AP News Digest 6 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-ENERGY DECLINE, NBA RESTART-RACIAL JUSTICE, VIRUS OUTBREAK-GUATEMALA-UNIDENTIFIED DEAD, VIRUS OUTBREAK-VETERANS AFFAIRS, WHITE HOUSE RENOVATIONS, COLLEGE ADMISSIONS-BRIBERY, FLINT WATER, UNITED STATES-EUROPE-HOLOCAUST, BULGARIA-PROTESTS, FEDERAL RESERVE, MARS-NASA, MARLINS-VIRUS.
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ONLY ON AP
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RACING FOR A REMEDY-SAVING LIVES IN THE DARK — Amid the chaos of the pandemic’s early days, doctors who faced the first coronavirus onslaught reached across oceans and language barriers in an unprecedented effort to advise colleagues trying to save lives in the dark. With no playbook to follow and no time to wait for research, YouTube videos describing autopsy findings and X-rays swapped on Twitter and WhatsApp spontaneously filled the gap. By Lauran Neergaard and Nicole Winfield. SENT: 2,100 words, photos, video. Abridged version also available.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — As the world races to find a vaccine and a treatment for COVID-19, there is seemingly no antidote in sight for the burgeoning outbreak of coronavirus conspiracy theories, hoaxes, anti-mask myths and sham cures. Experts worry the torrent of bad information is dangerously undermining efforts to slow the virus, whose death toll in the U.S. hit 150,000 Wednesday, by far the highest in the world. By David Klepper. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — Federal agents who have been guarding the U.S. courthouse during violent protests in downtown Portland, Oregon, will begin withdrawing in the next 24 hours, Gov. Kate Brown says, though Trump administration officials say some will remain in the building and the entire contingent will stay in the city on standby. By Gillian Flaccus, Andrew Selsky and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. With RACIAL INJUSTICE-PROTEST BANS — Federal court to review “protest bans" in Portland arrests. SENT: 800 words, photos.
CONGRESS-BIG TECH-CEOS — Fending off accusations of stifling competition, four Big Tech CEOs — Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai of Google and Tim Cook of Apple — are answering for their companies’ practices before Congress as a House panel caps its yearlong investigation of market dominance in the industry. By Business Writer Marcy Gordon. SENT: 830 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — President Donald Trump dismisses Democratic demands for aid to cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashes out at Republican allies as talks stalemate at the Capitol over aid for millions of Americans. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 900 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 950 words by 8 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ENERGY DECLINE — U.S. energy consumption plummeted to its lowest level in more than 30 years this spring as the nation’s economy largely shut down because of the coronavirus, officials say. The drop was driven by less demand for coal that is burned for electricity and oil that’s refined into gasoline and jet fuel. By Matthew Brown. SENT: 420 words, photos.
NBA RESTART-RACIAL JUSTICE — With the return of NBA basketball, players and coaches are determined to ensure they use this opportunity and their platform to make their voices heard at a time when the demand for racial equality is as loud as it has been in generations. The season resumes with two games Thursday night. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 970 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN-JUDD — A federal appeals court revives Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein. SENT: 550 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-KANYE WEST — Kanye West’s petition to appear on New Jersey’s ballot as a presidential candidate contains incomplete signatures and others that appear written with very similar handwriting, according to a complaint. SENT: 410 words, photo.
BUFFALO SOLDIERS MUSEUM-VANDALIZED — A museum in Houston honoring the nation’s Black Buffalo Soldiers has been vandalized with graffiti, including with a symbol that appears to be a swastika. SENT: 200 words.
PEOPLE-TRACY MORGAN — Tracy Morgan and his wife of five years are ending their marriage. SENT: 110 words, photo.
MUSIC-BURT BACHARACH — Composer Burt Bacharach is enjoying a burst of creativity at age 92, thanks to his collaboration with Nashville singer-songwriter Daniel Tashian. SENT: 850 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESSMAN — Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, who has shunned masks on Capitol Hill, tests positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 980 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GUATEMALA-UNIDENTIFIED DEAD — Guatemalan hospitals say they have had to bury dozens of COVID-19 victims who have never been identified. SENT: 560 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VETERANS AFFAIRS — Big gaps in federal oversight of long-term care facilities for aging veterans may have contributed to rampant coronavirus infections and more than 200 deaths at state-run homes, according to a congressional watchdog agency. SENT: 960 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOME LOVE STORY — Can I get a job? Wife tries it all for nursing home reunion. SENT: 580 words, photos.
A separate wire advisory has been sent outlining the AP's complete coronavirus coverage.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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UNITED STATES-GERMANY-TROOPS — Spurred by President Trump’s demand to pull troops out of Germany, the Pentagon says it plans to bring about 6,400 forces home and shift about 5,600 to other countries in Europe. SENT: 970 words, photos.
JOHN LEWIS — John Lewis is lauded as a warrior and hero during a ceremony at the Georgia Capitol, where the civil rights icon who represented much of Atlanta in Congress is lying in repose in one of the last memorials before he is buried. SENT: 550 words, video, photos.
TRUMP-TEXAS — President Trump takes digs at “crazy left radical Democrats” on a fundraising trip to the fracking fields of west Texas, claiming that a Democratic administration would destroy the country’s suburbs. SENT: 900 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,000 words by 7 p.m.
WHITE HOUSE RENOVATIONS — The Trump administration wants $377 million in the next coronavirus relief bill for a long-delayed modernization of the West Wing. SENT: 420 words, photos.
2020 CENSUS — U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham testifies that he wasn’t informed ahead of time about President Trump’s order seeking to exclude people in the U.S. illegally from the process of redrawing congressional districts. SENT: 830 words, photos.
RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION — U.S. officials say Russian intelligence officers are spreading disinformation about the pandemic through English-language websites. SENT: 920 words, photos.
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TRAIN DERAILMENT-ARIZONA — A freight train traveling on a bridge that spans a lake in a Phoenix suburb derails, setting the bridge ablaze and partly collapsing the structure, officials say. SENT: 150 words, photos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER — Heavy rain pummels the eastern Caribbean as a weather system headed to Puerto Rico and other islands is poised to develop into a tropical storm and unleash flooding and landslides. SENT: 460 words, photos.
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS-BRIBERY — The founder of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm is sentenced to six months behind bars for paying about $450,000 in bribes to boost his two daughters’ entrance exam scores and get one of them into Georgetown University as a bogus tennis recruit. SENT: 540 words, photo.
FLINT WATER — Residents of Flint, Michigan, whose health and homes were harmed by lead-contaminated water score a legal milestone. SENT: 370 words, photo.
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CHINA HONG KONG — Hong Kong police make their first major arrests under a new national security law. SENT: 600 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-EUROPE-HOLOCAUST — The United States hits Poland, others in Europe over Holocaust claims. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 770 words, photo. With FACEBOOK-HOLOCAUST DENIAL — Holocaust survivors urge Facebook to remove denial posts. SENT: 970 words, photos.
SAUDI-HAJJ — Muslim pilgrims, donning face masks and moving in small groups after days in isolation, begin arriving to Islam’s holiest site in Mecca. SENT: 890 words, photos.
BULGARIA-PROTESTS — Tens of thousands of people take to the streets in cities across Bulgaria to demand the resignation of the government and the chief prosecutor. SENT: 260 words.
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FEDERAL RESERVE — The Federal Reserve expresses concern that the pandemic will act as a drag on the economy and says it plans to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate pegged near zero. SENT: 910 words, photos. With ECONOMY-GDP — The government on Thursday will issue its first estimate of U.S. economic activity for the April-June quarter. SENT: 890 words, photo.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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MARS-NASA — The summer’s third and final mission to Mars — featuring NASA’s most elaborate life-hunting rover — is on the verge of liftoff. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 250 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BROADWAY-SIDE HUSTLES — While Broadway stages remain dark, many workers are finding ways to keep the lights on at home with side hustles — teaching dance, for instance. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 1,160 words, photos. Abridged version also available.
FRANCE-VAN GOGH — The exact location where Dutch master Vincent van Gogh painted his last work has been pinpointed after being hidden in plain view for years. SENT: 760 words, photos.
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MARLINS-VIRUS — The Miami Marlins, one of the most under-the-radar teams in sports, have making news lately — all of it bad. By Sports Writer Steven Wine. UPCOMING: 600 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.