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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OBIT-LEWIS-A LIFE — People paid great heed to John Lewis for much of his life in the civil rights movement. But at the very beginning — when he was just a kid wanting to be a minister someday — his audience didn’t care much for what he had to say. A son of Alabama sharecroppers, the young Lewis first preached moral righteousness to his family’s chickens. His place in the vanguard of the 1960s campaign for Black equality had its roots in that hardscrabble Alabama farm and all those clucks. By Calvin Woodard. SENT: 1,685 words, photos. WITH: OBIT-JOHN LEWIS — John Lewis, who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress, has died. SENT: 1,400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK -- A fast-rising rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States. Some patients have been moved into hallways, and nurses are working extra shifts to keep up with the surge. Officials say patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in emergency wards since intensive care units are full, and the near-constant care they require is overtaxing workers who also are treating more typical ER cases. In Arizona, more than 2,000 people went to an ER with coronavirus symptoms on a single day, July 7. By Jay Reeves. SENT: 580 words, photos. Developing.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP -- President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hands-off approach to the coronavirus crisis even as deaths and positive tests have surged to record highs in many places. Governors and big city mayors are sending a blunt message to their constituents: Don’t expect a federal cavalry to save the day. By Aamer Madhani and Farnoush Amiri. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HEALTH CARE FRUSTRATIONS -- Medical professionals in Alabama are witnessing two starkly different realities: Inside the hospitals, they attend to patients fighting for their lives in overcrowded intensive care units. Outside the medical centers’ doors, they see a society that appears to be blithely ignoring the safety precautions that experts have recommended to help stop the spread of COVID-19. By Jay Reeves. SENT: 860 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-VOTING-BALLOT POSTAGE -- As more states embrace mail-in balloting, an often overlooked detail has emerged as a partisan dividing line: postage. Questions over whether to require postage for absentee ballot applications and the ballots themselves, who pays for it and what happens to envelopes without stamps are the subject of lawsuits and statehouse political brawls. Lawsuits in Florida, Georgia and other states argue that stamps constitute a monetary requirement akin to a poll tax. By Julie Carr Smyth. SENT: 925 words, photos.
FEDERAL EXECUTIONS-REPORTER’S VIEW -- A low-lying fog hangs over the prison grounds as the van turns the corner onto “Justice Drive.” It’s silent as I approach a small brick, fenced-in building, a large white tent right outside the entrance. On the other side of the fence, the U.S. government will carry out the first federal execution in almost two decades. And I am to witness it. I ended up spending more than 32 hours inside the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, this past week waiting for men to die by lethal injection in the middle of a pandemic. By Michael Balsamo. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 4 p.m.
BBO--MLB SEASON-CAN IT WORK? — Public health experts have mixed feelings about baseball’s hopes to open July 23. There is optimism because of ballpark protocols and the game’s lesser risks than basketball, football or hockey. But there is the challenge of travel to and from virus hot spots and the safety of players when away from teammates. By Jake Seiner. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
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MORE ON THE DEATH OF JOHN LEWIS
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JOHN LEWIS-FAITH — Faith was a constant in the life of Rep. John Lewis. Lewis spent boyhood days as a make-believe minister at his rural home in Alabama. As a teen, inspired by the oratory and leadership of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he went on to become a civil rights activist in his own right while attending a Baptist college in Tennessee. SENT: 735 words, photos.
JOHN LEWIS-BLOODY SUNDAY -- On the day that became known as Bloody Sunday, John Lewis and a line of nonviolent marchers were beaten and tear-gassed by Alabama state troopers in Selma. The state-sanctioned violence at the Edmund Pettus Bridge stunned the nation and helped spur the passage of the federal Voting Rights Act. It also propelled Lewis on to a global stage as a hero of the U.S. civil rights movement. He would go on to win election to the U.S. House, where he was widely acknowledged as the conscience of Congress. SENT: 675 words, photos. With JOHN LEWIS-QUOTES (sent).
OBIT-LEWIS-REACTION -- From former presidents to colleagues in Congress, John Lewis is remembered as a civil rights icon who pursued “good trouble” to make a difference in the United States. SENT: 820 words, photos.
JOHN LEWIS-ATLANTA — Atlanta is lowering flags to half-staff indefinitely to honor Rep. John Lewis, who represented the city for more than 30 years in Congress before his death. SENT: 350 words, photos.
JOHN LEWIS-TIMELINE -- Rep. John Lewis rose from poverty to become a leader of the civil rights movement before being elected to Congress. A timeline of some major events in Lewis’ life. SENT: 485 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ODD--MISSING DOG-OLD HOME -- A dog named Cleo who disappeared from her home in Kansas earlier this month turned up a few days later at her old home in Missouri, about 50 miles away. SENT: 195 words.
ODD-CHIPMUNKS AMOK -- There were plenty of acorns this spring, and now the chipmunks are driving people nuts. SENT: 340 words, photo.
BRITAIN-TIME OUT FOUNDER — Tony Elliott, founder of the Time Out city guide publishing brand, has died at 73. SENT: 175 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL -- South Africa was poised to join the top five countries most affected by the coronavirus, while breathtaking numbers around the world were a reminder a return to normal life is still far from sight. Confirmed virus cases worldwide have topped 14 million and deaths have surpassed 600,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data, a day after the World Health Organization reported a single-day record of new infections at over 237,000. Death tolls in the United States are reaching new highs, and India’s infections are over 1 million. SENT: 550 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS -- It stands as the biggest economic rescue in U.S. history, the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill swiftly approved by Congress in the spring. And it’s painfully clear now, as the pandemic worsens, it was only the start. Lawmakers return Monday to Washington to try to pull the country back from the looming COVID-19 cliff. SENT: 850 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RURAL OREGON -- The coronavirus pandemic that’s sweeping through major U.S. cities is now wreaking havoc on rural communities. In Oregon’s Umatilla County, infections are overwhelming limited resources in a place where farmers grow potatoes, onions and grains. The county has Oregon’s highest number of confirmed infections per capita. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST -- Iran’s president says as many as 25 million Iranians could have been infected with the coronavirus since the outbreak’s beginning in the country. Iranian officials have not explained what the report’s estimates are based on. The study has so far not been made publicly available. However, President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks show that questions remain over the country’s official figures from the outbreak, amid a major increase in confirmed cases. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York state dropped to 743 and 11 more people died. SENT: 200 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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SUPREME COURT -- President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have made it crystal clear: Given the chance, they’ll push through a nominee should a vacancy occur before Election Day. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has had four earlier bouts with cancer, announced Friday that she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer. The 87-year liberal, who had apologized for her pointed public criticism of candidate Trump during the 2016 campaign, says she has no plans to retire. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 4 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-OHIO -- President Trump is facing an unexpectedly competitive landscape in Ohio because he’s lost ground in metropolitan and suburban areas. That’s threatening the overwhelming advantages he has in rural areas that delivered the bellwether state to him in 2016. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-SENATE -- It’s come to this for Republicans straining to defend their Senate majority in November’s elections: They’re dropping millions of dollars into races in Alabama, Kentucky and other states where Donald Trump coasted in 2016. SENT: 960 words, photos.
TRUMP-HOUSING -- To fair housing advocates, President Donald Trump’s pledge to roll back an Obama-era regulation designed to eliminate racial disparities in the suburbs is a blatant attempt to play racial politics and appeal to white voters before the November election. SENT: 650 words, photos.
FACT CHECK-WEEK -- President Trump’s “ban” on travel from China is his go-to point when defending his response to the coronavirus pandemic or boasting about it. The problem with his core argument starts with the fact that he did not ban travel from China; rather, he imposed porous restrictions. SENT: 2,350 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.
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FRANCE-CATHEDRAL FIRE -- French officials have launched an arson inquiry after a fire broke out in a Gothic cathedral in the western French city of Nantes. SENT: 400 words, photos.
EUROPE SUMMIT— European Union leaders hunted for compromises Saturday on the second day of a summit to reach a deal on an unprecedented 1.85 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund, with tensions running high among leaders weary after months of battling the pandemic. SENT: 490 words, photos.
RUSSIA PROTESTS — Mass rallies challenging the Kremlin rocked Russia’s Far East city of Khabarovsk again, as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders. SENT: 575 words, photos.
TANZANIA-ELECTION-OPPOSITION’S CHALLENGE — With Tanzania facing an October election that contentious President John Magufuli hopes to win, one opposition leader tells The Associated Press he’s trying to unite the opposition behind a candidate for the best shot at an upset. But Magufuli’s administration has set up one obstacle after another. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — Militarized federal agents deployed by the president to Portland, Oregon, fired tear gas against protesters again overnight as the city’s mayor demanded that the agents be removed and as the state’s attorney general vowed to seek a restraining order against them. SENT: 930 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-CHICAGO COLUMBUS STATUE — Protesters trying to topple a Christopher Columbus statue in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park clashed with police who responded violently with batons after they say officers were struck by fireworks and thrown cans. SENT: 420 words.
MAYFLOWER MAKEOVER -- The replica of the Mayflower is ready for its journey from Connecticut back home to Plymouth, Massachusetts, after more than three years of renovations and several months of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. SENT: 485 words, photos.
DISMEMBERED BODY -- Surveillance video shows the personal assistant charged in the dismemberment death of his tech entrepreneur boss buying the electric saw and cleaning supplies that were left near the body, prosecutors said. SENT: 325 words, photos.
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MUSIC-EDUARDO CABRA — Calle 13′s Eduardo Cabra is shedding his Visitante persona in a graphic new video that serves as a launch for his solo career and new record label. The artist who’s won 28 Grammy and Latin Grammy trophies will now be known simply as Cabra. The debut is not without some bloodshed. SENT: 500 words, photos.
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BBO--BASEBALL IS BACK — Baseball -- actual baseball -- is back. After months of contentious bargaining, the sport returns with three exhibition games as a prelude to a 60-game season. There will be new rules, no fans and plenty of safety protocols. By Jake Seiner. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 8 p.m. With updates. With separates on Phillies-Nationals (6:05 p.m.); Indians-Pirates (7:05 p.m.); Yankees-Mets (7:10 p.m.)
GLF--MEMORIAL — Tony Finau and Ryan Palmer share the lead entering the third round of the Memorial. Tiger Woods begins the day having barely made the cut and 12 shots behind in his first PGA Tour event in five months. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 7 p.m.
FBN—OFFSEASON UPDATE-PLAYER HEALTH — NFL training camps start before the end of the month, with many virus protocols still not set. Another key issue facing the league and union: Will players be allowed to stay home out of COVID-19 concern, or will they need medical permission? SENT: 900 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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