AP News Digest 2:15 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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ONLY ON AP
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RELIGION-MARRIED CATHOLIC PRIEST — The priest wakes up at 4 a.m. on the days he celebrates the early Mass, sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet while his young children sleep in rooms awash in stuffed animals and Sesame Street dolls and pictures of saints. Then he kisses his wife goodbye and drives through the empty suburban streets of north Dallas to the church he oversees. In a Catholic world where debates over clerical celibacy have flared from Brazil to the Vatican, Joshua Whitfield is that rarest of things: A married Catholic priest. By Tim Sullivan. SENT: 1,725 words, photos.
BORDER PATROL-BUS CHECKS — A Customs and Border Protection memo obtained by The Associated Press confirms that bus companies such as Greyhound do not have to allow Border Patrol agents on board to conduct routine checks for illegal immigrants, which is contrary to the company's long insistence that it has no choice but to do so. By Gene Johnson. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
MIGRANTS-JOURNEY — Thousands of Ethiopians trek to Saudi Arabia in search of work each year, crossing deserts, the sea and a long journey through war-torn Yemen to get to the kingdom. It’s a dangerous journey of thousands of miles and many migrants never make it. Even those who do make it face deportation if they are caught in Saudi Arabia. It’s an endless cycle of arrivals and deportation. Yet many people say they have no choice but to make the trip due to the extreme poverty at home. By Maggie Michael, Nariman El-Mofty and Maad Al-Zekri. SENT: 3,030 words, photos, graphic. An abridged version is available. With MIGRANTS-JOURNEY-PHOTO-ESSAY — Determined: Ethiopian female migrants risk it all for Saudi Arabia (sent).
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TRUMP-ATTORNEY GENERAL — President Donald Trump ignored his attorney general's public request to stop tweeting about the Justice Department, saying he had the legal right to ask the agency to intervene in a criminal case, but he's so far “chosen not to.” By Michael Balsamo, Colleen Long and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1,150 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing, 1,200 words by 5 p.m.
TRUMP-RUSSIA-McCABE — Federal prosecutors have declined to charge former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, closing an investigation into whether he lied to federal officials about his involvement in a news media disclosure, McCabe's legal team said Friday. By Eric Tucker and Michael Balsamo. SENT: 630 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-AFGHANISTAN — A senior U.S. official said the United States and the Taliban have reached a truce agreement that will take effect “very soon” and could lead to withdrawals of American troops from Afghanistan. By Matthew Lee and Kathy Gannon. SENT: 500 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-NEVADA — As the Democratic presidential race hurtles toward Nevada, candidates in the still-crowded field are jumping in to their first test in a racially diverse, largely urban state with solid union muscle and shaky plans for a presidential caucus. By Michelle L. Price. SENT: 1,060 words, photos. With: ELECTION 2020 — Democratic presidential candidates hoping to revive their flagging campaigns are increasingly taking aim at Mike Bloomberg. They are accusing their billionaire rival of trying to buy his way into the White House and raising questions about his commitment to racial equality. By Will Weissert and Alan Fram. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
CHINA-OUTBREAK — Infections and deaths from a new virus in China balloon for a second straight day, on paper at least, as officials near the epicenter of the outbreak struggle to keep up with a backlog of patients’ lab work. The acceleration is not necessarily an indicator of a surge in infections because the hardest-hit Chinese province changed the way it counts cases. But public health experts are wrestling with what exactly can be deduced from the numbers given the shift in approach. By Ken Moritsugu. SENT: 900 words. UPCOMING 600 words, photos by 2 p.m.
MED—FLU SEASON — A second wave of flu is hitting the U.S., turning this into one of the nastiest seasons for children in a decade. The number of child deaths and the hospitalization rate for youngsters are the highest seen at this point in any season since the severe flu outbreak of 2009-10, health officials said Friday. And the wave is expected to keep going for weeks. By Mike Stobbe. SENT: 585 words, photos.
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MORE ON CHINA-OUTBREAK
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CHINA-OUTBREAK-QUIET VALENTINES — In virus-stricken China, couples can celebrate Valentine's Day with a roast beef salad, hot chocolate, a rose and a note, all delivered to their door. The note, scrawled on the front of their sealed order, states the body temperature of the chef who made it. SENT: 750 words, photos.
SCI--CHINA OUTBREAK-WILDLIFE — China cracked down on the sale of exotic species after an outbreak of a new virus in 2002 was linked to markets selling live animals. The germ turned out to be a coronavirus that caused SARS. The ban was later lifted, and the animals reappeared. Now another coronavirus is spreading through China, so far killing 1,380 people and sickening more than 64,000 — eight times the number sickened by SARS. SENT: 1,110 words, photos, video.
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EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TRUMP CUTOUT — A Florida man is upset that he can't bring a life-sized cutout of President Trump for emotional support during his kidney dialysis treatments. SENT: 390 words.
OBIT-HOFFA ASSOCIATE — Charles “Chuckie” O'Brien, a longtime associate of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa who became a leading suspect in the labor leader's disappearance and later was portrayed in the Martin Scorsese film, “The Irishman," has died. SENT: 420 words, photos.
SOUTH AFRICA-BABY ALBINO ELEPHANT — Orphaned albino elephant recovers from poacher's snare. SENT: 355 words, photos.
ODD-PEACOCK REMOVAL — A pack of peacocks that has wreaked havoc on a Miami neighborhood will be relocated after city commissioners voted Thursday night to side with residents and agreed to have the birds taken away. SENT: 495 words, photos.
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US-WALL FUNDING — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended his decision to divert billions of dollars in funding for Navy and Air Force aircraft and other military programs to help pay for President Donald Trump's promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. By Robert Burns. SENT: 450 words, photos.
TRUMP-PHILIPPINES-FACT CHECK — President Trump contended this week that the United States saved the entire Philippines from Islamic State terrorism. His assertion vastly overstated both the threat IS posed to the country and what the U.S. did about it. By Jim Gomez and Cal Woodward. SENT: 530 words, photos.
MEDICARE-TELEMARKETERS — A government watchdog plans to launch a nationwide probe into how telemarketers may be getting hold of seniors’ personal Medicare information, a red flag for potential fraud and waste. Investigators say sensitive information can get out even when a Medicare beneficiary thinks he or she is dealing with a trustworthy entity. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 780 words, photo.
TRUMP-PHILIPPINES-FACT CHECK — President Donald Trump contended this week that the United States saved Filipinos from Islamic State terrorism. An AP Fact Check finds that Trump is greatly exaggerating. SENT: 570 words, photos.
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RELIGION-VALENTINE FREEDOM FIGHT — This Valentine’s season, Hasanain al-Rufaye is busy in his Najaf, Iraq, flower shop, wrapping bouquets and stuffing dolls into gift boxes. But for all the frenzied activity and lightheartedness, there is more than just love in the air for al-Rufaye. He says there is worry and fear too. Najaf is a holy city and Valentine’s Day has emerged as a battleground. SENT: 1,358 words, photos.
MALI-GOLD-EXTREMISM — A gold rush is underway in an area of northern Mali where al-Qaida-linked militants operate, raising concerns that new profits from the artisanal mining could benefit not only the local economy but also Islamic extremists. SENT: 500 words, photos.
SYRIA — A government helicopter was shot down and its crew killed Friday in Syria's northwest, where a military offensive against opposition fighters is unfolding, a Syrian military official and activists said. SENT: 525 words, photos. WITH: SYRIA-THE HIGHWAY-AP EXPLAINS — The M5 highway, recaptured by President Bashar Assad's forces this week, is arguably the most coveted prize in Syria's civil war. AP Explains its strategic importance. SENT: 865 words, photos.
ITALY-US-ARREST — Italian police say an American woman wanted in the 2002 murder of her husband was staying at a Rome hotel where she was arrested for nearly two weeks before an international arrest warrant turned up in the system identifying her as a murder suspect. SENT: 320 words, photos.
MAR-A-LAGO INTRUDER — A Chinese woman convicted of resisting arrest after she was chased from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has been sentenced to six months in jail. SENT: 460 words, photo.
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SCHOOL SHOOTING-FLORIDA-RED FLAG LAW — A Florida law that allows judges to bar anyone deemed dangerous from possessing firearms has been used 3,500 times since its enactment after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre. SENT: 1,025 words, photos.
SCHOOL SHOOTING-PARKLAND WIDOW — Debbi Hixon was a bundle of nerves waiting to see how “Military Makeovers” transformed her home. She wasn't concerned about the new kitchen counters or paint colors; the Parkland shooting widow was worried the fancy new decor would wipe away memories of her husband, who was among the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. “He's still part of our family and I didn't want it to feel like he's not here anymore,” she told the AP. UPCOMING: 1,100 words by 3:30 p.m.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN — Harvey Weinstein believed he was so powerful he could get away with denigrating aspiring actresses drawn into a world where the Hollywood big shot considered them “complete disposables,” a prosecutor said in closing arguments at his New York City rape trial. SENT: 775 words, photos.
MISSING GIRL-SOUTH CAROLINA — Investigators say they found a man dead inside his South Carolina home shortly after finding an item from a missing 6-year-old girl inside his trash can. SENT: 560 words, photos.
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FACEBOOK-PAID POLITICAL MEMES — Facebook decided to allow a type of paid political message that had sidestepped many of the social network's rules governing political ads. The change comes days after presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg exploited a loophole to run such messages promoting his campaign among younger people. SENT: 875 words, photo.
UNITED AIRLINES-BOEING PLANE — United Airlines is making it official — it won't use the grounded Boeing 737 Max at all this summer. SENT: 220 words, photo.
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TV-Q&A-EDIE FALCO — Edie Falco's new show, the CBS drama “Tommy,” has her playing the first female chief of police in Los Angeles, but that didn't mean the New Yorker had to switch coasts. SENT: 880 words, photos.
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OLY--TOKYO-VIRUS — There is no “Plan B” for the Tokyo Olympics, organizers and the IOC insist. The games begin in just more than five months and have been jolted by a virus that has killed almost 1,400 in neighboring China. There has been only one death in Japan, where fear is rising. SENT: 750 words, photos.
ARGENTINA-TRANSGENDER SOCCER PLAYER — Mara Gómez is poised to become the first transgender woman to play professional soccer in Argentina. In a country that is a leader in transgender rights, she awaits approval from the soccer federation on her signing by a first-division women’s club. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
BKN--ALL-STAR-DUNK CONTEST — The last time the dunk contest was in Chicago, Michael Jordan took off from the foul line and his career just kept soaring. The dunk contest has had its ebbs and flows since, but it seems to be getting hot again. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 3 p.m.
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