AP News Digest 2 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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ONLY ON AP
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BULGER-JUROR-LSD — A juror in the murder and racketeering trial for the notorious Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger says she regrets voting in 2013 to convict him for murder. Janet Uhlar's regret comes from revelations that Bulger was an unwitting participant in a secret CIA experiment called MK-ULTRA, in which doctors gave him the powerful hallucinogen, LSD, without his knowledge while he was in prison. By Michael Rezendes. SENT: 1,830 words, photos. With abridged.
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TRUMP-CLEMENCY— President Trump commuted the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, saying the former governor's sentence was “ridiculous.” Trump also granted clemency to former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik and financier Michael Milken.
ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-BLOOMBERG— Mike Bloomberg’s one-way conversation with American voters will change when he makes his first appearance on a debate stage where rivals are certain to attack him in an effort to blunt his momentum. By Alexandra Jaffe and Kathleen Ronayne. SENT: 660 words. photo. With: ELECTION 2020-THE LATEST, developing.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP News.
CHINA OUTBREAK-ASIAN AMERICAN BUSINESSES — In Arizona, a burgeoning Asian American community fields xenophobic calls about a planned night market featuring Asian street foods. In New York, a dim sum restaurant owner worries he won't make rent. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a local Asian American-owned restaurant chain is mulling temporarily shuttering one of its properties because of the downturn in trade. By Alexandra Olson and Terry Tang. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.
CHINA OUTBREAK-FAILED QUARANTINE — As an extraordinary two-week quarantine of a cruise ship ends in Japan, many scientists say it was a failed experiment: The ship seemed to serve as an incubator for the new virus from China instead of an isolation facility meant to prevent the worsening of an outbreak. By Maria Cheng and Mari Yamaguchi. SENT; 1,100 words. UPCOMING: 1,100 words, photos by 2:30 p.m.
ROGER STONE — A federal judge on refuses to delay sentencing for Trump confidant Roger Stone on his witness tampering and lying to Congress conviction while she considers his request for a new trial. By Ashraf Khalil. SENT: 300 words. UPCOMING: 500 words by 3:30 p.m., photos.
BOY SCOUTS-BANKRUPTCY — Barraged with lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America files for bankruptcy protection as part of a plan to set up a huge victim compensation fund for potentially thousands of men molested by scoutmasters or other leaders decades ago. By David Crary. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m.
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MORE ON CHINA-OUTBREAK
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CHINA-OUTBREAK — As a mysterious new virus enveloped central China's Wuhan early this year, Liu Zhiming mobilized all the resources of his hospital in the city's Wuchang district to deal with the thousands of sick people arriving daily, threatening to overwhelm the local health care system. That dedication appears to have cost him his life, with Wuhan's health bureau announcing Tuesday that he became infected and died despite “all-out" attempts to save him. By Yanan Wang. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
MED--CHINA-OUTBREAK-HOW DEADLY? — What's more deadly — the flu, SARS or the new coronavirus discovered in China? There are different ways to look at it and even knowledgeable folks sometimes say "deadly" when they may mean "lethal." SENT: 175 words.
PAKISTAN-GUTERRES INTERVIEW — The U.N. secretary general said that the virus outbreak that began in China poses “a very dangerous situation” for the world, but “is not out of control.” Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Antonio Guterres said that “the risks are enormous and we need to be prepared worldwide for that.” By Kathy Gannon. SENT: 770 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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SHERIFF INDICTED -SOUTH CAROLINA — A suspended South Carolina sheriff already indicted on domestic violence charges now faces 13 additional criminal charges. SENT: 365 words.
TRANSGENDER ATHLETES-HIGH SCHOOL — Two transgender high school runners want to become defendants in a federal lawsuit that seeks to block them from participating in girls sports in Connecticut. SENT: 470 words.
ITALY ANTIQUITIES — Archaeologists excavating the Roman Forum have discovered an underground shrine dedicated to Romulus, the founder of the ancient city. SENT: 150 words.
CAPTIVE LESSONS-RACISM — Court records say an Iowa man made a woman watch the miniseries “Roots and told her it would make her better understand her racism. SENT: 135 words.
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UNITED STATES-VENEZUELA-ROSNEFT — The Trump administration announces sanctions on a Russian state-controlled brokerage that has helped the Venezuelan government skirt an American oil embargo and enabled President Nicolas Maduro keep his grip on power. The action is an unusually strong move against a company linked to the Russian state and amounts to a substantial escalation of a U.S.-led campaign that has failed to oust Maduro from power. SENT: 590 words. UPCOMING: 700 words by 4 p.m., photos.
TRUMP-CALIFORNIA WATER WARS — President Trump visits wealthy California farmers in their Republican Central Valley stronghold, promoting administration deals that give corporate agricultural interests far stronger say over who gets scarce water. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4:30 p.m., photos.
BORDER WALL-WAIVED LAWS — The Trump administration says it is waiving federal contracting laws to speed construction of a border wall with Mexico, moving the president closer to fulfilling a signature campaign promise but sparking criticism that it limits transparency and may invite waste, fraud and abuse. SENT: 460 words. UPCOMING: 520 words by 5 p.m., photos.
TRUMP — President Trump sets out on a rare four-day Western swing mixing politics and policy. By Zeke Miller. UPCOMING: 600 words by 7 p.m., photos.
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CLERGY STRESS-A TOUGH JOB MADE TOUGHER — Greg Laurie is among America’s most successful clergymen -- senior pastor at a California megachurch, prolific author, host of a global radio program. Yet after a youthful colleague’s suicide, his view of his vocation is unsparing. “Pastors are people, just like everyone else,” Laurie said by email. “We are broken people who live in a broken world. Sometimes, we need help too.” These are daunting times for U.S. clergy of many faiths as the age-old challenges of their ministries are compounded by newly evolving stresses. By David Crary. SENT: 2,200 words, photos.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN — Jurors in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial started deliberating on Tuesday, weighing charges in the landmark #MeToo case that could put the once-powerful Hollywood mogul behind bars for the rest of his life. SENT: 750 words, photos.
IMMIGRATION-MIGRANT TEEN — A Venezuelan teenager has been forced back to Mexico by U.S. government authorities who denied her claims that she was fleeing political repression and violence, even after they accepted the same claims from her father. SENT: 640 words, photo.
SEVERE WEATHER-SOUTH — Forecasters expected more heavy rains in parts of the flood-ravaged South, prolonging the misery in neighborhoods surrounded by water. Some of the hardest-hit areas were under a flash flood watch, as the National Weather Service said as much as 2 inches of rain, and even more in some spots — was expected to fall in a short amount of time in central Mississippi. SENT: 630 words, photos, videos.
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ISRAEL-POLITICS — The criminal trial for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin March 17, court officials announced, shaking up the final stretch of a contentious election campaign and hurting the longtime Israeli leader’s hopes of forming a new government after the vote. SENT: 940 words, photos.
SOUTH SUDAN LOCUST-OUTBREAK — The worst locust outbreak that parts of East Africa have seen in 70 years has reached South Sudan, a country where roughly half the population already faces hunger after years of civil war. SENT: 425 words, photos.
RELIGION-IRAQ-AFTER AL-SISTANI — Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, the larger-than-life Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani turns 90 this year, and when he recently had surgery it sent chills around the country. What happens when al-Sistani is gone? SENT: 1,600 words, photos.
SYRIA — The United Nations human rights chief urged Syrian government forces and their allies to allow safe corridors in conflict areas in northwestern Syria, where a military offensive has unleashed a massive wave of fleeing civilians in one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the long civil war. SENT: 730 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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PERU EXCAVATIONS — For nearly two decades, workers for a company building gas lines across Peru’s capital have found themselves unearthing a treasure trove of history. On one recent afternoon, a team came across four burials accompanied by ceramics from a pre-Incan civilization. Two years earlier, they found the bodies of farmers who had been among the first wave of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. SENT: 415 words, photos.
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — U.S. stocks fell after technology giant Apple became the most well-known company to warn of a financial hit from the virus outbreak in China. UPCOMING: Will be updated through 5 p.m.
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CAR-NASCAR-DAYTONA 500 — It’s been 19 years since Dale Earnhardt slammed into a wall on the final lap of the Daytona 500, killing him instantly and triggering a chain reaction of safety improvements. But after Ryan Newman’s harrowing wreck on the final lap Monday night, NASCAR got a grim reminder that racing will never be safe. By AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 6 pm.
BBO-MANFRED — MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred meets with the GMs and managers for teams that train in Arizona, amid more players criticizing his handling of the Astros sign-stealing scandal and some of his comments in explaining it. By Stephen Hawkins. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 8 p.m.
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