AP News Digest 3 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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RACIAL-INJUSTICE-BLACK STRIKE DAY - Organizers of a national workers strike say tens of thousands are set to walk off the job Monday morning in more than two dozen U.S. cities, to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Dubbed the “Strike for Black Lives,” essential workers such as nursing home employees, janitors and delivery men and women will join fast food, ride-share and airport workers in events targeting corporations and government leaders. Major actions are expected in New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Los Angeles. By Aaron Morrison. SENT: 810 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020 - Just over 100 days before voters decide President Donald Trump’s fate, 2020 has become a tale of two campaigns moving in sharply different directions. Trump just demoted his campaign manager, high-profile supporters are openly questioning his reelection strategy, and voters across the political spectrum are condemning his erratic leadership during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Democrat Joe Biden appears to have consolidated his party’s divergent factions, and has doubled down on an empathetic message of hope and competence. SENT: 1150 words, photos.
TRUMP -- President Donald Trump is refusing to publicly commit to accepting the results of the upcoming White House election, recalling a similar threat he made weeks before the 2016 vote, as he scoffs at polls showing him lagging behind Democrat Joe Biden. Trump says it’s too early to make such an ironclad guarantee. By Aamer Madhani, Colleen Long and Will Weissert. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
EUROPE SUMMIT — A marathon European Union summit has broken up temporarily after four-days of acrimonious haggling over an unprecedented 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund to tackle the crisis. The weary leaders were scheduled to resume the meeting in the afternoon. SENT: 930 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — School districts around the U.S. are grappling with whether to bring students back to classrooms in the fall, and how to keep them and their teachers safe from the coronavirus if they do. Pressure is strong in many areas to reopen classrooms. President Donald Trump has urged schools to return children to classes in the fall, threatening to withhold federal funding if they do not. By Jim Salter and Holly Ramer. SENT: 700 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST (sent).
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFGHANISTAN-HOSPITAL -- The intensive care unit at the Afghan capital’s premier hospital for COVID-19 patients is a medical nightmare — and a stark warning that the country’s war-ravaged health care system is on the verge of collapse. By Tameem Akhgar. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ELECTION 2020-KANYE WEST — Rapper Kanye West used part of his first event since declaring himself a presidential candidate to rant against historical figure Harriet Tubman. SENT: 400 words, photo.
JAPAN-UAE-MARS — A United Arab Emirates spacecraft blasted off to Mars from Japan, starting the Arab world’s first interplanetary trip. SENT: 500 words, photos. Developing.
ROGER STONE-SLUR — Roger Stone, a political operative whose 40-month prison sentence was commuted this month by President Donald Trump, his longtime friend, called a Los Angeles-based Black radio host a “Negro” on the air during a contentious interview.. SENT: 500 words, photo.
WASHINGTON-DC-SHOOTING — Man killed, 8 others wounded in shooting in nation’s capital. SENT: 280 words.
IRAN-EXECUTION - Iran executed a man convicted of providing information to the United States and Israel about a prominent Revolutionary Guard general later killed by a U.S. drone strike, state TV reported on Monday. SENT; 150 words, photo.
MEMORIAL-NICKLAUS — Jack Nicklaus says he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus at the onset of the pandemic and have recovered. SENT: 400 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-EDUCATION CRISIS – Although the pandemic has disrupted education across the globe, the schooling crisis is more acute in Africa. Up to 80% of students don’t have access to the internet and even electricity can be unreliable. But getting students back to school also comes with special challenges. Children in some countries may cram into tiny classrooms by the dozens. UPCOMING by 4 a.m. 850 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-KENTUCKY — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reported 979 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, a one-day high that he said should be a “wake-up call” for the state’s citizens. SENT: 430 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-WORKER-SLEUTHS — Major companies are keeping their employees in the dark on just how prevalent the virus is in their warehouses, stores and meatpacking plants. That has forced workers to become amateur sleuths in their spare time, trying to figure out how many people in their workplaces have tested positive for COVID-19. Unions and advocate groups have taken up the cause, too, creating lists or building online maps of stores where workers can self-report cases they know about. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRENCH GUIANA — France’s most worrisome coronavirus hot spot is on the South American continent, in its former colony of French Guiana. The territory of about 300,000 people, which is still administered by France, has rampant poverty and scarce health care resources. More than 6,500 cases have been recorded in the territory, although officials fear the number of infections is actually much higher. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEXAS — A health official says most of the 85 young children in a South Texas county who are known to have contracted the coronavirus tested positive this month amid a surge in the state. SENT: 660 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEXICAN STORYTELLER — Percibald Garcia recognized that confinement during the coronavirus lockdown is especially tedious for children. So the young Mexican architect decided to read them stories. Almost every day since the beginning of May, the 27-year-old has gone out in an enormous Mexico City apartment complex with his “wandering microphone” to broadcast stories to children who gather at their windows to listen. SENT: 740 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS -- Top Republicans in Congress were expecting to meet Monday with President Donald Trump at the White House on the next COVID-19 aid package as the administration panned more virus testing money and interjected other priorities that could complicate quick passage. By Congressional Corespondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 840 words, photos.
TRUMP-IMMIGRATION -- President Donald Trump is promising new executive action on immigration as he returns to the defining issue of his administration. But Trump has offered contradictory and confusing statements about his plans in recent days. By Jill Colvin and Astrid Galavan. SENT: 740 words, photos.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS — Even with a fresh victory on behalf of international student access, U.S. universities fear they’re losing a broader battle over the nation’s reputation as place that embraces and fosters the world’s best scholars. University leaders say the administration’s attempts to curb immigration have sent students a message that they aren’t welcome here. By Education Writer Collin Binkley. SENT: 960 words, photos. This story is the Monday Spotlight.
FACT CHECK-WEEK -- President Donald Trump appears to be living in an alternate reality when it comes to the COVID-19 threat. Over the weekend, he clung to the misguided notion that the virus will just “disappear” even as his top science experts and GOP allies bluntly say otherwise.Trump also continued to wrongly insist that anyone who wants a coronavirus test is getting one. Hope Yen, Stephen Braun and Calvin Woodward. SENT: 3,180 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on AP Newsroom.
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SAUDI-KING-HEALTH - Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has been admitted to a hospital in the capital, Riyadh, for medical tests due to inflammation of the gallbladder, the kingdom’s Royal Court said Monday in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. SENT: 490 words, photos.
NORTH KOREA-HOSPITAL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has berated construction managers for unspecified problems in building a showpiece hospital in Pyongyang. The comments reported in state media may indicate the country is struggling to secure supplies amid U.S.-led sanctions and a coronavirus lockdown. SENT: 330 words, photos.
ISRAEL-NETANYAHU TRIAL — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial will resume in earnest in January, with thrice-weekly evidentiary hearings set to begin then, a Jerusalem court has decided. SENT: 640 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 the coronavirus. SENT: 720 words, photos. With: SYRIA — An explosion rocked a rebel-held area in northern Syria across the border from Turkey, killing at least five people and wounding dozens, opposition activists and Turkish state media report. SENT: 300 words.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — Top leaders in the U.S. House said they were “alarmed” by the Trump administration’s tactics against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and other cities, including Washington, D.C., and called on federal inspectors general investigate. SENT: 930 words, photos.
JUDGE’S-SON-SLAIN — New Jersey’s chief district judge says a gunman posing as a delivery driver shot and killed the 20-year-old son of a federal judge in New Jersey and shot and injured her husband Sunday at the family home. SENT: 410 words.
ELECTRIC TRUCKS — A coalition of states is following California’s lead in setting goals to jump-start a transition to electric-powered trucks, vans and buses. SENT: 650 words.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SURGERY DEATH-KIDS, HFR -- Black children were more likely than whites to die after common surgeries, a study found, echoing evidence seen in adults. SENT: 300 words, photos.
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GLF--MEMORIAL — Jon Rahm is No. 1 in the world with his victory in the Memorial on a Sunday with far more drama than he would have liked. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 900 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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