japanese opposition party that split after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took power eight years ago are reuniting as speculation grows of an early general election following Abe’s decision to step down for health reasons. SENT: 500 words, photos.
IRAN-NAVAL-DRILL — Iran’s military begins an expansive annual three-day exercise near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state TV reports, with the maneuvers taking place amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. SENT: 390 words.
LIBYA — A prominent human rights organization accuses Libyan armed groups linked to the Tripoli-based government of using heavy weapons to disperse anti-corruption rallies last month in the capital and of detaining, torturing and forcibly disappearing protesters. SENT: 500 words.
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Global stock markets were mixed after Wall Street rebounded from a three-day slump for tech stocks. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 510 words, photos.
GERMANY-BLACK-IN-BERLIN — A talent acquisition manager working in Berlin’s technology industry asked herself last year where all of the Black software engineers in Germany’s capital were. SENT: 610 words, photos.
CHINA-HUAWEI — A Huawei executive says that recent U.S. sanctions against the company have caused a shortage of computer chips for the company, hurting the growth of its smartphone business. By Technology Writer Zen Soo. SENT: 340 words, photo.
EUROPE-DATA-PRIVACY-FACEBOOK — Facebook may be forced to stop sending data about its European users to the U.S., in the first major fallout from a recent court ruling that found some trans-Atlantic data transfers don’t protect users from American government snooping. By Business Writer Kelvin Chan. SENT: 430 words.
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CHIEFS-FANS-NATIVE-IMAGERY — Kansas City Chiefs fans who file into Arrowhead Stadium for a masked and socially distanced start to the NFL season won’t be wearing headdresses or face paint amid a nationwide push for racial justice following the police-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. SENT: 720 words, photos.
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MUSIC-GRAMMY-MUSEUM — The Grammy Museum is launching its own online streaming service featuring performances and interviews from A-list musicians, as well as material from the museum’s archive. By Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu. SENT: 400 words, photos.
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