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.
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NEW & DEVELOPING
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Adds: ELECTION 2020-RNC-MEDIA, ELECTION 2020-REPUBLICANS-CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP, VIRUS OUTBREAK-STURGIS, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GAZA, PROFESSOR CHARGED, UNITED STATES-MALAYSIA, COCKTAILS-TO-GO, FUNERAL HOME-WOMAN ALIVE.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK -- Thousands of oil and gas operations, government facilities and other sites won permission to stop monitoring for hazardous emissions or otherwise bypass rules intended to protect health and the environment because of the coronavirus outbreak, The Associated Press has found. By Ellen Knickmeyer, Cathy Bussewitz, John Flesher, Matthew Brown and Michael Casey. SENT: 1,530 words, photos. An abridged version of 950 words is also available.
AP POLL-ELECTION 2020-TRUMP — When President Donald Trump outlines his optimistic vision for America at this week’s Republican convention, he’ll be speaking to a public deeply pessimistic about the direction of the country and overwhelmingly dissatisfied with his and the federal government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Most Americans think there isn’t enough being done to help as the pandemic stretches on, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. By Julie Pace and Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 870 words, photos, graphics.
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ELECTION 2020-RNC — President Donald Trump turns a surprise opening-day appearance at his party’s scaled-down national political convention into an opportunity to cast doubt on the integrity of the fall election. That comes just moments after delegates nominated him for a second term. By Steve Peoples, Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville. SENT: 900 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: Developing from evening remarks, starting at 8:30 p.m., 1,100 words by 10 p.m. WITH: ELECTION 2020-RNC-THE LATEST (sent); ELECTION 2020-RNC-MEDIA — President Trump complained about spotty coverage of the roll call vote that renominated him as the Republican candidate for president, and some television networks abandoned Trump’s informal, 54-minute acceptance speech for aggressive fact-checking. By David Bauder. SENT: 600 words, photo; ELECTION 2020-RNC-TAKEAWAYS — Highlights of night one. UPCOMING: 990 words, photos by 10 p.m.; ELECTION 2020-RNC-FACT CHECK — What the Republicans got wrong. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 11 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-RNC-REPUBLICANS — President Donald Trump will try to reintroduce himself — and his party — to voters this week at the Republican National Convention. It will be no easy task. By Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
Find more coverage of the conventions and Election 2020 on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-POSTAL SERVICE — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy tells lawmakers that he has warned allies of President Trump that the president’s repeated attacks on mail-in ballots are “not helpful,” but denies that recent changes at the Postal Service are linked to the November elections. By Matthew Daly, Lisa Mascaro and Anthony Izaguirre. SENT: 990 words, photos, video.
POLICE SHOOTING-WISCONSIN — Wisconsin's governor had called on the National Guard to help keep the peace as Kenosha has become the nation’s latest flashpoint city in a summer of racial unrest after police shot and wounded a Black man as he leaned into his SUV while his three children sat in the vehicle. Protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear. By Scott Bauer and Morry Gash, SENT: 920 words, photos, video. WITH: POLICE-SHOOTING-WISCONSIN-POLITICS — Police shooting lays bare Wisconsin’s deep partisan divide. SENT: 810 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER — Tropical Storm Marco began falling apart, easing one threat to the Gulf Coast but setting the stage for the arrival of Laura as a potentially supercharged Category 3 hurricane with winds topping 110 mph. The two-storm combination could bring a history-making onslaught of wind and coastal flooding from Texas to Alabama, forecasters said. By Rebecca Santana and Seth Borenstein. SENT: 850 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
LIBERTY-FALWELL — Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned from his leadership post at evangelical Liberty University amid allegations related to his wife’s sexual encounters with a much younger business partner, according to a school official. The resignation also comes after an uproar sparked by a photo he posted on social media that showed him with his pants unzipped, stomach exposed and arm high around the waist of a woman who was not his wife. By Sarah Rankin and Elana Schor. SENT: 620 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ZOOM OUTAGE — Zoom experienced partial outages during the first day of school for thousands of students who are relying on the video conferencing technology to connect with educators. SENT: 780 words, photo.
SCOTT PETERSON -DEATH PENALTY — The California Supreme Court has overturned the 2005 death sentence for Scott Peterson in the slaying of his pregnant wife, but said prosecutors may try again for the same sentence if they wish. SENT: 260 words.
BERLIN-FILM-FESTIVAL — Berlin Film Festival to make acting prizes gender neutral. SENT: 270 words, photo.
OBIT-JUSTIN-TOWNES-EARLE — Musician Justin Townes Earle dead at age 38. SENT: 280 words, photos.
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TRUMP-FRAUD PROBE — New York’s Democratic attorney general asked a court to enforce subpoenas into an investigation into whether President Donald Trump and his businesses inflated assets on financial statements. SENT: 400 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-REPUBLICANS-CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP — Republican National Committee delegates approve a resolution condemning the Southern Poverty Law Center, calling the legal advocacy group dedicated to fighting extremism “a far-left organization with an obvious bias.” SENT: 330 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-RNC-POMPEO — Mike Pompeo’s planned speech to the Republican National Convention sparks a fury of criticism for breaking decades of precedent for sitting secretaries of state avoiding overt partisan political activity. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 780 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-RNC-MCCLOSKEYS — A white St. Louis couple criminally charged for waving guns during a Black Lives Matter protest outside their home will make the case in their opening night speech of the Republican National Convention that they had a “God-given right” to defend themselves and their property. By Jim Salter. SENT: 680 words, photo.
OPERATION LEGEND — President Trump and his attorney general have touted Operation Legend as a much-needed answer to spiking crime. By Michael Balsamo. SENT: 1,160 words, photos
MELANIA TRUMP — Melania Trump marks the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote with an art exhibit based on works by children from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 390 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-MALAYSIA — An American consultant is charged in an illicit lobbying effort to get the Trump administration to drop an investigation into the multibillion-dollar looting of a Malaysian state investment fund. SENT: 690 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-STURGIS — The hundreds of thousands of bikers who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have departed western South Dakota and public health departments in multiple states are now trying to measure how much and how quickly the coronavirus spread in bars, tattoo shops and gatherings before people traveled home to nearly every state in the country. By Stephen Groves. SENT: 890 words, photo, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CHILDREN — Just as millions of children are heading back to school, the World Health Organization says those aged 6 to 11 should wear masks in some cases to help fight the spread of coronavirus. SENT: 690 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PLASMA TREATMENT — The World Health Organization cautioned that using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat other patients is still considered an experimental therapy, voicing the concern as a U.S. boost for the treatment has many scientists afraid formal studies will be derailed. SENT: 570 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-BEIRUT SOULS — After a massive explosion ripped through Beirut this month, clinical psychologist Yorgo Younes knew he had to step forward and help his fellow citizens deal with the psychological toll. Online, Younes and others offered to help those grappling with the trauma of a blast that devastated a people already wearied by the coronavirus pandemic and severe economic turmoil. Younes says he has received dozens of calls in response to his offer of “psychological first aid.” SENT: 670 words, photos, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GAZA — The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip has announced the first cases of coronavirus spread through the community, raising fears of an outbreak in the impoverished territory blockaded by Israel and Egypt. SENT: 300 words, photo.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — Firefighters battling three massive wildfires in Northern California got a break from the weather as humidity rose and there was no return of the onslaught of lightning strikes that ignited the infernos a week earlier. SENT: 850 words, photos.
PORTLAND PROTESTS — Police in Portland used tear gas to scatter demonstrators who marched on a precinct station in another night of violence — hurling rocks, bottles, commercial-grade fireworks at officers and setting fires in the streets. Twenty three people were arrested, police said in a statement. SENT: 310 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL — When he ran for attorney general of Kentucky, Daniel Cameron never expected to one day hear from Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé and LeBron James. But now that the Republican has their attention, he says he remains committed to “doing the responsible thing” in the investigation into Breonna Taylor’s death. Cameron must decide whether three Louisville police officers will be criminally charged for their actions in the March shooting death of Taylor. SENT: 980 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE SHOOTING-LOUISIANA — Protesters marched through a Louisiana city holding signs and at times blocking traffic in response to the fatal police shooting of a Black man that has heighten tensions between community activists and local leaders. SENT: 820 words, photos.
REL-JIM BAKKER-PPP LOANS — Jim Bakker and his Morningside USA ministry received hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. government pandemic hardship loans. That happened despite the fact that Bakker is targeted by two state attorneys general lawsuits alleging he engaged in deceptive practices by suggesting on his TV show that a silver product could be used to treat or prevent COVID-19 infection, something the FDA says is false. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
PROFESSOR CHARGED — A NASA researcher and Texas A&M University professor is charged with accepting federal grant money while hiding work he was doing for a university established by the Chinese government as well as his affiliation with Chinese-owned companies. SENT: 410 words.
FUNERAL HOME-WOMAN ALIVE — A young woman who was declared dead at her suburban Detroit home opened her eyes at a funeral home as she was about to embalmed, a lawyer said. “They would have begun draining her blood to be very, very frank abot it,” attorney Geoffrey Fieger said. SENT: 300 words.
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RUSSIA-NAVALNY — German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russian authorities to conduct a full investigation of the poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny and to bring those responsible to justice. Tests conducted on Navalny at a German hospital indicate that he was poisoned. Doctors say his life is not in immediate danger. SENT: 920 words, photos.
BELARUS PROTESTS — Police in Belarus have detained several leading opposition activists who have helped spearhead a wave of protests challenging the reelection of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in balloting that his critics say was rigged. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
MALI-CRISIS — The military junta that overthrew Mali’s president wants to put off new elections for three years, an official said, as the international community pressed for an immediate return to civilian rule. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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TIKTOK-TRUMP-LEGAL-CHALLENGE — Video app TikTok said it will wage a legal fight against the Trump Administration’s efforts to ban the popular, Chinese-owned service over national-security concerns. SENT: 500 words, photo.
APPLE-TIM-COOK-ANNIVERSARY — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, was a tough act to follow. But Tim Cook seems to be doing so well at it that his eventual successor may also have big shoes to fill. Initially seen as a mere caretaker for the iconic franchise that Jobs built before his 2011 death, Cook has forged his own distinctive legacy. SENT: 960 words, photos.
COCKTAILS-TO-GO — At least 33 states and the District of Columbia are temporarily allowing cocktails to-go during the pandemic. Only two — Florida and Mississippi — allowed them on a limited basis before coronavirus struck, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
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MUSIC-Q&A-KATY PERRY — A decade ago, Katy Perry could sing the alphabet and top the music charts. Her name was synonymous with being No. 1 on the Billboard chart, as the pop star logged hit after hit after hit with anthems like “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “Roar” and more. But as the saying goes when you’re on top, the only way to go is down. That was part of Perry’s experience roughly three years ago when she released “Witness,” which had some success but didn’t dominate the charts like she’s used to doing. By AP Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu SENT: 1,250 words, photos.
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FBC-T25-COLLEGE-FOOTBALL-POLL — Clemson is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25, a poll featuring nine Big Ten and Pac-12 teams that gives a glimpse at what has already been taken by the pandemic from an uncertain college football season. SENT: 940 words, photos.
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