AP News Digest 6:15 p.m.
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.
———————————————
NEW & DEVELOPING
———————————————
Adds: VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NAVAJO-NATION, VIRUS OUTBREAK-911, TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE-SURVEILLANCE, VATICAN-GOOD FRIDAY, UNITED-STATES-IRAQ, DEVOS-STUDENT LOANS, NOT-REAL-NEWS, WHITE HOUSE-VOICE OF AMERICA, TRUMP-TAX-RETURNS, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN.
—————————
ONLY ON AP
—————————-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN’S MOST VULNERABLE -- The coronavirus pandemic has heightened the fragility of the elderly of Barcelona’s working class Poble Sec neighborhood. It has stripped away the safety nets that kept them fed and healthy, and exposed them to a daily threat of infection that they know could kill them. For two weeks, an Associated Press photographer accompanied Barcelona’s visiting health care workers and emergency medical personnel as they tended to Spain’s home-bound elderly, who have borne the heaviest toll in the pandemic here and around the globe. By Emilio Morenatti. 660 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BACK TO BATTLE -- The coronavirus has infected so many doctors, nurses and other health workers that some are now returning from their sick beds and heading back to the front lines. Health workers who have recovered from COVID-19 hope that they are now armed with some degree of immunity. By John Leicester. 870 words, photos, video.
----------------
----------------
VIRUS OUTBREAK — The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus surpasses 100,000 as Christians around the globe mark a Good Friday unlike any other — in front of computer screens instead of in church pews — and some countries tiptoe toward reopening segments of their battered economies. Around the world, public health officials and religious leaders alike warn people against violating the lockdowns and social distancing rules over Easter and allowing the virus to come storming back. Authorities are resorting to roadblocks and other means to discourage travel. By Matt Sedensky and Jim Mustian. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSES’ QUESTIONS — U.S. nurses are facing a fundamental question that pits their professional principles against their personal welfare: Did they sign up to become heroes? They became nurses to relieve suffering and to save lives, but the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the stakes. They are working with a critical shortage of protective gear, and the science of the coronavirus is unclear and evolving. Some nurses are questioning whether they’re ready to give their lives or put their families at risk, but most are choosing to stay on the front lines, tend to their patients and fight the virus. By Carla K. Johnson and Juliet Linderman. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VENTILATOR MEDS — As hospitals scour the country for scarce ventilators, pharmacists are beginning to sound an alarm that could become just as urgent. Drugs needed to use ventilators are running low as demand is surging. By Michael Rezendes and Linda A. Johnson. SENT: 810 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBEAK-AID COMES HOME — International charity groups usually provide support to war-torn or impoverished countries. But now, they’re sending humanitarian aid to some of the wealthiest places in the United States to help manage the coronavirus pandemic. By Martha Mendoza and Juliet Linderman. SENT: 830 words, photos, video.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-EX-PRESIDENTS — President Donald Trump is consulting lots of experts to help during the coronavirus pandemic. One resource he’s not tapping: the small group of living ex-presidents who faced plenty of their own crises. Trump has made plain he has no intention of turning to this one-of-a-kind brotherhood. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 990 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-911 — The coronavirus crisis is taxing New York City’s 911 system like never before. Operators pick up a call every 15.5 seconds. By Michael R. Sisak and Tom Hays. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GOOD FRIDAY — Christians are commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion without the solemn church services or emotional processions of past years, marking Good Friday in a world locked down by the coronavirus pandemic. The chanting of a small group of clerics inside Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher echoed faintly through the heavy wooden doors, as a few people stopped and kneeled outside to pray. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. WITH: VATICAN-GOOD FRIDAY — Pope Francis has presided over a torch-lit Good Friday procession, including nurses and doctors, in a hauntingly nearly empty St. Peter’s Square after the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the Way of the Cross ceremony at Rome’s Colosseum. SENT: 690 words, photos.
--------------------——————————-
MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
--------------------———————————
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NAVAJO-NATION — Two leaders of the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. are in self-quarantine as the Navajo Nation prepares for a weekend-long curfew aimed at curbing the coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 570 words, photos.
ML--VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-PATIENCE IN GAZA — The Gaza frontier has been the front line in three wars and countless skirmishes between Israel and Palestinian militants. But these days it feels much safer than in Gaza City, where the streets are still bustling. The ruling Islamic Hamas movement says the 13 Gazans who have tested positive for the coronavirus were all immediately quarantined and the situation is under control. Still, many are waiting it out. Gazans have shown astonishing resilience through decades of conflict, but they’ve never faced a danger like this one. SENT: 682 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GOOD FRIDAY — Christians are commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion without the solemn church services or emotional processions of past years, marking Good Friday in a world locked down by the coronavirus pandemic. The chanting of a small group of clerics inside Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher echoed faintly through the heavy wooden doors, as a few people stopped and kneeled outside to pray. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EASTER CHOCOLATE CRISIS — Easter Sunday is normally the most important date on Belgian chocolate makers’ calendar. But the coronavirus pandemic, with its lockdowns and social distancing, have struck a hard blow to the country’s emblematic $5.5-billion industry. SENT: 820 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PUBLIC TRANSIT — People who must continue working during the coronavirus pandemic are performing a quiet calculus each day as they try to stay safe while commuting. They let trains that look too crowded pass by. If they decide to board, they search for emptier cars to ride in. They say the requirement to keep at least 6 feet away from other people is nearly impossible in the New York City subway system. Despite the hardships, transit officials say they’re working harder than ever to protect riders and their own workers as well. SENT: 890 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LEARNING FROM OTHERS — To some experts, the reluctance of the United States to imitate the successful behavior of other countries in confronting coronavirus reveals a blind spot. SENT: 900 words, photos. An AP Analysis.
VIRUS OUTBREAK SUMMER CAMPS — Some summer camps have already notified families that they won’t open due to the coronavirus crisis. But most are in wait-and-see mode as parents who rely on camp for child care and child fun try not to panic. Summer camps are monitoring the pandemic’s progress as they crunch the numbers on potential mass refunds. SENT: 1,025 words, photos.
GROUND GAME — AP’s coronavirus podcast, “Ground Game: Inside the Outbreak,” today looks at how the coronavirus has battered the U.S. economy and what a post-pandemic economy might look like. Listen to the podcast after 3 p.m. at https://appodcasts.com/category/ground-game/. Embed code is available on AP Coverage Plan.
--------------------————————————
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
—————————————————————-
DEVOS-STUDENT LOANS — The Education Department promises to process student loan forgiveness claims for nearly 170,000 borrowers within 18 months as part of a proposed settlement announced Friday in a federal lawsuit filed in California. SENT: 630 words, photo.
EASTER BUNNY THREATENED — Authorities say felony charges are pending against a man who brandished a gun and threatened an Easter Bunny waving to motorists from an Ohio interstate overpass. SENT: 180 words.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN — Los Angeles prosecutors have charged imprisoned former film producer Harvey Weinstein with an additional count of felony sexual battery by restraint. SENT: 310 words, photos.
NOT-REAL-NEWS — This week’s Not Real News looks at the continuing trend of false news being shared online around the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 1,700 words, photos.
TEXAS FREEWAY CRASH — Authorities say two women were killed after a series of crashes on a Houston freeway. Two young children survived, as did a man who jumped 10 to 15 feet off an overpass to avoid an oncoming tractor-trailer. SENT: 225 words.
KANSAS PRISON RIOT — Dozens of inmates at the Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas rampaged through offices, breaking windows and setting small fires for several hours before the facility was secured. SENT: 285 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ALEX JONES — U.S. health officials are warning conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones to stop pitching bogus remedies for the coronavirus. SENT: 240 words, photo.
SOC--BELARUS-FAKE FANS — They don’t chant and they don’t buy beer. That’s because they’re not real. The defending soccer champs of Belarus are filling the stands with mannequins adorned with photo cutouts of online ticket buyers. SENT: 400 words, photos.
—————————————————
————————————————-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON — President Trump insists he will not move to reopen the country until it is safe, and says he will launch what he dubbed the “Opening Our Country” task force Tuesday to work toward that goal. SENT: 840 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — The Trump administration and congressional leaders are poised to launch new bipartisan talks on a fresh coronavirus aid package. SENT: 310 words, photo.
TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE-SURVEILLANCE — The Justice Department identifies what it describes as “material errors” in two national security wiretap applications. But it also says it has made important strides in overhauling a surveillance system that has come under political scrutiny because of mistakes made during the Russia probe. SENT: 630 words, photo.
UNITED-STATES-IRAQ — U.S. officials say new air defense systems are now protecting American and allied forces at military bases in Iraq where troops have been attacked by Iranian-backed insurgents in recent months. SENT: 770 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP WINERY — President Trump’s Virginia vineyard could be eligible for a federal bailout under the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus he signed into law last month, despite provisions that were intended to prevent him and his family from personally benefiting. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-McCONNELL-POLIO — As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell flashes back to an earlier crisis that gripped the nation, and his own life, when he was a boy. He was stricken with polio. The two crises now bookend McConnell’s years, making the Kentucky Republican an unexpected voice of personal reflection. “Why does this current pandemic remind me of that? I think No. 1 is the fear,” he told The Associated Press. SENT: 970 words, photos.
WHITE HOUSE-VOICE OF AMERICA — The White House accuses Voice of America of using taxpayer money “to speak for authoritarian regimes” because it covered the lifting of the lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged. SENT: 380 words, photo.
TRUMP-TAX-RETURNS — A watchdog finds that the Treasury Department appropriately handled Congress’ request for President Donald Trump’s tax returns, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to provide. SENT: 240 words, photo.
———————————-
———————————-
EBOLA-OUTBREAK — A new case of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in eastern Congo, just three days before the country expected to declare an end to the outbreak, the World Health Organization said. SENT: 300 words.
AFRICA-LOCUST OUTBREAK — Weeks before the coronavirus spread through much of the world, parts of Africa were already threatened by another kind of plague, the biggest locust outbreak some countries had seen in 70 years. SENT: 787 words, photos.
PAKISTAN-DEATH ROW — A Pakistani woman was just 16 years old when she was charged with murdering her employer’s wife and five children. The police said she was having an affair with her employer, who was also arrested and later hanged. The Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide is spearheading efforts, along with the independent Justice Project Pakistan, to get the woman released but the coronavirus pandemic seems to have also shut down her chance at freedom. SENT: 580 words, photos.
————————
———————
CELLPHONE PRISON — An attorney says he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 12-year prison sentence given to an African American man in Mississippi for carrying his mobile phone into a jail cell after he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge. The Mississippi Supreme Court said that it will not reconsider its earlier decision to uphold the sentence of Willie Nash. SENT: 478 words, photos.
—————————————-
HEALTH & SCIENCE
——————————————-
SCI-EARTH FLYBY — A Mercury-bound spacecraft swooped past Earth, tweaking its round-about path to the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet. Launched 1 1/2 years ago, Europe and Japan’s Bepi-Colombo spacecraft passed within 8,000 miles of Earth. The closest approach occurred over the South Atlantic, with telescopes in Chile catching a glimpse of the speeding spacecraft. SENT: 360 words, photo.
RIGHT WHALE DEATHS — A judge has ruled the federal government failed to adequately protect endangered whales from lobster fishing activities, sending the industry and regulators scrambling to figure out what the future holds for one of America’s most lucrative marine industries. SENT: 440 words, photo.
ASTRONAUTS-COMING HOME — Two NASA astronauts said they expect it will be tough returning to such a drastically changed world next week, after more than half a year at the International Space Station. SENT: 370 words, photo.
——————————————-
---------------————————
OIL MARKETS — The OPEC oil cartel and nations including Russia have agreed to boost oil prices by cutting as much as 10 million barrels a day in production, or a tenth of global supply. More countries, including the United States, were discussing their own cuts in what would be an unprecedented global pact to stabilize the market. SENT: 1,054 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-APPLE-GOOGLE-VIRUS TRACKING — Apple and Google launched a major joint effort to leverage smartphone technology to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. SENT: 220 words, photo.
————————————-
—————————————
TV-BELGRAVIA — Julian Fellowes’ latest series about English social classes kicks off with a party. Not just any run-of-the mill high society bashes, mind you. “Belgravia” on Epix starts with one of the most famous parties in history. By AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 780 words, photos.
----—--------
----—------—
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS-FAMILY REUNIONS — Thousands of professional athletes who spend weeks if not months away from home every year are discovering something during this time of pandemic: their families. SENT: 750 words, photos.
GLF--MASTERS-HEARTACHE — For every fist pump from Tiger Woods, there’s Greg Norman’s lonely walk across Hogan’s Bridge as another Masters slips away. Sometimes, the ones who never wear a green jacket are nearly as memorable as those who did. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 7 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FIRST-YEAR COACHES — First-year college football coaches already have much to learn — new players, new schemes. The pandemic wiped out spring football for most teams, putting these coaches even further behind. SENT: 850 words, photos.
-----------------——————
HOW TO REACH US
-------------------—————
At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, (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.