AP News Digest 7:30 a.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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MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE-DEATH-PROTESTS — Cheering protesters torch a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St. Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the U.S. over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck. By Tim Sullivan and Amy Forliti. SENT: 1,650 words, photos, videos. With MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEATH-COLUMBUS PROTEST — Columbus protest over Floyd’s death turns violent; MINNEAPOLIS-POLICE-DEATH-DENVER-PROTEST — Shots fired during Denver protest of Minneapolis man’s death. Also see FATAL POLICE SHOOTING-KENTUCKY below.
MINNEAPOLIS DEATH-POLICE REACTION — The reaction from some law enforcement on the death of a handcuffed black man by a white Minneapolis officer stands in stark contrast to their responses to other in-custody fatalities. By Stefanie Dazio. SENT: 840 words, photos.
TRUMP TWITTER — Twitter has added a warning to one of President Donald J. Trump’s tweets about protests in Minneapolis, saying it violated the platform’s rules about “glorifying violence.” Trump, a prolific Twitter user, has been at war with the company since earlier this week, when it applied fact checks to two of his tweets about mail-in ballots. SENT: 210 words, photo. With TRUMP-MINNEAPOLIS DEATH — Trump calls Floyd death “shocking,” calls protesters “thugs.”
VIRUS OUTBREAK — Europe’s extensive social welfare net is showing signs of fraying under economic strain from the coronavirus, as protests erupted for a second day in Spain Friday against layoffs by French carmaker Renault, while Italy’s chief central banker warned that “uncertainty is rife.” Further afield, while New Zealand had all but eradicated the coronavirus with just one person in the nation of 5 million known to be still infected, developments elsewhere were generally grim. India reported another record increase in cases and Pakistan a record number of deaths.By Angela Charlton, Colleen Barry and Nick Perry. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ALABAMA — Sparsely populated Lowndes County, deep in Alabama’s old plantation country, has the sad distinction of having both the state’s highest rate of COVID-19 cases and its worst unemployment rate. The county and other rural areas in the state are now faced with a lack of access to medical care combined with poverty and the attendant health problems that can worsen the outcomes for those who become sick with the coronavirus. By Jay Reeves and Kim Chandler. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRANSPLANT TRANSPORT — Over the past two months, as air travel ground to a halt, Mishel Zrian has crisscrossed the Atlantic and the United States dozens of times, sleeping in empty airports and unable to return home to see his family in Israel, all in a race against time to deliver life-saving transplants. By Tia Goldenberg. SENT: 990 words, photos. Also see MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK below.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-MILITARY TRAINING — The coronavirus pandemic is changing training at the Marine Corps’ Parris Island Recruit Depot and across the military. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GREECE-ORTHODOX COMMUNION — For Orthodox Christians, the use of a shared spoon by a priest to distribute Holy Communion is a tradition that dates back thousands of years, a practice today that would alarm an epidemiologist. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NATION’S CAPITAL REOPENS — A tiny slice of pre-pandemic normality begins returning to the nation’s capital as the three-month old coronavirus stay-home order is replaced by the first phase of a reopening plan. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA — South Africa says it has a backlog of nearly 100,000 unprocessed tests for the coronavirus, a striking example of the painful shortage of testing kits and reagents across Africa as cases steadily rise. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NETHERLANDS-RESTAURANT-ROBOTS — When Shaosong Hu saw robots serving food in China last fall, he knew exactly what he wanted for his restaurant in the Dutch beachside town of Renesse. SENT: 540 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY-TOURISM — With weeks to go before the start of Europe’s summer vacation season, many countries are hoping travel restrictions will be lifted in time to give their economies a much-needed boost. SENT: 950 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-HOSPITAL BOXER — Hassan N’Dam, former middleweight boxing champion of the world, wanted to repay the French hospital that cared for his father-in-law through his bout with COVID-19. SENT: 480 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ICONIC SITES — Neither the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower nor the Versailles Palace will reopen when France lifts many of its remaining coronavirus lockdown restrictions next week. Managers at the Louvre told workers they are aiming to reopen some time between the end of June and mid-July. SENT: 430 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-STRESSED KIDS — A British army veteran is leading children in a military-style game designed to boost their resilience and mental health at a time of atypical stress. SENT: 630 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL-DRIVE-THRU WEDDING — Most states in Brazil are prohibiting large gatherings in their efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, forcing many couples to put off traditional wedding ceremonies. SENT: 470 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UN-YEMEN ON BRINK — The U.N. humanitarian chief urgently appeals for $2.4 billion to help millions of people in Yemen cope with the conflict and COVID-19, saying programs are already being cut and the situation is “alarming.” SENT: 540 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY-HAIRDO-PHOTO GALLERY — Italians say “ciao” to unkempt lockdown locks. SENT: 300 words, photos.
POLICE-SHOOTING-CORONAVIRUS — A man shot by New York City police last month after menacing officers with a knife and an antique gun died of the coronavirus five days after he was wounded, police say. SENT: 340 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — Muslims in some parts of Indonesia attend Friday prayers as mosques closed by the coronavirus for weeks are allowed to start reopening in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. SENT: 940 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA’S-LAWSUIT-LAWYER — The Republican lawyer leading the fight against California’s stay-at-home orders has a long history of taking on free speech and civil rights cases. SENT: 1,240 words, photo.
NEW ZEALAND-STRANDED SAILORS — Hundreds of sailors find themselves stranded in paradise because of the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 920 words, photos.
A separate wire advisory has moved detailing our complete coronavirus coverage.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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AFGHANISTAN — Taliban fighters attack an army checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan, killing 14 military personnel, the Defense Ministry says. SENT: 270 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-LIONS ATTACK — Zookeeper critically mauled by two lions at shut Australia zoo. SENT: 170 words.
PAKISTAN-LOCUST INVASION — Locust invasion wreaks havoc on Pakistan’s crops, orchards. SENT: 430 words.
BRITAIN-US-DIPLOMAT’S WIFE — Family of crash death teen takes action against U.K.’s Raab. SENT: 200 words.
ENDANGERED WOLVES-FOSTERING PUPS — Wildlife managers use pup fostering to boost wolf genetics. SENT: 350 words.
TEXAS JAIL BIRTH — Texas jail says guards didn’t notice inmate giving birth. SENT: 380 words.
GRAND-CANYON-VISITATION — Grand Canyon to fully open South Rim entrance in June. SENT: 280 words, photos.
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UNITED STATES-CHINA — The Trump administration may soon expel thousands of Chinese graduate students and impose other sanctions against Chinese officials. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 890 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-ECONOMY — The White House takes the unusual step of deciding not to release an updated economic forecast for this year. SENT: 990 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-CORTEZ MASTO — Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada says that she’s not interested in serving as running mate to presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden. SENT: 470 words, photo.
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AUSTRALIA-PALACE-LETTERS — Australia’s highest court rules to make public letters between Queen Elizabeth II and her representative that would reveal what knowledge she had, if any, of the dismissal of an Australian government in 1975. SENT: 900 words, photos.
HONG KONG-AI WEIWEI — Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei believes the newly passed national security law for Hong Kong augurs the end for the semi-autonomous city. Ai was arrested at Beijing’s airport in April 2011 and held for 81 days without explanation during a wider crackdown on dissent that coincided with the international ferment of the Arab Spring. SENT: 830 words, photos.
CHINA-HONG KONG — Dozens of people joined a protest in a mall in Hong Kong following a vote by China’s ceremonial parliament to approve legislation that could severely restrict opposition political activity and civic activity in the Asian financial center. SENT: 250 words, photos. With EUROPE-CHINA EU weighs China policy amid concern over Hong Kong moves.
HUNGARY-CAPSIZED BOAT-ANNIVERSARY — Commemorations begin in Hungary for the first anniversary of an accident on the Danube River in which over two dozen South Korean tourists died after their tour boat collided with a river cruise ship. SENT: 190 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing, will be updated.
IRAN-US — Iran says its experts would continue nuclear development activities, despite sanctions imposed earlier this week on their fellow scientists by the United States. SENT: 330 words, photos.
SOUTH KOREA-JAPAN-SEX SLAVES — A prominent South Korean activist who was recently elected to the National Assembly denies that she misused public donations for Korean survivors of Japanese wartime sexual slavery. SENT: 720 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA-ALLEGED ABUSES — A new report by Amnesty International accuses Ethiopia’s security forces of extrajudicial killings and mass detentions even as the country’s reformist prime minister was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. SENT: 710 words, photos.
AP EXPLAINS-CHINA-INDIA BORDER TENSIONS — Tensions along the China-India border high in the Himalayas have flared again in recent weeks. SENT: 730 words, photos.
MALAYSIA-POLITICS — Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is ousted from his ethnic Malay political party in the latest twist of a power struggle with his successor, but he vows to challenge the move. SENT: 450 words, photos.
PAKISTAN-LOCUST INVASION — An invasion of locusts has spread across Pakistan, officials say, causing damage to crops and orchards and posing a threat to food security in an impoverished Islamic nation already struggling to tackle a virus pandemic that has caused more than 1,300 deaths. SENT:
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FATAL POLICE SHOOTING-KENTUCKY — At least seven people were shot in Louisville as protesters turned out to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman fatally shot by police in her home in March. SENT: 480 words, photo.
SPELLING BEE — The upstart ex-spellers who launched an online spelling bee to fill the void left by the canceled Scripps National Spelling Bee had little trouble running an efficient, and sufficiently challenging, competition. SENT: 740 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Shares fell in Europe and Asia as investors await a news conference about China by Trump later in the day. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 670 words, photos.
FRANCE-RENAULT — Struggling French carmaker Renault announces 15,000 job cuts worldwide as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting plan over three years. SENT: 580 words, photos.
CHINA-VW-ELECTRIC-CARS — Volkswagen is spending $2.2 billion to expand its presence in China’s electric car industry in the biggest foreign investment announced since the country’s economy began to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 370 words, photo.
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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.