AP News Digest 2 p.m.
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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — The race to vaccinate millions of Americans is off to a slower, messier start than public health officials and leaders of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed had expected. Overworked, underfunded state public health departments are scrambling to patch together plans for administering vaccines. Differences in how counties and hospitals administer the vaccine are leading to long lines, confusion and jammed phone lines. Experts say the federal government hasn’t done enough to help states meet their goals for getting doses injected into arms. By Bobby Caina Calvan and Michael Kunzelman. SENT: 980 words, photos With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THINGS TO KNOW, VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST (both sent)
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-CONGRESS — Congress is ending a chaotic session like few others, a two-year political firestorm that started with the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, was riven by impeachment and a pandemic, and now closes with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump In the few days remaining, GOP senators are ignoring Trump’s demand to increase COVID-19 aid checks to $2,000 and poised to override his veto of a major defense bill, asserting traditional Republican spending and security priorities in defiance of a president who has marched the party in a different direction. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NEW-YEAR’S-EVE — This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other in most of the world, with pandemic restrictions limiting crowds and many bidding farewell to a year they’d prefer to forget. As the clock struck midnight, the New Year’s experience mirrored countries’ responses to the virus itself. Some canceled or scaled back festivities, while others without active outbreaks were able to carry on like any other year. By Rod McGuirk and Frank Jordans. SENT: 850 words, photos, videos. UPCOMING: Developing.
BREXIT — Like a separated couple still living together, Britain and the European Union spent 2020 wrangling and wondering whether they can remain friends. On Thursday, the U.K. is finally moving out. At 11 p.m. London time — midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels — Britain will economically and practically leave the 27-nation bloc, 11 months after its formal political departure. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 890 words, photos. With BEYOND-BREXIT — The New Year could finally bring a fresh start and a commitment to let bygones be bygones for Britain and the European Union. But don’t bet on it. SENT: 980 words, photos; BREXIT-GIBRALTAR — U.K. reaches deal with Spain to keep open Gibraltar border. SENT: 440 words, photos; BREXIT-TIMELINE (sent)
EXPLOSION-NASHVILLE-TELECOM VULNERABILITY — The Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville led to phone and data service outages and disruptions over hundreds of miles in the southern U.S., raising new concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. communications. The blast seriously damaged a key AT&T network facility. The immediate repercussions were surprisingly widespread. AT&T customers lost service — phones, internet or video — across large parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. There were 911 centers in the region that couldn’t take calls; others didn’t receive crucial data associated with callers, such as their locations. The Nashville police department’s phones and internet failed. Stores went cash-only. By Tali Arbel. SENT: 1,000 words, photo.
YE-YOUR 2020 SNAPSHOT — It was a year like no other, and Americans shambled through 2020 the best they could, taking cellphone photos along the way. Behind those images are the stories of an era of pandemic and polarization and progress and upheaval. SENT: 2,940 words, photos. (Note: This is an UPDATED version of a story that first moved Dec. 29.)
Find more year-end coverage on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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EARTHQUAKE-SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA — Magnitude 3.6 earthquake jolts San Francisco Bay Area. SENT: 110 words.
CASEY-ANTHONY — Records show Casey Anthony is starting investigation firm. SENT: 210 words.
REL-VATICAN-POPE-BACK-PROBLEM — Back pain causes pope to skip Vatican New Year’s ceremonies. SENT: 430 words, photos.
DAMAGED MOSQUE-MISSOURI — Donations coming in to rebuild Missouri mosque that burned. SENT: 250 words, photos.
BANNED WORDS — “COVID-19” and “social distancing” are on Lake Superior State University's list of banned words and phrases. SENT: 510 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA VACCINE — China authorized its first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine for general use, adding another shot that could see wide use in poorer countries as the virus surges back around the globe. SENT: 810 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE-VACCINE — The European Union medicines watchdog says the German company BioNTech has applied for clearance in the 27-nation bloc to administer up to six doses of its COVID-19 vaccine from each vial, instead of the five doses currently approved. SENT: 620 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA-TESTING — As a result of holiday gatherings, African officials warn of a resurgence of COVID-19 on the continent and urge increased testing to combat it. SENT: 1100 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT-BENEFITS — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week fell by 19,000 to 787,000, still a historically high level as a resurgent coronavirus maintains its grip on the U.S. economy. SENT: 860 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EVICTIONS-ATTORNEYS — As the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic stretch into 2021, millions of U.S. renters are bracing for the possibility of having to show up in housing court to avoid getting evicted. But unlike their landlords, only a small fraction of them will do so flanked by an attorney. SENT: 980 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-FAMOUS-EXPERTS — The coronavirus pandemic has thrust virus experts and other normally low-profile scientists into the pop culture crucible this year. Angela Rasmussen is a Georgetown University virologist. She saw her Twitter following explode when she got into an exchange with Tesla billionaire Elon Musk. Laurel Bristow is an Emory University researcher who gained more than 300,000 Instagram followers explaining the pandemic in informal videos. But Ashish Jha says the sudden fame has also exposed him and other scientists of color to racist taunts and death threats. SENT: 950 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-IMMIGRANT-RELIEF — Immigrant taxpayers and their families are celebrating a federal relief package that includes spouses and children who are U.S. citizens. Checks sent out in the spring didn’t go to families if one spouse was an immigrant in the country illegally, even if the other was a U.S. citizen or legal resident. About 5 million Americans were left out that way. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VACCINE-RUINED — Police and federal authorities are investigating after a Wisconsin health system said an employee admitted to deliberately spoiling 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine. SENT: 220 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CANADA — The premier of Canada’s most populous province says he’ll be having a “tough conversation” with his finance minister, who was ordered back to Canada after it became public that he was on a Caribbean vacation even as he posted videos of himself posing before a fireplace on Christmas Eve. SENT: 540 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BUFFALO-BILLS — New York is making an exception to its restrictions on large gatherings to allow about 6,700 fans to attend a Buffalo Bills home playoff game in January as long as all test negative beforehand. SENT: 400 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-PANDEMIC PETS — For many dogs, this is life as it was meant to be: humans around 24/7, walks and treats on demand, and sneaking onto their bed at night. Cats, many who were social distancing before we knew what that was, are more affectionate than ever, some even acting needy for attention. Ten months into quarantines and working from home because of the pandemic, household pets’ lives and relationships with humans have in many cases changed — not always for the better. SENT: 930 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-PANDEMIC PETS-ADVICE (sent)
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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UNITED STATES-IRAN — The Pentagon has decided to send home the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, a move that would reduce U.S. firepower in the region amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials say. SENT: 560 words, photo. With PERSIAN GULF- TENSIONS.
TRUMP — President Donald Trump is cutting short his Florida vacation and returning to Washington one day earlier than expected for reasons the White House didn’t explain. The abrupt change in plans came after a Republican senator said he would raise objections when Congress meets next week to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and as tensions escalate with Iran. SENT: 770 words., photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
CONGRESS-ELECTORAL COLLEGE — Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska issues a pointed rebuke of GOP attempts to object Jan. 6 to the Electoral College tally of the presidential election, warning colleagues against a “dangerous ploy” that could damage the nation’s civic traditions. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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YEMEN — Yemen’s prime minister renewed accusations that the country’s Shiite rebels and Iran were responsible for the deadly explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden the previous day that killed at least 25 people and wounded 110. SENT: 420 words, photos.
PAKISTAN-HINDU TEMPLE — Pakistani police arrested at least 31 people in overnight raids after a Hindu temple was set on fire and demolished by a mob led by hundreds of supporters of a radical Islamist party, officials say. SENT: 450 words, photos.
HONG KONG-JIMMY LAI — Hong Kong’s highest court revoked media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s bail after prosecutors succeeded in asking the judges to send him back to detention. Lai had been granted bail on Dec. 23 after three weeks in custody on charges of fraud and endangering national security. SENT: 410 words, photos.
EMIRATES-PLAYGROUND FOR ISRAELIS — After a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize ties between Israel and the UAE, Israeli revelers seeking relief from monthslong virus restrictions came to Dubai in droves. For the past month, Israelis accustomed to traveling on foreign passports, if at all, to the Arab world, have made themselves at home in the UAE’s commercial hub. Now, as the virus surges in Israel and triggers a third lockdown, Israelis are hoping vaccines accelerate their mass return to the skyscrapper-studded city. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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POLICE-SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS — Police in Minneapolis said they would release body camera video from a traffic stop that ended with a man shot dead, the city’s first police-involved death since George Floyd died while being restrained by officers in May. Police said the man was a suspect in a felony and that he died in an exchange of gunfire Wednesday on the city’s south side. SENT: 620 words, photos.
POLICE SHOOTING-MARYLAND — Maryland prosecutors have ruled out criminal charges against any police officers in the shooting death of a man whose family says he was sleeping in his bed next to his girlfriend when police opened fire, an attorney for the family says. SENT: 810 words, photos.
RACIST-STORE-REDEEMED — Renovations are starting for an old theater in South Carolina that spent decades as a store that sold racist merchandise and a meeting spot for the Ku Klux Klan. The Echo Project wants to rehabilitate the theater in Laurens and turn it into a community center and museum on racial reconciliation. SENT: 750 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses in early afternoon trading Thursday, hovering near record highs as investors close the book on a tumultuous year. SENT: 580 words, photo.
YE-BUSINESS-WINNERS-LOSERS — The coronavirus pandemic created winners and losers in the business world. Wall Street recovered after March, even though Main Street is still struggling. In 2020, many people took to working remotely in sweatpants, hopped onto an expensive high-tech exercise bike and had their favorite restaurant dish delivered, perhaps by a driver trying to earn an extra buck and hoping not to catch the coronavirus. On the flip side, many office buildings remain deserted, restaurants are empty and gyms remain sparsely populated. As few people traveled, the airline industry needed billions of dollars in aid from the government and is still threatening to lay off workers. SENT: 1,430 words, photos.
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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
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FILM-BOX OFFICE — After two $11 billion years, the box office in 2020 is careening toward a 40-year low. Industry experts weigh in on this disastrous asterisks of a year. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. UPCOMING: 950 words by 12 p.m., photos.
TV-ELIZABETH IS MISSING — Only one project lured two-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson back to the screen after an absence of 25 years: “Elizabeth Is Missing.” By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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