AP News Digest 6:10 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.
Eds: Resends to change byline on — VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON.
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NEW & DEVELOPING
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Adds: VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON, VIRUS OUTBREAK-RELIGION-CAUTIOUS REOPENINGS, POLICE SHOOTING-CHURCH SERVICE.
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ONLY ON AP
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOME TESTING — Nearly two weeks ago the White House urged governors to ensure that every nursing home resident and staff member be tested for the coronavirus within 14 days. It’s not going to happen. A review by The Associated Press found that at least half of the states are not going to meet White House’s deadline and some aren’t even bothering to try. By Alan Suderman. SENT: 860 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE HUNGER — The call from the Washington D.C., clinic brought the news that the hard-working Honduran immigrant couple had most feared — they each had the coronavirus. Roberto and Janeth lost their restaurant jobs in the economic lockdown caused by the pandemic and struggle to put food on the table for their 5-year-old daughter. They are among the up to 12 million immigrants in the U.S. without documentation who are barred from most federal government aid. By Ellen Knickmeyer and Jacquelyn Martin. SENT: 760 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON — The White House has announced a ban on travel to the U.S. from Brazil due to the spread of coronavirus in Latin America’s hardest-hit country. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has said that the ban applies to foreign nationals who have been in Brazil in the 14 days before they sought to travel to the United States. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 210 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK — The Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start of summer in the U.S. meant big crowds at beaches and warnings from experts about people disregarding the coronavirus social-distancing rules and risking a resurgence of the scourge that has killed nearly 100,000 Americans. Sheriff’s deputies and beach patrols tried to make sure people kept their distance from others as they soaked up the rays on the sand and at parks and other recreation sites around the country. By Curt Anderson. SENT: 870 words, photos. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE — Across Europe, a mishmash of travel restrictions appears to be on the horizon, often depending on where travelers live and what passports they carry; VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST (both sent).
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TESTING DATA — Elected officials, businesses and others are depending on coronavirus testing and infection-rate data as states reopen so that they will know if a second wave of contagion is coming — and whether another round of stay-at-home orders or closings might be needed. But states are reporting those figures in different ways, and that can lead to frustration and confusion about what the numbers mean. In some places, there have been data gaps that leave local leaders wondering whether they should loosen or tighten restrictions. In others, officials are accused of spinning the numbers to make their states look better and justify reopening. By Michelle R. Smith. SENT: 1,090 words, photos. This story has moved at the Monday Spotlight.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wouldn’t fire his chief aide for allegedly violating the national lockdown rules that he helped to create by driving the length of England to his parents’ house while he was infected with the coronavirus. Defying a growing clamor from public and politicians, Johnson said Dominic Cummings had acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity” when he drove 250 miles (400 kilometers) from London to Durham, in northeast England, with his wife and son at the end of March. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EID — Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, a normally festive holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with millions under strict stay-at-home orders and many fearing renewed coronavirus outbreaks. The three-day holiday is usually a time of travel, family get-togethers and lavish daytime feasts after weeks of dawn-to-dusk fasting. But this year many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims will have to pray at home and make due with video calls. By Joseph Krauss and Niniek Karmini. SENT: 960 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-EID AL FITR HOLIDAY — U.S. Muslims try to balance Eid rituals with virus concerns. SENT: 940 words, photo.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ISRAEL-NETANYAHU — To the sounds of his impassioned supporters chanting outside, a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strode into a Jerusalem courtroom to face corruption charges in a long-awaited trial that has overshadowed three inconclusive elections and deeply divided the country. As he entered the courthouse to become the country’s first sitting prime minister to go on trial, Netanyahu launched into a lengthy tirade against the nation’s justice system in which he accused police, prosecutors, judges and the media of a deep state-type conspiracy aimed to oust him against the will of the people. By Aron Heller. SENT: 960 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP 2021 COMEBACK — President Donald Trump has a new pitch to voters for this fall: Trust me. As the economy faces a recession, Trump is increasingly talking up a future recovery that probably won’t materialize until after the November election. He’s asking voters to look past the pain being felt across the nation and give him another four-year term on the promise of an economic comeback in 2021. “It’s a transition to greatness,” Trump says over and over. By Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller. SENT: 830 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-RELIGION-CAUTIOUS REOPENINGS — Some congregants around the country headed for their places of worship with numerous precautions in place, on a weekend when President Trump declared houses of worship essential and asked governors to reopen them. SENT: 830 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA-CYCLING HOME — Fifteen-year-old Jyoti Kumari rode a bicycle hundreds of miles with her disabled father riding on the back to escape the constraints of India’s coronavirus lockdown. SENT: 630 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GYMS ARE BACK — Big box gyms and local fitness studios are reopening under a patchwork of protocols based on state and local guidance. But even the most die-hard gym rats are concerned about returning to a seemingly healthy habit amid all the sweat and germs. SENT: 870 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-GYMS ARE BACK-GLANCE (sent).
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NATIONAL PARKS — As Yellowstone and other national parks end a two-month shutdown due to the coronavirus, park officials want visitors to take precautions, such as washing their hands, keeping a safe distance from other people and wearing masks in public. It’s unclear whether tourists who often disobey park rules will comply. SENT: 830 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEMORIAL DAY — One was a 94-year-old veteran of World War II who was the first of his 11 brothers to enlist in the military. One was a Vietnam veteran who lost his leg overseas and was always touched when people thanked him for his service. Another was drafted into the military at 18 and won a Purple Heart. They are among the untold number of veterans who served and survived during times of war only to die in recent weeks from the coronavirus. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-OHIO-PRISONS — Ohio has lost more inmates to COVID-19 than any other state, but its prisons nonetheless must begin reopening to accommodate a slow return to business — and to crime, the prisons director said. SENT: 670 words, photo.
YEMEN — At a cemetery in Yemen’s largest southern city, dozens of fresh graves were a testament to a spike in deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic. The cemetery workers who bury them don’t know what killed the newly deceased. But there’s no denying that there’s been an increasing number of people getting sick in the port city of Aden — likely from the coronavirus. SENT: 520 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STRANDED MOROCCANS — It’s a reverse migrant crisis: Moroccan workers trapped in Spain have been begging their own government to let them come back home. And after more than two months, they’re finally being heard. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA-LONG EXIT — South Africa is struggling to balance its fight against the coronavirus with its dire need to resume economic activity. The country with Africa’s most developed economy also has its highest number of infections — more than 21,000. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — Six million Australians have downloaded a smartphone app that helps health authorities trace coronavirus infections, officials said Sunday. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CREATIVE-GRADUATIONS — High schools across the country have added pomp to their circumstances to make graduations special amid the coronavirus pandemic. They’re going beyond virtual and instead holding drive-thru processions, in-person ceremonies spacing students apart in big auditoriums with limited guests, or in one town in New Hampshire, sending seniors off with a mountaintop graduation, accessible by chairlift. SENT: 990 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CITIZENSHIP-OATHS — Immigrants and their advocates say the U.S. citizenship process has stalled during the coronavirus crisis even as many parts of life have pivoted online or are starting to reopen. A limited number of people have been allowed to take their oath of citizenship in small ceremonies in recent weeks. But advocates say thousands more who have already been approved for naturalization still don’t know when their ceremonies will be scheduled. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BICYCLE-REVIVAL — Cooped-up Americans are snapping up new bicycles or dusting off decades-old bikes to stay fit, keep their sanity or have a safe alternative to public transportation. The coronavirus pandemic is proving to be a boon for bike shops, which have seen a surge in sales. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK–ONE GOOD THING–OKLAHOMA GRADUATION — As the pandemic upended commencement rituals across campuses, Kim Gaddie wanted to give the University of Oklahoma’s class of 2020 a taste of tradition -- in a way. Armed with boxes of chalk, Gaddie, her husband and a few colleagues spent hours writing the names of graduating seniors on the concrete sidewalk where class members would have lined up to march into the ceremony. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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EX-CONGRESSMAN-MOTORCYCLE CRASH — Former US Rep. Allen West recovering after Texas crash. SENT: 130 words, photo.
TUNISIA MIGRANTS — At least one migrant has drowned, six are missing and over 80 have been rescued off Tunisia’s Mediterranean coast. SENT: 210 words.
JERUSALEM CHURCH — Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher has reopened to visitors after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 190 words, photo.
JAPAN-OBIT-WRESTLER-HANA KIMURA — Hana Kimura, a Japanese pro-wrestler who appeared in the latest series of the popular reality show “Terrace House,” has died. She was 22. SENT: 200 words, photos.
RUSSIA-ALLIGATOR — An alligator that many people believe once belonged to Adolf Hitler has died in the Moscow Zoo. SENT: 130 words.
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HONG KONG-PROTESTS — Hong Kong police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters in a popular shopping district as thousands took to the streets to march against China’s move to impose national security legislation on the city. Pro-democracy supporters have sharply criticized a proposal, set to be approved by China’s rubber-stamp parliament this week, that would ban secessionist and subversive activity, as well as foreign interference, in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. SENT: 770 words, photos.
NKOREA-NUCLEAR — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened a key military meeting to discuss bolstering the country’s nuclear arsenal and putting its armed forces on high alert, state media reported, in Kim’s first known public appearance in about 20 days. SENT: 520 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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POLICE SHOOTING-CHURCH SERVICE — A sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded a man who was armed with a knife when deputies responded to a complaint that he had disrupted an outdoor church service in North Carolina on Sunday, authorities said. SENT: 380 words.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CHANGING-BUSINESS-MODELS — Many business owners are changing the way they make money as they attempt to recoup revenue lost to the coronavirus outbreak. Often such adjustments involve an entire rethinking of the business model. SENT: 970 words, photos.
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SCIENCE
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SCI-HOME-LAUNCH-SPACE-STYLE — The first astronauts launched by SpaceX are breaking new ground for style with hip spacesuits, gull-wing Teslas and a sleek rocketship — all of it white with black trim. The color coordinating is thanks to Elon Musk, the driving force behind both SpaceX and Tesla, and a big fan of flash and science fiction. SENT: 580 words, photos.
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TV-STAR-TREK-THE-CAPTAIN-EVOLVES — On TV, Captain Kirk was the original “Star Trek” leader — steadfast, eloquent, intellectually curious, generally honorable. He could also be brooding, privileged and a top-down manager. But Kirk had been preceded as captain of the Enterprise by Christopher Pike, who only appeared once in the original series. Now, Captain Pike is back, played by actor Anson Mount, and he may just be the best leader that the “Star Trek” universe has ever produced. SENT: 1,220 words, photos. An abridged version of 960 words has also been sent.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-YOUTH SPORTS — The future of publicly funded youth sports is a growing concern because of the COVID-19 crisis. Community leaders are worry a group of children will lose sports forever. SENT: 1,090 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS COALITION — Youth sports coalition seeks federal aid due to COVID-19. SENT: 450 words, photos. VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHICAGO RUN — Virus crisis a challenge for youth fitness nonprofits. SENT: 580 words, photos.
CAR-NASCAR-COCA COLA-600 -- NASCAR continues its frantic return with its third Cup race in seven days -- the Coca-Cola 600, which is the longest race on the schedule. The 61st running will still be a tribute to fallen military heroes but without fans in the stands or the elaborate pre-race ceremonies. Race begins at 6:30 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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