AP News Digest 6:10 p.m.
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All Times EST. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.
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NEW AND DEVELOPING
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CAPITOL BREACH-LAW ENFORCEMENT FAILURES, CAPITOL BREACH-INSIDE ACCOUNT, BOEING-PLANE SETTLEMENT, BLACK POLITICAL POWER, CONGRESS-JOSH HAWLEY, BIDEN, BIDEN-LABOR-WALSH, BIDEN-COMMERCE, OBIT-LAST-CIVIL WAR WIDOW, OBIT-NEIL SHEEHAN, RUSSIAN HACKER, CAPITOL-ARMED PROTESTS, CAPITOL BREACH-ARRESTS, EUROPE-US, VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL DEATHS, CAPITOL BREACH-EXPLAINING WHAT’S NEXT
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CAPITOL BREACH-LAW ENFORCEMENT FAILURES — Three days before the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon asked Capitol Police if they needed National Guard manpower. And as the mob descended on the building, top Justice Department officials reached out to offer up FBI agents. But in both cases, Capitol police turned them down. By Nomaan Merchant, Lolita C. Baldor, Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long. SENT: 980 words, photos. With CAPITOL BREACH-ARRESTS — The top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia says “all options are on the table” for charging members of the violent pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol — including sedition charges. SENT: 910 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — The U.S. registered more COVID-19 deaths in a single day than ever before — nearly 3,900 — on the very day the mob attack on the Capitol laid bare some of the same, deep political divisions that have hampered the battle against the pandemic. By Carla K. Johnson and Lisa Marie Pane. SENT: 660 words, photos. WITH: Virus Outbreak-Things to Know.
TRUMP — With 13 days left in President Donald Trump’s term, a shaken nation wonders what he might do next. Out of sight in the White House, a cornered president has been silenced on his favorite lines of communication and faces the resignation of numerous aides and growing chatter about whether the 25th Amendment could be invoked to remove him from office early. By Jonathan Lemire, Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin. UPCOMING: 900 words by 7 p.m., photos.
TRUMP’S FUTURE — Lawmakers in both parties and members of President Trump’s own administration have engaged in discussions on removing Trump from power after the insurrection in the Capitol by his supporters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that if he isn’t removed, the House may move forward with a second impeachment. By Zeke Miller and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 790 words, photos. 25th AMENDMENT-EXPLAINER — Some lawmakers are urging Trump’s removal using the 25th Amendment. Some questions and answers. SENT: 630 words, photo.
CONGRESS DOUBLE STANDARD -- The violent breaching of the halls of power on Capitol Hill by insurrectionists represents one of the plainest displays of a racial double standard in modern history. The insurrectionist mob had a nearly unhindered, hours-long run of the Capitol building complex Wednesday. But the display is consistent with a long pattern of how society coddles racists and downplays violent white supremacist ideology. By Aaron Morrison. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
TRUMP SOCIAL MEDIA-RECKONING — After years of treating President Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric with a light touch, Facebook and Instagram are silencing his social media accounts for the rest of his presidency. The move, which many called long overdue following Wednesday’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, is also a reminder of the enormous power that social-media platforms can wield when they choose. By Barbara Ortutay and David Klepper. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. WITH: US-Trump-Social-Media-Reckoning-Timeline.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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OBIT-LAST-CIVIL WAR WIDOW — Helen Viola Jackson was 17 when she married a 93-year-old Civil War veteran in declining health whom she cared for. It was a secret that she kept until the last few years of her life. SENT: 640 words, photos.
RELIEF PAYMENTS-DELAYS — Didn’t get your second relief check yet? You aren’t alone. Here’s what someone waiting on a payment should know. SENT: 725 words, photo.
OBIT-NEIL SHEEHAN — Neil Sheehan, a reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who broke the story of the Pentagon Papers for The New York Times and who chronicled the deception at the heart of the Vietnam War in his epic book about the war, died Thursday. He was 84. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.
BOSTON MARATHON-BOMBING — Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sued the federal government for $250,000 over how he’s been treated at the Colorado prison where he is serving a life sentence. He cites confiscation of a baseball cap and a limit on showers. SENT: 275 words, photo.
RUSSIAN HACKER — A prolific Russian hacker who stole data from over a dozen U.S. companies and information about over 100 million U.S. consumers was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison after admitting involvement in one of the biggest thefts of consumer data from a U.S. financial institution. SENT: 450 words.
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CAPITOL BREACH — The violent siege of the U.S. Capitol by President Trump’s supporters raises painful new questions across government. Discussions are underway about Trump’s fitness to remain in office for two more weeks, the ability of the police to secure the complex and the future of the Republican Party. By Lisa Mascaro and Matthew Daly. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, video. With CAPITOL BREACH-THE LATEST, developing.
TRUMP-PENCE — They were never a natural fit, the evangelical darling and the reality TV star, but Donald Trump and Mike Pence made their marriage of convenience work politically. Now they’re both feeling betrayed by one another at the finish line. By Jill Colvin. UPCOMING: 890 words by 7 p.m., photos.
BIDEN — President-elect Joe Biden denounces the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorists” and he blames President Trump for the violence that has shaken the nation’s capital and beyond. Biden says the riot by Trump supporters was “not dissent, was not disorder, was not protest. It was chaos.” By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 670 words, photos, video.
CONGRESS-JOSH HAWLEY — Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley rushed to pick up President Trump’s mantle as the president spread unfounded claims of voter fraud. It exploded in his hands. Hawley now finds himself the target of rebuke within his own party, even as some in his state celebrate his protest. By Thomas Beaumont. UPCOMING: 800 words, photo by 7pm.
CONGRESS-WORLD REACTION — As the world watched American institutions shaken to the core by an angry mob, officials and ordinary citizens wondered: How fragile is democracy, and how much stress could their own political systems withstand? SENT: 1,050 words, photo. WITH: CONGRESS-WORLD REACTION QUOTES — SENT: 780 words, photos.
CAPITAL BREACH-INSIDE ACCOUNT — Congress is a second home for longtime reporters. Wednesday was supposed to be a busy, historic day, but it quickly morphed into something entirely different. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. (Replaces CAPITOL BREACH-SCENE, listed on the 2 p.m. digest.)
CAPITOL BREACH-EXPLAINING WHAT’S NEXT -- What happens in Washington after the seat of American lawmaking is overrun by supporters of a president who insists he won an election he actually lost, members of Congress are forced to flee their chambers and general chaos ensues on Capitol Hill — and all of it takes place 14 days before the new president is inaugurated? SENT: 530 words, photo.
CAPITOLS-ARMED PROTESTS — When President Trump-supporting insurrectionists on Wednesday stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential election, the nation was shocked. But not unwarned. A series of dress rehearsals of sorts have played out in a handful of statehouses across the country in recent months. In May, armed protesters forced their way into the Michigan Statehouse to object to pandemic-related lockdowns. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
CAPITOL BREACH-WOMAN SHOT — The woman who was fatally shot when a mob supporting President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol was identified by authorities Thursday as Ashli Babbitt, whose family described her as an Air Force veteran. SENT: 450 words, photos.
Find an advisory with all of today’s coverage plans for the Capitol siege and the final days of Trump’s presidency here.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL DEATHS — Brazil passed 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic Thursday. That is the second highest total in the world. SENT: 900 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Britain’s National Health Service will from next week employ a little-used field hospital specially built at a huge exhibition center in east London in the early days of the pandemic last spring. SENT: 580 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California hospitals struggling with a skyrocketing coronavirus surge are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don’t have to make that choice. SENT: 630 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Lebanon begins a 25-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus as infections hit a record in the tiny Mediterranean nation and patients overwhelm the health care sector. SENT: 620 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARIZONA GOVERNOR — Since early in the pandemic, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has resisted instituting restrictive measures to try to keep the coronavirus cases from rising. SENT: 1,040 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY-WHO — The World Health Organization is denying that Italian officials pressured it to spike a report into Italy’s coronavirus response but says the U.N. agency should have shared the document with the government before publication. SENT: 500 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ASIA — Lockdown measures were being imposed in a northern Chinese province where coronavirus cases more than doubled in the region near Beijing that’s due to host some events in next year’s Winter Olympics. SENT: 970 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-SECOND-SHOT — The first COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and U.K. require two doses a few weeks apart. SENT: 300 words, graphic.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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BLACK POLITICAL POWER — What started as a day of celebration for Black organizers, voters and other Georgians who helped deliver two historic Senate runoff victories was overshadowed Wednesday after a mostly white mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. But Black leaders and organizers say the insurrection won’t deter their momentum. By Kat Stafford and Aaron Morrison. UPCOMING: 1,200 words, photos by 7 p.m.
SENATE-GEORGIA STACEY ABRAMS — Stacey Abrams spent years crisscrossing Georgia to convince Democratic leaders, donors and prospective candidates that a vast, untapped well of potential voters could upend Republican domination in the state. Now, she’s being credited with laying the organizational groundwork that helped Democrats capture the state’s two U.S. Senate seats, propelling the party into the Senate majority. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
BIDEN-ATTORNEY GENERAL-MERRICK GARLAND — President-elect Joe Biden introduces Merrick Garland as his pick for attorney general along with three others he has selected for senior Justice Department positions to “restore the independence” of the agency and faith in the rule of law. By Eric Tucker, Darlene Superville and Michael Balsamo. SENT: 1040 words, photos, video.
BIDEN-LABOR-WALSH — President-elect Joe Biden selects Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his labor secretary, choosing a former union worker who shares his Irish American background and working-class roots. By Steve LeBlanc and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 790 words, photos.
BIDEN-COMMERCE — President-elect Joe Biden picks Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to lead the Commerce Department. Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, is in her second term as governor. By Will Weissert, Michelle R. Smith and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 540 words, photo.
EUROPE-US — For European Union nations, Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration as the next U.S. president cannot come fast enough. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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BRAZIL-ABORTIONS ABROAD — Brazilian women without means have started seeking abortions elsewhere in Latin America to dodge risks and legal obstacles in the region’s most populous country. Abortions are relatively common in Brazil, but there is great stigma attached and President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to prevent any loosening of restrictions. Brazilian women don’t even need passports to enter Argentina, which on Dec. 30 approved landmark legislation legalizing abortion. By David Biller, Almudena Calatrava and Tatiana Pollastri. SENT: 1,370 words, photos.
IRAN-PLANE SHOOTDOWN-ANNIVERSARY — More questions than answers remain about the disaster that killed 176 people on board a Ukrainian jetliner, a year after Iran’s military mistakenly downed the plane with surface-to-air missiles. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.
HONG-KONG-CRACKDOWN — Jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was arrested on a new charge under the national security law while an American rights lawyer who was detained in a sweeping crackdown was granted bail. SENT: 740 words, photos.
AFGHANISTAN — Attacks in Afghanistan left at least 23 civilians and security forces dead, officials say, even as Afghan negotiators were in Qatar to resume talks with the Taliban aimed at finding an end to decades of conflict. SENT: 370 words, photo.
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POLICE SHOOTING-WISCONSIN-KENOSHA — Chaotic protests haven’t returned to Kenosha after a prosecutor declined charges against the police officer who shot Jacob Blake, and some who backed demonstrations following the August shooting say they’re concerned about safety in a week extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol. SENT: 750 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-ANDRE HILL — A spokesperson for Ohio’s capital city says an officer’s instruction for other officers to turn off their body worn cameras in the aftermath of Andre Hill’s fatal shooting is part of an investigation into Hill’s death. SENT: 480 words, photos.
ONE GOOD THING-DOG TRAINER — Marybeth Hearn was 10 when she asked her parents if she could train her first guide dog: a black Labrador puppy named Letta. In the more than five decades since, she has trained dozens of dogs to assist blind and visually impaired people. But her legacy doesn’t end there. SENT: 630 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI-IDENTICAL TWINS — If you’re an identical twin who’s always resisted being called a clone of your sibling, scientists say you have a point. Identical twins are not exactly genetically the same, new research shows. SENT: 500 words, photo.
CHANGING RIVERS — A new study shows one-third of America’s rivers have changed color since 1984. Wednesday’s study says much of that is rivers getting greener. Scientists say generally that’s not good. SENT: 510 words, photo.
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BOEING-PLANE SETTLEMENT — Boeing will pay $2.5 billion to settle a criminal conspiracy charge for misleading regulators about the safety of its 737 Max aircraft, which suffered two deadly crashes shortly after entering airline service. SENT: 530 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell slightly to 787,000, evidence of a job market stumbling in the face of the viral pandemic and the damage it has inflicted on the economy for nearly 10 months. SENT: 770 words, photos. WITH: ECONOMY-SERVICES —The U.S. services sector, where most Americans work, grew for the seventh straight month in December even as coronavirus cases surged through the holidays. SENT: 245 words, photo.
FINANCIAL MARKETS — Major U.S. stock indexes surged to all-time highs Thursday as Wall Street bet that the Democratic sweep of Washington means more stimulus is on the way for the economy. SENT: 825 words, photos.
TRADE GAP — The U.S. trade deficit jumped to $68.1 billion in November, the highest monthly deficit in 14 years, as a surge in imports overwhelmed a smaller increase in exports. SENT: 300 words, photo.
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CONGRESS-ELECTORAL COLLEGE-MEDIA — A day after a violent mob loyal to President Trump stormed the Senate, the media was trying to grasp the long-term implications and possible ramifications. SENT: 800 words, photos.
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BBO-METS INDIANS TRADE — The Cleveland Indians traded four-time All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor and pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets. Cleveland obtained infielders Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, right-hander Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene. SENT: 400 words, photos.
FBN-PLAYOFF NEWCOMERS — Jamal Adams yelled in celebration after Seattle qualified for the playoffs last month and lit up a victory cigar at the podium when the Seahawks clinched the division. After spending his first three seasons in the NFL on the outside of the postseason with the struggling New York Jets, Adams is reveling in the chance to play in meaningful January games after the offseason trade to Seattle. He is among several stars set for playoff debuts this weekend along with Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield, Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and Tampa Bay receives Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Josh Cornfield can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Courtney Dittmar (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, Phil Holm (ext. 7636). Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.