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AP News Digest 3:30 a.m.

| July 14, 2020 1:03 AM

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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SMALL BUSINESS STRUGGLES — As economies around the world reopen, legions of small businesses that help to define and sustain neighborhoods are struggling. Whether they can survive will have reverberations not just for the economy but for the communities where they serve as gathering places and provide key services. The stakes are high: The U.N. estimates that businesses with fewer than 250 workers account for two-thirds of employment worldwide. By Adam Geller. SENT: 2,925 words, photos. A 1,050-word abridged version is also available.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — An Australian state is toughening its punishment for anyone caught violating coronavirus quarantines, including jailing rulebreakers for up to six months. The warning that follows rising virus cases worldwide and violations of restrictions that are now being further tightened. Disney officials announced Hong Kong’s Disneyland closed again following the city’s decision to ban public gatherings of more than four people. By Dennis Passa and Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 770 words, photos.

FEDERAL EXECUTION — The Trump administration was moving ahead early Tuesday with the execution of the first federal prison inmate in 17 years after a divided Supreme Court reversed lower courts and ruled federal executions could proceed. By Michael Balsamo. SENT: 860 words, photos. With FEDERAL EXECUTION-VICTIMS’ FAMILY — Victims’ relatives most vocal opponents of man’s execution. SENT: 840 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SCHOOL POLITICS — Schools and educators across the U.S. have landed in the middle of an increasingly politicized debate over how best to reopen schools this fall. It’s a daunting challenge as coronavirus infections spike in many places. Some parents object to masks and social distancing and want schools open full time. Others are calling for part-time school and face coverings for all. School board meetings, social media debates and online petitions have often devolved into mudslinging. By Jocelyn Gecker. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NEW YORK NURSING HOMES — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing blistering criticism over a report that found no strong link between a controversial state directive that sent thousands of recovering coronavirus patients into nursing homes and some of the nation’s deadliest nursing home outbreaks. Scientists, health care professionals and elected officials assailed the report released last week for failing to address the actual impact of the March 25 order. By Jim Mustian and Bernard Condon. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.

SOUTH CHINA SEA — China has described a U.S. rejection of its maritime claims in the South China Sea as completely unjustified and accused the U.S. of attempting to sow discord between China and the Southeast Asian countries with which it has territorial disputes. SENT: 455 words, photos. With UNITED STATES-CHINA — The Trump administration has escalated its actions against China by stepping squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues dividing them and rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — The White House works to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert while President Donald Trump continues to downplay the threat as he pushes to reopen the economy. Trump and other White House officials have been ramping up their attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been sounding alarms about spiking cases. By Jill Colvin, Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SHARING VACCINES — Politicians and public health leaders have publicly committed to equitably sharing any coronavirus vaccine that works, but the top global initiative to make that happen may allow rich countries to reinforce their own stockpiles while making fewer doses available for poor ones. By AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA-OPAQUE FUND — Ordinary citizens, industrialists, Bollywood stars and foreign companies are donating to a new fund created by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen the country’s fight against the coronavirus. The fund, called PM CARES, already totals more than $1 billion, but is being criticized for a lack of transparency and accountability. By Sheikh Saaliq. SENT: 835 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom extends the closure of bars and indoor dining statewide and orders gyms, churches and hair salons closed in most places as coronavirus cases keep rising. SENT: 1,080 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-SCHOOLS — California’s two largest school districts announced Monday they won’t bring students back to classrooms next month as the nation’s most populous state continues to see a rise in coronavirus hospitalizations and infection rates. SENT: 930 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-EMIRATES-STUCK EXPATS — Hundreds of thousands of foreign residents of the United Arab Emirates are struggling to return to the country after a lockdown over the coronavirus. SENT: 840 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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MEDIA-TUCKER CARLSON — Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is denouncing his former top writer, who resigned late last week after CNN revealed that the staff member had posted bigoted and vulgar comments online under an assumed name. SENT: 570 words, photo.

EMPIRE ACTOR-ARREST — Empire” actor Bryshere Gray has been arrested in Arizona on accusations of abusing his wife. SENT: 170 words, photo.

TRUMP BOOK — A judge says Mary Trump can talk about the highly critical book she wrote about her uncle over the objections of President Donald Trump’s brother. SENT: 620 words, photo.

OBIT-NAYA RIVERA — Naya Rivera, a singer and actress who played a gay cheerleader on the hit TV musical comedy “Glee,” is found dead in a Southern California lake. She was 33. SENT: 1,165 words, photo. With MISSING TV STAR — “Glee” star Naya Rivera found dead at California lake. SENT: 620 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NBA — Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 960 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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WHITE HOUSE-JOBS CAMPAIGN — A new White House-backed ad campaign aims to encourage people who are unemployed or unhappy in their jobs or careers to “find something new.” The campaign’s opening ad for Tuesday’s roll out features ordinary people sharing their stories. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 475 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-TEXAS — As Texas struggles to contain a raging coronavirus outbreak, voters are heading to the polls for runoff elections. The races Tuesday include Democrats deciding who they’ll put up in a U.S. Senate contest that is drawing more attention as they see new chances in America’s biggest red state. SENT: 540 words, photos.

TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE — A federal judge demands more information about President Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence of longtime ally Roger Stone. SENT: 505 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — President Donald Trump’s push to reopen schools is being complicated by a split within his ranks over how to do it, with some advisers advocating for a massive federal expenditure to make campuses safe as Congress compiles the next COVID-19 relief bill. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 915 words, photos.

Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.

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NATIONAL

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RACIAL INJUSTICE-POLICE REFORM — The politically liberal city of Berkeley in Northern California is considering a proposal to shift traffic enforcement from armed police to unarmed city workers. Supporters say the separation would curb racial profiling and reduce police encounters that can turn deadly, especially for Black motorists. By Janie Har. SENT: 785 words, photos.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-PENNSYLVANIA — Activists in Pennsylvania press their demand for police accountability after bystander video emerged over the weekend of an officer placing his knee on a man’s head and neck area. SENT: 840 words, photos.

ABORTION-GEORGIA — A federal judge permanently blocks Georgia’s 2019 “heartbeat” abortion law, ruling that it violates the U.S. Constitution. SENT: 760 words, photo.

KLOBUCHAR-JUVENILE LIFER-BURRELL-REVIEW — An independent panel of legal experts will review the conviction of a Black teenager who was sentenced to life for the 2002 death of a girl who was struck by a stray bullet in Minneapolis. A yearlong AP investigation highlighted flaws in the case. SENT: 1,035 words, photo.

JEFFREY EPSTEIN-ASSOCIATE — One or more victims of Jeffrey Epstein plan to tell a judge that his ex-girlfriend should be denied bail on charges that she recruited teenage girls for him to sexually abuse in the 1990s, prosecutors say. SENT: 560 words, photo.

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INTERNATIONAL

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JAPAN-DEFENSE — Japan’s government says China is pushing harder to make territorial claims in the regional seas and even using the coronavirus pandemic to expand its influence and take strategic superiority. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 645 words, photos.

SOUTH KOREA-KOREAN AIR SAGA — The widow of the former Korean Air chairman received a suspended prison sentence for assault and other abuses of her chauffeur, security guard and other employees. The case extended a bizarre legal saga surrounding the company’s founding family. SENT: 310 words, photos.

BRAZIL-DEFORESTATION FIRING — Brazil’s government has fired an official at the national space agency Inpe whose department is responsible for satellite monitoring of the Amazon rainforest, just three days after the release of June deforestation data reflected a continued increase in degradation. SENT: 625 words, photo.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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AMAZON-SMART SHOPPING CART — Amazon has a new cure for long supermarket lines: a smart shopping cart. The cart, which Amazon unveiled on Tuesday, uses cameras, sensors and a scale to automatically detect what shoppers drop in. It keeps a tally and then charges their Amazon account when they leave the store. No cashier is needed. By Joseph Pisani. SENT: 285 words, photos.

CHINA-TRADE — China’s trade improved in June in a fresh sign the world’s second-largest economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. But its exporters face threats including tension with Washington and a possible downturn in U.S. and European demand. SENT: 555 words, photo.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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MARS MISSIONS — Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth — big time. Three countries — the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates — are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick succession beginning this week, in the most sweeping effort yet to seek signs of ancient microscopic life while scouting out the place for future astronauts. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 1,180 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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TV-PEACOCK-VIEWER GUIDE — Peacock, the latest streaming service to join the fray, debuts July 15 with a pandemic-depleted schedule of new shows bolstered by a rich library of movies. By Television Writer Lynn Elber. SENT: 850 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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NHL-CAMPS OPEN — The familiar sound of pucks, skates and sticks echoing through arenas were once again prevalent in 24 NHL cities, where teams opened training camps in preparing to open an expanded playoff on Aug. 1. SENT: 945 words, photos.

RENAMING THE REDSKINS — Experts in branding, crisis communication and comedy look at possible new nicknames for the Washington NFL team. Do you play with the city’s less-than-beloved image and go with Gridlock, Bureaucrats or Swamp Monsters? Or go for the more traditional Warriors, Generals or Red Tails? By Seth Borenstein. SENT: 670 words, photos. With REDSKINS-NICKNAME — The Washington NFL franchise is dropping the “Redskins” name and Indian head logo. SENT: 910 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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