AP News Digest 2 p.m.

| October 21, 2020 11:06 AM

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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ONLY ON AP

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SUPREME COURT-BARRETT-GAY RIGHTS — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of private Christian schools that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom. By Michelle R. Smith and Michael Biesecker. SENT: 3,050 words, photos. An abridged version of 990 words is also available.

AP POLL-ELECTION 2020-FACTS — In an election year that has thrown the country’s divisions into stark relief, Americans can agree on this: Misinformation about government and politics is a major problem. A new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research and USAFacts finds that while voters say it’s pretty easy to find accurate information about voting, they have a harder time knowing whether there’s any factual basis for the information they’re getting from and about the candidates. By David Klepper. SENT: 820 words, photo.

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TOP STORIES

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REL-VATICAN POPE FILM — Pope Francis became the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions in comments for a documentary that premiered, sparking cheers from gay Catholics and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue. The papal thumbs-up came midway through the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. The film, which features fresh interviews with the pope, delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,250 words, photos. WITH: REL-POPE REACTION-GAY CIVIL UNIONS — LGBT Catholics and their allies in the U.S. welcome Pope Francis’s endorsement of same-sex civil unions. But some prominent Catholics say he’s contradicting church teaching. 850 words by 5 p.m.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are set to square off for their final debate Thursday, a pivotal late moment in an contentious campaign made increasingly chaotic by an incumbent trying to change the trajectory of the race. By Jonathan Lemire. UPCOMING: 990 words by 4:30 p.m., photos.

ELECTION 2020-OBAMA — Former President Barack Obama is returning to Philadelphia for his first in-person 2020 campaign event for Joe Biden. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 600 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 5:45 p.m. event, 790 words by 6:30 p.m., photos.

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

OPIOID CRISIS-PURDUE PHARMA — Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials announce. The deal does not release any of the company’s executives or owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — from criminal liability, and a criminal investigation is ongoing. By Michael Balsamo and Geoff Mulvihill. SENT: 1140 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOSPITALIZATIONS — Hospitals across the United States are starting to buckle from a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with several states setting records for the number of people hospitalized and leaders scrambling to find extra beds and staff. New highs in cases have been reported in states big and small — from Idaho to Ohio — in recent days. By Lisa Marie Pan and Daniella Peters. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 3 p.m.

MED-VIRUS OUTBREAK — The global hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine for kids is only just beginning — a lagging start that has some U.S. pediatricians worried they may not know if any shots work for young children in time for the next school year. Older adults may be most vulnerable to the coronavirus, but ending the pandemic will require vaccinating children, too. Pfizer last week received permission to test its vaccine in U.S. kids as young as 12, and the first test injections in adolescents have begun. Two Chinese vaccines also are beginning some pediatric testing. By Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 915 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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DEATH THREATS-BIDEN AND HARRIS — A Maryland man was charged with making death threats against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in a letter left on the doorstep of a neighbor who had yard signs supporting the candidates. SENT: 350 words , photo.

MASCOT LAWSUIT-TEXAS — A photographer is suing the owners of the University of Texas’ live mascot for negligence, saying he suffered serious neck and back injuries when the longhorn steer charged out of its pen before the 2019 Sugar Bowl. SENT: 300 words.

BODY IDENTIFIED — The remains of a woman have finally been identified a quarter of a century after they were discovered in an Illinois field about 150 miles from her family home. SENT: 365 words.

GEORGIA-HOSTAGE TAKING — An armed assailant took bank employees and customers hostage Wednesday in the ex-Soviet nation of Georgia, authorities said. Local media reported that up to 19 hostages could be inside the bank. SENT: 190 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE DEBATE

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ELECTION 2020-DEBATE MODERATOR — This fall’s presidential debates have chewed up moderators. President Donald Trump steamrolled Chris Wallace, and Susan Page struggled to make the vice presidential candidates adhere to time limits their campaigns had agreed to in advance. Next up: Kristen Welker. By David Bauder. SENT: 676 words, photo.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-QUESTIONS — 5 questions as President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden prepare for their debate. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5 p.m., photos.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-VIRUS OUTBREAK-TENNESSEE — When President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden arrive in Nashville for their final debate before the Nov. 3 election, they’ll be greeted by a city with rising coronavirus case counts inside a state immersed in a debate of its own about mask-wearing. UPCOMING: 850 words by 2 p.m., photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2020-OPIOIDS — The coronavirus outbreak and the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic have been a dominating theme in this year’s presidential race. That has overshadowed debate over how to handle the nation’s drug overdose crisis, which has contributed to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans over the last two decades. The overdose death toll is only getting worse. It reached a new high of 71,000 in 2019, the vast majority related to opioids. SENT: 1,280 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-MIDWEST LESSONS — Joe Biden has visited Wisconsin just twice as the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. That’s still two more times than Hillary Clinton did in 2016. Even in a national political environment fundamentally altered by the coronavirus pandemic, the former vice president has paid far more attention to swing-voting Wisconsin and its pivotal neighbor Michigan than Clinton did during a campaign with no public health crisis or concerns about mass gatherings. SENT: 970 words, photo.

ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-THE DANCE — He adjusts his coat. He revels in the crowd. And then he goes for it. President Donald Trump, a man who is notoriously prickly about appearances, is fully embracing the dad dance at his rallies. He lurches side to side and jerks his body to the Village People’s “YMCA” as the crowds cheer. SENT: 650 words, photos.

TRUMP-FBI DIRECTOR — Just four years into his 10-year tenure, FBI Director Christopher Wray’s future in the job is decidedly uncertain heading into next month’s presidential election. Yet oddly enough, his position is likely to be more secure if the president who appointed him loses than if he wins. UPCOMING: 990 words by 4 p.m., photo.

DEVOS-LOAN FORGIVENESS — Months after agreeing to process a backlog of 160,000 claims for student loan forgiveness, the U.S. Education Department has so far rejected 94% of applications, according to a federal judge who is now demanding an explanation for the “blistering pace” of rejections. UPCOMING: 790 words by 5 p.m., photos.

ELECTION 2020-GLOBAL PRESSURE POINTS — Four years after Trump’s election reframed how many nations interacted with the United States, the way that the world’s foremost superpower moves forward after its presidential election stands to impact many geopolitical pressure points — whether the victor turns out to be Trump or his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. By Tamer Fakahany. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.

A separate wire advisory has been sent detailing AP's complete Election 2020 coverage.

ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN — More than 75,000 people in Wisconsin cast ballots on the first day of early in-person voting in the presidential battleground state, the state elections commission reported. SENT: 400 words, photos.

OBIT-YOST — Pete Yost, a retired Associated Press investigative reporter with a fierce, determined style of interviewing that contrasted with his low-key, modest personality, has died at age 73. Yost covered many of the biggest stories of his time and was known throughout Washington journalism and political circles as a dogged investigator who didn’t put up with spin and shading the truth. SENT: 730 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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NIGERIA-POLICE-PROTESTS — Nigerian protesters demanding an end to police brutality defied a curfew as gunfire rang out where they were setting up a blockade, a day after shots were fired into a crowd of demonstrators singing the country’s national anthem. That disturbing turn drew global outrage. SENT: 1,025 words, photos.

AFGHANISTAN — At least 11 women were trampled to death when a stampede broke out among thousands of Afghans waiting in a soccer stadium to get visas to leave the country, officials said. SENT: 430 words, photos.

BREXIT — The British government and the European Union will resume stalled trade negotiations in London, the U.K. government said -- days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared the talks over. SENT: 840 words, photos.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Armenia’s prime minister said that Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance in the 25-day fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh leaves no room for diplomacy, and urged citizens to sign up as military volunteers to protect their country. SENT: 600 words, photos.

GERMANY MUSEUM DAMAGE — More than 60 artworks and artifacts at some of Berlin’s best-known museums were smeared with an oily liquid by an unknown perpetrator or perpetrators earlier this month, authorities said. They were hopeful that the apparently random damage can be repaired, but said the motive was a mystery. SENT: 645 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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RACIAL INJUSTICE-BREONNA TAYLOR — A Louisville police officer who shot Breonna Taylor after he was wounded by her boyfriend’s gunshot said she “didn’t deserve to die.” Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly said Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical worker who was roused from her bed by police serving a narcotics warrant, “didn’t do anything to deserve a death sentence.” SENT: 420 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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SCI-BEETLE SHELL ARMOR — Scientists say the armor of a seemingly indestructible beetle offers clues for designing stronger planes and buildings. The aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle can withstand being crushed by forces almost 40,000 times its body weight. In a study published in the journal Nature, a group of scientists explains why the beetle is so squash-resistant: The insect’s armor is layered and pieced together like a jigsaw. That’s what helps it avoid being stomped, squished or pecked to death. The researchers say designs inspired by the beetle’s armor could help engineers build tougher airplanes, buildings and vehicles. SENT: 530 words, photos.

SCI—ASTEROID-GRAB — Scientists release new photos and discuss Tuesday’s attempt to grab rubble from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 6 p.m.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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FINANCIAL MARKETS —Stocks were wobbling on Wall Street as negotiations continue in Washington on more aid for the economy, though prospects remain cloudy that anything can happen soon. SENT: 700 words, photos, developing.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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FILM-BAD HAIR — Several scenes in “Bad Hair” were so horrifying, some women cast members of the film initially second-guessed wearing hair weave or extensions on their head. The film releases Friday on Hulu. By AP Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum Jr. SENT: 700 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BBO-WORLD SERIES — 2018 AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell makes his first World Series start as the Tampa Bay Rays try to avoid a 2-0 deficit against the NL champion Dodgers. Los Angeles is going with rookie Tony Gonsolin backed up by several relievers. By Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts 8:08 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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