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-MASS TRANSIT, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS, ABORTION-GEORGIA, RACIAL INJUSTICE-PENNSYLVANIA, SUDAN, ANDEAN CONDOR FLIGHT, TV-PEACOCK-VIEWER GUIDE.
MEDIA-TUCKER CARLSON — Show airs at 8 p.m.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — The resurgence of the coronavirus in the United States ignites fierce debate about whether to reopen schools, as global health officials warned that the pandemic will intensify unless more countries adopt comprehensive plans to combat it. By Adriana Gomez Licon and Adam Geller. SENT: 1,070 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK — New York outlines the when and hows of a return to school. SENT: 470 words.
UNITED STATES-CHINA — The Trump administration escalates its actions against China by stepping squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues and outright rejecting nearly all of Beijing’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. By Matthew Lee and Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 820 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — The White House works to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert while President Donald Trump continues to downplay the threat as he pushes to reopen the economy. Trump and other White House officials have been ramping up their attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been sounding alarms about spiking cases. By Jill Colvin, Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASS TRANSIT — Mass transit systems around the world have taken sweeping steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including shutting down some subways overnight and testing powerful ultraviolet lamps to disinfect seats, poles and floors. But experts say those steps solve only part of the problem because the virus is more often spread through the air. By David Porter. SENT: 930 words, photos.
FEDERAL EXECUTION — A U.S. district judge orders a new delay in federal executions, hours before the first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a prison in Indiana. The Trump administration immediately appeals, asking a higher court to allow the executions to move forward. By Michael Balsamo. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing, with appeals pending, 990 words by 10 p.m. With FEDERAL EXECUTION-VICTIMS' FAMILY — Victims’ relatives most vocal opponents of man’s execution. SENT: 840 words, photos.
MARS MISSIONS — Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth — big time. Three countries — the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates — are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick succession beginning this week, in the most sweeping effort yet to seek signs of ancient microscopic life while scouting out the place for future astronauts. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
RENAMING THE REDSKINS — Experts in branding, crisis communication and comedy look at possible new nicknames for the Washington NFL team. Do you play with the city’s less-than-beloved image and go with Gridlock, Bureaucrats or Swamp Monsters? Or go for the more traditional Warriors, Generals or Red Tails? By Seth Borenstein. SENT: 670 words, photos. With REDSKINS-NICKNAME — The Washington NFL franchise is dropping the “Redskins” name and Indian head logo. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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OBIT-NAYA RIVERA — Naya Rivera, a singer and actress who played a gay cheerleader on the hit TV musical comedy “Glee,” is found dead in a Southern California lake. She was 33. SENT: 980 words, photo. With MISSING TV STAR — “Glee" star Naya Rivera found dead at California lake. SENT: 570 words, photos.
BUDGET-DEFICIT — The federal government incurred the biggest monthly budget deficit in history in June as spending on programs to combat the coronavirus recession exploded. SENT: 500 words, photo.
MEDIA-TUCKER CARLSON — Tucker Carlson has promised to address the firing of a writer on his show who posted numerous racist messages on an online forum. UPCOMING: 500 words, photo. Show airs on Fox at 8 p.m.
BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP — Johnny Depp wraps up testimony in his libel suit against a British tabloid newspaper that accused him of domestic abuse. SENT: 900 words, photos.
RAPPER KILLING-ARRESTS — Four charged in Los Angeles death of rising rapper Pop Smoke. SENT: 490 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NBA — Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 360 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom extends the closure of bars and indoor dining statewide and orders gyms, churches and hair salons closed in most places as coronavirus cases keep rising. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-MASKS — Time to make masks mandatory? It’s not just a U.S. debate. SENT: 750 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — In reversal, UK says it will make masks mandatory in shops (sent).
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ABORTION PILL — A federal judge agrees to suspend a rule that requires women during the pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill. SENT: 520 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GENERATION GAP? — Sometimes at odds, America’s two largest generations agree on this: the coronavirus pandemic has smacked many at a pivotal time in their lives. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-OCRACOKE-ISLAND — Outer Banks island ravaged by storms and virus restrictions. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-COOKED WITH LOVE — In Egypt, volunteers make meals with love for virus patients.SENT: 590 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE — A federal judge demands more information about President Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — How best to safely reopen schools this fall is fast emerging as a central piece of the next COVID-19 relief bill from Congress. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. UPCOMING: 600 words by 7 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-DEFUND THE POLICE-PAC — Amid Americans’ national reckoning on racism, a coalition of progressive groups is forming a political action committee to back local candidates who want to redirect money away from traditional police departments into other social services. SENT: 890 words, photos.
ELECTION-2020-CALIFORNIA-UNCOUNTED VOTES — More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected by election officials in California's March presidential primary. SENT: 950 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS — More than 200 universities back a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s new restrictions on international students. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
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ABORTION-GEORGIA — A federal judge permanently blocks Georgia’s 2019 “heartbeat” abortion law, ruling that it violates the U.S. Constitution. SENT: 710 words, photo. With ABORTION-TENNESSEE — Tennessee governor signs, court blocks 6-week abortion ban. SENT: 560 words.
NAVY SHIP FIRE — A fire suppression system was inoperable when a blaze erupted aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, so sailors fought the blaze with water, a Navy official says. SENT: 500 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-PENNSYLVANIA — Activists in Pennsylvania press their demand for police accountability after bystander video emerged over the weekend of an officer placing his knee on a man’s head and neck area. SENT: 560 words.
KLOBUCHAR-JUVENILE LIFER-BURRELL-REVIEW — An independent panel of legal experts will review the conviction of a Black teenager who was sentenced to life for the 2002 death of a girl who was struck by a stray bullet in Minneapolis. A yearlong AP investigation highlighted flaws in the case. SENT: 830 words, photo.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN-ASSOCIATE — One or more victims of Jeffrey Epstein plan to tell a judge that his ex-girlfriend should be denied bail on charges that she recruited teenage girls for him to sexually abuse in the 1990s, prosecutors say. SENT: 310 words, photo.
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POLAND-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — Poland’s conservative President Andrzej Duda, who ran a campaign with homophobic and anti-Semitic overtones, narrowly wins a second five-year term. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
SUDAN — Sudanese activists say armed groups have attacked a protest camp in the war-scarred Darfur region, killing more than a dozen people. SENT: 540 words.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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ANDEAN CONDOR FLIGHT — A study sheds light on just how efficiently the world’s largest soaring bird rides air currents to stay aloft for hours without flapping its wings. By Science Writer Christina Larson. SENT: 440 words, photos.
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TV-PEACOCK-VIEWER GUIDE — Peacock, the latest streaming service to join the fray, debuts July 15 with a pandemic-depleted schedule of new shows bolstered by a rich library of movies. By Television Writer Lynn Elber. SENT: 780 words, photos.
OBIT-KELLY PRESTON — Kelly Preston, who played dramatic and comic foil to actors ranging from Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire” to Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Twins,” has died, husband John Travolta says. She was 57. SENT: 710 words, photos.
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NHL-CAMPS OPEN — The Pittsburgh Penguins hold nine players off the ice out of caution because of the coronavirus as training camps open four months after the sport was shut down. The 24-team playoffs are scheduled to begin Aug. 1. UPCOMING: 700 words by 7 p.m., photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Mike Stewart 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.