AP News Digest 6:25 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.
———————————————
NEW & DEVELOPING
———————————————
Adds: VENEZUELA-AMERICAN MERCENARY, NKOREA-KIM, CUBAN EMBASSY SHOOTING,
NOT-REAL-NEWS.
Eds: ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-DELAWARE PAPERS, listed on the 2 p.m. digest, will not move this cycle.
—————————
ONLY ON AP
—————————
VENEZUELA-AMERICAN MERCENARY — Some 300 heavily armed volunteers planned to sneak into Venezuela and ignite a popular rebellion that would end in President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest. But instead the ringleader of the plot is jailed in the U.S. on narcotics charges and his former Green Beret adviser is facing questions about his visits to secret training camps in Colombia. By Joshua Goodman. SENT: 3,030 words, photos.
-------------------
-------------------
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-ALLEGATIONS — Joe Biden is denying a former staffer’s allegation of sexual assault, saying it “never, never happened.” Former staffer Tara Reade says Biden assaulted her during the 1990s and says she filed a complaint in 1993. Biden says he doesn’t believe any record of a complaint exists. By Bill Barrow and Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 980 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK- HIGHER EDUCATION — The dramatic and widespread fallout from the COVID-19 virus has thrown the U.S. higher education system into a state of turmoil with fears that it could transform into an existential moment for the time-honored American tradition of high school graduates heading off to college. By Alan Clendenning and Sharon Cohen, SENT: 1,190 words, photos. An Abridged version of 800 words is available.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK — Millions of workers worldwide marked international labor day trapped between hunger and fear — struggling without jobs or worried they don’t have enough protections against the coronavirus as more countries and states reopen for business. Beijing’s Forbidden City, the imperial palace turned museum that is one of China’s biggest tourist attractions, started welcoming visitors again, and Bangladesh began reopening factories. By Elena Becatoros, Angela Charlton and Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 872 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST, VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHAT'S HAPPENING.
NKOREA-KIM — North Korean state media says leader Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in 20 days amid rumors about his health. SENT: 150 words, photo. UPCOMING: Developing.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL — Brazil is emerging as Latin America’s coronavirus epicenter with more than 5,900 deaths. The country’s funeral home association warns that coffins are running out in the hard-hit Amazon city of Manaus. The association wants the government to fly a load of coffins there because the remote city of about 2 million people has no paved roads connecting it to the rest of the country. By Diane Jeantet and Alan Clendenning. SENT: 925 words, photos.
TRUMP-PRESS SECRETARY — President Donald Trump’s new spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, has made her debut at the first White House briefing by a press secretary in more than a year. By Jill Colvin and Deb Riechmann. SENT: 860 words, photos, video.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-FRONT-LINE-WORKERS — As America tentatively emerges from weeks of lockdowns, the pandemic has taken its toll on workers who have been on the front lines all along. They have been packing and delivering supplies, caring for the sick and elderly, and keeping streets and buildings clean. SENT: 1,500 words, photos.
--------------------------------————————
-----------------------------——————————
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DEA THEFTS — A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a telecommunications specialist are accused of stealing personal protective equipment, toilet paper and other supplies from an agency warehouse in South Florida amid shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. By Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustian. SENT: 480 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RENT DUE AGAIN — The rent is due again for more than 30 million people around the U.S. who have filed for unemployment benefits after losing work in the coronavirus pandemic. Federal data released this week show the U.S. economy contracted at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the pandemic put the nation into a recession. Economists expect January-March to be just a taste of the widespread pain being recorded for April-June. By Anita Snow. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PEDIATRIC PATIENT — The parents of a 12-year-old girl from the New Orleans area are overjoyed that their daughter has recovered from a near-death coronavirus infection. Juliet Daly had barely made it to the hospital before she had a heart attack. She was eventually airlifted to another hospital and put on a ventilator for four days. Her doctor said children often don’t have the same symptoms as adults with coronavirus infections. SENT: 645 words, photos.
UNEMPLOYED NEW YORK-RESTAURANTS -- The restrictions on businesses from the coronavirus have thrown New York City’s vibrant restaurant culture into turmoil. Thousands of servers, cooks and other employees are now out of work. Some say they don’t plan on going back when the restrictions lift, questioning how restaurant workers will be able to make money under social distancing rules. SENT: 940 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-KILLING HOGS — As the coronavirus pandemic continues to force the closure of meatpacking plants across the country, hog farmers have had to respond quickly to a rapidly growing backlog of animals in their barns by killing and disposing of pigs. SENT: 885 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEAT PLANTS —A South Dakota pork processing plant will partially reopen Monday after shuttering for more than two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak that infected hundreds of employees, a union that represents plant workers said. SENT: 530 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-BANGKOK HAIRDRESSER — A hairdresser in Bangkok is providing free haircut to medical workers who are in the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19 disease. SENT: 535 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-OUR-MAJESTIC-WORLD-PHOTO-GALLERY — For weeks in some places, months in others, swaths of humanity have zipped themselves into hibernation, trying to ride out a viral storm that has killed some and sickened many more. As humans have disappeared into that coronavirus cocoon, though, other things have asserted themselves. Animals, for one. And emptiness. And, counterintuitively, the majesty of some of the structures that humans have created for themselves. SENT: 510 words, photos.
GROUND GAME — AP’s coronavirus podcast, “Ground Game: Inside the Outbreak,” today looks at the latest from the White House, including the messages Trump and Pence are trying to send as they begin to venture out amid easing lockdown measures. Listen to the podcast after 3 p.m. at https://appodcasts.com/category/ground-game/. Embed code is available on AP Coverage Plan.
A separate advisory has been sent outlining AP’s complete coronavirus coverage.
--------------------------------———————
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
--------------------------------———————
NOT-REAL-NEWS — This week’s Not Real News exposes several falsehoods spreading online. Among them a photo said to show Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden kissing a young girl. It isn’t Biden but it is a president. SENT: 2,170 words, photos.
DOG BREEDS — Labrador retrievers remain the nation’s most popular purebreds for a record-extending 29th year. SENT: 750 words, photos.
OBIT TONY ALLEN — Pioneering drummer Tony Allen, the driver of the Afrobeat sound, has died at age 79. SENT: 190 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COMMUNITY FUNERAL — A neighborhood in Brooklyn has come together to help bury a stranger. SENT: 490 words, photos, video.
GENERAL MOTORS-IMPALA AIR BAGS — U.S. auto safety investigators have found no apparent defect with the passenger air bag seat sensors in thousands of older General Motors sedans. SENT: 440 words.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
CUBAN EMBASSY SHOOTING — A Cuban man who sought asylum in the U.S. sprayed nearly three dozen rounds into the front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington using an AK-47 rifle because, he told police, he wanted to “get them before they could get him.” By Michael Balsamo and Ben Fox. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 7 p.m.
WHITE HOUSE-DOCTOR INVESTIGATION — Jerome Corsi, a conspiracy theorist who was a target in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, says the Justice Department is now scrutinizing his communications with a doctor who has touted an anti-malaria drug as a treatment for the new coronavirus. By Michael Balsamo and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 770 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — The Senate is set to convene Monday, but the Capitol Physician says there’s no way to quickly test the 100 senators and staff for the coronavirus. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 710 words, photos, video.
SUPREME COURT-TELEPHONE ARGUMENTS-5 THINGS — The Supreme Court will hear arguments this month by telephone for the first time, and audio of the arguments will be broadcast live by the news media, another first. By Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko. SENT: 810 words, photos.
CONGRESS-ANTITRUST-BEZOS — House lawmakers investigating the market dominance of Big Tech are asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify to address possible misleading statements by the company on its competition practices. SENT: 400 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WAGE GARNISHMENT — A new lawsuit accuses the U.S. Education Department of garnishing wages from workers who are behind on student loan payments even after Congress ordered the agency to suspend the practice during the coronavirus pandemic. By Collin Binkley. SENT: 810 words, photo.
———————————-
————————————
CANADA-GUN CONTROL -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada is banning the use and trade of assault-style weapons immediately. Trudeau cited numerous mass shootings in the country, including the killing of 22 people in Nova Scotia April 18 and 19. He announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, including the AR-15 and other weapons. SENT: 350 words.
—————————-
—————————
COCAINE COWBOYS-EARLY RELEASE - Federal prosecutors oppose a bid for early prison release by former Medellin cocaine cartel kingpin Fabio Ochoa. They contend in court documents filed in Miami that his request far underplays the vast amount of drugs he helped smuggle into the U.S. over two decades. The lawyer for Ochoa argues that new retroactive sentencing guidelines should shave about five years from his 30-year prison sentence. SENT: 525 words.
——————————————
HEALTH & SCIENCE
——————————————
ASTRONAUTS-HOME LAUNCH — NASA and SpaceX urged everyone to stay home for the first home launch of astronauts in nearly a decade because of the coronavirus pandemic. Top officials warned the public against traveling to Florida for the May 27 launch of two NASA astronauts aboard a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station. SENT: 330 words, photos.
---------———————————-
---------———————————-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRINGING BACK WORKERS — As small and midsize businesses rehire laid-off employees and get back to work, owners are making substantial changes to their operations to protect staffers from the coronavirus. Many owners realize that supplying masks and gloves won’t be enough to raise safety levels in their firms. So they’re redoing floor plans and operations to minimize contact. SENT: 820 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks ended lower on Wall Street, giving up their gains for the week, after Amazon and other big companies laid out how the coronavirus pandemic is hitting their bottom lines. . SENT: 910 words, photos.
———————————-
———————————-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COMICS CONUNDRUM — The biggest day of the year for comics retailers in America is May 2, Free Comic Book Day. There will be no such day this May -- and no comics to populate it after the main distributor stopped shipping product. Will the industry that fuels millions of collectors’ superhero dreams and provides fodder for Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters be dealt a powerful death blow by the effects of the coronavirus? Are the days of ink-and-paper visual storytelling finally fading away? By Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle. SENT. 997 words, photos.
————————-
—————————
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS TESTING — As countless Americans seek access to coronavirus testing, pro sports may soon be commandeering thousands of the kits each week. The image of millionaire athletes -- along with support staff and media — getting tested every week will surely be contrasted with the frustrations of regular Americans, many waiting in long lines or negotiating with health care professionals to find out if they have the virus. The leagues desperately want to play, but the political and public relations backlash may be too much. By Tim Reynolds. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
CAR--NASCAR-GETTING IT RIGHT — NASCAR is speeding back to the track during the pandemic, carrying a heavy responsibility to set a safety standard that doesn’t slow the return of other sports. By Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 6:30 p.m.
FBN--OFFSEASON UPDATE-VIRTUAL SPRING — The NFL is holding its offseason with no face-to-face meetings or practices. But the cancellation of 2011 offseason because of the lockout didn’t seem to slow rookies like Cam Newton and J.J. Watt or new coaches like Jim Harbaugh. By Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow. SENT: 850 words, photos.
RAC--UNCERTAIN TRIPLE CROWN — The Kentucky Derby is set for September, but who knows about the Preakness and Belmont? Horse racing’s Triple Crown races could be run out of order for the first time since 1931 because of the pandemic. By Racing Writer Beth Harris. SENT: 950 words, photos.
FBN--CHIEFS-DOCTOR LARRY — Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is the only NFL player who is also a medical doctor. In just a few months, he has gone from blocking for the Super Bowl champions to helping patients during the pandemic. SENT: 700 words, photos.
--------------------------
HOW TO REACH US
------------------------—
At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski 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.