AP News Digest 6 p.m.

| October 13, 2020 3:09 PM

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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Adds SUPREME COURT-BARRETT-JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY, SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-TAXES, MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-ANTIBODY DRUG, ELECTION-2020-WISCONSIN-ABSENTEE, AP EXPLAINS-5G, SOUTH DAKOTA-ATTORNEY GENERAL-FATAL ACCIDENT, SCI-MOON-RULE

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ONLY ON AP

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AP POLL-VIRUS OUTBREAK-CAREGIVING — The coronavirus pandemic has thrust many Americans into the role of caring for an older or disabled loved one for the first time, a new poll finds. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds that 17% of Americans say they are providing ongoing caregiving, part of an informal volunteer corps. By Emily Swanson and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 1,040 words, photo, graphic.

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TOP STORIES

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SUPREME COURT-BARRETT — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has spent a long day batting back Democrats’ tough questioning at her Senate confirmation hearings. She was firm in her conservative convictions but light on specifics as senators tried to pin her down on abortion, health care and disputes that might arise from the upcoming presidential election. By Mark Sherman, Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1020 words, photos, video, audio, with updates expected throughout the day as hearing extends into the evening. With SUPREME COURT-BARRETT-THE LATEST (sent), SUPREME COURT-BARRETT-TAKEAWAYS — A calmer affair than other recent confirmation hearings. SENT: 890 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020 — With Election Day just three weeks away, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden concentrated on battleground states both see as critical to clinching an Electoral College victory, tailoring their travel to best motivate voters who could cast potentially decisive ballots. By Will Weissert, Jonathan Lemire and Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,020 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing from Biden afternoon events in Florida, Trump 7 p.m. rally in Pennsylvania. With ELECTION 2020-THE LATEST (sent), ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-COURT PACKING — Joe Biden says he is “not a fan” of adding seats to the Supreme Court, after weeks of avoiding questions about the proposal that’s been pushed by progressives and used by Republicans to attack him. SENT: 400 words, photo.

Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

VIRUS OUTBREAK — Governments across Europe are ratcheting up restrictions in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. The continent recorded its highest weekly number of new infections since the start of the pandemic. The World Health Organization said Tuesday that there were more than 700,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in Europe last week, a jump of 34% compared to the previous week. By Jamey Keaten and Frank Jordans. SENT: 9`0 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-LANDLORD-SQUEEZE -- When it comes to sympathetic figures, landlords aren’t exactly at the top of the list. But they, too, have fallen on hard times, demonstrating how the coronavirus outbreak spares almost no one. The stakes are particularly high for small landlords. Many were cushioned by a federal stimulus package that helped struggling businesses and the unemployed pay the rent. But now that the aid has expired, with Congress unlikely to pass a new package before Election Day, renters are falling behind. And landlords are having trouble paying the mortgage on their properties. By Anne D’Innocenzio. SENT: 940 words, photos.

2020-CENSUS — The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident from continuing through the end of October. President Donald Trump’s administration had asked the nation’s high court to suspend a district court’s order permitting the 2020 census to continue through the end of the month. By Mike Schneider. SENT: 590 words, photos. With ELECTION-2020-WISCONSIN-ABSENTEE — Supreme Court asked to extend Wisconsin absentee voting. SENT: 790 words, photo.

MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING-PLOT — Members of anti-government paramilitary groups implicated in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor over measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus during a fraught election year also discussed abducting Virginia’s governor during a June meeting, an FBI agent testified. By David Eggert and Katherine Foody. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-ANTIBODY DRUG — Independent monitors have paused enrollment in a study testing the COVID-19 antiviral drug remdesivir plus an experimental antibody therapy being developed by Eli Lilly that’s similar to a treatment President Donald Trump recently received. SENT: 480 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MELANIA TRUMP — President Donald Trump and his wife received their positive COVID-19 tests on the same day. He’s already returned to campaigning, but there’s been no public sighting yet of the first lady. SENT: 750 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRTUAL SCHOOL RULES — Toys that look like weapons. Barefoot students. Disruptive imagery in the background. Pets roaming the room. All a clear violation of rules inside most American classrooms. But that was when most American students were inside schools. How do standards like these translate when everyone is logging on from home? Schools are struggling to figure it out this fall — yet another adaptation demanded of educators during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 940 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Britain’s government defended its new three-tier system of COVID-19 risks and restrictions but critics suggested it was too little, too late amid reports that government’s own scientific advisers had recommended tougher action three weeks ago. SENT: 780 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRAVEL-RULES — European Union countries approve a series of guidelines aimed at facilitating free movement across the bloc and avoiding further disruption during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 460 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LIVES LOST-THE RABBI — British Rabbi Avrohom Pinter gave his life to save his neighbors. SENT: 880 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-ILLNESS — How long can I expect a COVID-19 illness to last? It depends. SENT: 300 words, graphic.

Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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SOC-RONALDO VIRUS — Cristiano Ronaldo has become the latest international soccer star to test positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 670 words, photos.

CUT CABLE-VOTER WEBSITE — An accidentally severed fiber optic cable shut down Virginia’s online voter registration system for several hours on the last day to register before the November general election, authorities said. SENT: 750 words, photo.

SOUTH DAKOTA-ATTORNEY GENERAL-FATAL ACCIDENT — South Dakota AG told 911 he hit ‘something’ in fatal crash. SENT: 660 words, photos.

AMAZON PRIME DAY — Holiday shopping gets early start with October Prime Day. SENT: 310 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s scheduling a procedural vote on a GOP COVID-19 relief bill for next week. He says aid to hard-hit businesses shouldn’t be held up by gridlock involving other aid proposals. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 670 words, photo.

ELECTION 2020-VOTING-MISINFORMATION — Popular and verified social media accounts are helping spread online misinformation around the U.S. vote that’s casting doubt on this year’s election. The false claims around voter fraud, misleading photos of ballots being dumped in the trash and tweets stoking fears of violence on Election Day are coming from social media users, partisan news outlets and even President Donald Trump’s son. SENT: 720 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-IOWA-ERNST — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has enthusiastically supported Donald Trump throughout his presidency. As Trump visits Iowa Wednesday, Ernst is finding her reelection bid tied directly to his in a state where the president’s support has eroded significantly as voters have harshly assessed his handling of the pandemic. SENT: 1,000 words., photos.

SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-TAXES — President Trump asks the Supreme Court to put on hold an appeals court ruling that Trump’s accountant must immediately turn over tax records to a New York state prosecutor. SENT: 280 words, photo. With SUPREME COURT-TRUMP EMOLUMENTS — The Supreme Court declines to revive a lawsuit filed by members of Congress against President Trump alleging that he illegally profits off the presidency. SENT: 170 words, photo.

ELECTION 2020-EARLY VOTING GEORGIA — The secretary of state’s office says more than 128,000 Georgians went to the polls Monday, a record for the first day of early voting in the state. The high turnout saw eager voters waiting in hours-long lines across the state to cast their ballots. Election officials and advocacy groups have been pushing people to vote early, either in person or by absentee ballot, in anticipation of record turnout and concerns about coronavirus exposure. SENT: 670 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-VOTING TEXAS — Early voting began with long lines in Texas, one of the few places in the U.S. not allowing widespread mail balloting during the pandemic, and Jill Biden rallied supporters across the red state that Democrats are no longer writing off. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-MILITARY — Army leaders say they have not received any requests to use active-duty or National Guard troops for possible civil unrest surrounding the presidential election next month, but are ready to do so if called on. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 870 words, photo.

SOCIAL SECURITY-COST OF LIVING — Social Security recipients will get a modest 1.3% cost-of living-increase in 2021, but that might be small comfort amid worries about the coronavirus and its consequences for older people. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Andrew Taylor. SENT: 700 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Death and injury tolls rose as fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces raged for a third week over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the United States urged both sides to adhere to a cease-fire reached over the weekend. Nagorno-Karabakh military officials said 16 servicemen were killed, bringing the total number of dead among troops to 532 since Sept. 27, when the fighting flared up in the decades-old conflict. SENT: 450 words, photos.

SUDAN-FILMMAKER — More than a year after the overthrow of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir, amid the promise of new leadership, Sudanese film director Hajooj Kuka was arrested during a theater workshop by the security forces that had served al-Bashir for years. He was tried and sentenced to prison on vague charges often used by the former government to enforce its conservative interpretation of religion. SENT: 1,000 words, photo.

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NATIONAL

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WWII FIGHTERS-CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL -- A World War II unit that spent months marching and fighting behind enemy lines in Burma has been approved to receive Congress’ highest honor. A bill has been sent to President Trump’s desk to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the unit nicknamed Merrill’s Marauders. Nearly 3,000 soldiers began the unit’s secret mission in Japanese occupied Burma in 1944. Barely 200 remained in the fight when their mission was completed five months later. Soldiers marched hundreds of miles through dense jungle on foot, fighting hunger and disease as well as enemy troops. Today only nine of the men are known to be still alive. SENT: 885 words, photos.

GEORGE FLOYD-INVESTIGATION — Prosecutors have offered additional explanation about why they believe longer sentences should be given if four former Minneapolis police officers are convicted in the death of George Floyd. SENT; 310 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/TECH

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EARNS-DELTA AIR LINES — The summer travel season was even worse than expected for Delta Air Lines, which said Tuesday that it lost $5.4 billion in the third quarter as people hunkered down at home during the pandemic. By David Koenig. SENT: 920 words, photos.

APPLE-UNVEIL — Apple unveiled four new iPhones equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks, hoping that demand for higher data speeds will spark demand for new phones. That might not happen as quickly as Apple would like. SENT: 720 words, photos. With AP EXPLAINS-5G — AP Explains: The promise of 5G wireless - speed, hype, risk. SENT: 580 words, photos.

FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Banks and technology companies led a broad slide for stocks on Wall Street, snapping the market’s four-day winning streak. SENT: 810 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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SCI-MOON-RULES — NASA’s new moonshot rules: No fighting and littering. And no trespassing at historic lunar landmarks like Apollo 11′s Tranquility Base. The space agency released a set of guidelines for its Artemis moon-landing program, based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and other agreements. SENT: 360 words, photo.

SCI-SPACE LAUNCH — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company launched a New Shepard rocket for a seventh time from a remote corner of Texas on Tuesday, testing new lunar-landing technology for NASA that could help put astronauts back on the moon. SENT: 410 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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FILM REVIEW-S---HOUSE -- You would assume a college comedy with the unprintable title of “S—-house” to be another sad, low-brow retread of “Animal House.” You would almost bet on it. But 22-year-old Cooper Raiff’s is not only not that film at all, it’s one of the freshest college movies in years, a nano-budget breakthrough of rare sensitivity that announces more than one new talent. SENT: 670 words, photos.

TV-BLACK-ISH PORTRAIT — When ABC decided the Johnsons of “black-ish” were due a portrait, it sought an artist who understands the family’s perspective. The task went to Kadir Nelson, a chronicler of contemporary African American experience and a fan of the sitcom. The result is a captivatingly sly, 70x70-inch oil-on-canvas work that depicts cast members including Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross in character as part of a riff on the “sipping tea” meme. By Lynne Elber. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BBN-NLCS — The Los Angeles Dodgers switch pitchers because of Clayton Kershaw’s back spasms, going with Tony Gonsolin in Game 2 after losing the NLCS opener. The Atlanta Braves start rookie Ian Anderson, who has struck out 17 in 11 2/3 scoreless innings this postseason. By Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts 6:05 p.m.

BBA-ALCS — Charlie Morton and the Tampa Bay Rays try to take a 2-0 lead in the ALCS against the Houston Astros, who counter with Lance McCullers Jr. Morton helped the Astros win the World Series in 2017. By Bernie Wilsons. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts 8:40 p.m.

FBN-NFL OWNERS — NFL owners are meeting virtually this week and the discussion is centered on health and safety and social responsibility. By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 6 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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