AP News Digest 7 a.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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ONLY ON AP
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOUSTON — Texas is seeing a surge in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus since it began aggressively loosening restrictions on gatherings in May. To see the effect of the surge on hospitals, Associated Press journalists visited United Memorial Medical Center in north Houston. The hospital says 88 of its 117 beds are devoted to coronavirus patients — and it may soon turn over the whole facility to treating those with from the virus. By Nomaan Merchant. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DESPERATION SCIENCE — Desperate to solve the deadly conundrum of COVID-19, the world is clamoring for fast answers and solutions from a research system not built for haste. The ironic, and perhaps tragic, result: Scientific shortcuts have slowed understanding of the disease and delayed the ability to find out which drugs help, hurt or have no effect at all. By Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione. SENT: 2,100 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,110 words is available.
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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — The reimposition of coronavirus lockdown measures in Serbia touches off violent clashes in the capital Belgrade that left at least 60 police and protesters hurt amid renewed warnings that the virus is still gathering pace. By Menelaos Hadjicostis, Dusan Stojanovic and Rod McGuirk. SENT: 900 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — Australian prime minister defends Melbourne lockdown; VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST; CHINA-UNITED STATES-WHO — China defends WHO, lashes out at U.S. move to withdraw.
CRIME WAVE — Still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and street protests, exhausted cities are facing yet another challenge: a surge in shootings that has left dozens dead, including young children. By Tom Hays and Colleen Long. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOST PARISHIONERS — Two New York City churches ravaged by the coronavirus are taking different approaches to reopening as they mourn, between them, the loss of at least 134 members of their congregations. By David Crary and Luis Andres Henao. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-REOPENING SCHOOLS — President Donald Trump is launching an all-out effort to press state and local officials to reopen schools this fall. By Education Writer Collin Binkley. SENT: 1,070 words, photos, video.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-EMPTY MONUMENTS — Activists and towns are left wondering what to do with empty spaces that once honored historic figures tied to racism as statues and monuments fall. By Russell Contreras. SENT: 660 words, photos.
Find more coverage of Racial Injustice in AP Newsroom.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PALESTINIAN WEDDINGS — The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is grappling with a renewed coronavirus outbreak that authorities blame on the summer wedding season. By Mohammed Daraghmeh. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-SMALL BUSINESS LOANS-CONGRESS — At least a dozen lawmakers have ties to organizations that received federal coronavirus aid. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is confident that he will swiftly recover from the new coronavirus thanks to treatment with hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has not been proven effective against COVID-19. SENT: 950 words, photos. With AP-EXPLAINS:-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BOLSONARO AP Explains: Bolsonaro downplays virus fears for months.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA — Africa now has more than a half-million confirmed coronavirus cases after South Africa recorded another day of more than 10,000 cases as a new global hot spot. SENT: 280 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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SUPREME COURT-ROBERTS — Chief Justice Roberts recently spent a night in a hospital after a fall. SENT: 310 words, photo.
SOCIAL-JUSTICE-WNBA-OWNER — Dream owner Loeffler objects to WNBA’s social justice plans. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-RAVENS-QUARTERBACK — Ravens quarterback Jackson cancels Florida event amid virus surge. SENT: 210 words, photos.
UNIVERSITY-OF-CALIFORNIA-PRESIDENT — University of California system names first Black president. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VATICAN-MIGRANTS — Pope denounces unimaginable “hell” of Libyan migrant camps. SENT: 330 words.
TAIWAN-FANTASY FLYING — Would-be travelers in Taiwan live out dreams of flying again. SENT: 310 words, photos.
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ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-RACE — Trump is accelerating his use of racially divisive rhetoric, alarming many in his own party and running contrary to the advice of some in his inner circle. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-IRAQ — Six months after a deadly American airstrike in Baghdad enraged Iraqis and fueled demands to send all U.S. troops home, the top U.S. general for the Middle East is talking optimistically about keeping a smaller but enduring military presence there. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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OBIT-MARY-KAY-LETOURNEAU — Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who married her former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him in a case that drew international headlines, has died. She was 58. SENT: 480 words, photos.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN-ASSOCIATE — Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend will appear remotely by video for a July 14 courthouse arraignment and bail hearing on charges she recruited girls for him to sexually abuse over two decades ago, a judge says. SENT: 350 words, photos.
TEXAS-EXECUTION — A Texas death row inmate condemned for fatally shooting an 82-year-old man nearly three decades ago was scheduled to die by lethal injection, as the nation’s busiest death penalty state prepared to resume executions following a five-month delay during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 740 words, photo.
NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING-SOUTH CAROLINA — A Georgia man is arrested and accused of fatally shooting two people in a South Carolina club during the July 4th weekend, authorities say. SENT: 250 words, photos.
TEEN RESTRAINT-DEATH — At least seven staffers at a youth facility in Michigan forcibly restrained a teenager who had a heart attack and died two days later. SENT: 770 words.
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JAPAN-FLOODS — Pounding rain that already caused deadly floods in southern Japan is moving northeast, battering large areas of Japan’s main island, swelling more rivers, triggering mudslides and destroying houses and roads. SENT: 540 words, photos. With CHINA-FLOODING — Rescuers seek nine people missing in central China landslide.
US-NORTH KOREA — The top U.S. official on North Korea accuses a senior North Korean nuclear negotiator of being “locked in an old way of thinking,” days after the negotiator said Pyongyang won’t resume talks with Washington because of its “hostile” policies. SENT: 700 words, photos. With CHINA-US-RUSSIA-NUCLEAR — China calls U.S. invite to nuclear talks a ploy to derail them.
POLAND-PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION — Two bitter rivals are heading into a razor’s-edge presidential runoff election Sunday in Poland that is seen as an important test of populism in Europe after a campaign that exacerbated a conservative-liberal divide in the country. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
GERMANY-RATZINGER-FUNERAL — A memorial Mass is being held in Germany for the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. SENT: 350 words, photos.
PAKISTAN-PILOTS’ SCANDAL — Pakistan’s national carrier is firing 28 pilots found to have tainted licenses, the company’s spokesman says, the latest chapter in a scandal that emerged in the wake of the Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in May. SENT: 550 words, photos.
GERMANY-OKTOBERFEST ATTACK — German prosecutors say that they have closed their investigation into a deadly far-right attack on Munich’s Oktoberfest in 1980, more than five years after they revived the probe in hopes that new testimony might point to previously unknown co-conspirators. SENT: 200 words, photo.
HONG KONG-CHINA — Beijing’s national security office is inaugurated in Hong Kong, just over a week after China’s central government imposed a tough new law on the city that critics view as a further deterioration of freedoms promised to the former British colony. SENT: 500 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS AT 75 — The 193 members of the United Nations reach agreement on a declaration to commemorate this year’s 75th anniversary of the world organization, recalling the U.N.’s successes and failure and vowing to build a post-pandemic world that is more equal, works together, and protects the planet. SENT: 520 words.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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NIGERIA-RARE GORILLAS — Conservationists have captured the first images of a group of rare Cross River gorillas with multiple babies in Nigeria. SENT: 700 words, photos.
BRITAIN-HEALTH REVIEW — A scathing review into three scandals that have rocked Britain’s National Health Service concludes that patients suffered avoidable harm because their concerns were ignored by a system that moved at a glacial pace. SENT: 330 words.
SOUTHEAST ASIA-MEASLES AND RUBELLA — Sri Lanka and Maldives have become the first two countries in the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia region to eliminate both measles and rubella ahead of a 2023 target, the U.N. health agency announces. SENT: 270 words, photos.
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FACEBOOK-CIVIL RIGHTS AUDIT — A two-year audit of Facebook’s civil rights record finds “serious setbacks” that have marred the social network’s progress on matters such as hate speech, misinformation and bias. By Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 540 words, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Global shares were mixed as uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic sapped the buying enthusiasm that has been driving prices higher. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 550 words, photos. With BRITAIN-ECONOMY — U.K. Treasury chief plans boost to youth jobs.
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BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP — Johnny Depp denied hitting ex-wife Amber Heard in a jealous rage, as he was cross-examined by a lawyer for British tabloid The Sun in a London courtroom. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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TIM DAHLBERG-PLAYING AGAIN — Despite the best efforts of baseball and other sports, the COVID-19 virus will determine who plays and for how long. By Sports Columnist Tim Dahlberg. SENT: 740 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.