AP News Digest 3;10 a.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.
—————————
—————————
VIRUS OUTBREAK-THANKSGIVING TRAVEL — Millions of Americans took to the skies and the highways ahead of Thanksgiving at the risk of pouring gasoline on the coronavirus fire, disregarding increasingly dire warnings that they stay home and limit their holiday gatherings to members of their own household. By Lisa Marie Pane. SENT: 870 words photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THINGS-TO-KNOW, VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST (both sent)
BIDEN — On a day of grace and grievance, President-elect Joe Biden summoned Americans to join in common purpose against the coronavirus pandemic and their political divisions while the man he will replace stoked the fading embers of his campaign to “turn the election over.” By Alexandra Jaffe and Jill Colvin. SENT: 930 words, photos.
TRUMP-FLYNN PARDON — President Donald Trump pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, taking direct aim in the final days of his administration at a Russia investigation that he has long insisted was motivated by political bias. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
SOC-OBIT-MARADONA — Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer great who scored the “Hand of God” goal in 1986 and led his country to that year’s World Cup title before later struggling with cocaine use and obesity, has died. He was 60. Maradona’s spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said he died of a heart attack two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery.. By Debora Ray. SENT: 1,500 words, photos. With SOC-MARADONA-AP-WAS-THERE — The quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup encapsulated the best and worst of Diego Maradona. SENT: 850 words, photos; SOC-MARADONA-NAPOLI MOURNS — If there’s one place outside Argentina that will likely match the outpouring of mourning for Diego Maradona it’s in Naples. SENT: 440 words, photos. SOC-MARADONA-ARGENTINA-WEEPS, SOC-OBIT-MARADONA-WORLD-REACTS, REL-VATICAN-POPE-MARADONA; MARADONA-PHOTO GALLERY (all sent).
——————————————————————
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
——————————————————————
BRITAIN-JOHNNY-DEPP — UK judge refuses Johnny Depp permission to appeal libel ruling, SENT: 230 words.
———————————————————————
———————————————————————
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — South Korea has recorded more than 500 new coronavirus cases for the first time in about eight months. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency says the 583 additional cases in the past 24 hours took the national tally to 32,318 including 515 deaths. SENT: 390 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-IMMIGRANT-CHILDREN — The U.S. government appeals a judge’s order barring the expulsions of immigrant children who crossed the border alone, a policy enacted during the coronavirus pandemic to deny the children asylum protections. SENT: 420 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NEW-ZEALAND-PAKISTAN — Six members of the Pakistan cricket squad in New Zealand have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been moved from managed isolation into quarantine. SENT: 270 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE-Q&A — AstraZeneca and Oxford University have acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine. SENT: 720 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VENEZUELA HOSPITAL — The humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders is pulling out of a hospital in a Venezuelan slum that had been one of the nation’s best-equipped to treat COVID-19 patients, saying government restrictions made work impossible. SENT: 590 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
——————————————————-
——————————————————
SUPREME COURT- CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS — As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide, the Supreme Court late Wednesday temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit by the virus. SENT: 160 words.
ELECTION-2020-NEVADA-MAIL-LOOKBACK — Nevada’s decision to send all active voters mail-in ballots ahead of the November election put the swing state at the center of the nationwide debate over voting procedures. Though the decision has been a flashpoint in 2020, its effects ended up being different from the expectations of proponents and detractors when the policy was under consideration in late July and early August. Both parties say they’re prepared to address election procedures when the Legislature reconvenes in 2021, with Democrats pushing to make the policy permanent and Republicans arguing it undermined faith in the election process. SENT: 970 words, photos.
————————————
————————————
IRAN-AUSTRALIA — Thai officials say they approved the transfer back to Tehran of three Iranians who were involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot, as Iran released a 33-year-old Australian academic who was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges. By SENT: 920 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA-MILITARY-CONFRONTATION —Ethiopia’s prime minister says the army has been ordered to move on the embattled Tigray regional capital after his 72-hour ultimatum ended for Tigray leaders to surrender, and he warned its half-million residents to stay indoors and disarm. SENT: 620 words photos.
SOUTH-KOREA-CHINA — China’s top diplomat on Thursday stressed the importance of bilateral relations while meeting senior officials in South Korea, where there’s growing concern the country is becoming squeezed between its biggest trading partner and military ally the United States.
CAMBODIA-POLITICS — A Cambodian court on Thursday began hearing the cases of nearly 130 opponents and government critics charged with treason for taking part in nonviolent political activities over the past three years, in what one of them described as a sham trial. SENT: 600 words, photo.
INDONESIA-MINISTER ARRESTED — Indonesia’s anti-corruption commission formally named the country’s fisheries minister as a suspect in taking bribes related to exports of lobster larvae, and alleged he used the money on a luxury shopping spree during a visit to the United States. SENT: 500 words, photo.
SOUTH KOREA-CHATROOM SEX CRIME — The operator of an online chat room in South Korea was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison for blackmailing women, including minors, into filming sexually explicit video and selling them to others. SENT: 280 words.
———————-
———————-
CHURCH-STABBINGS-CALIFORNIA — A man suspected in the fatal stabbings of two people and the wounding of three others at a San Francisco Bay Area homeless shelter has a history of domestic violence and had been deported at least three times, officials say. SENT: 560 words, photos.
———————————————
———————————————
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian shares are mostly higher after Wall Street took a pause from the optimism underlined in a record-setting climb earlier in the week. Benchmarks in Japan, China and South Korea rose in afternoon trading, while falling in Australia. SENT: 600 words, photos.
————————————-
————————————-
———————
———————
FBC--T25-WEEKEND PREVIEW — The jockeying for position begins in earnest now that the first College Football Playoff rankings are out. Among the four teams at the top, only Notre Dame (No. 2 CFP) is expected to face a strong challenge this week. Alabama (No. 1) hosts Auburn in the Iron Bowl rivalry, Clemson (No. 3) is at home against Pittsburgh and Ohio State (No. 4) visits Illinois. All three are favored by at least 24 points. Notre Dame, looking to make the playoff for the second time in three years, will put its defense to the test against an explosive North Carolina offense. By Eric Olson. UPCOMING: 625 words, photos by 3 a.m.
———————————————
HOW TO REACH US
———————————————
At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Donald E. King (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.