AP News Digest 6 p.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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Adds: ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN-RECOUNT, VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAN, MALL SHOOTING-WISCONSIN, BRAZIL PROTESTS, GUATEMALA-PROTESTS, HONDURAS-HURRICANE VICTIMS.
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ONLY ON AP
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FORT HOOD VIOLENCE — As Fort Hood’s commander, Army Lt. Gen. Pat White faces the immense task of rebuilding trust and turning around an installation that has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army. “We have got to do everything we can to get this back on track,’’ he tells The Associated Press. White knows it will take time to correct what some believe are systemic leadership failures at the Texas base, which drew national scrutiny this year for the disappearance and brutal murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Army leaders have made clear that changes must be made. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 910 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA-A-SURVIVOR’S-STORY — One of the few hundred evacuees from Ethiopia’s sealed-off Tigray region in an interview with The Associated Press offers rare details of anger, desperation and growing hunger as the warring sides reject international calls for dialogue or even a humanitarian corridor for aid. By Cara Anna. 940 words, photos.
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TRUMP BIDEN-STUDY IN CONTRAST — Joe Biden spent the past week at his Delaware home carefully trying to build a government and preparing to take on a pandemic. President Donald Trump largely kept to himself behind closed doors at a mostly empty White House. He was busy angrily tweeting and using his office and allies to try to subvert the results of an American election. If the differences between Trump and Biden weren’t already clear, then the days since the Nov. 3 election was decided have shown the dramatically divergent ways in which they approach the job of commander in chief. By Jill Colvin, Steve Peoples and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 940 words, photos.
BIDEN-CABINET DIVERSITY — African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans and other people of color played a crucial role in helping Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump. In return, they say they want attention on problems affecting their communities — and want to see more people who look like them in positions of power. It’s a test of Biden’s pledge to have a Cabinet representative of all Americans. By Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Daly. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-JUSTICE REFORMS — Almost six months after the death of George Floyd, criminal justice reform advocates are cheering multiple victories in the 2020 election. Voters elected a handful of progressive prosecutors, approved ballot initiatives designed to ease mass incarceration and decriminalized drugs in several states. They also sent Black Lives Matter activists to Congress, restored voting rights to former prisoners and scored other gains sought by the protests that filled American streets last summer. By Aaron Morrison. SENT: 1,085 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LEGISLATIVE FIGHTS — Many Republican legislators in states where coronavirus cases have surged are rejecting mask-wearing requirements, even in their own capitols. An Arkansas state senator is proposing that her colleagues risk losing their per diem if they’re caught not wearing their masks. The idea is facing pushback, despite Arkansas having the second biggest outbreak in a state legislature. Mississippi, which had the largest, is encouraging but not requiring its members to wear masks. By Andrew DeMillo. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RETAIL STRUGGLES — The acceleration of coronavirus cases is causing an existential crisis for America’s retailers and spooking their customers just as the critically important holiday shopping season nears. It’s also raising the danger that the economy could slide into a “double-dip” recession this winter as states and cities re-impose business restrictions and consumers hunker down at home to avoid contracting the disease. An anxious consumer is a frightening prospect for retailers as well as for the overall economy. By Christopher Rugaber and Anne D’Innocenzio. SENT: 1,210 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ITALY-POMPEII-ANCIENT-BODIES — The archaeological park at ancient Pompeii has announced the discovery of the skeletal remains of two bodies, believed to those of a rich man and his male slave fleeing the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago. SENT: 540 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP JR — President Trump said his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is doing “very well” in quarantine after becoming infected with the coronavirus. SENT: 240 words, photos.
POLICE SHOOTING-WISCONSIN KENOSHA —Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin was seen smiling in a photo with his lawyer and “Silver Spoons” actor Ricky Schroder after being released from custody by posting a $2 million bond. SENT: 270 words, photo.
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TRUMP-REPUBLICANS-ANALYSIS — Republicans in Congress are making a risky but calculated bet that once President Trump has exhausted his legal challenges to the election, he will come to grips with his loss to President-elect Joe Biden. But the opposite is happening. As one court case after another falls by the wayside, Trump is refusing to accept the reality of the vote and using the weight of his office to try to squash the will of the people. Republicans are standing by as it unfolds. An AP News Analysis by Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 980 words, photos.
FACT CHECK WEEK — President Trump’s flailing attempt to cling to office after voters decisively chose to oust him has taken the country into a dark and fictional place. According to falsehoods being told on his behalf and embraced by him, the U.S. election was manipulated by scheming from a dead Venezuelan strongman, by a computer system capable of flipping Trump votes to Joe Biden ones across the country, and by something weird happening in Germany. If that’s not enough, the communists are coming. None of this happened. By Calvin Woodward and Ali Swenson. SENT: 890 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN-RECOUNT — Election officials in Wisconsin’s largest county accused observers for President Trump of trying to obstruct a recount of the presidential results, in some instances by objecting to every ballot tabulators pulled to count. President-elect Joe Biden won the state by 20,600 votes. SENT: 490 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — Many mourners in Belgrade paying their respects to Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej didn’t wear masks and even kissed the glass shield covering his remains. Irinej himself died three weeks after leading prayers at the funeral of another cleric in nearby Montenegro. In the United States, there have been recent reports of more coronavirus cases and deaths linked to religious services - 12 from one North Carolina church. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VEGAS PRESSURE — As the coronavirus surges to record levels in Nevada, the governor has implored residents to stay home. But Democrat Steve Sisolak has also encouraged out-of-state visitors, the lifeblood of Nevada’s limping economy, to come to his state and spend money in Las Vegas. The pandemic has put officials in this tourism-dependent place in a double-bind: trying to protect the economy while keeping people safe. SENT: 895 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOUSING SECRETARY — Housing Secretary Ben Carson is crediting unapproved, experimental treatments with saving his life after he became “desperately ill” following his infection with the coronavirus. There is no medical evidence that the treatments Carson cited worked. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to end an England-wide lockdown as scheduled on Dec. 2 and to announce a return to regional restrictions as statistics show coronavirus infections have stabilized. SENT: 500 words, photos. This story was previously embargoed but is now available for use anytime.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran has shuttered businesses and curtailed travel between its major cities, including the capital of Tehran, as it grapples with the worst outbreak of the coronavirus in the Mideast region. SENT: 595 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — South Korea has reported 386 new cases of the coronavirus in a resurgence that could force authorities to reimpose stronger social distancing restrictions after easing them in October to spur a faltering economy. SENT: 880 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California enacts a nighttime curfew as spiking coronavirus cases threaten to swamp health care systems and the state’s largest county warned that an even more drastic lockdown could be imminent. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VATICAN ECONOMY — Pope Francis urged young economists, entrepreneurs and business leaders to promote post-pandemic development models that involve the poor. SENT: 250 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN-OPERA — The show is going on at Madrid’s Teatro Real opera house these days, despite the coronavirus pandemic. While most of the major opera venues around the world are closed because of the virus, performances are continuing at Teatro Real. Audiences are socially distanced and limited to 65% of normal capacity. SENT: 870 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WASHINGTON
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VOICE OF AMERICA — A federal judge has ruled against the head of the agency that runs the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded news outlets who was accused of trying to turn it into a propaganda vehicle to promote President Donald Trump’s agenda. The ruling effectively bars U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack from making personnel decisions and interfering in editorial operations. SENT: 400 words, photo.
FEDERAL EXECUTIONS --A spokesman for Joe Biden says the president-elect is against the death penalty and will work to end its use. The Justice Department has scheduled three more federal executions during before the Jan. 20 inauguration, including two shortly before Biden is set to take office. SENT: 595 words, photos.
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G-20 SUMMIT — The Group of 20 summit has begun with appeals by the world’s most powerful leaders to collectively chart a way forward as the coronavirus pandemic overshadows this year’s gathering, transforming it from in-person meetings to a virtual gathering of speeches and declarations. SENT: 830 words, photos.
AFGHANISTAN-PEACE ENVOY — Afghanistan’s chief peace envoy Abdullah Abdullah said that the U.S. decision to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has come too soon, as his country is still struggling to attain peace and security amid an ongoing conflict. SENT: 500 words, photos. WITH: AFGHANISTAN — An Afghan official says at least 23 mortar shells targeted different residential areas in Kabul, killing at least eight people and wounding 31 others. SENT: 495 words, photo.
ISRAEL-POLLARD — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he expects a former U.S. serviceman convicted for spying for Israel, Jonathan Pollard, to come stay in Israel, as the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst who served 30 years in prison has completed his parole. SENT: 315 words, photos.
BRITAIN-CANADA-TRADE — The U.K. has signed an interim trade deal with Canada to give the government more time to negotiate future trading rules as it prepares the country for business life outside the European Union. SENT: 450 words, photos.
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN — The president of Azerbaijan said he hopes the ceasefire that ended a six-week war with Armenia this month will lead to improving relations between the countries. SENT: 300 words, photos.
FRANCE-POLICE — Thousands of people took to the streets in Paris and other French cities Saturday at the urging of civil liberties campaigners and journalist groups to protest a proposed security law they say would impinge on freedom of information and media rights. SENT: 470 words, photos.
BRAZIL PROTESTS — A Black man who died while being beaten by supermarket security guards was buried following protests that echoed those of the racial justice movement in the United States. SENT: 610 words, photos.
GUATEMALA-PROTESTS — Hundreds of protesters broke into Guatemala’s Congress and burned part of the building amid growing demonstrations against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature for approving a budget that cut educational and health spending. SENT: 170 words, photos.
HONDURAS-HURRICANE VICTIMS — Shelters for people whose homes were flooded or damaged by hurricanes Eta and Iota in Honduras are now so crowded that thousands of victims have taken refuge under highway overpasses or bridges. SENT: 470 words, photos.
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TEXAS AG-CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS EXPLAINED — The FBI recently opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton abused his office to benefit a wealthy donor, two people with knowledge of the probe told The Associated Press. The case arises from a sprawling mire of investigations, counter investigations, lawsuits and criminal allegations. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE OVERSIGHT — Voters in communities across the country have approved measures toughening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies. SENT: 990 words, photo.
MALL SHOOTING-WISCONSIN — Police have said that they’re still searching for a man suspected in a shooting at a Wisconsin mall that injured eight people. SENT: 170 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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EUROPE SATELLITE MISSION — A U.S.-European satellite designed to extend a decades-long measurement of global sea surface heights has been launched into Earth orbit from California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:17 a.m. and arced southward over the Pacific Ocean. The Falcon’s first stage successfully returned to the launch site and landed for reuse. SENT: 385 words.
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FBC--T25-INDIANA-OHIO STATE — Master Teague ran for a career-high 169 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Fields accounted for three scores and No. 3 Ohio State held off a comeback bid by Michael Penix Jr., Ty Fryfogle and No. 9 Indiana to win 42-35. SENT: 570 words, photos.
FBC--VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE SPORTS - The game between No. 4 Clemson and Florida State is postponed hours before kickoff when medical personnel from both schools can’t agree it is safe to play. The Tigers learned a day earlier one of their players tested positive for COVID-19, the AP is told. SENT: 600 words, photos.
BKN--NBA-FREE AGENCY - NBA teams resume negotiations with players after free agency opens with a flurry. Anthony Davis and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo top the list of players who have yet to agree on a deal, along with Gordon Hayward. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 1,250 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
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HOW TO REACH US
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