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.
———————-
NEW/DEVELOPING
————————
Adds VIRUS OUTBREAK-STATES, APPEALS COURT-PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
RAMS-BUCCANEERS — Game starts 8:15 p.m.
———————————————
———————————————
ELECTION 2020-CERTIFICATION — Michigan election officials certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in the state amid President Donald Trump’s brazen attempts to subvert the results of the election. The Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one abstention. By David Eggert, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,100 words by 7 p.m. With ELECTION 2020-ELECTORAL COLLEGE-GLANCE — A dozen states already have certified their results from the Nov. 3 presidential election. SENT: 200 words, graphic.
BIDEN — President-elect Joe Biden taps Obama administration veterans for top national security positions, signaling a stark shift from the Trump administration’s “America First” policies that disparaged international alliances, career diplomats and other veteran government officials. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-VACCINE — Drugmaker AstraZeneca says that late-stage trials showed its COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective, buoying the prospects of a relatively cheap, easy-to-store product that may become the vaccine of choice for the developing world. AstraZeneca is the third major drug company to report late-stage data for a potential vaccine. By Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STATES — State and local officials nationwide impose new coronavirus restrictions and plead with the public in an increasingly desperate attempt to stop the explosive spread of the disease as many Americans resist calls to limit gatherings and travel heading into the holidays. By Tammy Webber. SENT: 880 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK — Millions stick to Thanksgiving travel plans despite warnings. SENT: 990 words, video, photos.
CHINA-MOON MISSION — China launches an ambitious mission to bring back rocks and debris from the moon’s surface for the first time in more than 40 years — an undertaking that could boost human understanding of the moon and of the solar system more generally. By Sam McNeil. SENT: 980 words, photos.
HEALTH INSURANCE-SHOPPING — Some companies are turning health insurance shopping over to employees, directing workers to individual insurance markets to find coverage. It can be a big change for workers used to having their employer lay out their benefit choices every year. By Health Writer Tom Murphy. SENT: 780 words, photos.
——————————————————————————————
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
——————————————————————————————
JEOPARDY-JENNINGS — “Jeopardy!” says champion contestant Ken Jennings will be the first interim guest for the late Alex Trebek, and the show will try other guest hosts before naming a permanent replacement. SENT: 200 words, photo.
UNSAFE TOYS — Toy safety group releases annual list of top 10 “worst” toys. SENT: 370 words.
MEDIA-BERNSTEIN — Veteran Watergate sleuth Carl Bernstein takes to Twitter to specifically “out” 21 Republican senators who he says have privately expressed contempt for President Trump. SENT: 490 words, photo.
THANKSGIVING-GRANDMA-ACCIDENTAL TEXT — An Arizona woman who opened her Thanksgiving table to a stranger she accidentally texted has kept the tradition going, despite losing her husband to COVID-19.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BAD-BUNNY — Reggaeton star Bad Bunny tests positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 110 words, photos.
———————————————————————
MORE ON THE PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION
———————————————————————
BIDEN-TREASURY SECRETARY — President-elect Joe Biden chooses former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. With BIDEN-HOMELAND SECURITY — Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban American, would be the first Latino and first immigrant to head the Department of Homeland Security. SENT: 810 words, photo.
BIDEN-CLIMATE ENVOY — President-election Biden names climate statesman John Kerry, one of the leading architects of the Paris climate agreement, as climate envoy. SENT: 650 words, photos. With BIDEN-UN AMBASSADOR — Biden’s choice for UN envoy signals return to US engagement. SENT: 730 words, photo.
——————————————————————————————
MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
——————————————————————————————
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Haircuts, shopping trips and visits to the pub will be back on the agenda for millions of people when a four-week lockdown in England comes to an end next week. SENT: 610 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GREECE — Greece’s armed forces set up a field hospital with more than 50 beds in the northern city of Thessaloniki as part of plans to tackle a surge in infections and hospitalizations. SENT: 470 words, photos.
UN-CLIMATE-EMISSIONS — A slowdown in industrial activity linked to the pandemic has cut emissions of pollutants and heat-trapping greenhouse gases, but hasn’t reduced their record levels in the atmosphere, the UN says. SENT: 360 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SEAFOOD — The pandemic has hurt the U.S. seafood industry due to a precipitous fall in imports and exports. SENT: 500 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NYC-GIFT SHOPS — In souvenir shops from Times Square to the World Trade Center, shelves full of T-shirts and trinkets still love New York, as the slogan goes. But the proprietors wonder when their customers will again. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-INDIA FARMER — Son, father farm to feed neighbors during lockdown in India. SENT: 610 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
———————————————
———————————————
BIDEN-TRANSITION FUNDING — Pressure increases on a Trump appointee to authorize an official transition process for President-elect Joe Biden. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHITE HOUSE HOLIDAYS — While public health officials warn Americans not to travel and limit gatherings this holiday season, festivities at the White House are underway. SENT: 930 words, photos.
GUNS IN CAPITOL — A firearms-toting congresswoman-elect who owns a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, has already asked Capitol Police about carrying her weapon on Capitol grounds. If she does so, she apparently won’t be alone. SENT: 875 words, photos.
———————————————
———————————————
ISRAEL-SAUDI ARABIA — Israeli media say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with the crown prince. It would mark the first known encounter between senior Israeli and Saudi officials. SENT: 890 words, photos. With SAUDI ARABIA — Yemen rebels claim attack on Saudi oil facility in Jiddah. SENT: 560 words, photos.
EMIRATES — The United Arab Emirates relaxes and removes a range of limits on foreign ownership of companies in the country’s latest bid to attract outside investors. SENT: 480 words, photo.
FRANCE-SARKOZY — The trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling is suspended less than two hours after it starts, to allow a medical report on one of the defendants. SENT: 770 words, photo.
———————————————
———————————————
APPEALS COURT-PLANNED PARENTHOOD — A federal appeals court rules that Texas and Louisiana can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, reversing earlier decisions stemming from legal battles over abortion. SENT: 210 words.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-TEACHING THANKSGIVING — More U.S. schools are rethinking traditional Thanksgiving lessons that focus on the English settlers but teach little about Native Americans. SENT: 920 words, photos.
———————————————
———————————————
FINANCIAL MARKETS — More encouraging news on the development of coronavirus vaccines and treatments helps power stocks higher on Wall Street, as the market claws back most of its losses from last week. SENT: 650 words, photos.
HOLIDAY FORECAST — The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects that holiday sales could actually exceed growth seen in prior seasons, despite the pandemic. SENT: 600 words, photo.
———————————————
———————————————
GM-CALIFORNIA LAWSUIT — General Motors says it will no longer support the Trump administration in legal efforts to end California’s right to set its own clean-air standards. SENT: 490 words, photo.
————————-
—————————
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MUSIC LESSONS — These aren’t the music lessons of your childhood. For many people, online lessons and Zoom jam sessions are offering purpose and connection during the pandemic. SENT: 840 words, photos.
———————————————
———————————————
RAMS-BUCCANEERS — Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers try to bolster their position in the NFC playoff race when they face Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 8:15 p.m.
———————————————
HOW TO REACH US
———————————————
At the Nerve Center, Mike Stewart 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.