AP News Digest 5:35 a.m.

| July 19, 2020 3:03 AM

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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TOP STORIES

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JOHN LEWIS — Rights activists, politicians from both parties and many other people touched by the legacy of John Lewis mourned the congressman and pillar of the civil rights movement, lauding the strength, courage and kindness of a man whose lifelong struggle against racial discrimination took him from a bridge in Selma to the nation’s Capitol. By Gene Johnson. SENT: 800 words photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — Countries from the U.S. to South Africa to Australia were struggling to hold down rising rates of the coronavirus, as global deaths from COVID-19 surged past 600,000 in a sign of how far off the world remains from a return to normalcy. While the U.S. leads global infections, South Africa now ranks as the fifth worst-hit country in the pandemic with 350,879 cases — roughly half of all those confirmed on the African continent. By Cara Anna. SENT: 920 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. With COVID-19 cases hitting alarming new highs and the death roll rising, the pandemic’s devastating cycle is happening all over again, leaving Congress little choice but to engineer another costly rescue. By Lisa Mascaro. With AP Photo. SENT: 900 words.

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.

FEDERAL EXECUTIONS-REPORTER’S VIEW — Daniel Lewis Lee, a condemned man and convicted murderer, was asked if he wanted to make a final statement from the execution chamber, with its institutional green-tiled walls and plate-glass interior window, moments before he too would die. “You’re killing an innocent man,” Lee said, looking directly at me. Lee’s execution, one of two that I witnessed this past week at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, played out slowly, after painstaking hours of final, futile legal appeals, before prison officials administered a lethal injection and the federal government carried out capital punishment for the first time in almost two decades. By Michael Balsamo. With AP Photos. SENT: 1,200 words.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — After a one-day respite, COVID-19 cases in the Australian state of Victoria have risen again, prompting a move to make masks mandatory in metropolitan Melbourne and the nearby shire of Mitchell. Health officials recorded 363 new cases in the past 24 hours. Two men and a woman in their 90s died, taking the national death toll from COVID-19 to 122. SENT: 530 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEXAS-GOP CONVENTION — A federal appeals court has overruled a judge’s decision allowing the Texas Republican Party to hold an in-person convention in Houston, marking a big win for the the nation’s fourth-largest city in an ongoing battle with the state GOP. SENT: 310 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEXAS — A health official on the Texas Gulf Coast said 85 infants have tested positive for the coronavirus. Corpus Christi Nueces County Public Health Director says the 85 infants are each younger than 1, but offered no other details, including how the children are suspected to have become infected. SENT: 240 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: 820 words, photos.

Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2020-VIRGINIA GOP CONVENTION — Virginia Republicans pick state Del. Nick Freitas as their candidate in one of the country’s most closely watched congressional races. 220 words.

Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ISRAEL-NETANYAHU TRIAL — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumes, as the long-serving leader faces mounting discontent over his handling of the coronavirus crisis. SENT: 490 words, photos.

KUWAIT — Kuwait’s 91-year-old ruler underwent a “successful” surgery Sunday that required the oil-rich nation’s crown prince to be temporarily empowered to serve in his place, its state-run news agency reported. SENT: 370 words, photos.

SYRIA-ELECTIONS — Syrians headed to polling stations in government-held parts of the war-torn country to elect a new parliament amid strict health measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. SENT: 660 words, photos.

EUROPE SUMMIT— European Union leaders on Saturday extended their summit by an extra day in the hope they were finally closing in on a deal for an unprecedented $2.1 trillion EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund. SENT: 610 words, photos.

CHINA-FLOODS — Authorities in central China blasted a dam Sunday to release surging waters behind it amid widespread flooding across the country that has claimed scores of lives. SENT 310 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — Protesters broke into a building, set it on fire and started dumpster fires in Oregon’s largest city, police say, as demonstrations that have been taking place since the death of George Floyd intensified for another night in Portland. SENT: 780 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BBO--BASEBALL IS BACK — Exhibition games in Washington, New York and Pittsburgh on Saturday gave Major League Baseball its first look at coronavirus-era games, fake crowd noise and all. Still, for clubs limited to practices and intrasquads in their own ballparks for the past two weeks, Saturday stood as an important mile marker as baseball tries to start a shortened 60-game season next Thursday amid a pandemic. By Sports Writer Jake Seiner. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

GLF--MEMORIAL — Jon Rahm shows in the Memorial why he’s one of the most explosive players in golf. With his clubs. A back nine that capped off what he considers one of the best rounds of his careers gave Rahm a 4-under 68, turned a four-shot deficit into a four-shot lead and put the 25-year-old Spaniard on the verge of reaching No. 1 in the world. SENT: 880 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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