AP News Digest 4 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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LOOKING FOR AMERICA-VOTING WHILE BLACK — With America roiling over questions of racial justice and a divisive election just days away, the AP Road Trip team made its way to Mississippi, and the scene of an infamous 1964 triple murder of civil rights workers fighting for Black voting rights. By Tim Sullivan. SENT: 2,380 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,000 words is also available.
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TOP STORIES
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ELECTION 2020-DEBATE — President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, are set to square off in their final debate, one of the last high-profile opportunities for the trailing incumbent to change the trajectory of an increasingly contentious campaign. By Jonathan Lemire, Bill Barrow and Steve Peoples. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: Debate at 9 p.m. With ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-VIEWERS GUIDE — The bar to improve upon the last debate is low; ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-QUESTIONS — Trump’s coronavirus response, Biden’s son, a mute button and more.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — The U.S. regulators who will decide the fate of COVID-19 vaccines are taking an unusual step: Asking outside scientists if their standards are high enough. The Food and Drug Administration may have to decide by year’s end whether to allow use of the first vaccines against the virus. A federal advisory committee will pull back the curtain on that decision process, debating whether the guidelines FDA has set for vaccine developers are rigorous enough. By Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-BARRETT — Despite a Democratic boycott, Republicans are powering ahead to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by Election Day. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote to recommend Trump’s nominee to the full Senate. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 890 words, photos. UPCOMING: 990 words after 9 a.m. vote. With SUPREME COURT-BARRETT-AP EXPLAINS — What’s next for Barrett?
UAE-GUANTANAMO-DETAINEES — The Guantanamo detainees were promised they were being sent to a Muslim country for rehabilitation that would help integrate them into society, opening the way to jobs, money, and marriage, according to their lawyers and families. It was a lie. By Maggie Michael. SENT: 1,640 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,080 words is also available.
RACIAL INEQUITY-CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION — Career and technical education is viewed as a gateway to good jobs, but a new Hechinger/AP analysis on enrollment data from 40 states finds that Black and Latino students are often less likely than their white peers to enroll in science, technology, engineering, math and information technology classes. By Sarah Butrymowicz, Jeff Amy and Larry Fenn. SENT: 1,500 words, photos. An abridged version of 990 words is also available.
ELECTION 2020-ANXIOUS LEADERS — While the world will be closely watching the U.S. election, some countries will be watching more closely than others. A number of prominent world leaders have a personal stake in the outcome of the race, with their fortunes depending heavily on the success — or failure — of Trump. Perhaps none has so much riding on a Trump victory as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. By Josef Federman. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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FILM-BORAT-2-RUDY-GIULIANI — Rudy Giuliani shown in hotel bedroom scene in new “Borat" film. SENT: 580 words, photos.
BILLBOARD-LATIN-MUSIC-AWARDS — Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee top Billboard Latin Music Awards. SENT: 160 words, photos, video.
WESTMINSTER-DOG-SHOW-OUTDOORS — Wanna go for a walk? Westminster dog show leaves NYC for ’21. SENT: 290 words, photos.
POLICE SHOOTING-ILLINOIS — Illinois authorities investigate fatal shooting of Black teen by cop. SENT: 270 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-DISTANCE LEARNING — The shift from in-person to remote learning is giving some teachers unprecedented video access into their students’ homes. SENT: 1,390 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-THEME-PARKS — Now that California health officials announced strict new rules for reopening amusement parks, attractions spanning from Disneyland to Universal Studios are bracing for an even longer shutdown — and so are the surrounding communities lined with hotels, restaurants and shops that cater to visitors who no longer walk their streets. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CZECH — Amid a record surge of coronavirus infections that’s threatening the entire health system with collapse, the Czech Republic is adopting exactly the same massive restrictions as in the spring, a situation its prime minister kept saying would never happen again. SENT: 530 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ANTIVAX REBRANDING — Vaccine opponents have long been undergoing a rebranding effort to shift their messaging toward the promotion of civil liberties.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-MASK-6 FEET — Experts recommend wearing masks in public and staying at least 6 feet away from others to reduce the risk of a coronavirus infection, but whether you should do both could depend on the situation. SENT: 310 words, graphic.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GERMANY — German consumers are growing increasingly pessimistic amid growing fears of new lockdown measures in Europe’s largest economy as coronavirus numbers continue to rapidly climb, a survey shows.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ASIA — Sri Lanka’s main fish market was closed and a curfew widened as a COVID-19 outbreak grows. SENT: 390 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONE-GOOD-THING-DUBAI-GOODBYE-PHOTOS — A freelance photographer in Dubai is providing free photo shoots to laid-off expats forced to leave the skyscraper-studded Persian Gulf city because of the pandemic. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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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ELECTION SECURITY-SPOOFED EMAILS — U.S. officials say Iran is behind a flurry of emails sent to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states that appeared to be aimed at intimidating them into voting for Trump. SENT: 710 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP-ROAD TO 270 — Trump still has a path to the 270 Electoral College votes he needs to win reelection, but it requires everything to break in his direction again. SENT: 1,270 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-FOREIGN POLICY — Trump and Biden have starkly different visions for the international role of the United States. SENT: 920 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-OBAMA — Former President Barack Obama blasts Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, his culpability in national discord and his overall fitness for the job in his first in-person campaign pitch for Biden, his former vice president. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, videos.
ELECTION 2020-SENATE-MAINE — Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, the Democrat who’s polling neck-and-neck with Republican Sen. Susan Collins, has amassed more money of any other political candidate in state history in her bid to unseat the four-term senator. SENT: 1,000 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-OKLAHOMA — Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn won’t have the element of surprise she had when she won in 2018, and Republican groups have launched a massive counterattack to win back the seat that virtually every political prognosticator has listed as a toss-up. SENT: 950 words, photos.
SUPREME-COURT-ALABAMA-VOTING — The Supreme Court puts on hold a lower court order that would have permitted curbside voting in Alabama in November. SENT: 590 words, photo.
A separate wire advisory has been sent detailing AP’s complete Election 2020 coverage.
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INTERNATIONAL
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THAILAND-PROTESTS — Thailand’s government cancels a state of emergency it had declared for Bangkok last week after the embattled prime minister suggested the gesture to cool massive student-led protests seeking democracy reforms. SENT: 650 words, photos.
DUBAI-COAL-POWERED-SHEIKHDOM — In the oil-rich nation of the United Arab Emirates, an unusual sight is rising in Dubai: a coal-fired power plant, a first for the region. SENT: 970 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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OBIT-THE-AMAZING-RANDI — James Randi, a magician who later challenged spoon benders, mind readers and faith healers with such voracity that he became regarded as the country’s foremost skeptic, has died. He was 92. By National Writer Matt Sedensky. SENT: 940 words, photos.
MEXICAN-CHURCH-LEADER-CHILD-RAPES — Citing insufficient evidence, a Los Angeles judge throws out extortion charges against the leader of a Mexican megachurch but left in place accusations of child rape and human trafficking. SENT: 320 words.
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SCIENCE
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ASTEROID GRAB — NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft crushed rocks and sent rubble flying as it briefly touched an asteroid, a strong indication that samples were collected for return to Earth, officials say. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 550 words, photos, videos.
RUSSIA-SPACE STATION — A trio of space travelers safely returned to Earth after a six-month mission on the International Space Station. SENT: 240 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower as investors watched Washington for signs of whether political leaders can agree on an economic aid plan in the two weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 430 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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WORLD-SERIES — Brandon Lowe homered twice and the Tampa Bay Rays held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 to even the World Series at one game apiece. By Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins. SENT: 1,350 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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MUSIC-CMT MUSIC AWARDS — Carrie Underwood already had the most CMT Music Awards of any artist, but she’ll need to make more room on her shelf. By Entertainment Writer Kristin M. Hall. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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