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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UNITED STATES-MIDEAST — President Donald Trump presides over the signing of historic diplomatic pacts between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that he hopes will lead to a new order in the Mideast and cast him as a peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign. The agreements formalize the normalization of the Jewish state’s already thawing relations with the two Arab nations over their common opposition to Iran, but don’t address the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By Deb Riechmann, Matthew Lee and Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 974 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 980 words by 4 p.m., photos, video.
WESTERN WILDFIRES-SMOKY SKIES — Relief from putrid, dangerous air spewing from massive wildfires across the West won’t come until later in the week or beyond, scientists and forecasters say, and the hazy and gunk-filled skies might stick around for even longer. People in Oregon, Washington and parts of California were struggling under acrid yellowish-green smog — the worst, most unhealthy air on the planet according to some measurements. By Sara Cline and Gillian Flaccus. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER — Hurricane Sally, a plodding storm with winds of 85 mph, crept toward the northern Gulf Coast as forecasters warned of potentially deadly storm surges and flash floods with the heaviest downpours dumping nearly 2 feet of rain. Forecasters said the storm’s drifting pace made it difficult to predict precisely where the storm’s eye would make landfall. But they kept nudging the predicted track eastward, easing fears in New Orleans, which was once in Sally’s crosshairs. By Jay Reeves and Stacey Plaisance. SENT: 985 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will remain in session until lawmakers deliver another round of COVID-19 relief, a move that comes as some moderate Democrats agitate for greater compromise. But with talks between Pelosi and the Trump administration at a standstill, her remarks seem to signal continued determination to press ahead rather than compromise around Republicans’ scaled-down proposal. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 430 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 800 words by 5 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — Joe Biden is making his first trip to Florida as Democratic presidential nominee with an urgent mission to build support among Latinos who could decide the election in one of the nation’s fiercest battleground states. By Will Weissert. SENT: 780 words. UPCOMING: Developing from events at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., 900 words by 7 p.m., photos, video.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Election s featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-BREONNA TAYLOR LAWSUIT -- The city of Louisville will pay several million dollars to the mother of Breonna Taylor and install police reforms as part of a settlement of a lawsuit from Taylor’s family, The Associated Press has learned. By Dylan Lovan. SENT: 525 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TOILET PAPER — Toilet paper is back on store shelves. But you may not recognize some of the brands. Demand for toilet paper has been so high during the pandemic that in order to keep their shelves stocked, retailers are buying up foreign toilet paper brands, mostly from Mexico. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — India has confirmed more than 83,000 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total caseload to nearly 5 million, with 80,776 fatalities. With 4.93 million confirmed cases, India has the second-highest total in the world after the U.S. Infections have maintained an upward surge amid an ease in coronavirus restrictions nationwide. SENT: 510 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN -- A group that represents hospitals in England says a shortage of COVID-19 testing in the U.K. is jeopardizing efforts to restore medical services and prepare for a potential surge in coronavirus cases this winter. NHS Providers says inadequate testing is leading to increased absences in the National Health Service as staff members are forced to self-isolate while they and their family members wait for test results after possible exposure to the virus. SENT: 780 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE-FRONTLINE HELPERS --France is to reward foreign health care-workers and other front-line personnel who distinguished themselves in the fight against COVID-19 by fast-tracking citizenship for those who want to become French. SENT: 225 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE WEDDING -- Public health authorities say the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak linked to a Maine wedding reception has grown to five. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday the August wedding reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket is linked to more than 175 confirmed cases of the virus. SENT: 400 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-DIARY-GRATEFUL-FOR-TIME -- The changing seasons have reminded one journalist that time keeps passing despite the coronavirus pandemic. She has found solace in decorating her studio apartment for autumn. It has been six months, and it can sometimes feel like humanity is nowhere near the end of this health crisis. Who could have predicted that “after the pandemic” would still seemingly be just as far away as before? She is reminded that time will continue and we should be grateful for every minute. SENT: 580 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-TESTS -- What are the different types of coronavirus tests? There are three broad categories of coronavirus tests in the U.S. Two diagnose whether you have an active infection, and a third indicates if you previously had the virus. SENT: 330 words, photo.
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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ODD-SUSPECT-WINNING LOTTERY -- A suspect in Georgia left his good luck behind when he abandoned a $100 winning lottery ticket while fleeing sheriff’s deputies. SENT: 135 words.
POLICE FLAGS-PLAYERS SUSPENDED — A high school has suspended two football players from the team after they defied administrators by carrying flags at the start of a game that signal support of law enforcement. SENT: 160 words.
BEAR CUB-KILLED — New Hampshire authorities say one of three black bear cubs orphaned by the recent death of their famous mother was hit and killed by a bus. SENT: 375 words, photo.
LEGO DITCHES PLASTIC BAGS — Lego says it will be ditching the plastic bags inside its boxed sets and replacing them with paper ones. SENT: 225 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS/ 2020 ELECTION
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ELECTION 2020-TRUMP — President Trump participates in a televised “town hall” with uncommitted voters, a warm up of sorts for upcoming presidential debates. UPCOMING: 550 words by 5 p.m., with updates from 9 p.m. event.
ELECTION 2020-CONGRESS — House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy rolls out Republicans’ priorities of tax breaks and police funding, the GOP’s calling card to voters as they try to wrest back seats from Democrats in a long-shot November election bid for majority control. SENT: 426 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-HARRIS-POLICING -- Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is drawing on her past as the U.S. faces a reckoning over policing. As a San Francisco prosecutor, Harris declined to seek the death penalty against a young officer’s killer. But as she rose through politics, allies say she’s understood the need to build productive relationships with law enforcement. After losing the backing of a key officers group in her 2010 race for California attorney general, she won their support for her reelection bid in 2014. That background could be an asset as President Trump tries to convince voters that Harris and Joe Biden would allow more violence and crime in the streets. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-POLITICAL MEDDLING — A Trump health appointee who launched political attacks and allegedly sought to control scientific data during the coronavirus pandemic is creating new distractions for the White House in its disjointed virus response. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4 p.m., photos.
ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN ABSENTEES — Election clerks across the presidential battleground of Wisconsin rushed to mail absentee ballots, less than 24 hours after the state Supreme Court lifted a temporary freeze on sending them while it considered a legal challenge. SENT: 400 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-MEDIA — The pandemic has forced news organizations to rethink how they cover the presidential campaign — and some journalists say that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Being off the road has made organizations redeploy resources and be more enterprising, and able to respond when the question of voting access became a major issue. By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 1,130 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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MENTAL HEALTH-ALLEGHENY JAIL LAWSUIT -- Four inmates sued Allegheny County jail and mental health officials, alleging the in Pennsylvania facility offers inadequate treatment and medication for inmates with mental health disabilities and often punishes them with extended solitary confinement or excessive force. SENT: 760 words.
UNITED STATES-INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION — The international reputation of the United States has declined further in the wake of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research Tuesday from the Pew Research Center. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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CHINA-TARIFFS — The World Trade Organization said that Trump administration tariffs on Chinese goods totaling more than $200 billion are illegal under the rules of the global trade body. The decision marks the first time the Geneva-based trade body has ruled against a series of tariffs that President Trump’s government has imposed on a number of countries, allies and rivals alike. SENT: 500 words, photo.
GERMANY-RUSSIA-NAVALNY — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posted a picture of himself from his hospital bed in Germany, looking gaunt but joking wryly about his condition and saying that he was enjoying the ability to finally breathe on his own after being poisoned with a nerve agent. SENT: 800 words, photo.
ZIMBABWE-RIGHTS ABUSES — Human rights groups warn that critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government are finding themselves thrown in jail and denied bail. They charge that some government opponents have been abducted and tortured. Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economy and reports of alleged corruption involving the procurement of COVID-19 protective equipment and drugs have stoked peoples’ anger at a government that promised reform and prosperity when it took power in 2017. SENT: 995 words, photos.
MEXICO-INDEPENDENCE DAY — Mexicans will celebrate their Independence Day without big public ceremonies for the first time in 153 years due to restrictions on public gatherings caused by the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 445 words.
ITALY-ROSA PARKS HOME — The run-down, paint-chipped Detroit house where U.S. civil rights icon Rosa Parks took refuge after her historic bus boycott is going on display in Italy. The location, though, is a setting that couldn’t be more incongruous: the imposing central courtyard of the Royal Palace in Naples. SENT: 665 words, photos.
OBIT-MALI-TRAORE — Mali’s former president Moussa Traore, who ruled the West Africa nation for more than 22 years, has died at age 83, according to his son Idrissa Traore. SENT: 150 words, developing.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI--UN-BIODIVERSITY -- A decade-long global effort to save Earth’s disappearing species and declining ecosystems has mostly stumbled, with fragile habitats like coral reefs and tropical forests in more trouble than ever, researchers said in a report. In 2010, more than 150 countries agreed to goals to protect nature, but the new United Nations scorecard found that the world has largely failed to meet 20 different targets to safeguard species and ecosystems. SENT: 625 words, photos.
RESCUED TURTLES-RELEASED -- Three sea turtles that were near death when they were plucked from the surf at the Jersey shore with illnesses or injuries are back in the ocean. The volunteer group Sea Turtle Recovery is based at Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey. The group brought the trio to Point Pleasant Beach and released them into the surf. Among them were Silver Belle, a critically endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle; Melbourne, a green turtle, and loggerhead turtle Tabitha, the most severely ill whose survival after her June 2019 stranding in Cape May looked doubtful. SENT: 525 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Wall Street was strengthening again as big technology stocks wrest back more of their losses from their sudden belly flop earlier this month. SENT: 740 words, photo. UPCOMING: Will be updated through market close, about 800 words by 5 p.m.
FEDERAL RESERVE — Federal Reserve policymakers will meet this week for the first time since they significantly revised the Fed’s operating framework in ways that will likely keep short-term interest rates near zero for years to come. By Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 840 words.
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EMMY PREDICTIONS — “Watchmen” is a slam dunk, but what else will be among the winners at Sunday’s 72nd prime-time Emmy Awards? Two AP Entertainment writers offer their predictions. By Lynn Elber and Mark Kennedy. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
TV-CHALLENGER — Last year brought us the powerful TV miniseries “Chernobyl.” Now from Netflix comes a look at another disaster from 1986 — the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Many schoolkids tuned in to see Christa McAuliffe become the first teacher in space. The series approaches the disaster less like a post-mortem and more like a drama. It explores NASA history and the lives of the seven lost astronauts, why the accident occurred and the inquest that followed. By Mark Kennedy. SENT: 835 words, photo.
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BKN-NUGGETS-CLIPPERS — The Denver Nuggets have stormed back from a 3-1 deficit against the Los Angeles Clippers to force a Game 7. They’re trying to overcome that sort of hole for a second straight series. At stake for the Clippers is their first conference finals appearance in team history. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Game time is 9 p.m.
HKN—ISLANDERS-LIGHTNING — The Tampa Bay Lightning, who are one win from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in team history, play the New York Islanders in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference finals series. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 8 p.m.
BBO--STRUGGLING BALLPARK BUSINESSES-INDIANS - The COVID-19 pandemic has struck out a number of bars and restaurants near Cleveland’s Progressive Field. The inability of fans to attend games during the shortened 60-game season has had devastating consequences for many businesses, and especially those that rely on baseball fans for survival. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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