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: UNITED STATES-POMPEO; TRUMP-LEGAL CHALLENGES; VIRUS OUTBREAK-CDC-PROBE; EUROPE-BUDGET-BATTLE; NORTHERN-LIGHTS-VIEWING; GEORGE-FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE; HIGHWAY-CRASH-BICYCLISTS-KILLED; VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW HAMPSHIRE SPEAKER; PORNHUB-CREDIT CARDS; CENSUS; FILM-DISNEY; RACIAL INJUSTICE-ST. LOUIS COUPLE; FIGHTER JET CRASH; RACIAL JUSTICE-MINNEAPOLIS UNREST.
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ONLY ON AP
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FBI-SEXUAL MISCONDUCT — An Associated Press investigation has identified at least six sexual misconduct allegations involving senior FBI officials over the past five years, including two new claims brought this week by women who say they were sexually assaulted by ranking agents. The AP found several of the accused FBI officials were quietly transferred or retired, keeping their full pensions even when probes substantiated the sexual misconduct claims. By Jim Mustian. SENT: 1,370 words, photos.
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MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK — A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers. The group, in a 17-4 vote with one abstention, concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older. A final FDA decision is expected within days. By Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone. SENT: 860 words, photos. Developing.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital. By Heather Hollingsworth. SENT: 500 words, photos.
BIDEN — The revelation that federal prosecutors launched a tax investigation into President-elect Joe Biden’s son Hunter looms over the incoming administration, reviving distracting storylines and complicating the choice of an attorney general who would have to oversee a probe into Biden’s own son. By Jonathan Lemire, Eric Tucker and Will Weissert. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
BIDEN-STAFF — President-elect Joe Biden names Susan Rice as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, giving her broad sway over his administration’s approach to immigration, health care and racial inequality. Denis McDonough, who was the Obama White House chief of staff, is Biden’s pick for Veterans Affairs secretary. By Julie Pace and Zeke Miller. SENT: 980 words, photos. With BIDEN-RAHM EMANUEL — Rahm Emanuel’s chances of landing a top Cabinet post in Biden’s administration appear increasingly unlikely after the former Chicago mayor emerged as a source of controversy. SENT: 630 words, photo.
TRUMP-LEGAL CHALLENGES — The Texas lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has quickly become a conservative litmus test. Many Republican attorneys general are signing onto the case even as some of them have openly predicted its failure. By Nomaan Merchant and Alanna Durkin Richer. SENT: 920 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-ISRAEL-MOROCCO — Israel and Morocco agree to normalize relations, marking the fourth Arab-Israel agreement in four months under President Trump. As part of the deal, the U.S. will recognize Morocco’s claim over the disputed Western Sahara region. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COMMUTING — As the coronavirus rages across the U.S., grocery workers, health care professionals, university staffers, cleaning crews and others who don’t have the option to work from home must weigh safety against affordability when deciding how best to commute to their jobs. Those who can have ditched public transportation and drive to work instead, contributing to a boon in used car sales in the U.S. By Cathy Bussewitz. SENT: 1,163 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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HIGHWAY-CRASH-BICYCLISTS-KILLED — 5 bicyclists killed, 4 injured in crash on Nevada highway involving a box truck. SENT: 110 words.
PEOPLE-ELLEN DEGENERES — Ellen DeGeneres says she’s tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine right now.” SENT: 150 words, photo.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-ST. LOUIS COUPLE — A judge on Thursday disqualified the St. Louis prosecutor from the case involving Mark McCloskey, who along with his wife pointed guns at racial injustice protesters marching on the private street near their home in June. SENT: 590 words.
NORTHERN-LIGHTS-VIEWING — Northern lights a ‘big miss,’ US space forecaster says. SENT: 185 words, photos.
PORNHUB-CREDIT-CARDS — Visa, Mastercard won’t allow charges for services on Pornhub. SENT: 230 words, photos.
GERMANY PAINTING RECOVERED — A surrealist painting worth more than a quarter million euros that was forgotten by a businessman has been recovered from a nearby recycling dumpster. SENT: 160 words.
PEOPLE-BTS — BTS has had more than just a “Dynamite” year — they’ve become such a global phenomenon that Time magazine named the South Korean group its 2020 Entertainer of the Year. SENT: 200 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hits the brakes on emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, saying Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off. By Lisa Mascaro and Andrew Taylor. SENT: 740 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-CONGRESS-DEFENSE BILL — McConnell urges passage of a wide-ranging defense policy bill that President Trump has threatened to veto. SENT: 590 words, photos
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CDC INTERFERENCE PROBE — A senior manager with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells congressional investigators she was ordered to delete an email suggesting attempted political interference by the Trump administration in coronavirus reports to the public. SENT: 640 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW HAMPSHIRE SPEAKER — The COVID-19 death of the speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives has raised fears that other members of one of the world’s largest legislatures might have been exposed at their swearing-in last week. A medical examiner announced the cause of death Thursday of 71-year-old Dick Hinch. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HANUKKAH -- As Jewish communities around the country prepare to mark Hanukkah under the shadow of pandemic-era gathering restrictions, members of various denominations are preparing for smaller-than-usual gatherings for a holiday that’s typically celebrated in the home, not the temple. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ABORTION PILL — A federal judge in Maryland has denied the Trump administration’s request to reinstate a rule that would require women to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that public health risks for patients only have grown worse. SENT: 670 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA — “It will be extremely terrible to see” rich countries receiving COVID-19 vaccines while African countries go without, especially as a new surge in cases begins on the continent of 1.3 billion people, Africa’s top public health official says. SENT: 510 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONE-GOOD-THING-CONCERT-MEMORIAL -- Alumni of a small suburban Cincinnati high school who lost three classmates in the 1979 disaster at a concert by The Who faced obstacles this year to holding their annual memorial scholarship fundraising event, but they were determined that the show would go on. They got help from some friends — including two famous ones. SENT: 635 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-MASKS — Even after COVID-19 vaccinations start in the U.S., masks and social distancing will be recommended for some time. SENT: 280 words, graphic.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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UNITED STATES-POMPEO — An independent probe into the travel of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s wife concludes that the trips with her husband did not violate federal ethics rules, but it also determines that the State Department did not secure proper written approval or documentation for six of Susan Pompeo’s trips. SENT: 620 words, photos.
CENSUS — The congressional committee that oversees the Census Bureau has issued a subpoena to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for documents related to data irregularities that are putting in jeopardy a year-end deadline for turning in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats. SENT: 420 words, photo.
UNITED STATES-IRAN BOMBERS — In a new show of military might, two American bomber aircraft fly directly from the U.S. over a swath of the Middle East, sending what U.S. officials said was a direct message of deterrence to Iran. SENT: 790 words, photos.
TRUMP-CONGRESS-DEFENSE BILL — In a rare break with President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urges passage of a wide-ranging defense policy bill that Trump has threatened to veto. SENT: 600 words.
CONGRESS-KUSHNER-VIRUS RELIEF LOAN — A congressional monitor of federal pandemic aid is raising the possibility of a link between President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and a $700 million relief loan to a struggling trucking company. SENT: 700 words, photo.
BIDEN-DURBIN — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin is poised to become the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, making him a key ally of President-elect Joe Biden as he navigates an increasingly partisan Congress. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1,000 words, photo.
SUPREME COURT-NO-FLY LIST-MUSLIMS — A unanimous Supreme Court rules that Muslim men who were placed on the government’s no-fly list because they refused to serve as FBI informants can seek to hold federal agents financially liable. SENT: 650 words, photo.
WASHINGTON-HOLIDAY PARTIES — Despite the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump’s administration is pushing ahead with as many as two dozen holiday events, and the District of Columbia’s health department can’t do much more than track the numbers and hope its virus guidelines are being followed. SENT: 820 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-FOREIGN AID — President Donald Trump has signed an order requiring that all U.S. foreign assistance be “rebranded” to ensure that recipients know that American taxpayers have paid for it. SENT: 330 words, photo.
GUN LAWS-BIDEN ADMINISTRATION — Efforts to impose restrictions on firearms will soon have a supporter in the White House. But it’s unlikely that big ticket items gun-control advocates have pined for will have much chance of passage given the tight margins in Congress and the increased polarization over gun issues. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
MEDICAL PRIVACY — Acting on suggestions from hospitals, doctors and patients, U.S. health officials are proposing changes to medical privacy rules that could ease information sharing in crisis situations. SENT: 760 words, photos.
VETERANS AFFAIRS-WILKIE INVESTIGATION — Confronted with a sexual assault allegation at a veterans hospital, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit the female congressional staffer who complained and his staff worked to publicly spread dirt about her while ignoring known problems at the facility, according to a blistering investigation. By Hope Yen. SENT: 990 words, photo.
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GEORGE-FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE — The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget early Thursday that will shift about $8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and other programs — but will keep the mayor’s targeted staffing levels for sworn officers intact, averting a possible veto. SENT: 850 words, photos. With RACIAL JUSTICE-MINNEAPOLIS UNREST — Three men have been indicted on federal arson charges in connection with fires that were set at the Target corporate headquarters during unrest in August that followed rumors of a police shooting in downtown Minneapolis. SENT: 250 words.
FIGHTER JET CRASH — Military officials say a Wisconsin-based fighter pilot died when a plane crashed in a national forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula during a training mission. SENT: 300 words.
FEDERAL EXECUTIONS — The execution of a man convicted in the 1999 killing of two youth ministers in Texas is scheduled at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Brandon Bernard, 40, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
CENSUS-HOUSEHOLD INCOME — Asian American households saw the biggest income growth of any racial or ethnic group in the United States over the past decade and a half — almost 8%. SENT: 775 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE SHOOTING-OHIO — An attorney for the family of the Black man killed by an Ohio deputy says the preliminary autopsy shows clear signs of the victim being shot in the back multiple times. SENT: 960 words, photo.
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BREXIT — With a chaotic and costly no-deal Brexit only three weeks away, gloom settled on both sides of the English Channel as European Union and United Kingdom trade negotiators sought to find a breakthrough in technical talks where their leaders failed three times in political discussions over the past week. SENT: 650 words, photos. WITH: EXPLAINING BREXIT-MESSY DIVORCE -- For UK and EU, Brexit has become a messy divorce. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
EUROPE-BUDGET BATTLE — EU Council President Charles Michel says European Union leaders have sealed an agreement on a massive long-term budget and coronavirus recovery package after overcoming objections from Hungary and Poland. SENT: 680 words, photos.
LEBANON PORT BLAST —The Lebanese prosecutor probing last summer’s port explosion in Beirut filed charges on Thursday against the caretaker prime minister and three former ministers, accusing them of negligence that led to the death of hundreds of people, Lebanon’s official news agency said. SENT: 800 words, photos. WITH: LEBANON-SILOS — A heated debate is underway in Lebanon over the fate of the towering grain silos gutted in the massive explosion at the Beirut port. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA — More than 3,000 troops took part in a military parade in Azerbaijan on Thursday to celebrate reclaiming control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands in a conflict with Armenia. SENT: 480 words.
NETHERLANDS RUSSIA SPIES — A Dutch intelligence agency says it has uncovered two Russian spies who were targeting the Netherlands’ science and technology sector. The development is likely to further strain tense relations between the two countries. SENT: 380 words.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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YE-DISASTERS — 2020 was more than just a disastrous year it was a year of disasters. A record number of Atlantic hurricanes, horrible flooding in Asia and Africa, wildfires stretching from the top of the world in the Arctic to the bottom in Australia. SENT: 1,015 words, photos.
Find more year-end coverage on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
INDIA-AIR-POLLUTION — India is facing two public health emergencies simultaneously: critically polluted air and the pandemic. In previous years, the government encouraged more people to use buses that run on cleaner fuels, as an emergency air quality measure. But this year there are limits on passengers to maintain social distance. SENT: 920 words, photos, video.
ENDANGERED SPECIES — A leading conservation group uniting governments and civil society says all four known freshwater dolphin species are now threatened with extinction, after newly discovered information on the tucuxi in the Amazon river system showed it too is endangered. SENT: 520 words, photos.
SEA LEVEL SATELLITE — A newly launched European-U.S. satellite designed to continue a decades-long record of tracking global sea levels has sent back its first measurements, NASA said. SENT: 300 words, photos.
EUROPE-CLIMATE — Five years after the Paris agreement, the European Union’s climate credentials will be put to the test as the bloc’s leaders meet to try and seal an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the end of the decade compared to 1990 levels. SENT: 630 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The worsening of the viral pandemic across the United States and Europe is threatening their economies and intensifying pressure on governments and central banks on both continents to intervene aggressively. In a worrisome sign of the harm the virus is inflicting in the U.S, the government said that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped last week to 853,000 — the most since September. SENT: 915 words, photos.
AIRBNB-IPO — Airbnb shares more than doubled in price as the home sharing company made its debut Thursday on the Nasdaq stock exchange. SENT: 1,190 words, photo.
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YE-POP CULTURE-MOMENTS – In a year like no other, people turned to culture to satisfy sometimes conflicting needs of distraction, inspiration, consolation, escapism, hope. And while live entertainment was tragically curtailed due to the raging pandemic, performers found their own stages in endlessly creative ways. A Broadway star serenaded health workers from his apartment window, and ballet dancers performed “Swan Lake” from their bathtubs. There were Zoom proms, drive-in concerts and a host of original cast reunions. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
Find more year-end coverage on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
HOLIDAYS-NO DRAMA — Will people heed the call to stay home for Christmas? Or will the December holidays go the way of Thanksgiving, when thousands traveled against the advice of top health officials? Some who are planning to stay home say that giving up the hassle, expense and family drama of holiday travel isn’t really such a bad deal. There are those who look forward to staying in PJs and watching movies all day. Others plan to bake their way through Christmas. SENT: 990 words, photos.
FILM-DISNEY — The Walt Disney Co. unveiled a galaxy’s worth of new streaming offerings on Thursday, including plans for 10 “Star Wars” series spinoffs and 10 Marvel series that will debut on Disney+. SENT: 590 words.
MUSIC-TAYLOR SWIFT — Taylor Swift fans are getting a double reason to celebrate this year. The singer-songwriter is about to release her second album in 2020. SENT: 240 words, photo.
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FBN--PATRIOTS-RAMS — Jared Goff and the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams (8-4) host Cam Newton and the Patriots (6-6). New England has won four of five to get back into playoff contention ahead of this rematch of the Pats’ dominant win in the Super Bowl two seasons ago. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts at 8:20 p.m.
FBN--AFC-PLAYOFF OUTLOOK — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are already in the playoffs and that’s no surprise for the defending Super Bowl champions. Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers are undefeated no more but they’re also on the verge of clinching a playoff spot in the AFC. After that, there are plenty of other contenders who might have something to say about the conference being just a top-heavy twosome. SENT: 870 words, photos.
OLY--USOPC-PROTEST RULE — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee heeded calls from American athletes by announcing that it won’t sanction them for raising their fists or kneeling on the medals stand at next year’s Tokyo Games and beyond. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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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