AP News Digest 2:15 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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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS OUTBREAK -- A long-expected upturn in U.S. coronavirus deaths has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West, according to data on the pandemic. The number of deaths per day from the virus had been falling for months, and even remained down as states like Florida and Texas saw explosions in cases and hospitalizations — and reported daily U.S. infections broke records several times in recent days. By Mike Stobbe and Nicky Forster. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BLACK SUICIDES — Black people are facing a combination of stressors experts worry could affect the suicide rate. Isolation, a shortage of mental health providers and racial trauma are some of the factors hitting simultaneously. Black people suffer disproportionately from COVID-19 and have seen soaring rates in youth suicide attempts. Mental health advocates are calling for more specialized federal attention on Black suicides, including research funding. Counselors focusing on Black trauma are stepping in to offer free virtual help. And Black churches have sought new ways to address the issue as the pandemic has eroded how people connect. By Sophia Tareen. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
TRUMP-STONE -- President Donald Trump’s extraordinary intervention into a criminal case connected to his own conduct is only his latest defiance of the conventions of his office. After Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of political confidant Roger Stone, Democrats and a few lonely Republicans delivered fierce rebukes. There are calls for an investigations and legislation. But it remains to be seen whether Trump’s most recent move to discredit the Russia investigation just four months until Election Day has any effect on voters focused on a pandemic and a national discourse on racial injustice. By Jonathan Lemire. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN -- Joe Biden is pledging to define his presidency with an economic agenda beyond anything Americans have seen since the Great Depression and the industrial mobilization for World War II. He says his approach will address centuries of institutional racism. It’s a striking pledge from a career politician who’s been more dealmaker than reformer. President Donald Trump and his Republican allies argue that Biden’s positioning, especially his work with progressives, proves he’s captive to a “radical” left wing. By Bill Barrow and Will Weissert. SENT: 960 words, photos.
FEDERAL EXECUTION -- Determined to proceed with the first federal execution in nearly two decades, the Justice Department plans to appeal a judge’s ruling that would halt authorities from carrying it out on Monday. By Michael Balsamo. SENT: 500 words, photos. WITH: FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY-HISTORY-Q&A -- Q&A: U.S. government not as prolific an executioner as states SENT: 840 words.
ELECTION 2020-ALABAMA SENATE -- Seeking a political comeback, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is trying to beat out ex-college football coach Tommy Tuberville in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff and reclaim the Alabama Senate seat he held for decades. To do that, Sessions also has to go through President Donald Trump, who has made direct appeals for Alabama voters to reject Sessions. The winner will take on the incumbent, Democrat Doug Jones, in a race with major implications for Senate control. By Kim Chandler. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL -- South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled in two weeks to a quarter-million, and India has seen its biggest daily spike as its total passed 800,000. Inequality concerns are growing as health workers seek better protection while some among the rich are hoarding equipment at home. Globally more than 12 million people have been infected by the virus, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. SENT: 575 words, photos.
CORONAVIRUS RELIEF SPENDING-TRIBES -- Tribes across the country are wrestling with competing needs, restrictive laws and inadequate staffing as they try to meet a tight federal deadline on spending billions of dollars in virus relief funds. Congress set aside $8 billion for tribes that must be spent by the end of the year and meet strict federal guidelines. Otherwise, the tribes risk having to send it back. Officials on the vast Navajo Nation have received $714 million in aid but approved just $60 million for health care, protective equipment and front-line workers against the virus. SENT: 1,095 words, photos.
ZIMBABWE-BIRD SANCTUARY — Kuimba Shiri, Zimbabwe’s only bird park, has survived tumultuous times, including violent land invasions and a devastating economic collapse. Now the outbreak of COVID-19 is proving a stern test. SENT: 680 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN US MILITARY — Okinawan officials say that dozens of U.S. Marines have been infected with the coronavirus at two bases on the southern Japanese island in what is feared to be a massive outbreak. SENT: 400 words, photos.
FRANCE-BUS DRIVER KILLED — The wife of a French bus driver savagely beaten after he asked passengers to wear face masks aboard his vehicle has condemned his “barbaric” death. SENT: 270 words, photos.
SYRIA — At least two doctors in Syria’s opposition-held northwest have been infected with the coronavirus, a monitoring group reported, the latest confirmed cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave. SENT: 630 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ODD--VOTER REGISTRATION-DEAD CAT -- A deceased cat gets voter registration application in mail. SENT: 250 words.
ODD--NO FREE SLURPEES --The coronavirus pandemic has taken away another summertime tradition in the U.S.: There will be no free Slurpees at 7-Elevens on Saturday — July 11 — to hail a date that doubles as an abbreviation of the convenience store chain’s name. SENT: 150 words, photo.
ODD--SUPER MARIO JACKPOT -- An unopened copy of a vintage Super Mario Bros. video game has been sold for $114,000. SENT: 155 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DISNEY — “The Most Magical Place on Earth” reopens after nearly four months with new rules in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. SENT: 490 words, photos.
BRITAIN-BECKHAM -- Brooklyn Beckham, son of retired soccer superstar David Beckham and fashion designer Victoria Beckham, and American actress Nicola Peltz have announced they’re engaged. SENT: 150 words, photos.
PALACE-IMPLOSION — The Detroit Pistons’ onetime home, the Palace of Auburn Hills, crumbles to the ground following a series of explosive pops. SENT: 285 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-WORKERS’ COMP -- Essential workers are lauded for their service and hailed as everyday heroes. But in most states, nurses, first responders and front-line workers who get COVID-19 on the job have no guarantee they’ll qualify for workers’ comp to cover lost wages and medical care. Debate over workers’ comp in the states is part of a much larger national discussion about liability for virus exposure, with Republicans in Congress seeking a broad shield for businesses. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 860 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-CAMPAIGN DIVERSITY -- In a summer of racial unrest and calls for more diversity in leadership, President Donald Trump is lagging behind Democratic rival Joe Biden in the percentage of nonwhite senior campaign aides, according to data provided to The Associated Press. The campaigns are about even in the share of women in senior roles and on the broader staff. SENT: 930 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RESCUING BEES -- Washington, D.C., has declared beekeepers as essential workers during the coronavirus outbreak. Beekeepers respond to swarms and carefully transplant them to designated areas such as community gardens, rooftops — and even embassies in the nation’s capital. SENT: 970 words, photos, video.
FACT CHECK-WEEK -- If saying things 100 times could make them true, President Donald Trump’s account of how the U.S. is doing with the coronavirus would be true. COVID-19 testing would be the envy of the world, the economy would be on the cusp of roaring back, the threat from the deadly pandemic. But repetition doesn’t make for reality. SENT: 1,610 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
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BOSNIA-SREBRENICA-ANNIVERSARY -- Virtually joined by world leaders, the survivors of Bosnia’s 1995 Srebrenica massacre on Saturday remembered the victims of Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since World War II and warned of the perpetrators’ persistent refusal to fully acknowledge their responsibility. SENT: 775 words, photos. With BOSNIA-SREBRENICA-SURVIVORS — Survivors grapple with memories of the blood-soaked summer of 1995 while preparing to give a dignified burial to victims. SENT: 740 words, photos.
POLAND-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — Poland votes Sunday in a tight runoff election that pits populist incumbent President Andrzej Duda against a liberal pro-European Union challenger, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
REL-TURKEY-HAGIA SOPHIA -- The head of the World Council of Churches has written to Turkey’s president about the “grief and dismay” among members over the decision to convert the Hagia Sophia landmark in Istanbul into a mosque. SENT: 200 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SERBIA — Serbian police say they have detained 71 people after clashes erupted during the fourth night of anti-government protests that were initially sparked by an announced lockdown against the new coronavirus. SENT: 520 words, photos.
SOUTH AFRICA-CHURCH ATTACK — Police in South Africa say five people are dead and more than 40 have been arrested after an early-morning hostage situation at a long-troubled church near Johannesburg. SENT: 260 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-MISSOURI — Authorities have executed a search warrant at the St. Louis mansion of a white couple whose armed defense of their home during a recent racial injustice protest drew widespread attention; one of their guns has been seized. SENT: 510 words, photos.
OPIOID CRISIS-PURDUE BANKRUPTCY — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s creditors want a federal bankruptcy judge to order the company to request permission before making any more political contributions. SENT: 610 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS — A commission at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has voted in favor of a recommendation to rename four campus buildings that currently have ties to slaveholders or white supremacists. SENT: 300 words.
PUERTO RICO-SPAIN'S LEGACY — Dozens of activists marched through the historic part of Puerto Rico’s capital on Saturday to demand that the U.S. territory’s government start by removing statues, including those of Christopher Columbus. SENT: 650 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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GRIZZLIES-NORTH CASCADES -- The forested mountains in and around North Cascades National Park in north central Washington state have long been considered prime habitat for threatened grizzly bears, so environmental groups are upset the Trump administration scrapped plans to reintroduce the apex predators there. SENT: 785 words, photos.
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ROCKY SCORE-LSU -- The Oscar- and Emmy Award-winning composer who wrote scores for movies including “Rocky,” “The Right Stuff” and “The Karate Kid” is giving them to Louisiana State University. SENT: 450 words, photo.
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BKN--NBA RESTART - The Lakers’ LeBron James and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich among those expected on the practice floors for the first time Saturday at the Disney complex in Florida. All 22 teams are now in the bubble. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 6 p.m.
HKN--NHL-RETURN TO PLAY — Collaboration between owners and players has the NHL in position to resume games within three weeks. The commissioner and union chief Saturday are to discuss the return as well as the new labor agreement. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 6 p.m.
BBO--BASEBALL RDP - For the second time this week, the Houston Astros call off a workout because of health concerns. The team says a staff member could have been exposed to a person outside the organization with the coronavirus. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 7 p.m.
BBO--FIRST-YEAR CRASH COURSE — New major league managers are scrambling to make up for lost time. From crashing Zoom calls to taking a deep dive into player bios, the rookie skippers are trying to get a feel for their players during a season like no other. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
SOC-OBIT-JACK CHARLTON — Jack Charlton, an uncompromising central defender who played alongside his brother, Bobby, in England’s World Cup-winning side in 1966 before enjoying coaching success with Ireland, has died. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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