AP News Digest 6:05 p.m.
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All Times EST. 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: NOT-REAL-NEWS, DEVOS-STUDENT LOANS, UNITED STATES-SOMALIA, UNITED STATES-CHINA, PENTAGON-TRUMP ALLIES, ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN, VIRUS OUTBREAK-PANDEMIC'S FUTURE, GOOGLE-AI-RESEARCHER, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA, MARY-TRUMP-INTERVIEW.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — America’s employers scaled back their hiring last month as the viral pandemic accelerated across the country, adding 245,000 jobs, the fewest since April and the fifth straight monthly slowdown. The unemployment rate fell to a still-high 6.7%, from 6.9% in October, the Labor Department said. November’s job gain was down from 610,000 in October. The report of another slowdown in hiring was the latest evidence that the job market and the economy are faltering in the face of a virus that has been shattering daily records for confirmed infections. By Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 520 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-HOSPITAL-CYBERATTACK — A Vermont hospital network is still recovering from a massive digital disruption in October, signaling the dangers of cyberattacks on the nation’s health care system during a surge of COVID-19. The same day as the Oct. 28 attack, the FBI had warned of an incoming wave of criminal digital cyber threats to U.S. hospitals and providers. Experts say the pandemic has left health care organizations vulnerable to ransomware attacks that cut off access to health records and other technical infrastructure. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — States face a deadline to place orders for the coronavirus vaccine as many reported record infections, hospitalizations and deaths, and hospitals were pushed to the breaking point — with many fearing that the worst is yet to come. The number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 hit an all-time high in the U.S. on Thursday at 100,667, according to the COVID Tracking Project, while new daily cases now are averaging 210,000 and deaths are averaging 1,800 per day, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. By Michael Rubinkam and Tammy Webber. SENT: 900 words, photos.
BIDEN-CABINET DIVERSITY — President-elect Joe Biden is under increasing pressure to expand racial and ideological diversity in his Cabinet and other top jobs, and even is beginning to draw rebukes from activists who fear he’ll far short on promises to build out an administration that looks like the country it governs. By Will Weissert, Lisa Mascaro and Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. WITH: BIDEN — President-elect Joe Biden predicts a “bleak future” if Congress doesn’t take speedy action on a coronavirus aid bill, amid a nationwide spike in the virus that’s hampering the nation’s recovery. He is also expressing concern that so far he’s seen “no detailed plan” from the Trump Administration on how to distribute an approved coronavirus vaccine, but says he and his team are working on their own proposal to fill in the gaps. By Zeke Miller and Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 760 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-MISINFORMATION’S LEGACY — A cellphone video of a man hauling a large box into a Detroit election office spread across social media as proof of voter fraud, even though it was debunked by news organizations and public officials. That single video serves as a powerful emblem of the trafficking in false information that has plagued the presidential election won by Joe Biden. By Amanda Seitz and David Klepper. SENT: 1,420 words, photos. An abridged version of 970 words is also available. INDIA-FARMER-PROTESTS — Tens and thousands of farmers have descended upon the borders of New Delhi to protest new farming laws that they say will open them to corporate exploitation. Protesters with distinctive colorful turbans and long, flowing beards are choking the highways in giant demonstrations and threatening to besiege the capital. By Sheikh Salaliq. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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NOT-REAL-NEWS — As the COVID-19 crisis worsens, false information about the virus is also spreading — along with baseless claims about fraud one month after the 2020 election. SENT: 3,300 words, photos.
BUDDY THE ELF MEETS DAD — Doug Henning of Eliot, Maine, wore a costume to look like Will Ferrell in the movie “Elf” while meeting his father face to face for the first time last week at Boston's Logan Airport. SENT: :280 words, photos.
MARY-TRUMP-INTERVIEW — President Trump’s niece says her uncle should face prosecution after he leaves White House. SENT: 870 words, photos.
TIME-KID-OF-THE-YEAR — Colorado student, scientist named Time’s first-ever ‘Kid of the Year.’ SENT: 430 words.
MARSHALS-SHOT-NEW YORK — Fugitive is killed, 2 US marshals shot in Bronx gunfight. SENT: 370 words, photos, video.
FRANCE-POLICE DISCRIMINATION — Macron calls racial profiling ‘unbearable,’ announces survey. SENT: 210 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-PANDEMIC'S FUTURE — The U.N. health chief declared Friday that positive results from coronavirus vaccine trials mean the world “can begin to dream about the end of the pandemic,” but he said rich and powerful nations must not trample the poor and marginalized “in the stampede for vaccines.” SENT: 770 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — The health officers in six San Francisco Bay Area counties have issued a new stay-at-home order as the number of virus cases surge and hospitals fill. SENT: 220 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-THANKSGIVING TRAVEL — Americans couldn’t resist the urge to gather for Thanksgiving, driving only slightly less than a year ago and largely ignoring the pleas of public health experts, who begged them to forgo holiday travel to help contain the coronavirus pandemic, data from roadways and airports shows. SENT: 620 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-Q&A — Britain’s announcement that it has become the first Western country to authorize the use of a COVID-19 vaccine has sparked debate about whether officials emphasized speed over safety. SENT: 1,160 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-VACCINE — America’s top infectious disease expert has apologized for suggesting U.K. authorities rushed their authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine, saying he has “great faith” in the country’s regulators. SENT: 300 words, photos. And: VIRUS-OUTBREAK-EUROPOL-VACCINE-WARNING — EU police agency Europol warns of fake coronavirus vaccines. SENT: 300 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY — Officials in Germany said they are taking the potential for attacks on mass vaccination centers into consideration as they set up sites to prepare for European Union regulators authorizing the first coronavirus vaccines. The European Medicines Agency has indicated it may not decide whether to grant its authorization until Dec. 29, about two weeks later than Germany had expected to launch a national immunization drive. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPOL-VACCINE WARNING — European Union police agency Europol has issued a warning highlighting the risk of organized crime scams linked to COVID-19 vaccines, including the possibility criminals will sell dangerous counterfeit vaccines. SENT: 340 words.
PUBLIC HEALTH-FRONT-LINE WORKERS — A Maryland county health department is taking action after a coronavirus outbreak left a veteran public health worker dead and several colleagues with lasting medical problems. SENT: 960 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Optimism is finally building in Washington for a COVID-19 aid bill that would offer relief for businesses, the unemployed, schools and health care providers, among others struggling as caseloads are spiking. Success is not certain and considerable differences remain over details, such as whether to issue a second round of $1,200 direct payments to most Americans. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 700 words, photos, video.
CONGRESS-MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION — The Democratic-controlled House approves a bill to decriminalize and tax marijuana at the federal level, reversing what supporters called a failed policy of criminalization and taking steps to address racial disparities in enforcement of federal drug laws. Opponents, mostly Republicans, call the bill a hollow political gesture. By Matthew Daly. SENT: 930 words, photos.
PARDON-BRIBERY SCHEME — A California psychologist convicted of tax evasion was at the center of a mysterious investigation into whether White House officials were illegally lobbied to obtain a presidential pardon. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 640 words, photo.
ELECTION-2020-WISCONSIN — A judge hearing President Trump’s federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in Wisconsin has said that the president’s request to “remand” the case to the GOP-controlled Legislature to pick new electors was “bizarre.” SENT: 520 words, photos.
DEVOS-STUDENT LOANS — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos extends the moratorium on student loan payments and the accrual of interest until Jan. 31, 2021. UPCOMING: 360 words, photo by 7 p.m.
UNITED STATES-SOMALIA — President Donald Trump orders most of the approximately 700 U.S. troops in Somalia to leave the country. The move continues Trump’s post-election push to shrink the number of U.S. troops operating against extremists abroad. By Robert Burns. SENT: 520 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-CHINA — The State Department says it will deny visas to Chinese citizens linked to overseas influence operations involving violence and other means of intimidation. SENT: 330 words, photo.
PENTAGON-TRUMP ALLIES — The Pentagon appoints two close political allies of President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to a defense advisory board, continuing a purge of the Defense Department in the waning weeks of the administration. SENT: 360 words, photos.
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BREXIT — Britain’s business minister said U.K.-EU trade talks are at a “difficult” point, as British officials poured cold water on hopes of an imminent breakthrough — and France said it could veto any agreement it didn’t like. SENT: 740 words, photos. WITH: BREXIT-FISHY-TALKS — Fishing holds key to Brexit trade deal as talks drag on (sent).
BANGLADESH-ROHINGYA — Authorities in Bangladesh start sending a first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. SENT: 700 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA-MILITARY CONFRONTATION — Several thousand combatants have been killed in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, an official with the fugitive regional government has asserted, although claims remain difficult to verify a month after the fighting erupted between Ethiopian and regional forces. SENT: 650 words, photos.
ISRAEL-IRAN — The Israeli government has urged its citizens to avoid travel to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, citing threats of Iranian attacks. Iran has been threatening to attack Israeli targets since its chief nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated last Friday near Tehran. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
MADAGASCAR-HUNGER — “It’s the hunger that killed him,” the grieving mother says. In this village in Madagascar’s extreme south, she lost her 3-year-old boy in June as hunger swept the region, more severe than in recent years. On a visit this week, The Associated Press spoke with suffering families who are among the 1.5 million people in need of emergency food assistance, according to the U.N. World Food Program. SENT: 550 words, photos.
VENEZUELA-SMOTHERING DEMOCRACY — Venezuela holds an election for its National Assembly on Sunday, and the outcome is likely to be dominated by President Nicolás Maduro’s socialist party. Opposition leaders are boycotting the vote in the crisis-stricken nation. SENT: 900 words, photos.
DENMARK-NO-MORE-OIL — Denmark has decided to end to all oil and gas offshore activities in the North Sea by 2050 and has cancelled its latest licensing round, saying the country is “now putting an end to the fossil era.” SENT: 510 words.
QATAR — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Friday expressed optimism the yearslong boycott of Qatar by Arab nations, including the kingdom, may be nearing an end, coming just hours after mediator Kuwait described ongoing talks over the crisis as “fruitful.” SENT: 620 words, photo. WITH: QATAR-ISRAEL — Qatar remains committed to the creation of a Palestinian state and says progress on that front would need to be “at the core” of any agreement to normalize relations with Israel. SENT: 350 words, photo.
JAPAN-ENVIRONMENTAL FUND — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged a 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) fund to promote ecological businesses and innovation to achieve his goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050. SENT: 340 words, photos.
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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES — Fire danger remained high amid unpredictable wind gusts and dry conditions in Southern California, as crews made progress against blazes that burned several homes and injured two firefighters. SENT: 500 words, photos.
HUMAN SMUGGLING-TEXAS — Police in Texas say more than two dozen people who were possibly being held as a part of a human smuggling operation have been removed from a house in Houston. Officers responded to reports late Thursday of a man in his underwear running down a residential street and yelling that he had been kidnapped. SENT: 170 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-BREONNA TAYLOR — A council of Kentucky prosecutors says it does not have the legal authority to appoint another special prosecutor in the police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Taylor’s mother asked the council for the new prosecutor. SENT: 340 words, photo.
POLICE SHOOTING-WISCONSIN-KENOSHA — A California attorney for an Illinois 17-year-old accused of fatally shooting two people and wounding a third during a night of unrest in Wisconsin is extracting himself from his criminal defense after prosecutors raised ethical concerns about the lawyer. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-IOWA-CONTRACT — After facing a workforce shortage for months, Iowa has awarded an emergency $2.3 million contact-tracing contract to a company owned by a Republican Party insider. The Iowa Department of Public Health says political considerations did not play a role. SENT:
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Wall Street closed out a solid week for stocks with more record highs as traders took a discouraging jobs report as a sign that Congress will finally move to deliver more aid for the pandemic-stricken economy. SENT: 890 words, photos.
GOOGLE-AI-RESEARCHER — The furor over the abrupt departure of an artificial intelligence scholar from Google is the latest incident raising questions about whether the tech giant has strayed so far away from its original “Don’t Be Evil” motto that it now routinely ousts employees who challenge management. SENT: 720 words, photos.
CHINA-US-BLACKLIST — The U.S. government has stepped up a feud with Beijing over security by adding China’s biggest maker of processor chips and a state-owned oil giant to a blacklist that limits access to American technology and investment. SENT: 390 words, photo.
HYUNDAI-ENGINE-RECALL — A week after being fined by regulators for delaying safety recalls, Hyundai is recalling about 130,000 vehicles in the U.S. because the engines could fail. SENT: 350 words, photo.
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TOKYO-DELAY COSTS — The cost of the postponement for the Tokyo Olympics could reach at least $2.8 billion in figures released by the Tokyo organizing committee, the Tokyo city government and Japan’s national government. SENT: 650 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NFL -- The NFL is further limiting player access to team facilities as it attempts to enhance safety measures during the pandemic. In a memo sent to the 32 clubs and obtained by the AP, teams must close their facilities for two days after games, with some exceptions. SENT: 100 words. SENT: 440 words, photos.
FBC--WEEKEND PREVIEW — A spike in COVID-19 cases leaves No. 3 Ohio State short-handed for its game at Michigan State. One more cancellation makes the Buckeyes ineligible for the Big Ten title game. Also, No. 8 BYU, looking to bulk up its resume, plays at No. 14 Coastal Carolina. SENT: 750 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (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.