AP News Digest 7 a.m.
Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. 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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R-KELLY — R&B singer R. Kelly to enter plea to reworked federal charges in Chicago. SENT: 310 words, photo. UPCOMING: Hearing at 11 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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CHINA-UIGHURS-FORCED-TO-WORK — In a lively Muslim quarter of Nanchang city, a sprawling Chinese factory turns out computer screens, cameras and fingerprint scanners for a supplier to international tech giants such as Apple and Lenovo. The mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs who labor in the factory are isolated within a walled compound that is fortified with security cameras and guards at the entrance. Their forays out are limited to rare chaperoned trips, they are not allowed to worship or cover their heads, and they must attend special classes in the evenings, according to former and current workers and shopkeepers in the area. By Dake Kang and Yanan Wang. SENT: 2,650 words, photos. With abridged.
ELECTION 2020-BLACK VOTERS — Black voters propel Joe Biden to huge victories in the South on Super Tuesday, giving his campaign a momentous boost and cementing his front-runner status in the Democratic presidential race. According to AP VoteCast surveys, black voters strongly aligned behind Biden over other candidates. By Kat Stafford and Hannah Fingerhut. SENT: 870 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — People around the world brace for months of disruptions from the new virus as its unrelenting spread brings ballooning infections, economic fallout and sweeping containment measures. By National Writer Matt Sedensky. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST; VIRUS-OUTBREAK-WHAT'S-HAPPENING.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-US — Federal authorities announce an investigation of the Seattle-area nursing home at the center of an outbreak of the new coronavirus as the U.S. death toll climbs to 11, including the first fatality outside Washington state. By Gene Johnson, Rachel La Corte and Martha Bellisle. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FEELINGS OF RISK — Emotion and other psychological factors determine how much people worry about catching the coronavirus. Experts say judgment isn't just a rational analysis, and the outbreak presents “hot buttons” that bump up our perceptions of the risk. These include its novelty and a sense that neither authorities nor individuals can control its spread. But there are ways that people can minimize the risk of overreaction. One of them is not to constantly scour the internet for information. By Science Writer Malcolm Ritter. SENT: 780 words, photos, video. Also see MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK below.
Find more all-format coverage on the coronavirus outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — Joe Biden has hit his stride and found his voice after wins in South Carolina and across Democrats' Super Tuesday presidential primary map. The whispering, sometimes meandering former vice president who finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire has been replaced by a confident, scrappy politician promising to unite the Democratic Party and defeat Donald Trump. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,190 words, photos, video. With ELECTION 2020 — Sanders refocusing his campaign after Biden's super Tuesday. With ELECTION 2020-THE LATEST. Also see MORE ON 2020 ELECTION below.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
SYRIA-SUMMIT — The Turkish and Russian presidents sit down for talks in Moscow aimed at ending hostilities in northwestern Syria involving their forces along with proxies that threaten to pit Turkey against Russia in a direct military conflict. By Vladimir Isachenkov. SENT: 910 words, photos. With SYRIA — Airstrike in northwest Syria kills 15 ahead of Moscow summit.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Shares in Europe and Asia advance, tracking an overnight surge on Wall Street as governments and central banks take more aggressive measures to fight the virus outbreak and its effects on the economy. By Business Writer Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-RELIGION — A rising number of churches across the United States are making changes in response to the coronavirus outbreak, including a decision by numerous Catholic dioceses to suspend the serving of wine during Communion. By National Writer David Crary. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CHINA-BACK-TO-WORK — Factories in China that make the world's smartphones, toys and other consumer goods are trying to protect their employees from a virus outbreak as they resume production. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran will set up checkpoints to limit travel between major cities and urges citizens to reduce their use of paper money to fight a spreading outbreak of the new coronavirus, which has killed at least 107 people across the Islamic Republic. SENT: 560 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AIR TRAVEL — The International Air Transport Association says the virus outbreak that began in China could cost airlines as much as $113 billion in lost revenue due to the collapse of air travel. SENT: 590 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — The House easily passes an $8.3 billion measure to battle the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., sending the bill to the Senate. SENT: 850 words, photos. UPCOMING: 900 words after Senate vote, time uncertain.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PETS — Pet cats and dogs cannot pass the new coronavirus on to humans, but they can test positive for low levels of the pathogen if they catch it from their owners. SENT: 360 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VENICE-PHOTO-GALLERY — Venice a shell of itself as tourists flee virus. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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MORE ON 2020 ELECTION
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ELECTION 2020-MONEY — Biden barely had enough money to air television ads in critical Super Tuesday battlegrounds, but he won't have that problem again. SENT: 850 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP — Super Tuesday leaves the Democrats with a pair of front-runners whom President Donald Trump believes he can define and defeat, but there are still some private worries in the White House. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-SENATE-MONTANA — Democrat Steve Bullock, the Montana governor who has insisted he won’t run for the Senate, is poised to do just that, according to two people familiar with his plans. By Matt Volz and Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 450 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-FILM-SXSW — Netflix cancels SXSW screenings, events amid virus concerns. SENT: 140 words, photo.
VATICAN-US BISHOP — Pope Francis names Savanna bishop Hartmayer archbishop of Atlanta. SENT: 130 words.
RAYS-THREATS — Man charged with threatening Rays players, other athletes. SENT: 460 words.
TRUMP-MEDAL OF FREEDOM — Trump to present Medal of Freedom to retired general. SENT: 130 words, photo.
FRANCE-TRAIN-DERAILS — High-speed train derails in eastern France; 21 injured. SENT: 230 words.
FUNERAL SHOOTING — Tulare, California police: Six shot, one killed after funeral. SENT: 120 words.
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SEVERE WEATHER-TENNESSEE — In the Tennessee community hardest hit by devastating tornadoes, the few houses still standing have become beacons of hope. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.
ALABAMA EXECUTION — Alabama is set to execute an inmate for the murders of three police officers who were shot by another man in a hail of gunfire at a suspected crack house in 2004. SENT: 520 words, photos.
IMMIGRATION-REMAIN-IN-MEXICO — In the latest twist on a key Trump administration immigration policy, a federal appeals court says it will prevent the government from making asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings starting next week unless the Supreme Court steps in sooner. SENT: 530 words, photos.
MADOFF-FRAUD — Bernard Madoff should not be released early from prison even if kidney disease kills him within months, prosecutors say as they cite the scope and magnitude of his decades-long Ponzi scheme that cost thousands of investors billions of dollars. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL COURT-AFGHANISTAN — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court give the green light for prosecutors to open an investigation targeting the Taliban, Afghan forces and U.S. military and CIA personnel for war crimes and crimes against humanity. SENT: 890 words, photos. With UNITED STATES-AFGHANISTAN — Flare-up in Afghan violence shows fragility of peace deal.
EUROPE-MIGRANTS — With five years to prepare for a new migrant influx at the Turkey-Greece border, the European Union should have been ready for this. SENT: 790 words, photos. With TURKEY-GREECE — Turkey deploying special forces to border amid migrant surge.
OBIT-PEREZ DE CUELLAR — Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the two-term U.N. secretary-general who brokered a historic cease-fire between Iran and Iraq in 1988 and who in later life came out of retirement to help re-establish democracy in his Peruvian homeland, has died. He was 100. SENT: 1,550 words, photo.
MIDEAST-CRISIS FEARS — The head of the U.N.'s food aid agency warns of “absolute devastation” in Africa and parts of the Middle East in coming months if wealthier nations grappling with an economic downturn linked to the new coronavirus don't step up aid efforts in countries in need. SENT: 450 words.
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BRITAIN-FLYBE — The struggling British airline Flybe collapses amid drops in demand caused by the new coronavirus, leaving passengers stranded and threatening the viability of regional airports across the country. SENT: 570 words, photos.
OPEC-MEETING — The oil-producing countries of the OPEC cartel are considering slashing output to contain a price plunge intensified by the virus outbreak. SENT: 340 words, photos.
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CROUCH'S AVALANCHE COMEBACK — Snowboarder Brock Crouch, swept away in an avalanche two years ago and severely injured, is dreaming of making the U.S. slopestyle squad for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. By Sports Writer Pat Graham. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
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