AP News Digest 6:15 p.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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NEW & DEVELOPING
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Eds Note: — VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP contains important update: President Trump is being admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following COVID-19 diagnosis.
Adds: ROCHESTER MAYOR INDICTED, GUANTANAMO-SEPT 11 TRIAL, UNITED-NATIONS-NUCLEAR-WEAPONS.
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ONLY ON AP
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AP POLL-FOREIGN INTERFERENCE — Most Americans are concerned at least somewhat by the potential for foreign interference in November’s election, and a majority believes that Russia sought in 2016 to influence the outcome of that race, according to a new poll that underscores the anxiety and political divisions heading into the final weeks of the presidential contest. By Eric Tucker and Emily Swanson. SENT: 960 words, photo, graphic.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — President Donald Trump will spend a “few days” at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19. The White House says the visit is precautionary and Trump will work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties. By Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, video. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-THE LATEST and VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP-TIMELINE.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOW IT HAPPENED — No one knows exactly how, when or from whom President Trump became infected with the coronavirus. But to retrace some of his steps over the last week is to see an abundance of opportunity for infection, not that cliched “abundance of caution.” By Jill Colvin. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 7 p.m.
For more coverage on Trump coronavirus in AP Newsroom.
MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK TRUMP MEDICAL — President Trump has several strikes against him — age, obesity, elevated cholesterol and being male — that could put him at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus infection he disclosed late Thursday. Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive, “are both well at this time” and plan to remain at the White House while recovering and being closely monitored, according to a statement from his physician, Dr. Sean Conley. By Marilynn Marchione. SENT: 720 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-MISINFORMATION — News that President Donald Trump and first Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 sparked an explosion of rumors, misinformation and conspiracy theories in a matter of hours early Friday, littering social media feeds across various platforms. By Amanda Seitz and Beatrice Dupuy. 850 words, photo by 4 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-VIRUS — An election year already defined by a cascade of national crises is descending further into uncharted territory, with President Trump heading to a military hospital with the coronavirus after consistently playing down the threat. By Bill Barrow and Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,050 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — America’s employers added 661,000 jobs in September, the third straight month of slower hiring and evidence from the final jobs report before the presidential election that the economic recovery has weakened. With September’s hiring gain, the economy has recovered only slightly more than half the 22 million jobs that were wiped out by the viral pandemic. The nearly 10 million jobs that remain lost exceed the number that the nation shed during the entire 2008-2009 Great Recession. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 950 words, photos. WITH: FINANCIAL MARKETS — Wall Street’s major stock indexes fell after President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, but the losses ended up milder than investors braced for early in the morning. SENT: 750 words, photos, developing.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-BREONNA TAYLOR — Police who shot Breonna Taylor announced themselves as law enforcement before entering her apartment, according to grand jury testimony that was among hours of audio recordings released Friday. “We knocked on the door, said police, waited I don’t know 10 or 15 seconds. Knocked again, said police, waited even longer,” Louisville police Lt. Shawn Hoover said in an interview recorded March 13, the same date Taylor was shot, and later played for the grand jury. By Dylan Lovan. SENT: 550 words, photos. Developing.
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MORE ON THE 2020 ELECTION
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHITE HOUSE — With ready access to testing and the best public health minds, President Trump should have been the American safest from the COVID-19 virus. Instead, he ignored his own government’s guidelines and through his behavior — eschewing masks, relentlessly traveling, gathering big crowds — the president failed to protect himself. By Jonathan Lemire. UPCOMING: 800 words by 7 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-VIRUS-REPUBLICANS — Republicans in Congress are facing perhaps their biggest loyalty test yet after President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus. The diagnosis is upending the Trump administration’s entire approach to COVID-19 weeks before the election. So far, the Republicans are standing by Trump. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 800 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-VIRUS-BIDEN — President Trump’s stunning admission that he tested positive for coronavirus is offering Joe Biden his clearest opportunity yet to drive the case he’s made central to his campaign: The coronavirus is serious, and in dealing with it, leadership matters. By Alexandra Jaffe, Laurie Kellman and Will Weissert. UPCOMING: 800 words by 7 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-CAMPAIGN SPENDING — Nearly $11 billion will be spent by federal candidates and political action committees during the 2020 election cycle, a jaw-dropping sum that will far surpass records set in the past. SENT: 400 words.
JAILED VOTERS — Most of the three-quarters of a million people held in U.S. jails have the right to vote. But many of them are unable to, stymied by misinformation from jail staffers, denied access to absentee ballots or polling places, or prevented from even becoming a registered voter. The result is widespread voter disenfranchisement, say experts with the Prison Policy Institute. SENT: 970 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION-2020-SENATE-SOUTH-CAROLINA --U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and his Democratic challenger are set to meet in their first face-to-face matchup, amid record-breaking fundraising and a Supreme Court nomination debate that means Graham will be spending much of the remaining campaign in Washington. Graham and Jaime Harrison debate Saturday in Columbia in their first of three scheduled meetings. SENT: 595 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-CALIFORNIA-DIALYSIS CLINICS — California voters will again weigh in on the quality of care dialysis clinics provide to about 80,000 people in the state with kidney failure. SENT: 770 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TEXAS VOTING — Civil rights and voter advocacy groups have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block an order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that dramatically reduced the number of drop-off locations for mail ballots. SENT: 650 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN-ABSENTEE — Republicans are asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to act in a matter of days to help undo a federal court ruling that extends the period that absentee ballots can be counted in the battleground state until Nov. 9, six days after the election. SENT: 420 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-A-COMMUNITY-BESET — In a chaotic year destined for the history books, a Black community in Chicago has written its own grim chapter. Auburn Gresham has endured a deadly virus, protests, gun violence and economic misery. The constant state of turmoil mirrors the tumult that has afflicted much of urban America. But there is reason for optimism, too. A local group recently received a $10 million grant that will be used to bring medical care, food and other needed services to the South Side community. SENT: 2,700 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 960 words is available.
CONGRESS-TESTING — Congressional leaders are taking a fresh look at requiring virus testing on Capitol Hill after President Trump’s virus infection revived fears of an outbreak in the close, increasingly tense quarters of the House and Senate. By Laurie Kellman. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-GLOBAL REACTION — News of the infection of the most powerful man in the world with the most notorious disease in the world drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follow much of what Trump does, even from 10,000 miles away. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP-OTHER-LEADERS — Trump joins growing list of virus-infected world leaders (sent).
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NOTRE DAME — The University of Notre Dame’s president announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus less than a week after he attended a White House event without wearing a mask. SENT: 250 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-SEASONAL WORKERS — Eastern European seasonal workers, led by Romanians, are considered essential to getting food on the table throughout Europe. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MONEY-SENT-TO-MEXICO — Mexican workers have confounded economists by sending home huge sums of money during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 940 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — Australia and New Zealand announced a partial opening of their borders to travel between the countries. SENT: 560 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-TESTING — How long could I be contagious before a positive virus test? Studies have shown that people may be contagious for about two days before developing COVID-19 symptoms. SENT: 270 words, with illustration.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
A separate wire advisory has moved outlining our complete coronavirus coverage.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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RICK MORANIS-ATTACKED — A law enforcement official tells the Associated Press that actor Rick Moranis was sucker punched by an unknown assailant while walking Thursday on a sidewalk near New York’s Central Park. SENT: 245 words, photo.
600-YEAR SENTENCE — An Alabama man accused of getting two preschoolers to engage in sexual contact so he could record them has been sentenced to prison. SENT: 200 words.
AMAZON CENTER SHOOTING — A 22-year-old man who is in a hospital recovering from a self-inflicted bullet wound has been charged with second-degree murder in a Tuesday night shooting that left a woman dead at an Amazon fulfillment center in Florida, authorities said. SENT: 160 words.
AIRBNB-HALLOWEEN — Airbnb will prohibit one-night rentals over Halloween weekend as part of its ongoing effort to crack down on party houses. SENT: 275 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON
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UNITED STATES-STATE DEPT — The State Department’s internal watchdog says there was a 63% surge in sexual harassment complaints at the agency between 2014 and 2017 but that the frequency of incidents is likely higher. SENT: 500 words.
GUANTANAMO-SEPT 11 TRIAL — Another military judge steps away from the long-stalled Sept. 11 war crimes tribunal at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying his past work and personal connections create an “appearance of bias.” SENT: 530 words, photo.
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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES — California is poised to hit a fearsome milestone: 4 million acres burned this year by wildfires that have killed 30 people and incinerated hundreds of homes in what is already the worst fire season on record. Flames have scorched an area larger than Connecticut. SENT: 835 words, photos.
ROCHESTER MAYOR INDICTED — Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren has been indicted on charges she broke campaign finance rules and committed fraud during her reelection campaign three years ago, adding another layer of crisis in a city that has been reeling over its handling of a police killing. SENT: 640 words, photos.
2020-CENSUS — A federal judge is instructing the Census Bureau to text every 2020 census worker, letting them know the count of every U.S. resident is continuing through the end of the month and not ending next week, as the agency previously had announced in violation of her injunction. SENT: 550 words, photos.
LIGHTER FLUID ATTACK — Federal prosecutors said there’s not enough evidence to prove that a young biracial woman was set on fire during a protest in Wisconsin this summer. Althea Bernstein, 18, told police she was attacked by four white men while driving through a protest June 24 in downtown Madison. She said she heard someone yell a racial slur and one of the men sprayed her with lighter fluid through her open window and threw a flaming lighter at her, setting her neck and face on fire. SENT: 355 words.
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UNITED-NATIONS-NUCLEAR-WEAPONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning that the world is living “in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe,” fueled by growing distrust and tensions between nuclear-armed nations. SENT: 890 words, photos.
IRAQ-MISSING-PROTESTERS — Militias in Iraq are widely believed to be behind the abductions of at least 50 activists, as well as the assassinations of more than 60 others. SENT: 1,660 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,030 words is available.
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Armenia says the country is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. SENT: 920 words, photos.
INDIA-ECONOMIC-GLOOM — Millions of distressed Indian manufacturers and traders are counting on the eagerly awaited October-December festive season to rescue them from their coronavirus catastrophe. But spending may be the last thing on the minds of many Indians who have lost their jobs or businesses in the pandemic downturn. SENT: 1,130 words, photos, graphic.
PAKISTAN SILENCING CRITICS — An elderly Pakistani human rights worker says his wife and their daughter face new terrorism-related charges. His daughter has already fled to America after being targeted by the country’s powerful military for her investigations into human rights abuses by soldiers. SENT: 650 words, photos.
ETHIOPIA-SAUDI ARABIA-DETAINED MIGRANTS — New details are emerging of the squalid detention conditions and abuses facing thousands of migrants from Ethiopia in Saudi Arabia. SENT: 760 words, photo.
BREXIT — The European Union and Britain said that wide gaps remained in their fraught talks on a rudimentary trade agreement following the Brexit divorce and called for intensified negotiations before a deadline in a couple of weeks. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE PRIORITIES --A U.S. advisory panel made recommendations for who should be first in line to get COVID-19 vaccine, including a plea for special efforts by states and cities to get the shots to low-income minority groups. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
MED-CORONAVIRUS DRUG REVIEW — The European Medicines Agency says it has started a safety review after some patients taking the coronavirus drug remdesivir reported serious kidney problems. SENT: 330 words, photo.
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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-HARVEY WEINSTEIN — Prosecutors say Harvey Weinstein has been charged with the rape of two more women in Los Angeles County. SENT: 220 words, photo. Developing.
FILM-STEVE MCQUEEN — Where other filmmakers have put their next opuses on hold, Steve McQueen has raced to finish not one but five new films. In an interview, McQueen discusses his anthology, dedicated to George Floyd, chronicling the West Indian experience in London from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT: 900 words, photos.
SNOOPY AT 70 — The virus pandemic won’t stop Charlie Brown, Snoopy or the “Peanuts” gang from marking an important birthday and they’re hoping to raise the spirits of sick kids while celebrating. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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BKN--NBA FINALS — The Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis powering an opening rout, play the banged-up Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts 9 p.m.
BBN--CARDINALS-PADRES — The Padres and St. Louis Cardinals play Game 3 to settle their wild-card series. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers both homered twice to rally San Diego in Game 2, an 11-9 victory in which the teams combined to use 17 pitchers. By Bernie Wilson. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 7:08 p.m.
BBN--MARLINS-CUBS — The Cubs send NL Cy Young Award candidate Yu Darvish to the mound, hoping he can help even this wild-card series. Rookie Sixto Sanchez goes for the Miami Marlins in a Game 2 pushed back a day because of threatening weather. By Andrew Seligman. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game started 2:08 p.m.
FBN--VIRUS OUTBREAK-NFL — The Steelers-Titans game will now be played Oct. 25 in Week 7. The rescheduling comes as two more Tennessee players test positive for COVID-19, the AP is told, raising the team’s total to 14 for the past week. By Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker. SENT: 650 words, photos. SENT: 790 words, photos.
TEN--FRENCH OPEN — U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem reaches the fourth round of the French Open for the fifth consecutive time. Thiem was runner-up the last two years, both times to Rafael Nadal. Also advancing in the autumn chill is top-seeded Simona Halep. By John Leicester. SENT: 930 words, photos.
BKL--WNBA FINALS — The Storm and Aces open the best-of-five WNBA Finals. Seattle, led by Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, is looking for its fourth title. Las Vegas, backed by MVP A’ja Wilson, is going for its first. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 7 p.m.
FBC--LOST TRADITIONS-MARCHING BANDS — The music is not so loud in college football this fall. Marching bands, part of the game since its beginning more than a century ago, are idled or toned down across the country. By Cliff Brunt. SENT: 940 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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