AP News Digest 4 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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ELECTION 2020-AMERICA DISRUPTED-SUBURBS — Once firmly in Republican control, suburbs are increasingly politically divided — a rare common ground shared by Republicans and Democrats. As such, they are poised to decide not just who wins the White House this year but also who controls the Senate and the contours of the debate over guns, immigration, work, schools, housing and health care. By Angeliki Kastanis, Josh Boak and Dario Lopez-Mills. SENT: 1,790 words, photos With ELECTION 2020-AMERICA DISRUPTED-SUBURBS-PHOTO ESSAY — Scenes from Arizona’s growing, pivotal suburbs.
US ATTORNEYS DEMOGRAPHICS — The nation’s top federal prosecutors have become less diverse under President Donald Trump than under his three predecessors. White men are overwhelmingly in charge of federal law enforcement amid a national paroxysm over racial inequality and criminal justice. By Jake Bleiberg, Aaron Morrison and Jim Mustian. UPCOMING: 1,670 words, photos by 6 a.m.
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TOP STORIES
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VIRUS OUTBREAK — Trump stages a dramatic return to the White House after leaving the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19 He declares that the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans — and then he enters the White House without a protective mask. By Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,360 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-WHAT WE KNOW.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-HE GETS IT — Now that he has contracted COVID-19, Trump says he does “get it.” That revelation, seven months into the pandemic and after almost 210,000 American deaths, is not the first time he has relied on personal experience to shape his views. But his declaration that the disease should not “dominate” lives reinforces that the president has struggled to relate with everyday Americans. By Jonathan Lemire. SENT: 960 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP TWEET REACTION — Some survivors of COVID-19 and people who have lost loved ones to the pandemic are angry over Trump’s advice not to fear the disease. The world’s most prominent coronavirus patient tweeted that he’s feeling great and that people shouldn’t let COVID-19 dominate them. By Gene Johnson and Peter Prengaman. SENT: 840 words, photos.
Find more coverage of Trump virus in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-HARRIS — Kamala Harris pitches the Democratic presidential ticket’s message directly to Black voters in states like North Carolina and Michigan in the closing weeks of the campaign. By Kathleen Ronayne and Kat Stafford. SENT: 1,100 words, photos. With ELECTION 2020-BIDEN — Biden aims to expand map as Trump recovers from coronavirus.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-ULTRA-ORTHODOX — Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews make up roughly 10% of the population, yet account for over one-third of the country’s coronavirus patients. Segments of the community refuse to comply with safety regulations and insist on maintaining a tight-knit way of life. By Tia Goldenberg. SENT: 980 words, photos.
EASTER-ISLAND-SIX-MONTHS-STRANDED — About 25 residents from remote Easter Island who have been stranded far from their loved ones for more than six months because of the coronavirus will finally be able to return home this week on a French military plane. By Nick Perry. SENT: 480 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VACCINE-WHITE-HOUSE — The White House has blocked new Food and Drug Administration guidelines on bringing potential vaccines for COVID-19 to market that would almost certainly have prevented their approval before the Nov. 3 election. SENT: 980 words, photo.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CDC-AEROSOL — The top U.S. public health agency says that the coronavirus can spread more than 6 feet through the air, especially in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces, but agency officials maintained that such spread is uncommon and current social distancing guidelines still make sense. SENT: 530 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHITE HOUSE — The West Wing is a ghost town, and staffers are scared of exposure and pointing fingers. SENT: 1,840 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-TESTING — Trump’s press secretary once called the president the “most tested man in America” when it came to COVID-19, but that vaunted testing operation proved woefully insufficient in protecting the president and those who work for him. SENT: 870 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ASIA — Sri Lanka says more than 300 garment factory workers are infected with the coronavirus, days after reporting the Indian Ocean nation’s first community infection in two months. SENT: 460 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VIRAL-QUESTIONS-MASK-ETIQUETTE — How do I politely ask someone to wear a mask? SENT: 240 words, graphic.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MEDIA — Trump’s return to the White House to recover from the coronavirus seems certain to raise the already heightened anxiety level of the journalists assigned to follow him. By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 870 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-MINNESOTA — Thirteen staff members from a Minneapolis steakhouse were quarantining after the restaurant catered a fundraiser attended by Trump during his visit to Minnesota last week. SENT: 620 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SANCTIONS — China and 25 other nations call for the immediate lifting of sanctions by the United States and Western countries to ensure an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SENT: 350 words.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-NATION’S-CAPITAL — Officials with the Washington, D.C., Department of Health have been unsuccessful in trying to connect with the White House to assist with contact tracing and other protocols regarding the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. SENT: 930 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
A separate wire advisory has moved outlining our complete coronavirus coverage.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CHRIS-CHRISTIE — Report: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie “knocked back" by coronavirus. SENT: 230 words, photo.
OILERS-MCDAVID-COVID-19 — Oilers’ McDavid tests positive for COVID-19. SENT: 230 words, photo.
SUPREME COURT-BARRETT — Infected senator vows “moon suit” to vote Trump’s court pick. SENT: 930 words, photos.
TRUMP-COLUMNIST LAWSUIT — Lawyers: Trump can’t use job as a shield in defamation suit. SENT: 400 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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THAILAND-HISTORY LESSONS — A growing number of anti-government protesters in Thailand are also exploring a massacre of students 44 years ago that mainstream Thai history books ignore. SENT: 780 words, photos.
TROPICAL WEATHER — A strengthening Hurricane Delta was on a course to pass by the Cayman Islands before hitting Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula potentially as a major storm and continuing on to strike the U.S. Gulf coast later in the week. SENT: 340 words, photo.
JAPAN-QUAD-MEETING — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart say they will lead a regional initiative called “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” aimed at countering China’s growing assertiveness, a main issue they will discuss with the top envoys from Australia and India. SENT: 700 words, photos.
GERMANY-SYRIA-WAR CRIMES — Human rights groups say they have filed a criminal complaint in Germany asking prosecutors to investigate two chemical weapons attacks in Syria that stand out as among the worst atrocities in the country’s long-running conflict. SENT: 440 words.
UNITED NATIONS-HAITI — The U.N. envoy for Haiti warns that Latin America’s poorest country has seen increasing violence in recent months, with gangs challenging the authority of the state and political divisions blocking movement toward legislative elections. SENT: 520 words, photo.
IRAN-US — A U.S. judge orders Iran to pay $1.45 billion to the family of a former FBI agent believed to have been kidnapped by the Islamic Republic while on an unauthorized CIA mission to an Iranian island in 2007. SENT: 510 words, photo.
PHILIPPINES-DUTERTE-DRUG KILLINGS — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says that like his fierce critics, he has also suspected that extrajudicial killings may have happened under his drug crackdown that has killed thousands of people. SENT: 490 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — With months still to go in California’s fire season, the state has already shattered records for the amount of land scorched in a single year — more than 4 million acres to date, with one blaze alone surpassing the 1 million acre mark. SENT: 750 words, photos.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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NOBEL-PHYSICS — The Nobel Prize for physics is an award that has in the past honored discoveries about the tiniest of particles and the vast mysteries of outer space. SENT: 200 words, photo. UPCOMING: Announcement at 5:45 a.m.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Shares advanced in Asia after hopes for fresh economic stimulus helped Wall Street recover its losses from the initial shock of learning Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. By Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach. SENT: 660 words, photos.
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