AP News Digest 3:50 a.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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DEVELOPING

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CT VIVIAN FUNERAL — Civil rights trailblazer C.T. Vivian to be laid to rest. SENT: 250 words, photos.

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TOP STORIES

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RACIAL-INJUSTICE-PORTLAND — The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear gassed by the U.S. government as he stood at a fence guarding a federal courthouse during another night of protest against the presence of federal agents sent by President Donald Trump to quell unrest in the city. Around Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler, the protest raged, with demonstrators lighting a large fire in the space between the fence and the courthouse and the sound of federal agents deploying tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd. By Gillian Flaccus. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-LAW ENFORCEMENT — Trump deploys more federal agents under “law and order" push.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-FEDERAL RESPONSE — When armed protesters took over a remote wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon four years ago to oppose federal control of public lands, U.S. agents negotiated with the conservative occupiers for weeks while some state leaders begged for stronger action. This month, federal officers sent to Portland to quell chaotic protests against racial injustice took swift and, some say, harsh action. State leaders are imploring federal forces to leave the progressive city, saying they’re escalating a volatile situation. By Rebecca Boone and Michael Kunzelman. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE POPULISM FACTOR — The countries that top the rankings of COVID-19 deaths globally are not the necessarily the poorest, the richest or even the most densely populated. But they do have one thing in common: They are led by populist, mold-breaking leaders. By John Daniszewski. SENT: 1,270 words, photos. An abridged version of 940 words has also been sent.

VIRUS OUTBREAK — Laboratories across the U.S. are buckling under a surge of coronavirus tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are undercutting the pandemic response. With the U.S. tally of confirmed infections at nearly 4 million and new cases surging, the bottlenecks are creating problems for workers kept off the job while awaiting results, nursing homes struggling to keep the virus out and for the labs themselves as they deal with a crushing workload. By Matthew Perrone, Tammy Webber and Matt Sedensky. SENT: 1,300 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SENDING MONEY HOME — For as long as Mexicans have gone north to find work, money has gone in the opposite direction. Remittances from expatriates have been the life blood of many Mexican villages. But these days, fear accompanies the money that crosses the border. And it travels both ways. By Claudia Torrens and María Verza. SENT: 2,100 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,000 words has also been sent.

MARS-CHINA — China launches its most ambitious Mars mission yet in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. A Long March-5 carrier rocket took off under clear skies from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site. By Samuel McNeil and Aniruddha Ghosal. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

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