Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.
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Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.
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TOP STORIES
For full coverage of the impeachment inquiry in AP Newsroom: https://newsroom.ap.org/page/impeachment.
VATICAN-US BISHOP — Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo resigned, forced to step aside amid mounting calls for his ouster from his staff, priests and public over his handling of allegations of clergy sexual misconduct. The Vatican said Pope Francis accepted the resignation and appointed Edward Scharfenberger, the bishop of Albany, New York, to run the Buffalo diocese temporarily until a permanent replacement is found. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
ONLY ON AP
Businesswoman Kelly Loeffler smiles while being introduced by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as his pick to fill Georgia's vacant U.S. Senate seat at the Georgia State Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP PhotoElijah Nouvelage)
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PAKISTAN-TRAFFICKED BRIDES-THE LIST — Page after page, the names stack up: 629 girls and women from across Pakistan who were sold as brides to Chinese men and taken to China. The list, obtained by The Associated Press, was compiled by Pakistani investigators determined to break up trafficking networks exploiting the country’s poor and vulnerable. The list gives the most concrete figure yet for the number of women caught up in the trafficking schemes since 2018. By Kathy Gannon. SENT: 1,380 words, photos.
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FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2019 file photo, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg answers a question during an interview with The Associated Press in Orlando, Fla. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, is opening the door to a 2020 presidential campaign. Bloomberg announced earlier this year that he would not seek the Democratic nomination. But in a statement, his political adviser Howard Wolfson says Bloomberg is worried that the current crop of Democratic presidential candidates is “not well positioned” to defeat President Donald Trump.(AP PhotoPhelan M. Ebenhack, File)
TOP STORIES
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TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT — The House Judiciary Committee's first impeachment hearing quickly bursts into partisan infighting as Democrats charged that President Donald Trump must be removed from office for enlisting foreign interference in U.S. elections and Republicans angrily retorted there were no grounds for such drastic action. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1300 words. UPCOMING: 1100 words by 5 p.m., photos, video. WITH: TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-TAKEAWAYS — The lofty arguments about the Constitution are interrupted by partisan bickering among Judiciary Committee members. Some highlights. By Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 520 words. UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m., photos, video.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, second from left, arrives at U.S. District Court Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in Los Angeles. Musk is going on trial for his troublesome tweets in a case pitting the billionaire against a British diver he allegedly dubbed a pedophile. (AP PhotoMark J. Terrill)
For full coverage of the impeachment inquiry in AP Newsroom: https://newsroom.ap.org/page/impeachment.
TRUMP — Aiming to project the image of global statesman in counterpoint to Washington’s impeachment drama, President Trump instead shatters NATO’s professed message of unity at its 70th anniversary celebration in England and put his personal and policy differences with alliance members on stark display. Trump’s 52-hour trip exposed the alliance’s divisions on military budgets and relations with Turkey, as well as the U.S. leader’s own unconventional ways on the world stage. By Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 850 words. UPCOMING: 900 words by 4 p.m., photos, video. WITH: TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-GIULIANI — President Trump dismisses the significance of repeated contacts between his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and phone numbers linked to the White House and its budget office — contacts that were revealed in the House intelligence committee’s impeachment report. SENT: 300 words, photos.
SENATE-GEORGIA — Georgia’s Republican governor has chosen a wealthy businesswoman and political newcomer to fill an upcoming vacancy in the U.S. Senate, flouting President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate in a play for moderate suburban voters. By Ben Nadler and Zeke Miller. SENT: 810 words, photos.
CORRECTS CAPTION TO REMOVE REFERENCE TO BAMBOO - Villagers pluck water chestnuts from a pond in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh state, India, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Workers earn about about 250 Rupees ($3.50 USD) a day after spending 5-6 hours extracting the aquatic vegetable that grows mostly in stagnant water. (AP PhotoRajesh Kumar Singh)
VATICAN-US BISHOP — Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo resigned, forced to step aside amid mounting calls for his ouster from his staff, priests and public over his handling of allegations of clergy sexual misconduct. The Vatican said Pope Francis accepted the resignation and appointed Edward Scharfenberger, the bishop of Albany, New York, to run the Buffalo diocese temporarily until a permanent replacement is found. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
FOOD STAMPS — Hundreds of thousands of people could lose their eligibility for food stamps under a new Trump administration rule that tightens work requirements. The move by the administration is the latest in its attempt to scale back the social safety net for poor Americans. By Juliet Linderman. SENT: 470 words. UPCOMING: 790 words by 4 p.m., photo.
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A protester plays his guitar during a pro-government demonstration against TIAR or the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Representatives from over a dozen nations that are signatories of the Cold War-era defense treaty for the Americas moved Tuesday to further isolate close allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with economic sanctions. (AP PhotoAriana Cubillos)
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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ODD--ELECTRIC EEL CHRISTMAS — Shocked? Electric eel powers aquarium's Christmas lights. SENT: 190 words, photo.
BABY SHOWER-GUN — A woman who bought a baby shower gift at a Florida Goodwill store was shocked when the father-to-be opened the box and found a loaded semi-automatic rifle inside. SENT: 230 words.
BORDER WALL-FUNDRAISER — A Texas judge orders supporters of President Trump not to build their planned private border wall on a section of land near the Rio Grande. SENT: 340 words, photo.
CABIN RESCUE — Michigan authorities rescue 19 members of a family who became marooned in a snowed-in cabin after a weekend blizzard swept the area. SENT: 200 words.
FATAL NEIGHBOR FEUD — A Tennessee woman says her fiance was killed by their next-door neighbor during a longstanding dispute that began over who was allowed to mow the grass between their homes. SENT: 220 words.
STOLEN BULLDOGS — Investigators in Florida's Palm Beach County are searching for a dog thief targeting a particular high-end breed. SENT: 100 words.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-THE CONTRAST — And now, for something completely different. A new chairman. A committee twice the size. A shift from evidence to law. Wednesday’s judiciary Committee hearing is full of signs that the impeachment of President Donald Trump is advancing toward the serious business of a House vote. By Laurie Kellman. UPCOMING: 800 words by 6 p.m., photos, video.
ELECTION 2020-HARRIS-RACE —California Sen. Kamala Harris is the highest ranking elected black woman in the U.S. government. That wasn't enough for donors to rally behind her bid to become a barrier-breaking president, demonstrating the unique challenges for candidates of color. By Errin Haines. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4 p.m., photo.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.
CLIMATE TALKS-GOODBYE — President Donald Trump is aiming to make the annual U.N.-sponsored climate talks now underway in Madrid the last for full participation by the United States — the world's No. 1 economy, and second-biggest carbon emitter. By Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 870 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-BLOOMBERG — Billionaire Democrat Michael Bloomberg is putting tens of millions of more dollars behind a new television ad casting himself as uniquely qualified to defeat President Donald Trump. The ad is running in all 50 states, including the first four on the presidential primary calendar. By Steve Peoples. SENT: 350 words, photo.
UNITED STATES-IRAN-LEVINSON — Family members of Robert Levinson testify in a Washington courtroom as part of their effort to bring back the former FBI agent, who disappeared on an unauthorized mission to Iran nearly 13 years ago. By Ashraf Khalil. UPCOMING: 600 words by 5 p.m., photo.
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INTERNATIONAL
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NATO-SUMMIT — NATO leaders sought to paper over differences like the military alliance’s future priorities but insisted they would respond as one in the event of an attack on any of the 29 member countries. SENT: 730 words, photos. WITH: NATO SUMMIT-GOSSIPING LEADERS — President Trump calls Canada’s prime minister “two-faced” after Justin Trudeau was caught gossiping about Trump with other leaders. SENT: 515 words, photos, video.
IRAN — Iran’s supreme leader called Wednesday for those detained in recent gasoline price protests to be treated with “Islamic mercy” even after authorities acknowledged government forces shot and killed demonstrators nationwide in unrest that reportedly killed over 200 people. SENT: 600 words, photo.
FRANCE-STRIKES — Tourists are canceling travel plans and Paris is deploying thousands of police as France girds for massive, nationwide strikes and protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul the retirement system. SENT: 400 words, photos.
BRITAIN-BREXIT-ELECTION — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson juggled election campaigning with hosting a meeting of NATO leaders, keeping a polite but noticeable distance from unpredictable U.S. President Trump. SENT: 650 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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ELON MUSK-LAWSUIT — Elon Musk has owned up to insulting a British spelunker in a rash tweet, but wouldn’t concede on the witness stand that he called the man a pedophile. The Tesla CEO returns to the witness stand after spending several hours at his defamation trial trying to dance around the meaning of the “pedo guy” tweet he aimed at Vernon Unsworth, a cave diver who helped rescue a dozen boys and their soccer coach from a flooded Thailand cave last year. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m.
OPIOID CRISIS-PURDUE BANKRUPTCY — The judge overseeing the bankruptcy case of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma will consider whether the company's CEO should get a bonus equal to half his $2.6 million salary. SENT: 840 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI--CLIMATE MODELS — Climate scientists can tell diplomats meeting about global warming: We told you so. A new study of 17 climate models used since 1970 show a large majority of them got warming spot on. SENT: 530 words, photo.
ONCE-A-MONTH-PILL — Birth control pills work great if women remember to take them every day. Now scientists are creating a once-a-month version. Upcoming: 625 words by 4 p.m.
CLOSE TO THE SUN — NASA's Parker Solar Probe -- flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft in history -- is shedding light on some of the mysteries of our precious life-giving star. UPCOMING: 300 words by 4 p.m.
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BUSINESS/TECH
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OPEC MEETING — The world may be heading into an oversupply of oil, and that possibility is hanging over members of the OPEC cartel, which will meet later this week to decide whether to further cut production to boost prices. But the group dynamics are complicated by Saudi Aramco’s upcoming stock market debut and the fact that some nations haven’t been complying with the cuts, leaving Saudi Arabia in a precarious position. By Cathy Bussewitz. SENT: 630 words, photos.
SEARS-HOLIDAY — Nearly 10 months out of bankruptcy, Sears is limping into the holiday shopping season. Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund billionaire who promised to save 425 Sears and Kmart stores and roughly 45,000 jobs when he bought the company out of bankruptcy, has seen his $5.2 billion lifeline wither. SENT: 960 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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TV-CLIFFORD REBOOT — Who’s your favorite big red dog? If you have one, chances are his name is Clifford. Scholastic Entertainment is rebooting the TV series about the giant dog with an equally large heart this week on Amazon Prime Video and PBS, the latter his home since the early aughts. SENT: 915 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Richard A. Somma can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Courtney Dittmar (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, Phil Holm (ext. 7636). Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport(at) ap.org or call 877-836-9477.