AP News Digest 6:30 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 VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEXAS, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-WHAT-HAPPENED?, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CAIN, OBIT-DOWNS, RACIAL JUSTICE-CONFEDERATE STATUES-VIRGINIA, ECONOMY-JOBS-REPORT-5-TAKEAWAYS, VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARGENTINA-SOCIAL DISTANCING SOCCER, CONGRESS-HONG KONG, MEXICO-VIOLENCE
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases per day in the U.S. climbed to an all-time high of more than 50,000 on Thursday, with the infection curve rising in 40 out of 50 states in a reversal that has largely spared only the Northeast. In another alarming indicator, 36 states are seeing an increase in the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus.“What we’ve seen is a very disturbing week,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, said in a livestream with the American Medical Association. By Jake Coyle and Terry Spencer. SENT: 950 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-WHAT-HAPPENED? — California’s mood has gone from optimistic to sour as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rise heading into the July 4th weekend. Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered bars and indoor restaurant dining closed in most of the state, many beaches are off limits, and he’s imploring Californians to avoid holiday gatherings with family and friends. Since Memorial Day, California has gone from a coronavirus success story to a cautionary tale. By Kathleen Ronayne. SENT: 1,060 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California governor urges people to avoid holiday gatherings. SENT: 580 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK — U.S. unemployment fell to 11.1% in June as the economy added a solid 4.8 million jobs, the government reported Thursday. But the job-market recovery may already be faltering because of a new round of closings and layoffs triggered by a resurgence of the coronavirus. While the jobless rate was down from 13.3% in May, it is still at a Depression-era level. And the data was gathered during the second week of June, just before a number of states began to reverse or suspend the reopenings of their economies to try to beat back the virus. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 840 words, photos. With FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Stocks rise on jobs data, S&P 500 ends week with solid gain. SENT: 800 words, photo. WithECONOMY-JOBS-REPORT-5-TAKEAWAYS — AP Explains: 5 key takeaways from a strong June jobs report. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-ECONOMY — The U.S. economy just posted its largest single-month job gain in history. At the same time, the unemployment rate sits at one of its worst points since the Great Depression. As Republicans and Democrats fight to spin Thursday’s jobs numbers to their advantage, both sides face tremendous political risks on a defining issue heading into the presidential election. By Steve Peoples. SENT: 880 words, photos, video.
IRAN NUCLEAR — A fire and an explosion struck a centrifuge production plant above Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, analysts say. Natanz is one of the most-tightly guarded sites in all of the Islamic Republic after earlier acts of sabotage there. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN-ASSOCIATE — British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on charges she helped lure at least three girls — one as young as 14 — to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of victimizing dozens of girls and women over many years. By Jim Mustian and Larry Neumeister. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEXAS — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered that face coverings must be worn in public across most of the state, a dramatic ramp up of the Republican’s efforts to control spiking numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. SENT: 630 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SUPPLIES — Congressional Democrats say President Trump’s administration needs a better plan to address shortages of protective gear and coronavirus testing supplies. SENT: 470 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCIENCE OF KINDNESS -- Science finds that being kind pays off. Numerous studies show that when people perform acts of kindness they feel better, are happier and in some cases healthier. Scientists have also study how kindness is ingrained in humanity. SENT: 970 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SIMPLER-FOURTH - The Fourth of July was always a time for communities to come together. This year, people are being urged to stay home. Coronavirus concerns are changing the way the holiday is celebrated. SENT: 925 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARGENTINA-SOCIAL DISTANCING SOCCER — Soccer-starved Argentines have found a way to play their beloved sport while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 620 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BARS — Authorities are closing honky tonks, bars and other drinking establishments in some parts of the U.S. to stem the surge of COVID-19 infections — a move backed by sound science about risk factors that go beyond wearing or not wearing masks. In the words of one study, it comes down to the danger of “heavy breathing in close proximity.” SENT: 860 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BOLIVIA — Deserted during months of quarantine, the streets of Bolivia are roiling again with protests that have forced the government into an uncomfortable challenge: trying to resolve the country’s long-term political crisis with elections in the middle of a rising pandemic. SENT: 820 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-AFGHANISTAN OXYGEN -- For seven years, Najibullah Seddiqi’s oxygen factory sat idle in the Afghan capital Kabul. He shut it down, he says, because corruption and power cuts made it impossible to work. But when the novel coronavirus began racing through his country, he opened the factory’s dusty gates and went back to work. Now he refills hundreds of oxygen cylinders a day for free for COVID-19 patients — and at reduced rates for hospitals. SENT: 570 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LIVES LOST-BRAZILIAN TODDLER — The coronavirus death toll in Brazil keeps rising and among the dead is a little girl named Vitoria Gabrielle from a working class Rio de Janeiro neighborhood. SENT: 700 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-MASKS — Does wearing a mask pose any health risks? No, not for most people. SENT: 320 words, photo.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
A separate wire advisory has moved detailing the AP's complete coronavirus coverage.
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MORE ON RACIAL INJUSTICE
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-PUBLIC OPINION — It’s rare for public opinion on social issues to change sharply and swiftly. And yet in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Americans’ opinions about police brutality and racial injustice have moved dramatically. SENT: 990 words, photo.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-LEE STATUE -- Since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, has become a focal point for protesters against police brutality and racism. The iconic statue is now covered in colorful graffiti, much of it denouncing police and demanding an end to systemic racism and inequality. Clashes between police and protesters gathered near the statue have become a regular occurrence. SENT: 845 words, photos. With RACIAL JUSTICE-CONFEDERATE STATUES-VIRGINIA — Richmond removes 2nd Confederate statue as crowd cheers. SENT: 300 words, photos.
RACIAL-INJUSTICE-BLACK-BUSINESSES — Black-owned businesses are enjoying a surge in support amid the national reckoning on racism sparked by George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis. But the increased demand hasn’t been without growing pains for some. SENT: 970 words, photos.
Find more coverage of Racial Injustice in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CAIN — Herman Cain, a 2012 GOP presidential candidate, is being treated for coronavirus at an Atlanta-area hospital. He was hospitalized less than two weeks after attending President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. SENT: 430 words, photo.
OBIT-DOWNS — Hugh Downs, the genial, versatile broadcaster who became one of television’s most familiar and welcome faces with more than 15,000 hours on news, game and talk shows, has died at age 99. SENT: 770 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VANILLA ICE -- Vanilla Ice cooled off plans for a concert in Texas after taking considerable heat for an event that sought to gather hundreds of fans in one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots. SENT: 550 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COVID PARTIES-ALABAMA -- Several college students in an Alabama city organized “COVID-19” parties as a contest to see who would get the virus first, officials said. SENT: 230 words.
FINLAND-AIR FORCE-SWASTIKA — Finland’s Air Force Command has discreetly dropped a swastika logo from its unit emblem and replaced it with a neutral insignia featuring a golden eagle. SENT: 450 words, photo.
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SUPREME COURT-MUELLER GRAND JURY — The Supreme Court denies Congress access to secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation through the November election. The justices agree to hear the Trump administration’s appeal of a lower court order for the material to be turned over to the Democratic-controlled House. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 680 words, photos..
UNITED STATES-RUSSIA-INTELLIGENCE-Q&A — The White House says President Donald Trump was never briefed on intelligence that Russia had put a bounty on U.S. soldiers because there wasn’t corroborating evidence. But former intelligence officials say presidents are routinely informed about intelligence even when it’s not definitively confirmed. Some questions and answers about how presidents are briefed on intelligence. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. With UNITED STATES-RUSSIA — The two top Democrats in Congress say any threats to U.S. troops must be pursued “relentlessly” after receiving a highly classified briefing. SENT: 940 words, photos, video.
SUPREME COURT-ABORTION CLINIC-BUFFER ZONES — The Supreme Court turns away pleas from anti-abortion activists to make it easier for them to protest outside clinics. SENT: 570 words, photo.
SUPREME COURT-EQUAL PAY ACT — The Supreme Court leaves in place a decision that employers can’t use past salary history to justify a pay disparity between male and female employees. SENT: 283 words.
SUPREME COURT-NAZI ART — The Supreme Court agrees to hear a case involving the descendants of a group of Jewish art dealers from Germany who say their ancestors were forced to sell a collection of religious art to the Nazi government in 1935. SENT: 290 words, photo.
CONGRESS-HONG KONG — Congress approves a bill rebuking China over its crackdown in Hong Kong amid protests against a strict “national security” law that outlaws so-called subversive or terrorist acts. SENT: 510 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the 2020 U.S. Elections in AP Newsroom.
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MEXICO-VIOLENCE — The killing of 26 people in an unregistered drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico is the deadliest such attack in a decade and has led to calls for change in a prosperous state that has become a cartel battleground. SENT: 810 words, photos.
US-IMMIGRATION LOSING LOTTERY WINNERS -- Each year the United States offers up to 55,000 visas in a lottery to civilians who are from countries underrepresented in the U.S. population. But tens of thousands of visa lottery winners may find themselves out of luck this year. Last month, President Trump halted visas from being issued outside the U.S. through the end of the year. The administration says the move was intended to free up jobs in the pandemic-hit economy. Many of the 2020 winners had spent thousands of dollars on the process, quit their jobs and sold their cars after being notified that they had won a visa. SENT: 1,175 words, photos.
BRITAIN-VENEZUELA — A British judge has refused to give Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro control of nearly $2 billion in gold sitting in a Bank of England vault because Britain does not recognize the socialist leader as president of the Latin American nation. SENT: 770 words, photos. With VENEZUELA-IRAN-SHIPS — U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking to seize four tankers they say are sailing toward Venezuela with 1.1 million barrels of gasoline supplied by Iran. SENT: 720 words, photos.
ISRAEL SHOOTING-OUTCRY — The family of a Palestinian man with autism who was fatally shot by Israeli police said on Thursday that it took a month for authorities to confirm the existence of security-camera footage of the shooting, raising concerns that no one will be punished for killing their son. SENT: 715 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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GLOBAL WARMING-FISH — Global warming looks like it will be a bigger problem for the world’s fish species than scientists first thought: A new study shows that when fish are spawning or are embryos they are more vulnerable to hotter water. SENT: 450 words, photos.
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FILM-THE OUTPOST — The stars of “The Outpost,” which depicts a fierce battle between U.S. and Taliban troops in Afghanistan, say they set out to tell an authentic story about real soldiers and the challenges they face in war zones. The shoot started out with its own hurdle: star Scott Eastwood’s broken ankle, which required changing the shooting schedule and some painful moments for the actor. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.
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FBN-ON-FOOTBALL SHORTER SEASON — Fewer preseason games following an offseason without on-field workouts creates more challenges for new coaches, players who changed teams and rookies. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 7 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Dave Clark 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.