AP News Digest 2 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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ELECTION 2020 -- President Donald Trump makes a reelection appeal to voters in Michigan and Wisconsin, crucial upper Midwestern states that were instrumental to his 2016 victory but may now be slipping from his grasp. By Jill Colvin and Brian Slodysko. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos by 3 p.m. Events scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP -- Gone are the days when President Donald Trump held forth daily at the White House podium flanked by members of his coronavirus task force. And the days when Vice President Mike Pence and other task force officials would head to Trump’s office to brief him immediately after their meetings. In the week since he emerged from coronavirus isolation, Trump has demonstrated new determination to minimize the threat of the virus that has killed more than 215,000 Americans and complicated his chances of winning another four years in the White House. By Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RURAL SPREAD — Rural Jerauld County in South Dakota didn’t see a single case of the coronavirus for more than two months stretching from June to August. But in the last two weeks, its rate of new cases per person soared to one of the highest in the nation. As the brunt of the virus has blown into the Upper Midwest and northern Plains, the severity of the virus outbreak in rural communities has come into focus. Doctors in small towns worry that infections may overwhelm tight-knit communities with limited medical resources. By Stephen Groves. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
FRANCE TEACHER-DECAPITATED — A suspect shot dead by police after the beheading of a history teacher near Paris was an 18-year-old Chechen refugee unknown to intelligence services who posted a grisly claim of responsibility on social media minutes after the attack, officials said. France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said that authorities investigating the horrific killing of Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday have also arrested nine suspects, including the grandfather, parents and 17-year-old brother of the attacker. By Thomas Adamson. SENT: 740 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE BLACK-IMMIGRANTS — Inspired by global protests against systemic racism and police brutality, a Nigerian American lifestyle blogger delivered a message to Black immigrant communities in the United States: This is your battle, too. Thirty-one-year-old Nifesimi Akingbe has been outspoken about racial equity since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But amid the camaraderie younger Black immigrants like her feel with African Americans, they also see a generational divide in their communities. By Haleluya Hadero. SENT: 875 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
MISINFORMATION-ELECTION-SCAMS — Scam artists are taking notice as American voters face an especially polarized November election. The FBI and the Better Business Bureau and cybersecurity experts have warned of new and increasingly sophisticated online fraud schemes tied to the U.S. presidential election and pivotal Senate races. By David Klepper. SENT: 820 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-SKI SEASON — Roughly seven months after the coronavirus cut the ski season short at the height of spring break, resorts across the U.S. and Canada are picking up the pieces and trying to figure out how to safely reopen this winter. Resort leaders are asking guests to curb their expectations and to embrace a new normal while skiing amid a pandemic. That could mean skiing with face coverings, socially-distanced lift lines, no dine-in service, sharing lifts only with your group and no large gatherings. SENT: 1,035 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK — Movie theaters in New York state can reopen beginning next Friday with restrictions on audience size and other precautions in place, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. SENT: 360 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE — Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to come together like they did in the spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the country posted another daily record of new cases. SENT: 760 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran announces its death toll from the coronavirus has passed the milestone of 30,000 killed, in what has been the Mideast region’s worst outbreak. SENT: 740 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ASIA — Australia’s Victoria state has reported just one new case of COVID-19 and no deaths as the city of Melbourne moves closer towards the easing of some lifestyle restrictions. The state’s coronavirus death toll remains at 816 and the Australian total is 904. SENT: 640 words, photos.
INDIA-DIGITAL FASHION-PHOTO GALLERY — India holds digital fashion week amid pandemic. SENT: 470 words, photos.
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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STOLEN LEMUR — San Francisco police say they arrested a man suspected in the abduction of a ring-tailed lemur from the city’s zoo, where officials rewarded a 5-year-old boy who helped recapture the endangered primate with a lifetime membership. SENT: 420 words, photos.
TRUMP CRITICISM-SASSE -- President Trump pushes back at Sen. Ben Sasse on Twitter, calling the Nebraska senator “a liability to the Republican Party, and an embarrassment” to the state. SENT: 200 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BAH-HUMBUG-HALLOWEEN — Americans may love Naples for its most famous export, pizza. But the governor of Italy’s southern region had choice words for the exported American holiday of Halloween. Campania Gov. Vincenzo De Luca blasted the holiday as a “stupid American extravagance” and a “monument to imbecility.” SENT: 330 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEDICAL DRONES - A medical drone delivery service founded by trainee doctors that aims to transport coronavirus samples, test kits and protective equipment between hospitals wins the backing of Britain’s Space Agency. SENT: 180 words.
PREGNANT WOMAN-ARRESTED — A Black woman whose arrest when she was nine months pregnant sparked outrage has given birth to a girl, her attorney says. SENT: 210 words.
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ELECTION 2020-MICHIGAN SENATE -- Call him low-key, understated, maybe even “boring.” First-term Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan is betting voters care more about his effectiveness as he desperately fights to keep a seat his party is counting on to take back the Senate majority. The former investment adviser is finding it tough to shake Republican John James, a Black business executive and combat veteran, even as Joe Biden’s edge over President Donald Trump in the state seems to grow. SENT: 970 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-PHILADELPHIA — When President Trump told the world that “bad things happen in Philadelphia,” it was, in part, a blunt assessment of his party’s struggles in a city that routinely anchors Democratic victories in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Trump’s debate-stage disdain for Philadelphia underscored his campaign’s court challenges and statehouse wrangling over mail-in voting and poll watching, efforts Democrats characterize as voter suppression. In Philadelphia, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign is putting a heavy emphasis on turning out Black and Latino voters to improve turnout over 2016. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
FACT CHECK-WEEK - All the gears of government were in motion this past week as the presidential candidates, a Supreme Court nominee and members of Congress weighed in on the issues of the time. An AP Fact Check finds multiple misstatements from President Donald Trump about the pandemic. In one, he wrongly claimed that most people who wear masks get COVID-19. Democrat Joe Biden wrongly stated that Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett explicitly advocated the repeal of “Obamacare.” SENT: 2,690 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
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THAILAND PROTESTS — Pro-democracy activists in Thailand have staged a fourth straight day of high-profile protests in the capital, thwarting efforts by the authorities to stop them, including a shutdown of the city’s mass transit systems. Unlike protests a day earlier, which saw police using water cannons to keep the protesters at bay, Saturday’s demonstrations were peaceful, with no reports of any clashes by the time participants started heading home in the evening. SENT: 740 words, photos.
NEW ZEALAND-ELECTION — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has won a second term in office in an election landslide of historic proportions. With most votes counted Saturday, Ardern’s liberal Labour Party was on target to win an outright majority of the seats in Parliament, something that hasn’t happened since New Zealand implemented a proportional voting system 24 years ago. SENT: 780 words, photos.
AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA — Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of striking its second-largest city with a ballistic missile that killed at least 13 civilians and wounded 50 others in a new escalation of their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. SENT: 600 words, photos.
LEBANON-PROTEST ANNIVERSARY — A year ago, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese took to the streets protesting taxes and a rapidly deteriorating economic crisis. A spontaneous and hopeful nationwide movement was born, denouncing an entire political establishment that had for decades pushed Lebanon toward collapse. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
JAPAN-SUGA — Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, leaves Sunday on his first overseas foray since taking over from his former boss Shinzo Abe last month, heading to Vietnam and Indonesia. SENT: 990 words, photos.
CYPRUS-TURKISH CYPRIOTS-ELECTION — Turkish Cypriots vote on Sunday in a leadership runoff that could decide whether they retain more control over their own affairs or steer even closer to an increasingly domineering Turkey. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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PAINTER'S HIKING JOURNEY — One hiker set off to hike the country’s oldest long-distance trail this fall not only to immerse himself in the wilderness but to create art along the way. SENT: 600 words, photos.
ABORTION-KENTUCKY — A federal appeals court has upheld a decades-old Kentucky law requiring abortion clinics to have written agreements with a hospital and an ambulance service in case of medical emergencies. SENT: 500 words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI-NEW YORK EELS — New York state and city wildlife officials say it’s too soon to know the local impact of exotic eels dumped into a Brooklyn lake last month. Officials don’t expect the eels to survive winter in the Big Apple, but biologists warn they could still outcompete and prey on native species this fall. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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EUROPE-ECONOMIC RELAPSE — Europe’s economy was just catching its breath from what had been the sharpest recession in modern history. A resurgence in coronavirus cases this month is a bitter blow that will likely turn what was meant to be a period of healing for the economy into a lean winter of job losses and bankruptcies. SENT: 990 words, photos.
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BBA--ALCS — The surging Astros, winners of three straight to force Game 7 of the ALCS, play the Rays for a spot in the World Series. The 2004 Red Sox are the only team to advance after down 3-0. Tampa Bay’s Charlie Morton and Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. are on the mound. By Bernie Wilson. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts 8:37 p.m.
BBN--NLCS — The Braves try again to clinch their first World Series berth since 1999, facing a Dodgers team that hasn’t won the title since 1988. Max Fried starts for Atlanta in Game 6 of the NLCS against Walker Buehler of Los Angeles. By Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts 4:38 p.m.
FBC--T25-GEORGIA-ALABAMA — With Nick Saban cleared to coach after contracting COVID-19, No. 2 Alabama hosts No. 3 Georgia in a game between the SEC’s only unbeaten teams. The game pits the conference’s top offense (Alabama) against the top defense (Georgia). UPCOMING: 750 words. Game starts 8 p.m.
FBN--VIRUS OUTBREAK-NFL - The Patriots are back at work, a day after a fifth player tested positive and a day before their twice-postponed game against Denver. The Jaguars, Falcons and Colts also have had COVID-19 issues the past few days. SENT: 600 words, photos.
BOX--LOMACHENKO-LOPEZ - Vasiliy Lomachenko takes on Teofimo Lopez in a lightweight title unification bout that is boxing’s biggest fight since the pandemic began. Lomachenko is favored but the brash Lopez is confident he will remain undefeated. By Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg. Bout starts about midnight.
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HOW TO REACH US
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