AP News Digest 2 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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ONLY ON AP
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AMERICAN DRUG MULE — The family of a Virginia man who has been held in Spain for the last year on drug trafficking charges says he was an unwitting courier for a criminal syndicate. The Justice Department is backing that conclusion. It told the Spanish government in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that there’s no evidence 76-year-old Victor Stemberger knew that he was transporting cocaine to the country at the time of his arrest. Stemberger is set for trial in Madrid later this month. His family says he has not been the same since a brain injury nearly 15 years ago. By Eric Tucker. SENT: 990 words, photos. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-FACE MASKS -- Forgive the American people if they’re in a fog about face masks. President Donald Trump and the federal government have done a number on them. First there was the don’t-do-it phase. Then the nice-but-not-for-me dissonance. Followed by the local-rules-don’t-apply exceptions. Topped off by Trump’s stated suspicion that some people wear masks just to troll him. It has all added up to a murky message about one of the critical tools in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. And the politicization of the to-wear-or-not-to-wear debate is clear in recent public polling. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL — For many states and counties in the U.S., the dark days of the coronavirus pandemic in April unfolded on their television screens, not on their doorsteps. But now, some places that appeared to have avoided the worst are seeing surges of infections, as worries shift from major cities to rural areas. Much of the focus of concerns that the United States is experiencing a dangerous new phase has been on big Sunbelt states that are reporting thousands of new cases a day. But the worrying trend is also happening in places like Kansas. By Don Babwin and Paul J. Weber. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARIZONA FRONT LINES -- After weeks of anxiously waiting and preparing, Arizona nurses and doctors find themselves on the front line as the coronavirus rips through the state. It’s one of the world’s newest coronavirus hot spots. The trickle of a few virus patients in March became a steady increase two weeks after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ended a stay-home order in mid-May, and is now a scourge with no end in sight. For younger nurses, some of the hardest deaths are young, previously healthy patients who succumb, including a woman under age 25 who died in Scottsdale. One nurse said she’s never seen so many deaths. By Bob Christie and Josh Hoffner. SENT: 1,265 words, photos.
Find more coverage of the Virus Outbreak in AP Newsroom.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-YOUNG ORGANIZERS --Young organizers are helping drive the outpouring of protest against racism and police brutality around the U.S. Many have grown up seeing videos about deaths of people of color at the hands of police. The young organizers have native fluency with social media, and are showing how learning and communication can translate quickly into real-life action. In big cities and small towns, both conservative and liberal, they are taking matters into their own hands and bringing together hundreds or thousands of people. They say they don’t plan to stop anytime soon. By Lindsay Whitehurst. SENT: 1,115 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-SPANISH LEGACY - A decades-long fight between some Hispanics and Native Americans over the removal of statues honoring Spanish colonial figures in New Mexico and California is boiling over again. Hispanics who venerated Spain’s historical ties to the U.S. say the monuments celebrate their cultural heritage. Native Americans say that history ignores the pain of colonialism. The historical markers highlight a complicated past that has spanned centuries. Spain’s enduring hold over the territory made it unlike other areas in the Southwest. In New Mexico, conquistadors have been celebrated as a result. By Russell Contreras. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. Eds: This story has moved as the Sunday Spotlight.
Find more coverage of Racial Injustice in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-DEMOCRATS -- President Trump is entering the final four-month stretch before Election Day presiding over a country that faces a public health crisis, mass unemployment and a reckoning over racism. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, is raking in cash. And a series of national and battleground polls suggests growing obstacles to Trump’s reelection. But Biden and his leading supporters are stepping up warnings to Democrats to avoid becoming complacent. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 950 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-GOVERNORS -- With reported coronavirus cases rising rapidly in many states, governors are getting lots of advice on how to respond. Unions want to be sure workers are protected on the job. Many business owners say they can’t afford another forced shutdown. Public health officials urge them to make mask-wearing a statewide requirement. But governors also are facing pushback on the right over business restrictions and mask regulations. The competing voices on what to reopen and what limits to impose have led to a push-and-pull across the states as governors consider whether to backtrack on reopening and reimpose restrictions. By Michelle L. Price. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NURSING HOME CAMERAS -- Visitation bans at nursing homes across the country have sparked renewed interest in legislation to allow cameras inside nursing home rooms. SENT: 825 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BARS ON THE ROCKS — Many bars and restaurants across the country are struggling with tough decisions on whether to remain open or shut down as confirmed cases surge in their areas. SENT; 880 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-BORDERS -- European Union envoys are close to finalizing a list of countries whose citizens will be allowed back into Europe once it begins lifting coronavirus-linked restrictions. The United States appears almost certain not to make the list, as new infections surge and given that President Trump has imposed a ban on European travelers. SENT: 525 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA-NEW DELHI HEALTH MINISTER — New Delhi’s acting health minister says the Indian capital is facing a shortage of “trained and experienced” health care workers. SENT: 480 words, photos.
CHAMPION LIVERPOOL-FANS — English champion Liverpool has condemned the behavior of some fans who gathered in the city, ignoring social distancing guidelines, to celebrate the club’s Premier League title win after a 30-year wait. SENT: 330 words, photos.
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MORE ON RACIAL INJUSTICE
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RACIAL INJUSTICE-ONE TOWN — For a long time, few people in the small Belgian town of Halle paid much attention to the monuments. They were just fixtures in a local park, tributes to great men of the past. But these are very different times, and yesterday’s heroes can be today’s racist villains. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-CONFEDERATE FLAG-MISSISSIPPI -- Mississippi lawmakers could vote this weekend to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, a symbol that has come under intensifying criticism in recent weeks amid nationwide protests against racial injustice. SENT: 575 words, photos.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-LESS LETHAL --The brother of a 20-year-old student who was shot and seriously injured by police at a protest in Austin, Texas, says officers’ use of less lethal munitions, such as beanbags, should be reviewed. SENT: 780 words, photos.
CROSS BURNING-CHARGES — A Virginia man was charged in federal court this week in connection with the burning of a cross on the front lawn a Black teenager who had recently organized a civil rights protest. SENT: 380 words.
SPEEDWAY OWNER-ROPE AD — A North Carolina racetrack has lost some partnerships after its owner advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale online days after NASCAR said a noose had been found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, the top series’ only Black driver. SENT: 230 words.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ETHIOPIA-SURVIVOR -- An Ethiopian monk believed to be 114 years old has survived the coronavirus. SENT: 150 words, photos.
BRITAIN-OBIT WEBB — Charles Webb, a lifelong non-conformist whose debut novel “The Graduate” was a deadpan satire of his college education and wealthy background later adapted into the classic 1967 film of the same name, has died. SENT: 1,000 words.
BBN--DODGERS-TOLES ARRESTED -- Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles was in jail and charged with trespassing property. SENT: 200 words, photo.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-NEW YORK -- Hundreds of protesters camped outside City Hall are demanding that lawmakers slash the New York City police budget. SENT: 220 words, photos.
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ELECTION 2020-KENTUCKY-POLLING PLACES -- Louisville, Kentucky, had only one polling place open on election day this week and voting went relatively smoothly compared with other recent primaries held amid the global pandemic. Does that mean other cities should consider the same in November? Voting rights groups say no. SENT: 950 words, photos.
FACT CHECK-WEEK -- President Donald Trump’s see-no-evil posture on coronavirus testing — if you don’t look for the virus, you won’t see cases of it — defies both science and street sense. Yet he took it a big step further with a comment that his people said was a joke. Trump contradicted them, saying he wasn’t kidding. Then he contradicted himself, saying he was. So it went over the past week as America’s reckoning with disease and racism navigated a fog of falsehoods and distortions from the president. SENT: 1,500 words, photos. Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
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MEXICO-VIOLENCE — Dozens of gunmen believed tied to the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel deployed for a complex, multi-point dawn ambush meant to kill Mexico City’s police chief in one of the most brazen attacks in Mexico since the equally ruthless Zetas carved a path of terror across the country nearly a decade ago. SENT: 805 words, photos.
IRAN EXPLOSION — An explosion that rattled Iran’s capital came from an area in its eastern mountains that analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites, satellite photographs showed. SENT: 600 words, photos.
INDIA-CHINA-BORDER STANDOFF -- Satellite images released this week show construction activity under way on both the Indian and Chinese sides of a contested border high in the Karakoram mountains a week after a deadly clash in the area left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Around midnight on June 15, soldiers attacked each other with rocks, clubs and their fists in the Galwan Valley, the deadliest violence between the two countries in 45 years. SENT: 760 words, photos.
PAKISTAN PLANE CRASH — A union of Pakistani pilots fired back Saturday at the country’s aviation minister after he claimed that as many as 262 pilots working for state-run Pakistan International Airlines and other airlines obtained their pilot licenses by having others take exams for them. SENT: 395 words, photos.
IRELAND-NEW LEADER — Centrist politician Micheál Martin has become Ireland’s prime minister in a deal that fuses two longtime rival parties into a coalition government. SENT: 610 words, photos.
NORDICS-RUSSIA-RADIATION — Radioactivity hike seen in northern Europe; source unknown. SENT: 380 words.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-MILTON GLASER — Milton Glaser, the designer who created the “I (HEART) NY” logo and the famous Bob Dylan poster with psychedelic hair, has died. SENT: 850 words, photos.
BRITAIN-OBIT-WEBB — Charles Webb, a lifelong non-conformist whose debut novel “The Graduate” was a deadpan satire of his college education and wealthy background later adapted into the classic 1967 film of the same name, has died. SENT: 1,040 words.
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BKN--NBA RESTART-10 THINGS - There’s still a lot of time before real NBA games are back. But with the deals done and the schedule for the Disney restart set, here are some story lines leading to the resumption of games July 30. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
ATH--WHEREABOUTS FAILURES — The cluster of recent whereabouts cases runs contrary to the reality that most athletes have very few issues keeping their information current and being where they say they’re going to be. UPCOMING: 1,200 words, photos by 3 p.m
GLF--TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP — Phil Mickelson, playing his first tournament since turning 50 this month, leads by a stroke at the Travelers Championship. Jason Day asked to be tested for COVID-19 just before the third round and played as a single. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 7 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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