AP News Digest 6:20 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-STRANDED AMERICANS, VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK, VIRUS OUTBREAK-RETURNING FROM SEA, VEHICLES SWEPT AWAY, KANYE-WEST-TAYLOR-SWIFT.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — The coronavirus pandemic is taking an increasingly bleak toll in the U.S. and in Europe, producing staggering caseloads in New York and Italy and setting off a desperate scramble to set up thousands of additional hospital beds as the disease notched another grim advance. By Amy Forliti and Frances D'Emilio. SENT: 1,400 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state is scouring the globe for medical supplies and scouting temporary hospital locations in and around New York City. Flights were briefly suspended to New York City-area airports because of staffing issues after an air-traffic control worker tested positive for coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases statewide soared above 11,000. By Michael Hill and Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOMES — Burgeoning coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes in Washington, Illinois, New Jersey and elsewhere are laying bare the industry’s long-running problems, including a struggle to control infections and a staffing crisis that relies on poorly paid aides who can't afford to stay home sick. By Bernard Condon and Candice Choi. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRACTURED AMERICA —America has a history of unifying in trying times and rallying around the president. But after years of deep division, in the earliest, head-spinning days of the pandemic, a fractured electorate largely views Donald Trump's performance through the lens they chose long ago. Now the stakes are higher than ever. By Claire Galofaro and Tamara Lush. SENT: 1,590 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHEN AMERICA CHANGED — Change came to the United States of America during the third week of March in 2020. It did not come all at once, though it came quite rapidly. As had happened in other lands, there was no explosion, no invasion other than a microscopic one that nobody could see. There was no fire, no flood, no famine. There were no barbarians at the gates. By Ted Anthony. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-PRIMARIES IN TURMOIL -- U.S. elections have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. At least 13 states have postponed voting and more delays are possible as health officials warn that social distancing and other measures to contain the virus might be in place for weeks, if not months. The states that have yet to hold their primaries find themselves in a seemingly impossible situation as they look to balance public health concerns with the need to hold elections. By Christina A. Cassidy. SENT: 1,060 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA AID OFFENSIVE — As the fight against a new virus shifts to Europe and beyond, China is supplying millions of masks and other desperately needed items to struggling governments, hoping to build political ties and defuse criticism that it allowed the disease to spread early on. By Ken Moritsugu. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
OBIT-KENNY ROGERS — Kenny Rogers, the smooth, Grammy-winning balladeer who spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” and embraced his persona as “The Gambler” on record and on TV, dies. He was 81. By Kristin Hall. SENT: 1,190 words, photos. With KENNY ROGERS-REACTION — Tanya Tucker, Billy Ray Cyrus, other artists react to Rogers' passing. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — White House officials and congressional leaders race to reach agreement on a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package, hoping for passage in days as the coronavirus sweeps across the country. ``I think we're very close," President Donald Trump says as the federal government seeks to further respond to the economic and health crisis. By Lisa Mascaro, Andrew Taylor and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 990 words, photos. SENT: 1,310 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EMBATTLED CHARITIES — With its global scope and its staying power, the coronavirus outbreak poses unprecedented challenges for charities and nonprofit groups that rely on donations. The American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to the cancellation of nearly 2,700 blood drives. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHURCH FINANCES — As in-person worship services are canceled or downsized amid the coronavirus outbreak, some churches across the U.S. are bracing for a painful drop in weekly contributions and possible cutbacks in programs and staff. By David Crary. SENT: 979 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STRANDED AMERICANS — Tourists are trapped away from their home countries because of the coronavirus. The plight of a Tennessee couple illustrates the desperation they are facing. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RETURNING FROM SEA — Fishermen cut off from the world while out at sea for a month have returned to a cold reality: California and nearly one-third of the United States is all but shuttered because of the virus, leaving them few places to sell their catch. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SUNSHINE WEEK — As concerns about the coronavirus grow, more governments are holding public meetings without the public being present. Governors and state lawmakers have suspended or altered open-meeting requirements to allow elected officials to participate remotely and relegated the public to watching or listening online. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Air raid sirens echoed across Jordan's capital on Saturday to mark the start of a three-day curfew, the latest mass lockdown in the Middle East aimed at containing the coronavirus, which has claimed another 123 lives in Iran, home to the region's worst outbreak. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA — Africa’s cases of the coronavirus rose above 1,000 while two heads of state appeared to defy their own travel restrictions to attend another president’s inauguration. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-HOLIDAY LIGHTS —At a time of great uncertainty, even the seasons seem scrambled. Christmas lights in springtime? Wrapped around a tree trunk in Colorado, fashioned into a heart in Alabama and hung high over Main Street in a New Hampshire town, holiday lights are going back up. As the coronavirus spreads, the displays are providing a bit of emotional and actual brightness. And they're especially easy to enjoy from a safe social distance. SENT: 700 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRIBES - Native American tribes across the country are pressing the federal government for more resources to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. In the meantime, tribal leaders are suspending travel off reservations, closing casinos and hotels, instituting curfews in some places and strongly urging their citizens to protect the elderly. SENT: 1,300 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-REPURPOSING FACTORIES — Factories that crank out cars and trucks are looking into making much-needed ventilators. Distilleries intended for whiskey and rum instead turn out hand sanitizers and disinfectants. And an electronics maker that builds display screens is repurposed for surgical masks. SENT: 880 words, photos, video.
OLY-VIRUS OUTBREAK-OLYMPIC PUSHBACK —U.S. Olympic leaders face a growing rebellion after the USA Track and Field chief addsto the call for a postponement of the Tokyo Games because of the mushrooming coronavirus crisis. SENT: 500 words, photos. WITH: OLY--TOKYO FUTURE-Q&A- A virus grows, as do questions: Will the Tokyo Olympics open? SENT: 850 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-MARKETS --When President Donald Trump speaks, financial markets gyrate and quiver in real time. But that hasn't stopped him from holding forth daily about the coronavirus pandemic and its economic implications without waiting until markets have closed for the day. Over the past seven days, when he held news conferences in midst of trading, his comments haven’t stopped the bleeding. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW ORLEANS — Last week St. Patrick's Day crowds jammed the bars in New Orleans. But now this social city has joined those places shutting down bars, eliminating restaurant dining and banning crowds. Some wonder if the February Mardi Gras celebration — with its large partying crowds — contributed to the spread of the new coronavirus that has sickened many and thrown many out of work. SENT: 850 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-THAILAND — Kickboxing aficionados came from all over Thailand to attend a major Muay Thai match in Bangkok. More than 100 went home unknowingly carrying the coronavirus. SENT: 930 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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KANYE-WEST-TAYLOR-SWIFT — Taylor Swift may have ended her feud with Katy Perry but the one with Kanye West seems simply not to want to die. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EMPTY LANDMARKS -- AP Photos: Virus Outbreak-Empty Landmarks. SENT: 326 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MARATHON MAN — Confined by virus, a Frenchman runs marathon on his balcony. SENT: 440 words.
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FACT CHECK-WEEK -- In recent days, President Donald Trump has held out the prospect that a drug treatment for the coronavirus is at hand. He's said the drug is going to be “available almost immediately.” An AP Fact Check finds no support for that optimism. SENT: 820 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
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NATIONAL
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VEHICLES SWEPT AWAY — The body of a 13-year-old boy has been recovered in a southeastern Indiana creek, the last six people presumed to have drowned when two vehicles were swept off a roadway after torrential rainfall deluged the region’s hill country, authorities say. SENT: 400 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BUSINESS FALLOUT — Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, is temporarily closing its stores and moving to curbside pickup service as it tries to curb the spread of the coronavirus. SENT: 770 words, photos, video, audio.
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HEALTH AND SCIENCE
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MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK-TELEMEDICINE Q&A — Got a worrisome rash? You can still see a doctor if you can't leave home during the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. public health officials, hospitals and insurance companies are pushing people to try telemedicine for their allergies, earaches and other minor problems and skip the doctor's office or clinic. SENT: 930 words, photo.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ICONIC EATERIES — New York City's most iconic eateries have been through a lot over the years, but the coronavirus pandemic is like nothing they've seen before. Places like Peter Luger's, Junior's, Tom's Restaurant and Katz's Delicatessen worry about the staff they've let go and whether they'll survive the crisis. SENT: 885 words, photos, video.
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BKN--NBA-SILVER — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is constantly looking at financial numbers and projections. Like the rest of a world dealing with the seismic effects of a pandemic, he isn’t uncertain how bad things will get. But he is sure of this: “It’s not a pretty picture.” By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 800 words, photos.
FBN--FREE AGENCY-WAITING GAME - Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and Jadeveon Clowney knew immediately where they would be playing coming out of college -- they were No. 1 overall draft picks, Now, as free agents, things are moving much more slowly. By Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow. SENT: 750 words, photos.
BKC--NCAA-BIGGEST UPSETS -- North Carolina State's upset of Houston on Lorenzo Charles' buzzer-beating dunk for the 1983 NCAA championship still resonates after nearly four decades. Other riveting upsets: Villanova over Georgetown for the 1985 title; UMBC, a No. 16 seed, jolting Virginia in 2018. By Basketball Writer Aaron Beard. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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