AP News Digest 6:30 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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Adds WESTERN WILDFIRES-SMOKE STRETCHES EAST, ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-UNDECIDED VOTERS, ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-VACCINES, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS, ELECTION 2020-BIDEN VIDEO-MISINFORMATION, VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SPAIN, VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS, UNIVERSAL-BASIC-INCOME, CALIFORNIA-BOAT-FIRE, BRAZIL-AMAZON-INDIGENOUS-GUARDIANS, FEDERAL-RESERVE-STATEMENT, PEOPLE-CARDI B-OFFSET, CARIBBEAN-ENGLAND-QUEEN, ELECTION-2020-BALLOT-SNAFU-MICHIGAN, TYRANNOSAURUS AUCTION, OBIT-STANLEY CROUCH, TROPICAL-WEATHER-ALLIGATOR-RANCH
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ONLY ON AP
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ELECTION 2020-AMERICA DISRUPTED-ECONOMY— Appleton, Wisconsin, is a predominately white city of 75,000 people along Wisconsin’s Fox River. By almost any measure, President Donald Trump’s promises of an economic revival have gone unfulfilled. The area has lost about 8,000 jobs since he was elected, but the economy is being viewed through partisan lenses — filtered through the facts that voters want to see and hear, and those they don’t. Many Trump supporters remain faithful. By Josh Boak. SENT: 2740 words, photos. An abridged version of 1180 words is also available.
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TROPICAL WEATHER — Hurricane Sally lumbered ashore near the Florida-Alabama line with 105 mph (165 kph) winds and rain measured in feet, not inches, swamping homes and forcing the rescue of hundreds of people as it pushed inland for what could be a slow and disastrous drenching across the Deep South. By Jay Reeves, Angie Wang and Jeff Martin. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, videos. With TROPICAL WEATHER-PHOTO GALLERY — Sally’s deluge swamps streets, ruins cars. SENT: 200 words;TROPICAL WEATHER-THE LATEST.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — The federal government outlines a sweeping plan to make vaccines for COVID-19 available for free to all Americans, assuming a safe and effective shot is developed, even as top health officials face questions about political interference with the virus information reaching the public. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Matthew Perrone. SENT: 990 words, photos.
WESTERN-WILDFIRES-EXHAUSTED-RESOURCES — Firefighters battling the West Coast wildfires say this year’s blazes are some of the worst they have ever seen. They say the fires are taxing the human, mechanical and financial resources of the nation’s wildfire fighting forces to an extraordinary degree. And half of the fire season is yet to come. Heat, drought and a strategic decision to attack the flames early combined with the coronavirus to put a historically heavy burden on fire teams. By James Anderson and Matthew Brown. SENT: 1,090 words, photos. With WESTERN WILDFIRES-SMOKE STRETCHES EAST — Wildfire smoke brings haze, vivid sunsets to East Coast. SENT: 510 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-CRIME STATISTICS — President Donald Trump points to spiking crime and delivers stark statistics on murders and shootings as part of his “law and order” campaign emphasis that suggests cities are overrun with violence that only he can stop. Several cities have seen a sobering surge in murders this summer, but those numbers are only a small snapshot of crime in the United States, and his strategy is highlighting how data can be easily molded to suit the moment. By Lindsay Whitehurst. SENT: 870 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-POLITICAL MEDDLING — A Trump health appointee is taking a leave of absence after allegations of political interference in the federal coronavirus response, followed by a personal video that warned of election violence and all but equated science with resistance. SENT: 820 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-BREONNA TAYLOR — A settlement between the family of Breonna Taylor and the city of Louisville could bring wide-ranging reforms to how police officers live and work, changes that would represent a rare outcome in a police misconduct lawsuit.. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 7 p.m.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SPAIN — It feels like a flashback. Pneumonia, a common acute manifestation of the COVID-19 disease, is keeping Spanish intensive care wards busy again. And it’s also leaving medical workers who are still recovering from the pandemic’s peak with an anxious sense of déja vu. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — President Trump says Republicans should increase their offer for a coronavirus relief bill, but top Republicans are shrugging off the president’s call and suggesting they are unwilling to push their offer much higher than $1 trillion. SENT: 680 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE WEDDING -- Public health authorities in Maine say they fear a coronavirus outbreak stemming from a wedding and reception in the northern part of the state has the ability to undo much of the progress it has made battling the virus. SENT: 710 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NYC SCHOOLS -- New York City’s already- delayed school year started remotely in a soft opening that will serve as a prologue to the return of students to actual classrooms next week. SENT: 610 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA -- South Africa’s health minister says about 12 million people in the country have “probably” been infected with the coronavirus. That’s more than 20% of South Africa’s population of 58 million. SENT: 830 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — U.K. lawmakers criticized the government’s handling of the COVID-19 testing crisis for a second day as opposition leaders claimed Prime Minister Boris Johnson lacked a cohesive plan to tackle the virus at a time when the country faces a second wave in the pandemic. SENT: 510 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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TROPICAL-WEATHER-ALLIGATOR-RANCH — ‘Sigh of relief’: Sally spares a Mississippi gator ranch. SENT: 190 words, photos.
TYRANNOSAURUS AUCTION — Bones to pick, for $8M: Stan the T rex goes up for auction. SENT: 230 words, photos.
PEOPLE-CARDI B-OFFSET — Cardi B files for divorce from Migos’ rapper Offset. SENT: 130 words, photo.
OBIT-STANLEY CROUCH — Stanley Crouch, contentious man of letters, dead at 74. SENT: 650 words.
CARIBBEAN-ENGLAND-QUEEN — Barbados seeks to drop Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. SENT: 520 words.
ELECTION-2020-BALLOT-SNAFU-MICHIGAN — Oops: VP Mike Pence missing from some Michigan ballots. SENT: 240 words.
MALAYSIA-MONKEY SELFIES -- A Malaysian student whose cellphone was stolen has tracked down the culprit: a monkey who took photo and video selfies with the device before abandoning it. SENT: 250 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS/ 2020 ELECTION
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ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-TOWN HALL-TAKEAWAYS — There’s no wishing away the coronavirus. Real people keep it real. Preparation matters. Some takeaways from President Trump’s televised town hall with uncommitted voters, which offered a preview of how he might operate in the upcoming presidential debates. By Jonathan Lemire and Catrese Miller. SENT: 800 words, photos. With ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-UNDECIDED VOTERS — One town hall participant says the event helped swing her vote against Trump. SENT: 540 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-VACCINES — Joe Biden says he trusts what scientists say about a coronavirus vaccine, but he doesn’t trust President Trump. Trump and Biden have been trading accusations that the other is undermining public trust in a potential vaccine. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 630 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN VIDEO-MISINFORMATION — A video altered to make it appear Joe Biden played a song disparaging the police was viewed more than 4.5 million times on Twitter. Its spread was fueled by President Trump, who tweeted it twice. SENT: 710 words, photos.
CHINESE HACKERS CHARGED —The Justice Department charges five Chinese citizens with hacks targeting more than 100 companies and institutions in the United States and elsewhere, including social media and video game companies as well as universities and telecommunications providers. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 660 words, photos, video.
SUPREME COURT-TELEPHONE ARGUMENTS — The Supreme Court will start its new term next month the way it ended the last one, with arguments by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic and live audio available to the public. SENT: 440 words.
CONGRESS-POMPEO — The State Department rejects Democrats’ charges of improperly firing its independent inspector general and defends its weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. SENT: 560 words, photos.
CONGRESS-ROMNEY — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney sharply criticizes a Republican investigation into Democrat Joe Biden’s son, saying it is “not the legitimate role of government” to try to damage political opponents at taxpayer expense. SENT: 660 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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UNIVERSAL-BASIC-INCOME — A growing number of mayors across the country support giving cash to low-income families with no restrictions on how they can spend it — part of a growing movement to establish a guaranteed minimum income to combat poverty and systemic racism. SENT: 820 words, photo.
CALIFORNIA-BOAT-FIRE — Crew members of a Southern California dive boat told investigators they were not trained on emergency procedures before a fire broke out last year and killed 34 people, according to federal documents. SENT: 350 words, photos.
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UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO MEXICO -- Scholars and preservation advocates are working to piece together the story of a largely forgotten part of American history: a network that helped thousands of Black slaves escape to Mexico. Like the more well-known Underground Railroad to the north, the path in the opposite direction provided a pathway to freedom south of the border. Historian Roseann Bacha-Garza says the Underground Railroad to Mexico is gaining attention as the U.S. becomes more diverse and more people show an interest in studying slavery. By Russell Contreras. SENT: 980 words, photos.
BRAZIL-AMAZON-INDIGENOUS-GUARDIANS — Groups of Tembé Indigenous men are patrolling their territory in Brazil’s Amazon forest, inspired by similar “forest guardians” in a neighboring Brazilian state. Increasing encroachment by illegal loggers and miners on Tembé territory and lax enforcement during President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration has prompted their villages to take matters into their own hands. SENT: 920 words, photos.
VENEZUELA-HUMAN RIGHTS — Independent experts for the U.N.’s top human rights body accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of crimes against humanity, highlighting grisly cases of torture and killings allegedly carried out by security forces who used techniques like electric shocks, genital mutilation and asphyxiation. SENT: 970 words, photos.
JAPAN-POLITICS — Japan’s Parliament elected Yoshihide Suga as prime minister, replacing long-serving leader Shinzo Abe with his right-hand man. Suga bowed deeply several times when the results were announced, as fellow governing party lawmakers applauded in parliament’s more powerful lower house. He was also confirmed in the upper house. SENT: 710 words, photos.
MEXICO-PIRATE AMBULANCES — Many people have been profiteering from the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico; prices for oxygen cylinders, medicinal alcohol and face masks all have skyrocketed. But perhaps the cruelest are the so-called pirate ambulances that take advantage of patients’ desperation. SENT: 81- words, photo.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-ANTIBODY DRUG -- A drug company says that partial results from a study testing an antibody drug give hints that it may help keep mild to moderately ill COVID-19 patients from needing to be hospitalized, a goal no current coronavirus medicine has been able to meet. Eli Lilly announced the results in a press release, but they have not been published or reviewed by independent scientists. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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FEDERAL RESERVE — With the economy still struggling to recover from the pandemic recession, Federal Reserve policymakers signaled that their benchmark short-term interest rate will likely remain at zero at least through 2023 and probably even longer. By Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 890 words, photo. With FEDERAL-RESERVE-STATEMENT (sent)
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks closed lower on Wall Street after a rally following the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate policy update faded in the final hour of trading. SENT: 830 words, photo.
BOEING-MAX-CRASH-CAUSES — A House committee issues a scathing report questioning whether Boeing and government regulators have recognized the problems that caused two deadly 737 Max jet crashes and whether either will be willing to make significant changes to fix them. By Tom Krisher. SENT: 1,180 words, photo.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-PANDEMIC-HALLOWEEN — Roving grown-ups tossing candy at kids standing on their lawns. Drive-through Halloween haunts. Yard parties instead of block parties and physical parades. Wider paths through corn mazes. The holiday so many look forward to each year is going to look different in the pandemic as parents and the people who provide Halloween fun in treats, costumes and attractions navigate a myriad of restrictions and safety concerns. By Leanne Italie. SENT: 1,280 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-PANDEMIC-HALLOWEEN-ABRIDGED.
INSTAGRAM-BOYCOTT — Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities are taking part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook’s failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation. SENT: 460 words, photos.
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FBC--VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIG TEN -- Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the pandemic, the conference changed course and said it plans to open its football season the weekend of Oct. 23-24. By Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
BKN—NUGGETS ADVANCE — Just about everyone had LA vs. LA written in for the Western Conference finals. Then along came the upstart Denver Nuggets, who crashed the party by beating the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games. Behind Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2009. They will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers starting Friday in Game 1. SENT: 530 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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