AP News Digest 7 a.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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RACIAL INJUSTICE-TEAR GAS — During the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, law enforcement agencies have increasingly been using tear gas — traditionally used as a measure of last resort — offensively. Law enforcement officials say the gases are effective tools for crowd control and are safe. But despite its widespread use, there are few studies on the health effects of tear gas. The AP also found that there is no oversight of the use and manufacture of tear gas. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 2,400 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,050 words is available.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIGRANT CHILDREN — More than 2,000 unaccompanied children have been expelled from the United States since March under an emergency declaration enacted by the Trump administration, which has cited the coronavirus in refusing to provide them protections under federal anti-trafficking and asylum laws. By Nomaan Merchant. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.
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LEBANON — Lebanese officials targeted in the investigation of the massive blast that tore through Beirut sought to shift blame for the presence of explosives at the city’s port, and the visiting French president warns that without serious reforms the country would “continue to sink.” By Bassem Mroue. SENT: 940 words, photos. With LEBANON-DEVASTATED-BEIRUT — In a horrific instant, a burst of power that ravaged Beirut; LEBANON-WORLD-REACTION; LEBANON-THE-LATEST. Also see LEBANON-US RISKS below.
NKOREA-VIRUS-LOCKDOWN — North Korea is quarantining thousands of people and shipping food and other aid to a southern city locked down over coronavirus worries, officials say, as the country’s response to a suspected case reinforces doubt about its longstanding claim to be virus-free. By Hyung-Jin Kim. SENT: 850 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.
MEDICAID EXPANSION — President Donald Trump is still trying to overturn “Obamacare,” but his predecessor’s health care law keeps gaining ground in places where it was once unwelcome. Missouri voters this week approved Medicaid expansion, making the conservative state the seventh to do so under Trump. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 740 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-BASS-FLORIDA — California congresswoman Karen Bass is on the short list of running mates for Democrat Joe Biden. But her past remarks eulogizing the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro could derail her chances because of a crucial voting bloc in Florida. By Adriana Gomez Licon and Bobby Caina Calvan. SENT: 980 words, photo.
JAPAN-HIROSHIMA ANNIVERSARY — Survivors of the world’s first atomic bombing gather in diminished numbers near an iconic, blasted dome to mark the attack’s 75th anniversary, many of them urging the world, and their own government, to do more to ban nuclear weapons. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 870 words, photos. With JAPAN-HIROSHIMA-ANNIVERSARY-Q&A.
POLAND-LGBT-EMIGRATION — Some lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are leaving Poland following the anti-LGBT campaign rhetoric the country’s president used during his successful reelection campaign and other leaders promoted before that. By Vanessa Gera. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. With POLAND-POLITICS — Poland’s leader sworn in for second term as critics stay away.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-FRANCE-TESTING-TROUBLES — With virus cases rising anew, France is struggling to administer enough tests to keep up with demand. SENT: 930 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Negotiators on a huge COVID-19 response bill are still stuck, but still trying after more than a week’s worth of meetings. SENT: 940 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — A governor in central Japan announces a state of emergency due to rising virus cases and asked businesses and people to curb their activities, especially during an upcoming holiday. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY — Germany will require people arriving from countries considered high-risk to take coronavirus tests starting this weekend, the health minister says, as the country recorded its highest daily tally of new infections in three months. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AUSTRALIA — A bright side for plant nurseries of Melbourne’s first pandemic stay-at-home order was that many householders took the time to garden, but the latest lockdown in Australia’s second-largest city is far tougher. SENT: 970 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-SURGE-HOSPITAL — California spent millions on arena hospital that saw only nine patients. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California has stopped removing or adding to a list of counties facing more restrictions on businesses and schools as it tries to resolve a technical problem with the state’s coronavirus testing database, health officials say. SENT: 790 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-SCHOOLS — Is it safe for schools to reopen during the pandemic? It depends on how widespread COVID-19 infections are in the community and the safety measures the school takes. SENT: 430 words, graphic.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
A separate wire advisory has moved outlining our complete coronavirus coverage.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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MISSOURI TEEN-SEX ASSAULT — Subject of “Audrie & Daisy" documentary dies by suicide. SENT: 580 words.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-NORTH CAROLINA DEATH — Videos show jail officers restraining North Carolina inmate. SENT: 800 words, photos.
MUSIC PRODUCER-SEXUAL ASSAULT — Grammy-winning producer Detail accused of sexual assault. SENT: 270 words, photo.
FACEBOOK-TRUMP-DELETED POST — Facebook, citing virus misinformation, deletes Trump post. SENT: 300 words, photo.
MICHAEL-COHEN-PRISON — Lawyer: Michael Cohen has offer to be a political consultant. SENT: 290 words, photos.
POMPEO-CHINESE APP CURBS — U.S. talks tougher on Chinese tech, but offers few specifics. SENT: 390 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-SEATTLE — Seattle City Council takes steps to cut police officers. SENT: 220 words.
TOKYO-RINGS — Olympic rings in Tokyo Bay removed for “maintenance.” SENT: 340 words, photos.
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AP-INTERVIEW-CLYBURN — Rep. James Clyburn says the COVID-19 crisis is “much, much worse” than the 2008 Great Recession because the U.S. is without a national strategy to contain the coronavirus. By Lisa Mascaro and Padmananda Rama. SENT: 750 words, photos, video.
ELECTION 2020-CONVENTIONS — Joe Biden joins Trump in scrapping plans to accept his party’s presidential nomination in a convention extravaganza. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-FUNDRAISING — Donald Trump takes in $165 million for his reelection effort in the month of July, a sum that that surpasses what his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, raised during the same period. SENT: 350 words, photos.
Find more AP coverage of the 2020 U.S. Elections.
SUPREME COURT-THOMAS — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has never been afraid to turn right when his colleagues turn left, or in any direction really as long as there’s a place to plug in his 40-foot refitted tour bus. SENT: 720 words, photo.
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UNIVERSITY-OF-UTAH-SHOOTING — A group of University of Utah police officers made inappropriate comments about explicit photos of a student who had submitted the pictures as evidence in an extortion case shortly before her shooting death, an investigation finds. SENT: 500 words, photo.
LEBANON-US RISKS — A massive explosion in the Lebanese capital is bringing back sorrowful memories for people in a rural Texas town that was partly leveled by a similar ammonium nitrate blast in 2013. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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NEW-ZEALAND-BRITISH-TOURIST-MURDER-TRIAL — A New Zealand man found guilty of murdering a British backpacker appeals his conviction and punishment, with his new lawyer arguing he didn’t get a fair trial and his sentence was too harsh. SENT: 280 words, photos.
CHINA-CANADA-DEATH SENTENCE — China sentences a third Canadian citizen to death on drug charges amid a steep decline in relations between the two countries. SENT: 450 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-KASHMIR — The U.N. Security Council discusses disputed Kashmir at Pakistan’s request for the third time since India’s Hindu nationalist government decided to end the Muslim-majority region’s semi-autonomy a year ago. SENT: 520 words, photos.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT-BENEFITS — With the nation still gripped by an alarming resurgence of coronavirus cases, the U.S. government will provide its latest snapshot of the layoffs that have remained elevated at a weekly pace above 1 million since the pandemic erupted in March. By Economics Writer Paul Wiseman. SENT: 150 words, photo.
BRITAIN-ECONOMY — The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at a record low 0.1% amid caution about how rapidly the United Kingdom will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. SENT: 510 words, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — World markets are mixed as investors watch to see if American lawmakers will come ahead with fresh stimulus for the U.S. economy. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 720 words, photos.
ELECTRONIC DRIVING-SAFETY — Two tests by AAA during the past two years show that partially automated driving systems don’t always function properly, so the auto club is recommending that car companies limit their use. By Auto Writer Tom Krisher. SENT: 670 words.
JAPAN-EARNS-TOYOTA — Toyota’s profit plunges 74% in the last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic sank vehicle sales to about half of what the top Japanese automaker sold the previous year. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 460 words, photos.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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PYGMY-HOG-VIRUS-LOCKDOWN — Pygmy hogs — the world’s smallest and rarest wild pig — are under a virus lockdown. By Science Writer Aniruddha Ghosal. SENT: 600 words, photos, video.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Richard A. Somma can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Courtney Dittmar (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, Phil Holm (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.