AP News Digest 7 a.m.
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, 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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AMERICA PROTESTS — The rapidly unfolding movement to pull down Confederate monuments around the U.S. in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police has extended to statues of slave traders, imperialists, conquerors and explorers around the world, including Christopher Columbus, Cecil Rhodes and Belgium’s King Leopold II. By Sarah Rankin and David Crary. SENT: 1,300 words, photos, videos. With NEW ZEALAND-STATUE REMOVED — New Zealand city removes statue of its “murderous" namesake. With AMERICA PROTESTS-THE LATEST.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA-LAST RITES — The coronavirus pandemic is leaving India’s morgues piling up with the dead and graveyards and crematoriums overwhelmed. Like elsewhere in the world, the virus has made honoring the dead in New Delhi a hurried affair, largely devoid of the rituals that give it meaning for mourners. By Sheikh Saaliq. SENT: 800 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — India’s virus caseload now fourth highest in world.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BLOOD OF THE RECOVERED — Survivors of COVID-19 are donating their blood plasma in droves in hopes it helps other patients recover from the coronavirus. And while the jury’s still out, now scientists are testing if the donations might also prevent infection in the first place. By Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
AMERICAN PROTESTS-POLICE TRAINING — With calls growing for police reforms across the U.S., instructors and researchers say officers lack sufficient training on how and when to use force. That leaves them unprepared to handle tense situations. Better training can’t fix all the issues facing the nation’s police departments, but experts believe it would have a big impact. By Martha Bellisle. SENT: 1,090 words, photos, video. Also see MORE ON AMERICA PROTESTS below.
Full coverage of America Protests on AP News.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHITE HOUSE — Three months after President Donald Trump bowed to the realities of a pandemic, he is back to business as usual — even as coronavirus cases are on the upswing in many parts of the country. White House aides now routinely flout internal rules requiring face masks. The president’s campaign is again scheduling mass arena rallies. And Trump is back to spending summer weekends at his New Jersey golf club. By Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller. SENT: 990 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INVISIBLE ARMY — Public health officials, who usually work behind the scenes managing everything from immunizations to water quality inspections, have gone center stage during COVID-19. Their jobs have also become politicized. At least 26 high-ranking state and local health leaders across 13 states have resigned, retired or been fired over the past few weeks — all amid the chronic staffing and funding shortages bedeviling public health. By Michelle R. Smith, Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester. UPCOMING: 1,770 words by 8 a.m., photos. Also see MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK below.
Full coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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AFRICA-COLONIAL STATUES — Statues honoring leaders of colonial rule have been pulled down over the years in Africa after countries won independence or newer generations said racist relics had to go. SENT: 810 words, photos.
GEORGE FLOYD-INVESTIGATION-ELLISON — Taking over as lead prosecutor in George Floyd’s death is giving Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison a national platform to talk about race in America. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, video.
AMERICA PROTESTS-KENTUCKY-BREONNA TAYLOR — Louisville, Kentucky, bans the use of controversial “no-knock” warrants and named the new ordinance for Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by officers who burst into her home. SENT: 570 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-FRANCE — French police defy a ban on mass gatherings to protest what they see as a lack of government support, marching shoulder to shoulder on the Champs-Elysees to show their anger against new limits on arrest tactics and criticism of racism in their ranks. SENT: 560 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-TRUMP-JUNETEENTH — Some black leaders are condemning Trump’s chosen date and place — June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma — to resume his giant campaign rallies, saying it’s disrespectful to hold the event on the day marking the end of slavery in the U.S. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
AMERICA-PROTESTS-FRANCE — French police march through central Paris to protest what they see as a lack of government support, choosing the famed Champs-Elysees avenue that was scene to violent clashes with protesters just a few months ago to protest a new ban on chokeholds and limits to what they can do during arrests. SENT: 450 words, photo.
AMERICA-PROTESTS-SAN-FRANCISCO-POLICE — San Francisco officers will stop responding to non-criminal activities such as disputes between neighbors, reports about homeless people and school discipline interventions as part of a police reform plan the mayor announced. SENT: 700 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-BRITAIN — Authorities in London boarded up a war memorial and a statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill ahead of expected rival demonstrations by anti-racism and far-right protesters, as the city’s mayor urges protesters to stay home because of the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 310 words, photos.
A separate wire advisory has been sent detailing the AP's complete coverage of the protests.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA REOPENING — California’s tourism industry is gearing back up with the state giving counties the green light to allow hotels, zoos, aquariums, wine tasting rooms and museums to reopen. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FARMWORKERS TOWN — Among the numerous rural areas across the U.S. that have recently experienced coronavirus outbreaks are migrant farmworker communities in Florida. SENT: 930 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-AVIATION — Three major airlines launch legal action against the British government, describing the country’s plan to quarantine most incoming travelers as “flawed.’’ SENT: 490 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY INVESTIGATION — Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte is being questioned by prosecutors investigating the lack of a coronavirus lockdown of two towns in Lombardy’s Bergamo province that turned into one of the hardest-hit areas of the country’s outbreak. SENT: 670 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-US-FOREIGN-AID — More than two dozen international aid organizations have told the U.S. government they are “increasingly alarmed” that “little to no U.S. humanitarian assistance has reached those on the front lines” of the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of new cases picks up speed in some of the world’s most fragile regions. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL POVERTY — Global poverty is set to rise above 1 billion people once again as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which is reducing the income of the world’s poorest by $500 million a day, according to new research. SENT: 450 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONE-GOOD-THING-MASK-WINDOWS — Masks with plastic windows for hearing people to wear are allowing lip readers to see mouths move. SENT: 630 words, photos, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MIGRANT-PORTRAITS-PHOTO-GALLERY — Venezuelan migrants make long trek back home. SENT: 360 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ARGENTINE-CRISIS — The percentage of Argentines in poverty is supposed to reach as high as 45% this year as the coronavirus pandemic worsens already grave economic problems. SENT: 580 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-THAILAND — Thailand announces it is easing some restrictions that were imposed to fight the spread of the coronavirus, including allowing some schools to reopen and scrapping a curfew. SENT: 430 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOMALIA — The al-Qaida-linked extremist group in Somalia has unveiled a COVID-19 isolation and care facility, a sign that the group is taking seriously the pandemic that continues to spread in the fragile country. SENT: 230 words.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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AFGHANISTAN — Official: Bomb explodes in Kabul mosque, at least 4 killed. SENT: 360 words, photos.
HONG-KONG-ZOOM — Zoom caught in China censorship crossfire as meetings foiled. SENT: 480 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA-PANGOLIN — Pangolin released into wild under China’s new protections. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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MILLEY — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff crafted a low public profile in his first eight months on the job, but that changed after Gen. Mark Milley strolled with Trump and a presidential entourage across Lafayette Square on June 1, a move he now regrets. SENT: 980 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-CHINA-NAVY — For the first time in nearly three years, three American aircraft carriers are patrolling the Indo-Pacific waters, a massive show of naval force in a region roiled by spiking tensions between the U.S. and China and a sign that the Navy has bounced back from the worst days of the coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 980 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-VOTING — The chaos that plagued Georgia’s primary this week is raising concerns about a potential broader failure of the nation’s patchwork election system that political leaders and elections experts say could undermine the presidential contest. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — Joe Biden is adopting an increasingly aggressive stance as he looks to break out of a monthslong campaign freeze imposed by the coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 990 words, photos.
ELECTION-2020-REPUBLICAN-CONVENTION — Jacksonville, Florida, has been selected to host the celebration marking Trump’s acceptance of his party’s nomination for reelection. SENT: 650 words, photos.
STATE DEPARTMENT WATCHDOG — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top deputy are rejecting allegations that the State Department’s independent watchdog was fired for investigating alleged impropriety by Pompeo and his wife. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 780 words, photo.
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CALIFORNIA-DEPUTY SHOT — A man recently released from jail in Central California was shot and killed at the end of a 36-hour hunt that followed the shooting of a sheriff’s deputy and other attacks that wounded three other law enforcement officers. SENT: 840 words, photos.
LOS-ANGELES-HOMELESS — The number of homeless people counted across Los Angeles County jumped 12.7% over the past year to more than 66,400 and authorities fear that figure will spike again once the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic is felt. SENT: 930 words, photos.
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HONG KONG-PROTESTS-POLARIZED CITY — Protesters in Hong Kong got its government to withdraw extradition legislation last year, but now they’re getting a more dreaded national security law. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. With HONG KONG-PROTESTS — Hong Kong protest marks anniversary of violent police clash; HONG KONG-PROTESTS-TIMELINE.
SYRIA-ECONOMIC MELTDOWN — The toughest U.S. sanctions yet on Syria start to come into effect next week, and they are likely to hit hard on a country whose economy is already melting down. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — The United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the U.S. warns Israel against annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank, saying the move would “upend” Israel’s efforts to improve ties with Arab countries. SENT: 650 words, photo.
INTERNATIONAL COURT-UNITED STATES — The International Criminal Court has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to authorize sanctions against court staff, saying it amounted to “an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings.” SENT: 590 words, photos.
LEBANON-PROTESTS — Lebanon’s prime minister holds an emergency Cabinet meeting after a night of raging protests that saw demonstrators shut down roads across the country with burning tires in renewed protests spurred by a plunging national currency. SENT: 460 words, photos.
PHILIPPINES-ANTI-TERROR BILL — Hundreds of activists in the Philippine capital stage protests against a proposed anti-terror law they say could be used to quash dissent, ignoring police threats that they could be arrested for violating coronavirus restrictions against large public gatherings. SENT: 600 words.
US-NORTH KOREA — North Korea again vows to build up its military force to counter what it perceives as U.S. threats and says there would be little reason for a personal relationship between leader Kim Jong Un and Trump if Washington persists with sanctions and pressure. SENT: 500 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-DIGITAL DIVIDE — World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee says the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates “the gross inequality” of a world where almost half the population is unable to connect to the internet. SENT: 700 words, photo.
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Shares rose in Europe after a day of losses in Asia following Wall Street’s overnight sell-off on worries over a possible “second wave” of coronavirus cases. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 560 words, photos.
BRITAIN-ECONOMY — The British economy has seen nearly two decades worth of growth wiped out as a result of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 670 words, photos. With BREXIT — U.K. set to U-turn on border checks as virus hammers economy.
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OBIT-NANCI RYDER — Nanci Ryder, a powerful Hollywood publicist and co-founder of BWR Public Relations who became close to such stars as Renée Zellweger and Courteney Cox, dies of Lou Gehrig’s disease in Los Angeles. She was 67. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 560 words, photo.
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CHIEFS-VOTER REGISTRATION — The Kansas City Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu, are putting together a voter registration program in response to the social unrest that has gripped the nation. By Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 760 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Richard A. Somma can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Donald E. King (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, Phil Holm (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.