AP News Digest 6 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: VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-VACCINE, UNITED STATES-POMPEO, UNITED STATES-CHINA, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS, TRUMP-AIR POLLUTION, TRUMP-TRADE ADVISER, SUPREME COURT-NAZI ARTWORK, CHEETAH HANGOUTS, NATION'S CAPITAL-GIANT PANDAS, SPELLING BEE, LOS ANGELES-NEW DA, FILM-GARY OLDMAN.
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HUNGER-IN-AMERICA — As a year marked by coronavirus nears an end, millions of Americans are depending on food banks to stave off hunger. Feeding America, the nation’s largest anti-hunger organization, has distributed 4.2 billion meals in an 8-month period. That’s an unprecedented pace in the group’s history. An Associated Press analysis of most of the group’s food banks found a nearly 57 percent increase in food distribution compared with last year. Experts say Latinos, Blacks, and households with children and women are among those at greatest risk of hunger. By Sharon Cohen. SENT: 2,770 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,000 words is also available.
MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK — How could scientists race out COVID-19 vaccines so fast without cutting corners? A head start helped. Over a decade of behind-the-scenes research had new vaccine technology poised for a challenge just as the coronavirus erupted. The two U.S. frontrunners are made with a genetic code called messenger RNA. They target the spike protein coating the virus. Earlier research from the University of Pennsylvania and National Institutes of Health laid the groundwork for unusually rapid development and testing of those shots. U.S. regulators are set to decide this month whether to allow emergency use, paving the way for rationed shots. By Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 940 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST (sent) and VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE Q&A (sent)
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIDEN — The health care team assembled by President-elect Joe Biden points to stronger federal management of the nation’s COVID-19 response, a leading role for science and an emphasis on fair and equitable distribution of vaccines. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 890 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-RURAL-HOSPITAL-STRAIN — The radiology technician slept in an RV in the parking lot of his rural Kansas hospital for more than a week because his co-workers were out sick with COVID-19 and no one else was available to take X-rays. A doctor and physician assistant tested positive on the same day in November, briefly leaving the hospital without anyone who could write prescriptions or oversee patient care. The situation at Rush County Memorial Hospital in La Crosse illustrates the depths of the COVID-19 crisis in rural America at a time when the virus is killing more than 2,000 people a day and inundating hospitals. By Heather Hollingsworth. SENT: 920 words, photo.
ISRAEL-SETTLER-ROADS — In the years to come, Israelis will be able to commute into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from settlements deep inside the West Bank via highways, tunnels and overpasses that cut a wide berth around Palestinian towns. Rights groups say the new roads that are being built will set the stage for explosive settlement growth, even if President-elect Joe Biden’s administration somehow convinces Israel to curb its housing construction. The costly infrastructure projects signal that Israel intends to keep large swaths of the occupied territory in any peace deal, and that would make it even harder to establish a viable Palestinian state. By Joseph Krauss. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
YE-OVER-IT-AND-NOT — Zoom, Zoom and Zoom. Masks, masks and masks. Sourdough starter and short-order cooking. In these “troubled times,” in our sweat pants and the isolation we endure “out of an abundance of caution,” there isn’t much not to be over as 2020 comes to a longed for halt. With the election behind us, along with its deluge of texts and cries of fake news, the year was a mess of common horrors and inconveniences driven by political divisions, racial injustice and the deadly and persistent pandemic, with chronic language to match. But not all things 2020 need to be left behind. By Leanne Italie. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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PEARL HARBOR-ANNIVERSARY — U.S. servicemen and women and National Park Service officials gathered at Pearl Harbor on Monday to remember those killed in the attack — but elderly survivors stayed home to pay their respects from afar to avoid health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 450 words, photos.
TRUMP-GIULIANI — President Donald Trump said Monday his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was “doing very well” after being hospitalized with the coronavirus as lawmakers in battleground states that Giuliani visited last week scrambled to make sure they did not contract the virus. SENT: 800 words.
QUOTES OF THE YEAR — Fauci’s plea ‘Wear a mask’ tops list of 2020 notable quotes. SENT: 390 words, photos.
YE-DEATHS — In a year defined by a devastating pandemic, the world lost iconic defenders of civil rights, great athletes and entertainers who helped define their genres. SENT: 6,200 words, photos.
OBIT-NATALIE DESSELLE REID — Natalie Desselle Reid, who starred alongside Halle Berry in the 1997 film “B.A.P.S.” and on the sitcom “Eve,” has died. She was 53. SENT: 245 words.
SUPREME COURT-NAZI ARTWORK — The Supreme Court struggles with whether to allow two lawsuits stemming from claims of property taken from Jews in Germany and Hungary during the Nazi era to continue in U.S. courts. SENT: 580 words, photos.
FBN-ONE-GOOD-THING-FOOTBALL-&-MATH — Former NFL player Urschel sells virtue of math to youngsters. SENT: 730 words, photos.
MIAMI-HERALD-EXECUTIVE-EDITOR — McClatchy has named Monica R. Richardson to lead its newsrooms in Florida, becoming the Miami Herald’s first Black executive editor in the newspaper’s 117-year history. SENT: 350 words, photos.
NATION’S CAPITAL-GIANT PANDAS — The National Zoo strikes a new extension of its longstanding agreement with the Chinese government that will keep the zoo’s iconic giant pandas in Washington for another three years. SENT: 370 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-VACCINE — It’s been dubbed “V-Day” in Britain -- recalling the D-Day landings in France that marked the start of the final push in World War II to defeat Nazi Germany. A week after the U.K. became the first Western country to authorize widespread use of a vaccine against COVID-19, it is preparing to administer its first shots on Tuesday in its war on the virus. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-VACCINE — The Trump administration hopes to instill public confidence in forthcoming vaccines for the coronavirus with a White House summit Tuesday featuring experts who will outline the distribution and administration process. But officials from President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team are not invited. By Zeke Miller. SENT: 640 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BLACK-AND-LATINO-CHILD-CARE — Black and Latino child care providers have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic in an industry that has long relied on providers of color. Facing skyrocketing operating costs, reduced capacities and limited federal support, Black and Latino-owned child care centers across the country are at a higher risk for closing permanently. Many child care advocates say it’s a crisis that may be based in systemic racism and sexism with roots in the child care work of enslaved Black women. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK- CALIFORNIA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a voluntary smartphone tool to alert people of possible coronavirus exposure as cases soar higher, new restrictions are imposed and many people still say they won’t heed the pleas to stay home. SENT: 840 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-RURAL CALIFORNIA — Restaurant owner Brenda Luntey shrugs off the new stay-at-home orders California has announced to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases. She is keeping her restaurant in rural Shasta County open, despite orders to shut indoor dining. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NYC SCHOOLS — It’s back to school again for thousands of New York City schoolchildren who returned to classrooms after a roughly two-week shutdown spurred by the city’s rising coronavirus caseload. SENT: 420 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BAR OWNER ARREST — The co-owner of a New York City bar accused of defying coronavirus restrictions was criticized by officials Monday after he was charged with running over a sheriff’s deputy with his car. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Danny Presti a “coward” and blasted those who are still supporting him. SENT: 350 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GERMANY-STREET-PERFORMANCES — With theaters and concert halls shuttered to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, some Berlin artists are taking their performances to the streets of the German capital in an effort to keep their edge during the pandemic and entertain a population craving cultural interaction. SENT: 540 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VETERAN BUSINESS — When the COVID-19 pandemic dried up 95% of the income coming into Nicole Walcott’s North Carolina business, the U.S. Army veteran dug in her heels and started applying for any grant she could find. Without the financial assistance she’s received from nonprofits like Operation Homefront, Walcott doesn’t believe her alternative wellness center in Fayetteville would be open today. SENT: 810 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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BIDEN-HEALTH SECRETARY — President-elect Joe Biden puts a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response. Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
TRUMP-SELF PARDON — President Donald Trump has declared that he has “absolute power” to issue a pardon to himself. Yet the law is much murkier than his confidence suggests. SENT: 850 words, photo.
FEDERAL EXECUTIONS — As Donald Trump’s presidency winds down, his administration is throttling up the pace of federal executions despite a surge of coronavirus cases in prisons, announcing plans for five starting Thursday and concluding just days before the Jan. 20 inauguration of Democrat Joe Biden. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Lawmakers are giving themselves more time to sort through their end-of-session business on government spending and COVID-19 relief. Congress is preparing to pass a one-week stopgap spending bill that would prevent a shutdown this weekend. SENT: 350 words, photo.
TRUMP-AIR POLLUTION — The Trump administration finalizes its decision to leave limits for a deadly kind of air pollution unchanged, overriding scientific appeals that tougher standards would save tens of thousands of lives yearly. SENT: 290 words, photo.
TRUMP-TRADE ADVISER — A federal watchdog agency finds that one of President Trump’s economic advisers repeatedly violated the law during the presidential campaign season with his criticisms of Joe Biden. SENT: 310 words, photo.
TRUMP-MEDAL OF FREEDOM — President Trump presents the nation’s highest civilian honor to Dan Gable, a renowned wrestler and coach from Iowa who won a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Trump calls Gable “the greatest wrestler, probably ever.” SENT: 260 words, photos, video.
UNITED STATES-POMPEO — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to deliver a speech extolling the Trump administration’s foreign policy this week in Georgia, ahead of key Senate run-off elections in the state that will determine control of the upper chamber of Congress. SENT: 410 words, photo.
MELANIA TRUMP-TENNIS PAVILION — Weeks before her family turns the White House over to President-elect Joe Biden, Melania Trump announces that a new tennis pavilion on the south grounds is ready for action. SENT: 365 words, photos.
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BREXIT — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the European Commission plan to meet in person to see whether a last minute trade deal can be hammered out. Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a lengthy phone call on Monday that “significant differences” remained on three key issues. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
MIDEAST-UNICEF — Yemen is “on the edge of a precipice” after years of civil war, a senior U.N. official has warned on Monday, with millions of children suffering from malnutrition and facing the risk of famine. SENT: 780 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-CHINA — The Trump administration approves a new major arms sale to Taiwan and slaps sanctions on Chinese officials over the crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. By Matthew Lee. SENT: 420 words, photo.
INDIA-MYSTERY-ILLNESS — At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports say. The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, doctors said. SENT: 220 words, photos.
WHO FOUNDATION-CEO — Hoping to strengthen its funding, the World Health Organization is appointing a CEO to a foundation intended to bring in more private donations, which should leave the global health body less vulnerable if a country withdraws or cuts funding as the United States did. SENT: 440 words, photos.
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BALTIMORE-MAYOR — With youthful energy and hopeful rhetoric, Baltimore’s newly elected mayor will assume office Tuesday, ushering in a new generation of leadership trying to move the city beyond what many say has been decades of stagnation and backsliding. But Democrat Brandon Scott, 36, is starting his new job at a historically tough time. The city has recorded more than 300 homicides for the sixth year in a row, and its population, businesses and tax revenues have not been spared by the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 710 words, photos.
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE — The Virginia Military Institute has removed a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a project initiated this fall after allegations of systemic racism roiled the public college. SENT: 780 words, photos.
LOS ANGELES-NEW DA — New Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, seeking to revamp the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office with progressive policies, said Monday after taking office that cash bail will be ended for many offenses and sentences in thousands of cases will be reevaluated. SENT: 400 words, photos.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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BRAIN SCANS CHALLENGED — Researchers are becoming increasingly critical of some brain scan studies that purport to show exactly how our minds shape our behavior. Much of the research being re-examined relies on a technique called fMRI. Scientists have found simple statistical errors and misinterpretations of results can lead to shaky or inconsistent findings about how the brain actually works. With growing concern about the dependability of scanning techniques, scientists are looking for alternatives that can more reliably help them unpack the mind’s mysteries. SENT: 930 words, photos.
CHEETAH HANGOUTS — New research found African cattle ranchers were able to dramatically reduce calf killings by skirting popular cheetah hangouts. Scientists who studied the inner workings of cheetah society helped ranchers in Namibia trim the number of calves killed annually by 86%. SENT: 690 words, photos.
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DYLAN CATALOG-SALE — To some music lovers, Bob Dylan’s songwriting catalog is priceless. Well, now he’s put a price on it. The songwriting legend has sold publishing rights to his catalog of more than 600 songs, one of the greatest treasures in popular music, to the Universal Music Publishing Group. By David Bauder. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m.
FILM-GARY OLDMAN — Gary Oldman, who won the best actor Oscar two years ago for his Winston Churchill, acknowledges he’s “partial to a disguise.” But to play the alcoholic, acerbic screenwriter of “Mank,” David Fincher wanted a naked performance from Oldman, sans prosthetics or disguise. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL MARKETS —Stocks closed mostly lower Monday as Wall Street pumped the brakes after a recent run of strong gains. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, as losses in health care, financial and energy companies outweighed gains in technology, communication and utilities stocks. The pickup in technology companies, whose profits have proven more resistant to the pandemic’s effect on the economy, helped nudge the Nasdaq composite to its third consecutive all-time high. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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FBN-BILLS-49ERS — The vagabond San Francisco 49ers host a “home” game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. The 49ers were forced to relocate after COVID-19 restrictions in California. By David Brandt. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos from 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
BKC--T25-COLLEGE BKB POLL — Gonzaga and Baylor remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll Monday after their hotly anticipated weekend game in Indianapolis was called off about 90 minutes before tipoff because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program. SENT: 560 words, photos.
BKW--T25-WOMEN’S BKB POLL — Coach Tara VanDerveer and Stanford are the new No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Cardinal ascended to the top spot Monday after previous No. 1 South Carolina lost at home to then-No. 8 North Carolina State. Stanford received 24 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel. SENT; 590 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Andrew Dalton 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