AP News Digest 2 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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ONLY ON AP
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SPAIN’S-BODY-COLLECTORS — With the resurgence of the coronavirus in Spain, mortuary workers have returned to making the rounds of hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. Like doctors and nurses, they are part of a group of essential workers who see and touch the daily march of death amid the worst public health crisis in over a century. By Emilio Morenatti. SENT: 880 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — Don’t even think of throwing away the mask anytime soon. Despite the expected arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in just a few weeks, it could take several months — probably well into 2021 — before things get back to something close to normal in the United States. Many challenges lie ahead — not just the logistical hurdles involved in the biggest vaccination campaign in U.S. history, but public fear and misinformation that could hinder the effort and kick the end of the pandemic further down the road. By Candice Choi. SENT: 1,065 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TROUBLE HEARING — Hearing specialists across the U.S. are seeing an uptick in visits from people who only realized how much they relied on lip reading and facial expressions when people started wearing masks. Texas nurse Teri Wheat went for a test earlier this year after realizing that her hearing loss was becoming “more noticeable the more barriers that we had.” She now wears hearing aids. Specialists say that since hearing loss often comes on gradually, people usually wait around seven years before getting tested. But this year they’ve seen people coming in sooner. By Jaime Stengle. SENT: 550 words, photos.
BIDEN - Declaring “America is back,” President-elect Joe Biden introduces his national security team, making his first substantive offering of how he’ll shift from the Trump administration’s “America First” policies by relying on foreign policy experts from the Democratic establishment to serve as some of his most important advisers. By Alexandra Jaffe, Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee. SENT: 900 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing from early afternoon event, 950 words by 4 p.m., photos, video. With BIDEN-THE LATEST, developing.
TRUMP-TRANSITION — President Donald Trump insists he’s not giving up his fight to overturn the election results, but across the federal government preparations are beginning in earnest to support President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration. By Zeke Miller. UPCOMING: 700 words by 4 p.m., photos. WITH: TRUMP FACT CHECK — President Trump is still pushing false accusations of a rigged election, even though his administration is making room for President-elect Joe Biden to take over. UPCOMING: 550 words by 4 p.m., photos.
2020 CENSUS FAKE-ANSWERS — The Associated Press has obtained text messages that a U.S. Census Bureau supervisor in Alabama sent to workers telling them how to fake counts of households by entering misleading data. The texts from October say the effort’s goal was to close the census count in cases where they couldn’t tell who lived in a household after two visits. Census workers were told to close cases after two failed visits at the home, plus two more with neighbors or landlords. By Mike Schneider. SENT: 1,165 words, photos.
OPIOID CRISIS-PURDUE — Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, formally admitting its role in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths over the past two decades. In a virtual hearing with a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, the OxyContin maker admitted impeding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts to combat the addiction crisis. By Geoff Mulvihill. SENT: 700 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above 30,000 points for the first time as investors were encouraged by the latest progress on developing coronavirus vaccines and news that the transition of power in the U.S. to President-elect Joe Biden will finally begin. Traders were also encouraged to see that Biden had selected Janet Yellen, a widely respected former Federal Reserve chair, as treasury secretary. By Alex Veiga and Damian J. Troise. SENT: 615 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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TRUMP-TURKEY PARDON — President Trump, who has been laying low since his election defeat, steps out for an annual holiday rite -- pardoning this year’s Thanksgiving turkey. SENT: 240 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 2 p.m. event, 350 words by 4 p.m., photos, video.
MCCORMICK-CHOLULA — McCormick & Co., the spice maker that dominates U.S. grocery shelves, said that it was buying the hot sauce brand Cholula for $800 million from L Catteron, a private equity firm. SENT: 360 words, photos.
RADIOSHACK-REVIVAL — RadioShack has been pulled from brink of death — again. It’s the most prized name in the basket of retail brands that entrepreneur investors Alex Mehr and Tai Lopez have scooped up since the coronavirus pandemic landed on U.S. shores. SENT: 830 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOVE MAKER — Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp., the world’s largest maker of rubber gloves, says it expects a two-to-four-week delay in deliveries after more than 2,000 workers at its factories were infected by the coronavirus. SENT: 325 words, photos.
KILLING BY POLICE-OKLAHOMA — Police in Oklahoma City say officers fatally shot a 15-year-old boy who had tried to rob a convenience store at gunpoint. SENT: 165 words.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — Waiters and bartenders are losing their jobs – again – as governors and local officials shut down indoor dining and drinking establishments to combat a nationwide surge in coronavirus infections that is overwhelming hospitals and dashing hopes for a quick economic recovery. The timing, just before the holidays, couldn’t be worse. Los Angeles County restaurant owner Greg Morena says he’s dreading having to notify employees that they won’t have a job over the holidays. Many restaurants are offering curbside pickup but also trying to offer outdoor dining, even if it means setting up igloos and outdoor heaters. SENT: 735 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOLIDAY RESTRICTIONS — Governors and mayors are ratcheting up mask mandates and imposing restrictions on small indoor gatherings, which have been blamed for accelerating the spread of the coronavirus. Experts say that if people disregard the new state and local restrictions and socialize anyway, that could put greater stress on overburdened hospitals and lead to an even bigger spike in sickness and death over the holidays. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-SELF-CARE-SURGE — The pandemic has forced people to spend more time with themselves than ever. Along the way, it has reshaped and broadened the way many think about how they treat themselves — what has come to be called self-care. For many, it has put the purpose and meaning of life front and center, reconfiguring priorities and needs. This new way of thinking has many impacts, including producing new trends in the beauty and clothing industries. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Just in time for holiday travelers, England is cutting the two-week quarantine facing people arriving from regions not on Britain’s coronavirus safe list, reducing it to as little as five days if they test negative for COVID-19. SENT: 430 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE — People in France may be able to go back to their favorite shops and attend religious services again next week, after a month of a partial virus lockdown. But they’ll probably have to wait until next year to savor wine and cheese in a local cafe. SENT: 455 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RUSSIA-VACCINE — Russia released new results claiming its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was highly effective, and promised it would cost less on international markets than vaccines by some of its Western competitors. SENT: 635 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ASIA — China reported two new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones. SENT: 730 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY TEST BY DRONE — A German lab is hoping to cut the time it takes to send coronavirus tests across Berlin by using drones, thereby avoiding the capital’s clogged roads. SENT: 500 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-ROMEO REMADE — High school students in a Boston suburb are making an animated film version of “Romeo & Juliet” after their plans to stage a traditional performance were scuttled this fall by the ongoing pandemic. The cast at Westwood High School has been making voice recordings of the scenes, which will then be set to images from a graphic novel version of the timeless Shakespeare play. SENT: 625 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-DINING-TENTS — Outdoor dining tents are popping up outside restaurants during the pandemic, but experts say not all setups are equal. SENT: 310 words, graphic.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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BIDEN NOMINEES-SENATE — As President-elect Joe Biden starts to roll out his Cabinet nominees, one voice has been notably silent: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. If they retain their majority, Senate Republicans will be able to confirm or deny Biden’s Cabinet picks, but key senators are keeping quiet, for now, as they choose their battles ahead. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 5 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania officials say Democrat Joe Biden has been certified as the winner of the presidential vote in the state. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf tweeted that the Pennsylvania State Department “certified the results of the November 3 election in Pennsylvania for president and vice president of the United States.” SENT: 255 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-NEVADA — The Nevada Supreme Court has made Joe Biden’s win in the state official, approving the final canvass of the Nov. 3 election. SENT: 360 words, photos.
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CENTAL AMERICA-STORM MIGRANTS - Inside shelters and improvised camps, families who lost everything in severe flooding set off by two major hurricanes that hit Central America this month say few options remain but to head north, raising predictions the region is on the verge of another mass migration. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 3 p.m.
SUDAN-ETHIOPIA-REFUGEES AT RISK — Hungry, homeless and in danger, some 40,000 people have fled the Ethiopian government’s offensive in the defiant Tigray region. SENT: 850 words, photos.
KUWAIT-DEBT CRISIS — When Kuwait emerged from a monthslong coronavirus lockdown, hundreds of Kuwaitis flocked to reopened stores, the lines clogging malls, snaking through hallways and spilling onto sidewalks. SENT: 940 words, photos.
COLOMBIA-PRISONER DEATHS — New evidence indicates most of the 24 inmates killed during a prison riot in Colombia’s capital earlier this year over fears that crowded, unhygienic conditions would fuel a virus outbreak were shot to death intentionally, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch. SENT: 500 words.
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OBIT-DAVID-DINKINS — David Dinkins, who broke barriers as New York City’s first African-American mayor, but was doomed to a single term by a soaring murder rate, stubborn unemployment and his mishandling of a riot in Brooklyn, has died. He was 93. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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MED-HOSPITAL CYBERATTACK — A Vermont hospital network is still recovering from a massive digital attack last month, signaling the dangers of cyberattacks on the nation’s healthcare system during a COVID-19 surge. Experts say the pandemic has left healthcare organizations vulnerable to ransomware attacks that can complicate or disrupt patient care. With handout images and photos taken of hospital exterior. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m.
CHINA-SPACE GOALS — China’s latest trip to the moon is another milestone in the Asian powerhouse’s slow but steady ascent to the stars. SENT: 720 words, photos, video.
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MUSIC-GRAMMY NOMINATIONS — Beyoncé is bringing her black parade to the Grammys: The pop star’s anthem about Black pride scored multiple nominations, making her the leading contender with nine. Beyoncé picked up song and record of the year bids with “Black Parade,” which she released on Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. The song, which reached the Top 40 on the pop charts, is also nominated for best R&B song and best R&B performance. By Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu. SENT: 1,300 words, photos. WITH: MUSIC-GRAMMYS-HOST-TREVOR NOAH — “The Daily Show” host and comedian Trevor Noah has been tapped to host the 2021 Grammy Awards. SENT: 200 words, photo. WITH: GRAMMY-NOMINATIONS-LIST.
FILM-KURT RUSSELL-GOLDIE HAWN — Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have never felt the pressure to use their unmatched chemistry for the big screen time and time again. Since 1987′s “Overboard,” they’ve turned down hundreds of opportunities to co-star with one another until now. The two have reunited for “The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two,” playing another famous couple: Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Russell is reprising the superhero Santa meets Elvis character he played in the first film from 2018. “Home Alone” director Chris Columbus, who produced the first,” signed on to direct. He says this is his “love letter” to Christmas. The film hits Netflix on Wednesday. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK RELOCATED TEAMS — Teams from New Mexico and New Mexico State relocated to three different states to play their seasons during the coronavirus pandemic. Moving away from home is not ideal, but it’s the only they’d be able to play with strict coronavirus rules back in New Mexico. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 5 p.m.
FBC-PLAYOFF RANKINGS — The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season will be released Tuesday night. In six seasons of the playoff, the first top four has never included all the eventual playoff teams.Still, the first rankings are important to powerhouse teams like Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson. Where the committee places Cincinnati and BYU is also worth watching closley. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 9 p.m.
HKN-NEW SEASON HURDLES — With various coronavirus-related issues --- from economic to geographic – still unresolved, time is running tight on whether the NHL can hit its proposed target date of starting the season on Jan. 1. While both sides agree of a likelihood of a one-time realignment featuring an all-Canadian division due to cross-border travel concerns, one major holdup involves the NHL seeking further payroll relief from its players to make up for projected losses in revenue. By Hockey Writers John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 650 words, file photos by 6 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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