AP News Digest 2 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
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ONLY ON AP
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-FAUCI — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, says in an interview with The Associated Press that the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation’s economy, adding a dose of caution to increasingly optimistic projections from the White House. By Lauran Neergaard and Julie Pace. SENT: 750 words, photos, video upcoming.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK — Setting the stage for a possible power struggle with President Donald Trump, governors around the U.S. began collaborating on plans to reopen their economies in what is likely to a be a drawn-out, step-by-step process to prevent the coronavirus from rebounding with disastrous results. In Italy, Spain and other places around Europe where infections and deaths have begun stabilizing, the process was already underway, with certain businesses and industries allowed to reopen in a calibrated effort by politicians to balance public health against their countries’ economic well-being. By Eric Tucker, Lori Hinnant and Frank Jordans. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON — Invoking the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty,” President Donald Trump suggested that governors’ objections to his claim of absolute authority over when to lift guidelines aimed at fighting the coronavirus were tantamount to insurrection. By Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller. SENT: 810 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 5 p.m. White House briefing, 910 words by 6 p.m., photos, video. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-ECONOMIC COUNCIL — The White House is expected to announce the members of a new team that will focus on how to begin reopening the American economy. By Jonathan Lemire, Kevin Freking and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 996 words. UPCOMING: Developing, time uncertain.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-OBAMA — Former President Barack Obama endorses Joe Biden, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party’s biggest fundraiser and one of its most popular figures. In a 12-minute video, Obama says Biden “has all the qualities we need in a president right now.” By Alexandra Jaffe, Julie Pace and Bill Barrow. SENT: 860 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 890 words by 5 p.m., photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOME HOTSPOT -- Soon after the first coronavirus case hit the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, many of the staffers quit and a doctor just stopped making his rounds. Now that deaths have risen to 42, the lone doctor left to help dozens more infected patients calls the Virginia facility a “virus’ dream” — poor, chronically understaffed, with most of its residents on Medicaid funding to care for ailments from a lifetime of poverty. By Sarah Rankin. SENT: 900 words, photos.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-IMF’S-GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK — Beaten down by the coronavirus outbreak, the world economy in 2020 will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast. The IMF said Tuesday that it expects the global economy to shrink 3% this year — far worse than its 0.1% dip in the Great Recession year of 2009 — before rebounding in 2021 with 5.8% growth. It acknowledges, though, that prospects for a rebound next year are clouded by uncertainty. By Paul Wiseman and Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 1,040 words. WITH: FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks move broadly higher on Wall Street. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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TV-CHRIS CUOMO-CNN -- CNN anchor Chris Cuomo revealed on his SiriusXM show that he’s feeling frustration in his job, saying he doesn’t “value indulging irrationality, hyper-partisanship.” SENT: 200 words, photo.
UKRAINE-CHERNOBYL FIRE -- Ukrainian emergency officials say they have managed to put out forest fires in the radiation-contaminated area near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. SENT: 365 words, photos.
LAST SLAVE SHIP — The last slave ship known to have landed in the United States more than 150 years ago has a new owner: The state of Alabama. SENT: 250 words, photo.
ZOOM MEETING ATTORNEYS — A Florida judge is asking attorneys to get out of bed and put on some clothes when they show up for court hearings on Zoom. SENT: 215 words, photo.
NEW JERSEY BEACH TRASH — NJ beach trash finds include a full pickle jar, vape pods, cremation bag. SENT: 450 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-10th AMENDMENT-TRUMP — President Trump insists there are “numerous provisions” in the Constitution to support his view that he has “total authority” to order states to open their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic. He did not enumerate what they were. And the consensus among constitutional scholars is that’s because they don’t exist. By Michael Tackett. SENT: 930 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOCAL RELIEF AID — The $2.2 trillion federal rescue package could fail to deliver badly needed financial aid to thousands of smaller cities and counties where a majority of Americans live, according to documents and interviews with local officials. SENT: 1,000 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ADOPTIONS FROM AFRICA -- Several Americans are stuck in African countries as they wait to get U.S. visas for their adopted children during the coronavirus outbreak. In some cases, the Americans have been offered places on evacuation flights to the U.S. But they were told they’d have to leave their adopted children behind. SENT: 970 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA NORTHERN THREAT— China is facing a new coronavirus flare-up along its remote northern border with Russia, far from the epicenter of Wuhan, where it is close to declaring victory in the battle against the pandemic. The northern frontier has been sealed and emergency medical units have been rushed to the area to fend off the threat from people bringing the virus back from abroad.
VIRUS OUTBREAK FAR RIGHT POLITICIANS — Far-right politicians across the U.S. are warning that state and federal governments are using the coronavirus pandemic to trample on civil liberties. They are railing against efforts by state government leaders to close churches and gun stores and to prevent large public gatherings. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING--SMALL GESTURES -- In a time of anxiety and isolation, simple acts of kindness from hospital workers are giving comfort to patients and their families. At a hospital near St. Louis, a nurse-arranged phone call and video chat helped family members connect with a man who nearly died of COVID-19. His daughter calls it the most meaningful thing she can remember. At a Benton, Arkansas hospital, a guitar-playing nurse sings for stressed-out staffers and patients. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-IMMIGRATION DETENTION — The coronavirus is spreading in immigration detention, with more than 70 detainees in 12 states testing positive and hundreds of others under quarantine. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has started to lower its detainee population to reduce the risk of people getting sick. But people held in immigration jails and their advocates say there’s still not enough protective gear, cleaning supplies or space that allows for social distancing. SENT: 950 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EVANGELICALS — Nine leaders at evangelical Christian organizations are urging the Trump administration to release people from immigration detention facilities “who do not pose a threat to public safety” during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly those who are elderly or otherwise at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. SENT: 375 words, photos.
GROUND GAME — AP’s coronavirus podcast, “Ground Game: Inside the Outbreak,” today is about an unusual assignment: Photographing a ghostly virus-era New York from the back of a motorbike. Listen to the podcast after 3 p.m. at https://appodcasts.com/category/ground-game/. Embed code is available on AP Coverage Plan.
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PERSIAN GULF TENSIONS — A United Kingdom maritime organization says a ship reportedly has been boarded by armed men off the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said in an alert that the vessel “had been boarded by armed men while at anchor” near the strait off the coast of Iran. SENT: 220 words, developing.
ISRAEL-POLITICS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival met in an effort to finalize an agreement on an emergency government that would tackle the coronavirus threat and prevent another costly and divisive election. SENT: 650 words, photos.
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SEVERE WEATHER — Christian volunteers aren’t holding the hands of people whose homes were wrecked by tornadoes that killed more than 30 people across the South, and some families left homeless by the devastating winds are staying in hotels rather than shelters to guard against the coronavirus. The pandemic has changed the way relief organizations respond to disaster, with workers trying to provide all the comfort they can from a safe distance. SENT: 200 words with photos. Will be updated.
NORTHERN BORDER-ILLEGAL CROSSING -- The briefly floated idea of stationing U.S. troops along the border with Canada to help prevent illegal crossings during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the still-tiny but steady increase in the number of people crossing the northern border illegally to reach the United States. UPCOMING. 900 words, photos by 4 p.m.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-INSULIN DEALS — Diabetes patients struggling to afford pricey insulin, especially those losing health insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, can get the life-saving medicine at sharply reduced prices — even for free. The top three insulin makers are offering programs to help patients stay on their insulins. UPCOMING: 380 words by 4 p.m.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-MOVIEGOING — The coronavirus pandemic is forcing Americans to go through every kind of hardship without some of the reliable comforts of hard times. One of them is the movies. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT: 1,042 words, with photos.
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OBIT-HANK STEINBRENNER — Hank Steinbrenner, the oldest son of George Steinbrenner and one of the four siblings who own the controlling shares of the New York Yankees, died at age 63. The team said he died at home in Clearwater, Florida, due to a long-standing health issue. SENT: 565 words, photos.
CAR-NASCAR LARSON FIRED — Kyle Larson was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing, completing a stunning downfall for the budding NASCAR star who uttered a racial slur during a live-streamed virtual race and then watched nearly every one of his sponsors drop him. The 27-year-old Larson, in his seventh Cup season with Ganassi and considered the top free agent in NASCAR just three days ago, is now out of a job in what could ultimately be an eight-figure blunder. SENT: 720 words, photos.
FBN—OFFSEASON UPDATE-STRANGE DRAFT — Bill Polian ran many an NFL draft, making him the main man in the room for several successful franchises. Next week, the Pro Football Hall of Famer knows who the guys in demand will be for all 32 teams: the techs. That said, Polian and former NFL executive Pat Kirwan point directly to team scouts who, like every other year, were on the road gathering data since last summer. Former team executive Pat Kirwan points out the logistical limitations caused by the coronavirus pandemic could outweigh some of the scouting diligence — particularly in attempting to make trades. By Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m.
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