AP News Digest 6 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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NEW/DEVELOPING
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Adds: BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING; VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESSMAN; RACIAL INJUSTICE-NHL; BRAZIL-FACEBOOK; POLICE SHOOTING-CITY COMMISSIONER; ISRAEL-NETANYAHU; VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA; Q&A-TIKTOK-TRUMP-BAN; POKER PLAYER-DEATH; MARINES-SEA TANK SINKS
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HURRICANE ISAIAS — Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas and weakened to a tropical storm as it churned toward the Florida coast, where it still threatened to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in a hot spot. The storm, which is expected to regain hurricane strength as it nears Florida, is piling another burden on communities already hard-hit by other storms and sickness. By Danica Coto and Curt Anderson. SENT: 740 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Lawmakers participating in rare weekend talks on a huge coronavirus relief measure are reporting progress, as political pressure mounts to restore a newly expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen. By Andrew Taylor and Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 770 words, photos. Developing.
BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING — An appeals court ruling overturning the death sentence of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has raised familiar questions about whether he can receive fair trial in a city that remains traumatized by the 2013 attack. 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEACHER TRAINING -- Virtual learning is part of an increasing number of fall reopening plans, and districts are facing pressure to improve after many students got left behind this spring. But investment in training varies widely as teachers start the school year during the coronavirus pandemic. While some school systems have offered new guidance on teaching from afar, many educators feel like they’re on their own. An education technology researcher says more affluent school districts have used the summer to train teachers and will do well. But he’s concerned for the “have-nots” who might not be given the right tools to succeed. By Carolyn Thompson. SENT: 980 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
ELECTION 2020-FOREIGN THREATS — As the Nov. 3 presidential vote nears, there are fresh signs that the nation’s electoral system is again under attack from foreign adversaries. Intelligence officials confirmed in recent days that foreign actors are actively seeking to compromise the private communications of “U.S. political campaigns, candidates and other political targets” while working to compromise the nation’s election infrastructure. Foreign entities are also aggressively spreading disinformation intended to sow voter confusion heading into the fall. By Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
CHICAGO VIOLENCE -- Homicides and shootings have surged in Chicago during the first seven months of the year. From Jan. 1 through the end of July, there were 440 homicides in Chicago and 2,240 people shot, including many of those who were killed, according to statistics released by the police department. SENT: 275 words.
TRUMP-TIKTOK — Microsoft is in advanced talks to buy the US operations of TikTok, the popular Chinese owned video app that has been a source of national security and censorship concerns. SENT: 1,000 words, photo. With: Q&A-TIKTOK-TRUMP-BAN Q&A: What would a US ban on Chinese-owned app TikTok mean? SENT: 500 words.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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MARINES-SEA TANK SINKS — Search continues for 8 missing after Marine craft sinks. SENT: 400 words, photos.
POKER PLAYER-DEATH — Man arrested in connection with pro poker player’s death. SENT: 200 words.
OBIT-CONNIE CULP-FACE TRANSPLANT -- Connie Culp, the recipient of the first partial face transplant in the U.S., has died at 57, almost a dozen years after the groundbreaking operation. SENT: 470 words, photos.
INDIA-TAINTED-LIQUOR — Police: Tainted alcohol kills 69 people in northern India. SENT: 250 words.
RED ONIONS-SALMONELLA OUTBREAK -- Federal health officials say an outbreak of salmonella infecting nearly 400 people in more than 30 states has been linked to red onions, and identified a California company as the likely source. SENT: 185 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — Mexico now has the third most COVID-19 deaths in the world, behind Brazil and the United States, where a hurricane bearing down on the East Coast is threatening to complicate efforts to contain the virus. Hurricane Isaias’ imminent arrival forced the closure of some outdoor testing sites even as Florida reached a new daily high in deaths, and other states in the path of the storm prepared emergency shelters that comply with social-distancing measures. By John Leicester, Rod McGuirk and Arno Pedram. SENT: 995 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA — South Africa surpassed 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, representing more than 50% of all reported coronavirus infections in Africa’s 54 countries. SENT: 500 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESSMAN —The chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee says he has tested positive for coronavirus days after he sat close to another member of the panel, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, who also tested positive. Rep. Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, said in a statement that he tested positive but, like Gohmert, has no symptoms. SENT: 500 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPENDING DEADLINE --Officials from states across the country who are hoping to expand broadband internet to underserved areas with federal money appropriated to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic are scrambling to finish the projects by the end of the year. To comply with the current CARES Act rules, states must have the broadband projects, which can typically take months if not years of planning and construction, up and running by Dec. 30. In Vermont, the Legislature cut back on what lawmakers would have liked to allocate from $100 million to less than $20 million because they didn’t believe they could have spent the larger amount on time, despite the need. SENT: 820 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY --Thousands have converged in Berlin to protest Germany’s coronavirus restrictions at a demonstration proclaiming “the end of the pandemic” has arrived. The protest comes as German authorities are voicing increasing concerns about an uptick in new infections. SENT: 415 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY-MIGRANTS -- About 250 Tunisian migrants in several small boats have reached a tiny Italian island that has run out of room to quarantine them as required by Italy’s anti-coronavirus measures, local officials said. SENT: 375 words, photos.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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REL--ELECTION 2020-TRUMP’S FAITH PITCH -- President Trump’s reelection campaign is courting religious voters in part by seeking to portray Democrats as a threat to religious freedom. It’s a pitch that has been amplified by disputes over the issue during the coronavirus pandemic. During a recent event hosted by the campaign’s evangelical outreach effort, Christian surrogates touted the president’s record on advancing devout conservatives’ priorities while casting Democrats as captive to an anti-religious agenda. SENT: 998 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-FOREIGN POLICY — Should former Vice President Joe Biden win the White House, America will likely be in for a foreign policy about-face as Biden reverses, dismantles or severely curtails many, if not all, of President Donald Trump’s most significant actions. By Matthew Lee and Will Weissert. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN VP — As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. The leading contenders include California Sen. Kamala Harris, California Rep. Karen Bass and Obama national security adviser Susan Rice. SENT: 900 words, photos.
FACT CHECK-WEEK — Heads snapped and eyes rolled when President Donald Trump made a case for considering an election postponement in the pandemic. Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who agree on precious little, said forget about it. A look at Trump’s statement on the election, his latest distortions of Democratic rival Joe Biden’s record and more from the past week. By Calvin Woodward. SENT: 1,850 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
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ISRAEL-NETANYAHU — Several thousand demonstrators have gathered outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader show no signs of slowing. SENT: 350 words, photo.
IRAN — Iran said it detained a leader of a little-known California-based opposition group for allegedly planning a 2008 attack on a mosque that killed 14 people and wounded over 200 others. SENT: 675 words.
BRAZIL-FACEBOOK — Facebook says it has obeyed a Brazilian judge’s order for a worldwide block on the accounts of 12 of President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters who are under investigation for allegedly running a fake news network. SENT: 300 words.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-LATINO MESSAGING -- Tens of thousands of coronavirus test kits that went unused during a 12-day testing blitz in Phoenix’s hardest-hit Latino neighborhoods shows a failure to spread the word to a community that’s often distrustful of government. Suspicion over uniformed National Guard members at the testing site and initial requirements to show IDs and pre-register also stopped many Latinos from getting a free test in the national COVID-19 hot spot. SENT: 940 words, photos.
POLICE SHOOTING-CITY COMMISSIONER — A Texas city commissioner was fatally shot in an exchange of gunfire with police and a sheriff’s deputy who had responded to a domestic disturbance call at his home, authorities said. SENT: 300 words.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND -- More than a thousand people showed up in downtown Portland early Saturday to peacefully protest. The change in tone outside a federal courthouse that’s become ground zero in clashes between demonstrators and federal agents came after the U.S. government began drawing down its forces. SENT: 825 words, photos, video.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI--SPACEX-ASTRONAUTS RETURN -- A pair of NASA astronauts face the final and most important part of their SpaceX test flight: returning to Earth with a rare splashdown. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken took part in a farewell ceremony at the International Space Station, hours ahead of their planned departure on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. SENT: 415 words, photos, developing. Eds: Will be updated with undocking expected at 7:34 p.m.
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AIRLINES-JOBS -- Unions are gaining support in Congress for another $32 billion in federal aid to protect airline workers from layoffs for another six months. Still, it’s too early to say how the issue will turn out. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did not include money for airline payrolls in his version of a new coronavirus-relief measure. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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FILM-REBUILDING PARADISE -- A new documentary by director Ron Howard captures a town’s tough recovery following one of the most devastating wildfires in California’s history. The makers of “Rebuilding Paradise” spent a year documenting the aftermath of the Camp Fire. It focuses on the colossal cleanup and rebuilding efforts in the wake of the fire that killed 85 people and destroyed some 19,000 buildings. SENT: 825 words, photos.
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BBO--VIRUS OUTBREAK-BASEBALL - The coronavirus forces baseball’s 17th postponement in 10 days, prompting at least two more players -- Brewers star Lorenzo Cain among them -- to say they will not play this year. The decisions cast further doubt on whether MLB can complete a truncated 2020 season. By Jake Seiner and Steven Wine. SENT: 700 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-NHL — Minnesota’s Matt Dumba became the first NHL player to kneel during the U.S. anthem when he did so before Oilers-Blackhawks in Edmonton. SENT: 600 words, photos.
HKN--PLAYOFFS-GAMES BEGIN — After a break of more than four months, hockey is back with the start of the NHL playoffs. It may be the middle of summer and no fans around, but the intensity of the chase for the Stanley Cup is the same. By Hockey Writers John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 8 p.m.
BKN--RACIAL INJUSTICE-NBA -- Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat stood for the national anthem before his team played the Denver Nuggets. Leonard explained the decision in an interview with The Associated Press. He says he “absolutely” believes that Black Lives Matter and wore a shirt with that message Saturday. But he also has deep ties to the military, especially because his brother served two tours in Afghanistan as a Marine. Leonard says the decision to stand has been among the most agonizing choices of his life. By Brian Mahoney. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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