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.
—————————- TOP STORIES —————————-
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT — Advocates for and against President Donald Trump gave no ground Sunday on his Senate impeachment trial, digging in on whether a crime is required for his conviction and removal and whether witnesses will be called. But even as Trump’s defense team and the House prosecutors pressed their case on the television talk shows, mystery still surrounded the ground rules for the impeachment trial, only the third in American history, when it resumes Tuesday. By Laurie Kellman. SENT: 890 words, photos.
Runners compete along the Bandra-Worli sea link over the Arabian Sea during the Mumbai Marathon in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Thousands of the city's residents alongside athletes took part in the marathon. (AP PhotoRafiq Maqbool)
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-TRAPPED IN SENATE — No cellphones. No talking. No escape. That's the reality for the 100 senators who will be sitting at their desks for the duration of President Trump's impeachment trial. They aren’t even allowed to talk at length to the senators sitting next to them or walk on certain areas of the Senate floor. While senators might privately grumble about the restrictions, they agree the rules are justified as they consider the serious matter of removing the president from office. By Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 980 words, photos.
See full coverage of the impeachment inquiry in AP Newsroom.
BRITAIN-ROYAL RIFT-UNANSWERED QUESTIONS — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have made their choice: a radical break from palace protocol, constant press intrusion and a lavishly funded lifestyle. The contours of this rupture are clear, but the path they will choose is still to be determined. By Gregory Katz. SENT: 840 words, photos.
A rescue worker stands guard as a Russian Orthodox believer dips into the icy water in the Neva River during a traditional Epiphany celebration in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. (AP PhotoDmitri Lovetsky)
AMERICA-CENSUS BEGINS — There are no restaurants in Toksook Bay, Alaska. No motels or movie theater, either. There also aren’t any factories. Or roads. But the first Americans to be counted in the 2020 census live in this tiny community of 661 on the edge of the American expanse. By Mark Thiessen. SENT: 1,000 words, photos. This is the Monday Spotlight. With CENSUS BEGINS-Q&A (sent)
KING HOLIDAY-RACE — As the nation celebrates the holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some worry that the country is not fulfilling the dream of the African American leader who strove against hate and preached racial and social justice. Nicholas Thomas is one of more than 100 volunteers who will commemorate King by making improvements to a Detroit neighborhood. He says he is worried that the United States is suffering from deep racial divisions under President Donald Trump. For many people of color, the political climate heading into the 2020 presidential election includes signs of exclusion, with the front-runners all white men and women. By Corey Williams. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
——————————————————————
An anti-government protester is sprayed by a water canon during ongoing protests against the political elites who have ruled the country since decades, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Lebanese security forces used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in clashes with hundreds of anti-government protesters outside the country's Parliament on Sunday, as violence continued to escalate in a week of rioting in the capital. (AP PhotoHassan Ammar)
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
——————————————————————
SPACEX-CREW CAPSULE — SpaceX launches, destroys rocket in astronaut escape test. SENT: 660 words, photos.
COUPLE DIES SAME DAY — Couple together for nearly 65 years die on the same day. SENT: 380 words, photos.
Germany's pilot Nico Walther with Paul Krenz, Malte Schwenzfeier and Tobias Schneider crash in the finish area after their second run of the men's four-man bobsled World Cup race n Igls, near Innsbruck, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. (AP PhotoKerstin Joensson)
UKRAINE-CRASH — Bodies of 11 Ukrainians killed in Iran plane crash sent home. SENT: 240 words, photos.
HERBIE THE TREE — Clones help famous elm tree named Herbie live on. SENT: 630 words, photos.
PARAGUAY-PRISON ESCAPE — At least 75 flee from Paraguay prison; many from Brazil gang. SENT: 200 words.
ISRAEL-LEBANON — Israel building underground defense system on Lebanon border. SENT: 330 words, photos.
CZECH-FIRE — Fire at Czech asylum for mentally ill kills 8 patients. SENT: 190 words, photo.
—————————————————
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
—————————————————
TRUMP — President Trump is expected to discuss new U.S. trade agreements with its North American neighbors and with China during an appearance at a convention of American farmers. SENT: 310 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing from 6 p.m. speech.
ELECTION 2020-IOWA NEW PARTICIPANTS — Bernie Sanders is seeking out first-time Iowa caucus participants where they live, work and shop. Pete Buttigieg is signaling to them through friends of supporters and closing the deal in big rallies. The strategies represent one of the most important pieces of a winning presidential Iowa campaign: getting new people to participate. The candidate who turns out the most and the broadest array of first-time participants stands a very good chance of winning the Iowa caucus next month. By Thomas Beaumont. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-BLOOMBERG — Bloomberg makes a pitch to African American voters in Tulsa, the site of a race massacre nearly 100 years ago, and promotes a plan to address racial economic inequality. SENT: 590 words, photos.
ELECTION 2020-VOTING — Democrats believe they have a shot at making gains this year in Republican-dominated Texas, including winning control of one house of the Legislature for the first time in nearly two decades. Persuading voters isn't their only challenge. Voting and registration rules crafted by Republicans in recent years also could prove to be a big obstacle. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page of AP Newsroom.
———————————— INTERNATIONAL ————————————
HONG KONG-PROTESTS — Clashes broke out between protesters and police in Hong Kong, cutting short a rally after thousands had gathered at a park to call for electoral reforms and a boycott of the Chinese Communist Party.. SENT: 780 words, photos.
LEBANON-PROTESTS — Lebanese security forces used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in clashes with hundreds of anti-government protesters outside the country's Parliament as violence continued to escalate in a week of rioting in the capital. SENT: 850 words, photos.
FRANCE-PREDATOR PRIEST — The trial in France of a former priest who has confessed to sexually abusing boys is exposing the enabling role played by officials in the French church. SENT: 940 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA WILDFIRES-BURNED FOREVER — Australia’s forests are burning at a rate unmatched in modern times and scientists say the landscape is being permanently altered as a warming climate brings profound changes to the island continent. Heat waves and drought have fueled bigger and more frequent fires in parts of Australia, so far this season torching some 40,000 square miles, an area about as big as Ohio. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
PHILIPPINES-VOLCANO — Philippine officials says the government will no longer allow villagers to return to a crater-studded island where an erupting volcano lies, warning that living there would be “like having a gun pointed at you." SENT: 640 words, photos.
LIBYA CONFERENCE — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said countries with interests in Libya’s long-running conflict have agreed that they should respect a much-violated arms embargo, which should be better controlled than it has been to date. SENT: 700 words, photos.
ISRAEL-LEBANON — Israel's military has begun construction of an underground defense system along its northern frontier with Lebanon. SENT: 350 words, photos.
JAPAN-US-SECURITY TREATY — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to bolster his country's role under its security pact with the U.S. in “outer space and cyberspace,” as the allies marked the 60th anniversary of a treaty that has been the basis for their postwar defense alliance. SENT: 560 words, photos.
CANADA-BLIZZARD — Canada's federal government is working on mobilizing the Armed Forces to help Newfoundland and Labrador dig out from the monster blizzard that paralyzed eastern regions of the province with record-breaking amounts of snow. SENT: 300 words, photos.
MEXICO-SOCIAL PROGRAMS — Shortly before taking office in October 2018, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador created an army of 18,000 volunteers to canvass people about possible government benefits promised by the new leader. The effort has alarmed opposition political parties who see it as an attempt to illegally use public funds to promote López Obrador and his leftist Morena party. SENT: 890 words, photos.
COLOMBIA-DOMESTIC-SPYING — Colombian Sen. Antonio Sanguino moves around town in a bulletproof vehicle, with three pistol-packing bodyguards watching over him as he attends meetings and political rallies. On Friday, he joined two other opposition senators who are presenting evidence of alleged illegal espionage to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and seeking protective measures from the Washington-based organization. SENT: 790 words, photo.
CHINA-OUTBREAK — Seventeen more people in central China are diagnosed with a new form of viral pneumonia that has killed two patients and placed other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year holidays. SENT: 340 words, photos,video.
HUNGARY-GHETTO LIBERATION — Hungary's Jewish community has commemorated the 75th anniversary of the liberation by Soviet troops of the Budapest ghetto, where over 70,000 Jews were confined near the end of World War II. SENT: 600 words, photos.
———————— NATIONAL ————————
PRO-GUN RALLY-VIRGINIA-ATTENDEES — State officials and U.S. hate-monitoring groups are warning about the potential for violence ahead of a gun-rights rally in Virginia that's expected to draw a mix of militias, firearms advocates and white supremacists to Richmond. SENT: 930 words, photos.
GUN CONVENTION — Gun companies are gathering for their annual conference and trade show this week in Las Vegas at a pivotal moment for the industry amid slumping sales, a public increasingly agitating for restrictions on access to firearms and escalating tensions over gun control efforts. SENT: 730 words, photos.
IMMIGRATION-WAITING IN MEXICO — Illegal border crossings have plummeted after the Trump administration made more asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. SENT: 960 words, photos. With CENTRAL AMERICA-MIGRANTS — Thousands camp in Guatemala as Mexico blocks migrant path. SENT: 530 words, photos.
———————— BUSINESS ————————
TRUMP-TRADE-WHAT WAS ACHIEVED? — President Donald Trump’s trade deal with China last week opened up export opportunities for American farmers, manufacturers and energy producers. And his trade pact with Canada and Mexico, approved Thursday by the Senate, could help restore some auto production in the United States. Yet perhaps more than anything, last week's twin breakthroughs on trade provided a breather from two chaotic years of Trumpian policymaking — involving threats, truces and heavy U.S. tariffs imposed on friend and foe alike on a scale unseen since the 1930s. By Paul Wiseman. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
DAVOS FORUM — The head of the World Economic Forum is happy that both U.S. President Donald Trump and climate activist Greta Thunberg will attend the group's annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos. SENT: 740 words, photos.
CANADA-US-CHINA-HUAWEI — An extradition hearing begins in Canada on Monday for Huawei top executive Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company's founder. SENT: 460 words, photo.
————————————- ENTERTAINMENT ————————————
SAG AWARDS — Scarlett Johansson and Nicole Kidman will have two chances to win at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards, but the award show's ability to forecast the Oscars looks cloudy. SENT: 330 words, photos. UPCOMING: Awards ceremony starts at 8 p.m.
FILM-BOX OFFICE — "Bad Boys for Life" exceeded expectations coming away with a dominating No. 1 showing at the box office. The Sony Pictures film starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence brought in $59 million in the U.S. and Canada entering the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. SENT: 470 words, photos.
TV-KARDASHIAN-PRISON-REFORM — Kim Kardashian West is a step closer to becoming a lawyer, having finished her first year of study as an apprentice. After promoting a television documentary on criminal justice reform, she told The Associated Press her next step is taking the “baby bar,” so-called because it's a one-day exam. If she passes, she plans to study for another three years and then take the California bar exam. SENT: 490 words, photos.
—————— SPORTS ——————
FBN-TITANS-CHIEFS — The Kansas City Chiefs have a chance to do what they failed to do last season: Reach their first Super Bowl in five decades. They're back in the AFC championship game, which they lost a year ago to New England, and standing in the way is the Tennessee Titans. Derrick Henry and Co. have already beaten the Patriots and Baltimore Ravens to reach this point. By Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos. Game starts at 3:05 p.m.
FBN-PACKERS-49ERS — Jimmy Garoppolo and the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers take on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. By Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos. Game starts at 6:40 p.m.
—————————————— HOW TO REACH US ——————————————
At the Nerve Center, Dave Clark can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, (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.