AP News Digest 6:40 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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SOUTH-SUDAN-TROUBLED-PEACE — Here in crowded camps in South Sudan, former enemies are meant to be joining forces after a five-year civil war so they can help the shattered country recover. But they can barely find enough food. The Associated Press spoke to women, both former rebel fighters and government troops, who are among tens of thousands of people being trained as a unified security force. It’s meant to be a major step in the 2018 peace deal ending the war that killed nearly 400,000 people. By Maura Ajak. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — Texas leaders who grappled with coronavirus testing shortages for much of the pandemic are now facing the opposite problem: not enough takers. The number of coronavirus tests being done each day in Texas has dropped by the thousands in August, mirroring nationwide trends. The drop comes even as deaths are continuing to climb and just as students are returning to class and football teams charge ahead with plans to play. The trend worries health experts who fear that states are flying blind into fall unless enough testing is done to keep the virus in check. By Paul J. Weber. SENT: 855 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.
ELECTION 2020-HARRIS PROFILE — From her earliest years, Kamala Harris’ path toward the second-highest office in the United States has tracked the nation’s struggle for racial equality. The start-and-stop progress and sometimes messy debate have shaped her life, from an upbringing by immigrant parents, a childhood among civil rights activists, a career at the helm of a flawed criminal justice system and her rapid ascent to the top of Democratic politics. The California senator is Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick. By Kathleen Ronayne and Maryclaire Dale. With AP Photos. SENT: 2400 words. A 1,000-word version is also available.
ELECTION 2020-BALLOT HARVESTING — More than half the states allow a third party to collect and return election ballots from groups of voters. Political groups and campaigns from both parties have run ballot-collection programs aimed at boosting turnout and ensuring voters who are older, homebound, have a disability or live far from U.S. postal services can return their ballot. President Donald Trump and the GOP contend “ballot harvesting” opens the door for fraud and they are fighting to restrict the effort in states during the pandemic. By Michelle L. Price. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
EMIRATES-ISRAEL — Telephone service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel began working Sunday as the two countries open diplomatic ties, part of a deal brokered by the U.S. that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex West Bank land sought by the Palestinians for a future state. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 360 words photos.
OBIT-ROBERT-TRUMP — President Donald Trump’s younger brother, Robert Trump, a businessman known for an even keel that seemed almost incompatible with the family name, dies after being hospitalized in New York, the president says in a statement. He was 71. The president visited his brother at a New York City hospital on Friday after White House officials said he had become seriously ill. Officials did not immediately release a cause of death. By Jim Mustian. SENT: 690 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — South Korea has reported 279 new coronavirus cases in the highest daily jump since early March, as fears grow about a massive outbreak in the greater capital region. The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brings the national caseload to 15,318, including 305 deaths. SENT: 630 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ITALY-GARBAGE — Italy produced 10% less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas. SENT: 600 words, photo.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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PORTLAND-PROTESTS — Portland police declare riot, push protesters from building SENT: 250 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PHILLY NAKED BIKE RIDE — The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on this year’s Philly Naked Bike Ride. SENT: 270 words, photos.
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ELECTION 2020-POST OFFICE-Q&A -- The U.S. Postal Service is warning states it cannot guarantee that all ballots cast by mail for the Nov. 3 election will arrive in time to be counted, even if ballots are mailed by state deadlines. That’s raising the possibility that millions of voters could be disenfranchised. SENT: 950 words, photos.
TRUMP-PUBLIC LANDS — President Donald Trump intends to withdraw the nomination of William Perry Pendley to head the Bureau of Land Management, a senior administration official says — much to the relief of environmentalists who insists the longtime advocate of selling federal lands should not be overseeing them. SENT: 730 words, photo.
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CALIFORNIA HEAT WAVE — California’s utilities are bringing back power to thousands of customers across the state after a brief outage, according to the authority that operates the power grid. The California Independent System Operator (California ISO) says in a statement that the brief rolling blackouts throughout the state were caused by the failure of a power plant and the loss of wind power. SENT: 750 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES — Firefighters struggled to contain three wildfires near Los Angeles as forecasters warned that the risk of new fires was high with temperatures expected to spike and humidity levels to drop across California. In Northern California, the National Weather Service warned responders to beware of a rare fire tornado. SENT: 530 words, photos.
SEVERE WEATHER-MIDWEST — The unusual wind storm that damaged farms, homes and cities across the Midwest this past week could offer lessons for forecasters and the public on how to better prepare for something that packed the power of a category 3 hurricane but lacked the days of warning a typical hurricane offers. SENT: 820 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER — Tropical Storm Josephine was expected to weaken as it skirts islands in the Caribbean, and Tropical Storm Kyle was moving away from the continental United States, forecasters say. Threats to land continue to be minimal for both storms, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center’s 11 p.m. advisories. SENT: 310 words.
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SKOREA-US-MILITARY-DRILLS — The United States and South Korea will begin their annual joint military exercises this week, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says. But a spreading coronavirus outbreak has apparently forced the allies to scale back an already low-key training program mainly involving computer-simulated war scenarios. SENT: 490 words, photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israel closed the Gaza Strip’s offshore fishing zone following a night of cross-border fighting with Palestinian militants, the most intense escalation of hostilities in recent months. Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets into southern Israel after Israeli airstrikes targeted sites belonging to the territory’s militant Hamas rulers. SENT: 310 words, photos.
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BKN--GRIZZLIES-TRAIL BLAZERS — A fourth consecutive down-to-the-wire finish, a fourth consecutive win for the Portland Trail Blazers. They needed all that just to get into the playoffs. Damian Lillard scored 31 points, CJ McCollum had 14 of his 29 in the fourth quarter — including a pair of big jumpers over Ja Morant late — and the Blazers clinched the NBA’s final playoff spot by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 126-122. Portland’s reward: a matchup with the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, starting Tuesday. SENT: 820 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Donald E. King (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.