AP News Digest 6:40 p.m.
Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, 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.
Editors: Resends previous digest to add — NOT-REAL-NEWS.
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NEW & DEVELOPING
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Adds: INMATE DEATH-KNEE ON NECK, AMERICA PROTESTS-TROOPS DEPART, NOT-REAL-NEWS, AMERICA PROTESTS-PENCE, VATICAN-US RACISM, AP-EXPLAINS-ECONOMY-JOBS-REPORT, CONSUMER BORROWING, AL-QAIDA LEADER KILLED, TRUMP-MARINE-MONUMENT.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — U.S. unemployment dropped unexpectedly in May to 13.3% as reopened businesses began recalling millions of workers faster than economists had predicted. Stocks surged on the news, and an exultant President Trump seized on the report as evidence that the economy is coming back from the coronavirus crisis like a “rocket ship.” By Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 520 words, photos. WITH: FINANCIAL-MARKETS — The S&P 500 closed up 2.6% and other stocks also rose after a report said the U.S. job market surprisingly strengthened last month, bolstering hopes that the nation might be starting to dig out of a recession. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, developing.
TRUMP-ECONOMY — President Donald Trump effectively claims victory over the economic crisis and COVID-19 — as well as major progress against racial inequity — as he heartily embraces an unexpectedly good jobs report. The unemployment rate dropped to a better-than-expected 13.3%, but that is still on par with the Great Depression. By Steve Peoples, Zeke Miller and Josh Boak. SENT: 600 words, photos, video. WITH: AMERICA PROTESTS-TRUMP-FLOYD — Trump declares Friday “a great day” for George Floyd as he discusses a strong jobs report and efforts to bring about racial equality. SENT: 410 words, photos, video.
AMERICA PROTESTS — Protesters stirred by the death of George Floyd vowed to turn an extraordinary outpouring of grief into a sustained movement as demonstrations shifted to a calmer, but no less determined, focus on addressing racial injustice. By early afternoon, demonstrations resumed for an 11th day around the country with continued momentum as the mood of the protests largely shifted from explosive anger to more peaceful calls for change. By Sudhin Thanawala and Brian Mahoney. SENT: 940 words, photos. WITH: AMERICA PROTESTS-THE LATEST; INMATE DEATH-KNEE ON NECK — The Missouri NAACP and black lawmakers have urged a new investigation into the death of an African American jail inmate who died in 2017 in a similar circumstance to George Floyd — with a white law enforcement officer’s knee on his neck. SENT:
GEORGE FLOYD-DEATH-INVESTIGATION -- Negotiators for the city of Minneapolis agree with the state to ban the use of chokeholds by police and to require police to report and intervene anytime they see an unauthorized use of force by another officer. The moves are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week in response to the death of George Floyd in police custody. SENT: 650 words.
Find more coverage of America Protests in AP Newsroom.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FOOD BANK FIRST TIMERS -- Cars are lining up for hours to take home free food amid an economy weakened by the coronavirus, even in affluent areas. A scene in Valley Stream on New York’s Long Island as been replicated nationwide during a 10-week stretch in which 42 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits. The Valley Stream donations were just one of many events Island Harvest has conducted throughout the area recently. SENT: 1,175 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-BLACK OFFICERS — Black officers are finding themselves torn as protests break out around the United States against police brutality. By Cliff Brunt and Gary Fields. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
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AMERICA PROTESTS-TROOPS DEPART — U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and other officials say nearly 500 more of the active-duty troops brought in to help if needed with the civil unrest in the nation’s capital have been given orders to leave Washington. SENT: 470 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-PENCE — Vice President Mike Pence meets with community and faith leaders about how the nation should respond to the protests over the death of George Floyd. SENT: 420 words, photos.
NOT-REAL-NEWS — This week, a variety of false stories and visuals emerged around protests following the death of George Floyd. SENT: 2,000 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-WORLD’S STREETS — When black men died at the hands of U.S. police in recent years, the news made international headlines. The name of George Floyd has reached the world’s streets. Since his death while being detained by Minneapolis police last week, Floyd’s face has been painted on walls from Nairobi, Kenya, to Idlib, Syria. His name has been inked on the shirts of professional soccer players and chanted by crowds from London to Cape Town to Tel Aviv to Sydney. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS CHIEF — Many hoped Minneapolis’ first black police chief could change the culture of a police department that critics said too often uses excessive force and discriminates against people of color. But George Floyd’s death and the protests it ignited nationwide over racial injustice and police brutality have raised questions about whether Medaria Arradondo — or any chief — can fix a department that’s now facing a civil rights investigation. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-SCHOOL POLICE — An increasing number of school districts are rethinking the presence of school resource officers in their schools amid the national outrage over the death of George Floyd. Portland Public Schools, Oregon’s largest school district, on Thursday cut its ties with the Portland Police Bureau and joins a handful of other urban districts from Minneapolis to Denver that are mulling the fate of such programs. SENT: 725 words, photos.
VATICAN-US RACISM — The highest-ranking American cardinal at the Vatican has deplored the “unjust” killing of George Floyd, saying it laid bare that the Christian principles of the U.S. Constitution aren’t being applied to black people. SENT: 550 words, photos.
A separate wire advisory has moved detailing the AP’s complete protests coverage.
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AP-EXPLAINS-ECONOMY-JOBS-REPORT — Five major takeaways from a jobs report that showed the economy faring better than believed, even if the overall picture remains bleak, with many millions still jobless and unemployment well into double digits. By AP Economics Writer Josh Boak. SENT: 1,140 words, photos. WITH: CONSUMER BORROWING — U.S. consumer borrowing plunged in April as households fretted about the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and cut back on their use of credit. SENT: 180 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MORMON MISSIONARIES -- Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have long knocked on doors, shaken hands or walked up to strangers to spread their gospel. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to do their outreach online, in Facebook groups and through video calls. The church hastily brought home 26,000 young people on missions to recruit new members overseas. Now, many are taking their work to social media in their home countries. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
AMERICA PROTESTS-BUFFALO POLICE -- Prosecutors are investigating after a television crew captured a police officer in Buffalo, New York, shoving a 75-year-old man who then fell and cracked his head. SENT: 400 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LIVELIHOODS LOST — Factories and stores are reopening, economies are reawakening – but many jobs just aren’t coming back. That’s the harsh truth facing workers laid off around the U.S. and the world, from restaurants in Thailand to car factories in France, whose livelihoods fell victim to a virus-driven recession that’s accelerating decline in struggling industries and upheaval across the global workforce. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOCIOLOGY OF MASKS — Before the coronavirus outbreak abruptly disrupted the livelihoods of millions of people, the sight of masks worn in public spaces in the Western world conjured up images of malevolent clowns and terrifying fictional villains. But in the space of just a few weeks this spring, this narrative has been turned upside down. Masks are everywhere and carry a new meaning. SENT: 720 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHO MASK ADVICE — The World Health Organization is broadening its recommendations for the use of masks during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 370 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-D-DAY — This year’s anniversary observances for the June 6, 1944, D-Day landings in Normandy will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever. The coronavirus pandemic is keeping almost everyone away, from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance to give their unlucky comrades a final farewell. Even Saturday’s weather forecast is bad. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-BORDERS — The European Union’s Home Affairs commissioner says Europe’s free travel area should be back up and running by the end of the month. SENT: 780 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PERU-OXYGEN — One of the world’s most abundant elements is in increasingly short supply in Peru, a center of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN-MYSTERY OF SUCCESS — Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NICARAGUA-BASEBALL — The death of 58-year-old Nicaraguan baseball coach Carlos Aranda — himself the son of a former star of Nicaragua’s national team — shook Nicaragua, a place where baseball is the national pastime and the government has tried to obscure the novel coronavirus’ toll. SENT: 1,170 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-KEYS OF COMFORT — In isolation, one writer — a cancer survivor — has been turning to her piano for comfort. SENT: 640 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LIVES LOST-TWIN BROTHERS -- The tiny Vermont town of Wilmington was largely spared from the impact of coronavirus until April, when Cleon Boyd, a lifelong resident who embodied the town’s toughness and traditions, died. A week later, the virus claimed his twin brother Leon. The bearded, burly twins had spent their lives in the area and their family members were among the founders of Wilmington in the 1700s. SENT: 1,025 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-GIVING BACK -- Tourism has given the Sri Lankan economy an important boost since a bloody decades-long civil war ended in 2009. When flights were canceled and airports shut down, Darshana Ratnayake, a cafe owner in Ella, a former colonial hill station in Sri Lankan tea country, decided to give back, organizing free food and shelter for several dozen stranded tourists. SENT: 525 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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TRUMP-TWITTER — Twitter blocks a Trump campaign video tribute to George Floyd over a copyright claim, in a move that adds to tensions between the social media platform and the president. SENT: 300 words, photo.
PHOTOGRAPHER ATTACKED — A man who police say assaulted an Associated Press photographer in Philadelphia as the journalist was on assignment covering the city’s police commissioner has been charged in the attack. SENT: 240 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER — Tropical Depression Cristobal is continuing to soak Mexico’s Gulf coast and Central America ahead of a northward turn expected to carry it to U.S. shores by Monday. SENT: 325 words, photo.
HOUSE SHOOTING-ALABAMA -- Deputies responding to a call about a shooting in Alabama found seven people dead inside a home that had been set afire. SENT: 200 words.
RUSSIA OIL SPILL — Russian President Vladimir Putin chastises the billionaire owner of a nickel giant over a massive fuel oil spill that has inflicted huge damage on a fragile Arctic region. SENT: 260 words, photos.
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TRUMP — President Trump lobs political jabs at Maine’s Democratic governor for not reopening businesses shuttered by the coronavirus and opting for a phased reopening instead. Trump also stops in Guilford, a tiny city in rural Maine, to visit a company that makes swabs for COVID-19 testing. By Jill Colvin and Patrick Whittle. SENT: 880 words, photos, video.
AMERICA PROTESTS-MILITARY-RACE — The death of George Floyd in police hands has pushed the U.S. military to search its soul and to admit that, like the rest of America, it has fallen short on racial fairness. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, video, audio.
AMERICA PROTESTS-DC’S STAND — The Washington, D.C., street leading to the White House now features the phrase Black Lives Matter in enormous yellow letters visible from high in the sky. The project follows Mayor Muriel Bowser’s verbal clashes with the Trump administration over the response to protests of the killing of George Floyd. By Ben Fox. SENT: 860 words, photos.
CHINA-AIRLINES — The Trump administration is backing away from a threat to ban all flights to the U.S. by Chinese airlines. SENT: 390 words, photo.
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TRUMP-MARINE-MONUMENT — President Trump rolled back protections at a marine conservation area off the New England coast, signing an order to allow commercial fishing in a stretch of water environmentalists say is critical for endangered right whales and other fragile marine life. SENT: 620 words, photos.
CONFEDERATE STATUES-ALABAMA — Alabama’s port city has removed a bronze statue of a Confederate naval officer after days of protests over the police killing of George Floyd. SENT: 400 words, photo.
SLAVE AUCTION BLOCK-REMOVAL — A 176-year-old slave auction block has been removed from a Virginia city’s downtown. SENT: 280 words, photo.
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IRAN-NUCLEAR — Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium and remains in violation of its deal with world powers, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said. SENT: 650 words, photos.
BRITAIN-HONG KONG-PATTEN — Hong Kong’s last British leader blasts China’s agenda as ‘Orwellian.’ SENT: 490 words, photo.
AL-QAIDA LEADER KILLED — The French military and allied forces in Mali have killed the longtime leader of al-Qaida’s North African arm, who commanded jihadists in his native Algeria and then spread their movement across Africa’s Sahel region, France’s defense minister said. SENT: 200 words.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-MALARIA DRUG -- Leaders of a large study in the United Kingdom that is rigorously testing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and other medicines for hospitalized COVID-19 patients say they will stop putting people on the drug because it’s clear it isn’t helping. SENT: 475 words, photo.
TRUMP-BIRD DEATHS — The Trump administration moved forward with plans to scale back a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. SENT: 575 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ENTERTAINMENT-THE TOLL PART 4 — The coronavirus has claimed the lives of artists and artisans, writers and actors, musicians and media figures. Those lost to the outbreak include Jenny Polanco, who reached unprecedented heights in fashion for a designer from the Dominican Republic; Tim Brooke-Taylor, whose comedy trio the Goodies were part of a golden age of British comedy; and Joe Diffie, who was born in Oklahoma and grew up to become one of the kings of Nashville in the 1990s. SENT: 915 words, photos.
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FBN--CATCHING ON TO KAEPERNICK — When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the anthem to protest police brutality and social injustice, he was vilified by those who considered the act an offense to the country, flag and military. Nearly four years later, his peaceful protest is seen in a new light. SENT: 1,140 800 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, (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.