AP News Digest 3:15 a.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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ONLY ON AP
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SECOND-FACE-TRANSPLANT -- A New Hampshire woman has received a second face transplant. Fifty-two-year-old Carmen Blandin Tarleton was burned on over 80% of her body when her estranged husband beat her with a baseball bat and doused her body with lye in 2007. Six years ago, she received a face transplant at Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston. But that transplant failed and on July 1 Tarleton became the first American to get a second transplant. Two years ago, a French man became the first to receive a second face transplant. By Michael Casey. SENT: 850 words, photos.
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — A last-ditch effort by Democrats to revive collapsing Capitol Hill talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money ends in disappointment. That makes it increasingly likely that Washington gridlock will mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 1,020 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK — U.S. hiring slows in July as the coronavirus outbreak worsened, and the government’s jobs report offered signs the economic damage from the pandemic could last far longer than many observers originally envisioned (sent).
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-BLACK VOTERS — Joe Biden’s controversial remarks about race this week risk alienating young Black voters who despise President Donald Trump but are not inspired by his Democratic rival. During two separate interviews with a Black and a Latina reporter this week, Biden made racially charged comments that some young Black activists and elected officials say turned off their peers. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 1,080 words, photo.
ELECTION SECURITY — Intelligence officials believe Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the November election, the U.S. counterintelligence chief says. U.S. officials also believe China does not want President Donald Trump to win a second term. By Deb Riechmann and Eric Tucker. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
LEBANON-LIVES LOST — The enormous explosion in Beirut that killed scores of people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction across Lebanon’s capital touched off widespread mourning for the victims. Although mired for years in civil war and other regional violence, the city’s beauty and cosmopolitan nature attracted fashion designers, architects and business leaders, as well as migrants seeking to send money back home. In an instant, thousands of lives were affected by the blast. By Sarah El Deeb and Aya Batrawy.
INDIA-PLANE — The plane swayed violently as it approached a hilltop runway drenched in monsoon rain, and moments later the special return flight for Indians stranded abroad by the pandemic skidded off, nosedived and cracked in two, leaving 18 dead and more than 120 injured. By Subramoney Iyer and Sheikh Saaliq. SENT: 650 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — The Australian state of Victoria recorded 466 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths, including another man in his 30s. The figures were released as the city of Melbourne remained in lockdown and under an overnight curfew. SENT: 490 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-HEALTH-SECRETARY — U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar says he wants to learn about Taiwan’s “incredibly effective” response to the cornavirus even though the island did things that the U.S. has fumbled, such as having a unified strategy and citizens willing to wear masks. SENT: 650 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-WEST POINT-PHOTO-GALLERY — Cadets train at West Point amid a pandemic. SENT: 170 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STURGIS RALLY — Thousands of bikers are pouring into the small South Dakota city of Sturgis as the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally rumbles to life despite fears it could lead to a massive coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 830 words, phots.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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HOMELESS-WOMEN-PREDATOR-ARREST — More charges for man accused of preying on homeless women. SENT: 260 words, photo.
MARINES-SUNKEN SEA TANK — Remains of 9 killed in California Marine sinking recovered. SENT: 360 words.
VENEZUELA-FAILED-ATTACK — 2 ex-Green Berets sentenced to 20 years for Venezuela attack. SENT: 400 words.
OBIT-LORENZO-SORIA — Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and former editor of the Italian news weekly L’Espresso, has died, the association says. He was 68. SENT: 200 words, photos.
MTV-VMAS — MTV VMAS scraps indoor performances, moves to outdoor sets. SENT: 210 words, photo.
Q&A-TIKTOK-WECHAT - President Donald Trump has ordered sweeping but vague ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of popular apps TikTok and WeChat, saying they are a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy and the economy. But it’s far from clear what the administration intends to actually do. SENT; 1,300 words, photo.
BRAZIL-MONKEY BRIDGE — Endangered Brazilian monkeys get a bridge to themselves. SENT: 600 words, photos.
1970S-ESCAPE-ARTIST — Colorado prison escapee caught after nearly 50 years on run. SENT: 360 words.
ARIZONA-BORDER-TUNNEL — U.S.: Border tunnel appears to be “most sophisticated.” SENT: 150 words, photos.
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ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-VP — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer went to Delaware to meet with Joe Biden as he nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, two high-ranking Michigan Democrats tell The Associated Press. It’s his first confirmed in-person meeting with a potential pick. By David Eggert. SENT: 350 words, photo.
UNITED STATES-STATE DEPARTMENT — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejects congressional subpoenas issued for him and for the State Department to provide information and testimony to lawmakers about two politically charged developments. The refusals set the stage for an escalation in the confrontation between the State Department and the Democratic-controlled House ahead of November’s elections. SENT: 840 words, photo.
NOT-REAL-NEWS — This week’s Not Real News is dominated by false information about COVID-19 and the 2020 election. We look at a false claim that the pandemic is fading. Masks are again the subject of misinformation with one widely circulating post falsely suggesting people can get Legionnaires’ disease from bacteria in masks. SENT; 2700 words.
PARK SERVICE CHIEF — Interior Secretary David Bernhardt puts adviser Margaret Everson in charge of the National Park Service as it begins to divvy up a new multibillion-dollar annual bequest from Congress. SENT: 400 words, photo.
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — More protests are expected in Portland, Oregon, throughout the weekend following violent demonstrations this week that have brought more unrest to the Northwest city. Since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis protests have occurred nightly for 70 days. Friday night, Portland police declared an unlawful assembly at the Penumbra Kelly public safety building, ordering everyone in the area to leave. Authorities had previously warned people not to trespass on the property. SENT: 420 words, photos.
RACIAL-INJUSTICE-COLORADO — Prosecutors are investigating whether suburban Denver police officers should face criminal charges for putting four Black girls on the ground and handcuffing two of them after mistakenly suspecting they were riding in a stolen car, a district attorney says. SENT: 630 words, photo.
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY-FALWELL — Jerry Falwell Jr. took an indefinite leave of absence as the leader of Liberty University, one of the nation’s top evangelical Christian colleges, days after apologizing for a social media post that caused an uproar even among fellow conservatives. SENT: 780 words, photos.
HEDGE CLIPPERS-LIFE SENTENCE — A man caught with stolen hedge clippers decades ago must continue to serve his life sentence, despite a stinging dissent from the chief justice of Louisiana’s Supreme Court, who says the sentence was the result of laws rooted in racism. Justice Bernette Johnson, the only Black person on the seven-member court, outlined the case against Fair Wayne Bryant in a dissent after her colleagues, without comment, declined to review the latest appeal in the 1997 burglary case. SENT: 560 words, photo.
CENSUS-CITIZENSHIP — A coalition of states, cities and civil rights groups on Friday asked a federal judge to declare as unconstitutional President Donald Trump’s order seeking to exclude people in the country illegally from being part of the process for redrawing congressional districts. SENT: 320 words, photo.
SLAIN SOLDIER-TEXAS — Army leaders delay the planned transfer of the Fort Hood commander, as a team of independent investigators heads to the base to determine whether leadership failures contributed to the murder of a soldier. SENT: 510 words, photo.
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BELARUS-ELECTION - After 26 consecutive years in office, the autocratic leader of Belarus is confronting something unfamiliar as he tries to win a sixth term: circumstances beyond his control. Discontent over a worsening economy and his government’s dismissive response to the coronavirus pandemic has helped fuel the country’s largest opposition rallies since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when Alexander Lukashenko became independent Belarus’s first and only elected president, so far. SENT: 990 words, photos.
YEMEN-ATTACK — Airstrikes in northern Yemen kill as many as nine children, a United Nations official says, making it the third such attack with significant child deaths in that rebel-controlled region this month. The statement said at least seven more children and two women were injured, but added that the casualty figures were only preliminary and still under investigation. SENT: 380 words, photos.
MAURITIUS-LEAKING-SHIP — The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius declares a “state of environmental emergency” after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near environmental areas that the government called “very sensitive.” SENT: 490 words, photos.
IRAN-US-PLANE-INTERCEPTION — Iran is urging the United Nations to hold the United States accountable for the interception of an Iranian passenger plane by two U.S. fighter jets in the skies over Syria last month, which it called an “unlawful” and an “adventuristic act.” SENT: 410 words.
MEXICO-BAD TOURIST ADS — It has been a bad week for Mexican tourism promotion, after “anything goes” tourism ads were pulled and Mexico was slapped with a U.S. “do not travel” advisory. It got worse when the English language version of the country’s tourism website appeared with hilarious mis-translations. Entire states like Hidalgo and Guerrero apparently got machine translated as “Noble” and “Warrior.” Worse, there was an inexplicable re-invention of the names of some fairly well-known tourist towns. SENT: 450 words, photo.
CANADA-US-TRADE — Canada’s deputy prime minister says the country plans to impose $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.69 billion) tariffs on U.S. imports in response to President Donald Trump saying the U.S. is reinstating a 10% import tax on Canadian aluminum. SENT: 100 words.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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CANADIAN-ICE-SHELF — Much of Canada’s remaining intact ice shelf has broken apart into hulking iceberg islands thanks to a hot summer and global warming, scientists said. SENT: 440 words, photos.
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FAA-SAFETY — Federal employees overseeing Boeing and other aircraft makers say they face pressure from the companies and fear retribution from their own bosses if they raise too many safety concerns, according to a survey of the workers that was delivered to Congress. By Airlines Writer David Koenig. SENT: 530 words, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Wall Street’s big rally let off the accelerator, despite a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, amid worries about worsening U.S.-China tensions and whether Washington can deliver more aid for the economy. SENT: 725 words, photos, developing.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TV-SHARK WEEK — The pervasive effects of the coronavirus can be seen in this year’s Shark Week lineup, which includes programs that reflect the pandemic’s effect on shark behavior and research. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP — Harding Park is renowned for producing champions who are among the best in golf, from Byron Nelson to Tiger Woods, and a long list of Hall of Famers and major champions in between. Halfway through the PGA Championship, Li Haotong delivered his own footnote in history. With five birdies through 10 holes, and eight tough pars down the stretch, Li had a 5-under 65 on Friday and became the first Chinese player to lead after any round of any major. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 940 words, photos.
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