AP News Digest 2 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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ONLY ON AP
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MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA VACCINE — In the global race to make a coronavirus vaccine, a state-owned Chinese company is boasting that its employees, including top executives, received experimental shots even before the government approved testing in people. By Sam McNeil and Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 1,220 words, photos, video.
PUBLIC HEALTH-MOSQUITO CONTROL -- In a normal year, the Delaware County, Ohio, health department would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week. But this year, because of COVID-19, the mosquitoes will fly free. Staffers haven’t set a single trap yet because they are too busy dealing with the coronavirus. The same thing is happening across the country as public health officials focus on the pandemic at the expense of other efforts. By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Lauren Weber. SENT: 1,575 words, photos. This story is a collaboration between The Associated Press and KHN.
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VACCINE HACK — Western governments accuse hackers believed to be part of the Russian intelligence service of trying to steal information about a coronavirus vaccine, issuing an unusually detailed advisory aimed at publicly calling out the Kremlin and putting scientists and medical companies on notice about suspicious behavior. By Eric Tucker, Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka. SENT: 990 words has moved as BRITAIN-RUSSIA-VACCINE HACK, with photos. UPCOMING: 980 words by 5 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — More than a million Americans sought unemployment benefits for the 17th consecutive week as infections began surging in some of the nation’s most populous states. Layoffs in places like Florida, Georgia and California rose by tens of thousands of people. Hope early this month that the country had made it through the worst of the pandemic has been shaken and the rising number of infected Americans threatens to push what appeared to be a recovering nation into critical condition. By Economic Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 925 words, photos.
FEDERAL EXECUTION — The United States carries out its second federal execution in three days following a hiatus of nearly two decades, killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia and was unfit to be executed. By Michael Balsamo and Jessica Gresko. SENT: 847 words, photo. WITH: FEDERAL EXECUTION-METH KINGPIN - A ruthless Iowa meth kingpin who killed five people, including two young girls, in 1993 to thwart his prosecution for drug trafficking is set to become the third federal inmate to be executed this week. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PRISON RELEASES -- There has been a major drop in the number of people behind bars in the U.S. An analysis by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press found that between March and June, more than 100,000 people were released from state and federal prisons. That’s a drop of 8%. By comparison, the Vera Institute of Justice found that for all of 2019, the state and federal prison population fell by 2.2%. By Damini Sharma and Weihua Li of the Marshall Project and Denise Lavoie and Claudia Lauer of The Associated Press. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP CAMPAIGN — The long-rumored Trump campaign shakeup that demoted Brad Parscale will likely do little to change day to day operations or the person who’s truly in charge: Jared Kushner. But the move, which comes as Trump lags in polls, shines a spotlight on Kushner’s expansive portfolio and the president’s growing frustration with him. By Jonathan Lemire, Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller. SENT: 730 words. UPCOMING: 890 words by 5 p.m., photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL — A thousand deaths a day. On May 26, three months after its first reported case of the coronavirus, Brazil reported 1,039 confirmed deaths from the disease. Since then, the country has reported 1,000 daily deaths on average, day after day in a gruesome plateau that has yet to tilt downward. The country hit 75,000 confirmed deaths Wednesday and is expected to report 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 by Thursday evening, with little sign that the curve of new infections is beginning to bend. By David Biller and Mauricio Savarese. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 2:30 p.m.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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MEDIA-USA TODAY-NAVARRO -- USA Today says that a column that the newspaper solicited and published from presidential trade adviser Peter Navarro criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci was misleading and did not meet fact-checking standards. SENT: 350 words, photo.
BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP -- Johnny Depp’s security chief has alleged that Amber Heard physically abused Depp during the couple’s tempestuous marriage. SENT: 700 words, photos.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-CUBA GOODING JR -- Cuba Gooding Jr. ordered to appear in person for an Aug. 11 hearing in his New York City sexual misconduct case. SENT: 280 words.
AIRLINE EMPLOYEES-ATTACK -- Several Spirit Airlines employees were injured Tuesday night when they were attacked by three women who were apparently upset that their flight from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia had been delayed, sheriff’s officials said. SENT: 175 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK FIGHT --An unmasked man pulled a gun on a masked shopper and threatened to kill him during an apparent confrontation over masks at a Florida Walmart store, sheriff’s officials said. SENT: 190 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Speaker Nancy Pelosi compares President Trump’s handling of the deepening COVID-19 crisis to a man unwilling to ask for directions as she pleaded with the White House to seek input from the nation’s scientific leaders to reverse the rising number of caseloads and deaths. SENT: 860 words. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4 p.m., photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL- From the palm-fringed beaches of southern India to the bar-lined streets of a Spanish island and the rolling hills of Ireland, restaurants, pubs and clubs are emerging as frontlines in efforts to prevent the re-emergence of the coronavirus. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK FASHION - Masks made of cotton and other washable materials have become a big seller and fashion item as face coverings have been increasingly mandated to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Sales are expected to get another boost after Britain and France announced this week that they will require masks in public indoor spaces. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA FIELD HOSPITAL — Health officials in South Africa decide to reduce the capacity of a COVID-19 field hospital in Cape Town, a sign that the situation may be improving in the city that was Africa’s first coronavirus epicenter. SENT: 525 words, photos.
NETHERLANDS-VIRUS OUTBREAK-EXHIBITION -- A museum in the Dutch city of Leiden has finally opened an exhibition on contagious diseases through the ages after a long delay caused by the disease currently sweeping the world — COVID-19. Dutch King Willem-Alexander opened the “Contagious!” exhibition at the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TARGET-MASK MANDATE — Target and CVS Health have joined the list of the nation’s largest retailers that will require customers to wear masks as cases of COVID-19 spike. SENT: 270 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-SHAKESPEARE TO YOU —Some of the actors with the Vermont Shakespeare Festival are keeping the bard in peoples’ minds this summer by doing free, short performances of some of Shakespeare’s most memorable works. So far the actors participating in the Shakespeare to You have done about 30 performances, most outside peoples’ homes, but they will also do it by Zoom or even by telephone. SENT: 575 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-PANDEMIC PREGNANCY -- Whether it was for travel or a wedding, everyone’s plans have been upended with the breakout of the coronavirus. For one writer, plans for a well-timed pregnancy have proven fruitless. She’s navigating being sick, being isolated from her support system and taking care of a toddler and newly adopted dog with nowhere to go. SENT: 635 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-PREGNANCY — Can a pregnant woman spread the coronavirus to her fetus? Probably, but it seems to happen rarely and there’s a good explanation for why that is. SENT: 340 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-ANALYSIS — Four years ago, Donald Trump was trailing in the polls and hoping a change atop his campaign -- but not in his own behavior --would turn around his fortunes. He’s following the same playbook again now, but there are plenty of reasons why achieving the same result may not be so easy. UPCOMING: 850 words by 5 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-REPUBLICAN CONVENTION — President Trump’s plans for a grand Republican National Convention keep shrinking in the age of the coronavirus. SENT: 418 words. UPCOMING: 500 words by 3 p.m., photos.
LGBTQ CANDIDATES — The number of openly LGBTQ elected officials in the United States has more than doubled in the past four years. And those ranks could soon grow thanks to a record field of LGBTQ candidates this year. That’s according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute. SENT: 675 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.
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REL--VATICAN-SEX ABUSE -- The Vatican told bishops around the world they should report clergy sex crimes to police even when not legally bound to do so, in its latest effort to compel church leaders to protect minors from predator priests. SENT: 725 words, photos.
PAKISTAN-PERSECUTED MINORITIES — Analysts and activists say minorities in Pakistan are increasingly vulnerable to Islamic extremists as Prime Minister Imran Khan vacillates between trying to forge a pluralistic nation and his conservative Islamic beliefs. In just the last month, a Christian was gunned down because he rented in a Muslim neighborhood. Another Christian, this one a pastor, his wife and 12-year-old son were beaten by their Muslim neighbors in eastern Punjab and told to leave their village. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
DICTATOR’S MANSION -- U.S. authorities are trying to seize a Maryland mansion that they say former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh purchased with bribery proceeds and stolen government funds. A civil forfeiture complaint filed by the Justice Department says the west African nation’s longtime dictator conspired to launder roughly $3.5 million in “corruption proceeds” through the purchase of a lavish home in Potomac, Maryland. Jammeh ruled over Gambia for more than 22 years. SENT: 475 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-BRITAIN STATUE — Officials in the English city of Bristol removed a statue of a Black Lives Matter activist that was installed on a pedestal once occupied by a monument to a 17th-century slave trader. SENT: 350 words, photos.
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CENSUS CITIZENSHIP — Iowa, South Carolina and South Dakota have now joined Nebraska in agreeing to share state driver’s license information with the U.S. Census Bureau to help the Trump administration to determine the citizenship status of every U.S. resident. SENT: 780 words, photos.
NAVY SHIP-FIRE — After burning for days, the massive USS Bonhomme Richard shifted in the night and listed toward the pier, prompting the Navy to pull off firefighting sailors searching in the bowels of the U.S. warship for remaining hot spots, Navy officials said. SENT: 545 words, photo.
ARMY FRAUD-TEXAS -- Federal agents have seized more than 20 vehicles and the money from 10 bank accounts belonging to a married couple of U.S. Army veterans in Texas, saying the pair used personal information stolen from soldiers to defraud the military out of as much as $11 million. SENT: 680 words, photo.
CHICAGO POLICE-FIRED SUPERINTENDENT — An inspector general’s report has concluded that former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson drove a city vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and lied about the incident that led to his firing in December. SENT: 350 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI--SUN EXPLORER --A European and NASA spacecraft has snapped the closest pictures ever taken of the sun and revealed countless tiny “campfires” flaring everywhere. Scientists released the first images taken by Solar Orbiter, launched from Florida in February. The orbiter was about halfway between Earth and the sun when it took the pictures last month. SENT: 405 words, photos.
SCI--SPACE STATION - Spacewalking astronauts completed their part of a three-year power upgrade to the International Space Station on Thursday, replacing six more outdated batteries with powerful new ones. SENT: 250 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL MARKETS —Wall Street is drifting lower after mixed reports on the economy highlighted its uncertain path, including one showing that layoffs continue at a stubbornly steady pace. SENT: 725 words, photos. WITH: RETAIL-SALES - US retail sales jump 7.5% in June, but economy still ails. SENT: 325 words.
EUROPE-DATA PRIVACY-FACEBOOK — The European Union’s top court ruled that an agreement that allows thousands of companies — from tech giants to small financial firms — to transfer data to the United States is invalid because the American government can snoop on people’s data. SENT: 850 words, photos.
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PEOPLE-LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA -- You’ve probably seen the highly scripted side of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Now see the unscripted one. The playwright, actor and songwriter this month follows up the streaming live capture of his triumphant Broadway musical “Hamilton” with a documentary showing his impressive hip-hop improv skills in “We Are Freestyle Love Supreme.” Miranda describes the group as a crucial creative spark to his more formal stage shows. By Mark Kennedy. SENT: 740 words, photos.
MUSIC DR LUKE — Controversial music producer Dr. Luke was once pop music’s top hitmaker, crafting hits for virtually every female pop star, from Katy Perry to Kelly Clarkson to Britney Spears. He’s returned to the charts in 2020, working on songs for rising and established rap stars, including Lil Wayne, Juice WRLD, Saweetie and Doja Cat. By Mesfin Fekadu. SENT: 530 words, photo.
FILM-GLAAD STUDY — Last year saw record representation of LGBTQ characters in the 118 films released by major studios, according to a new study by GLAAD. But for the third straight year, the racial diversity of LGBTQ characters has waned and transgender characters again went unseen. SENT: 420 words.
PEOPLE-MICHELLE OBAMA — Michelle Obama will let her own voice be heard on a new podcast. SENT: 270 words, photos.
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BBO-BASEBALL-RDP — One week before Major League Baseball launches its unprecedented 60-game season, teams are shaping their rosters around injuries and the unpredictable COVID-19. By David Ginsburg. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 6:30 p.m.
GLF-MEMORIAL — Tiger Woods returns for the first time in five months at the Memorial, which features nine of the top 10 in the world. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 7 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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