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
People react by the coffin during a funeral ceremony for Emin Yildirim, one of the 36 Turkish soldiers killed on Thursday in a Syrian army attack in the Idlib area of Syria, in Hatay, Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.(AP Photo)
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TRUMP – President Donald Trump says additional cases of the new coronavirus in the United States are “likely” but is cautioning that “there’s no reason to panic at all.” He provided an update on the virus after the first reported U.S. death Saturday, of a woman he described as being in her late 50s and having a high medical risk. He says healthy Americans should be able to recover if they contract the new virus. SENT: 450 words, photos. UPCOMING: News conference in progress.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK — Concerns about the coronavirus outbreak's threat to the world economy grew Saturday, even after President Donald Trump denounced criticism of his response to the threat as a “hoax" cooked up by his political enemies. China’s manufacturing plunged in February by an even wider margin than expected after efforts to contain the virus outbreak shut down much of the world’s second-largest economy, an official survey showed. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 1,390 words. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-US — A person has died in Washington state of COVID-19, state health officials said Saturday, marking the first such reported death in the United States. SENT: 900 words, photos. VIRUS-OUTBREAK-AT A GLANCE — New virus: Over 85,000 infected globally, over 2,900 deaths (sent).
ELECTION 2020 -- The Democrats' 2020 nominating fight turns to South Carolina for the first-in-the-South primary. Joe Biden is confident that his popularity with black voters will seal him a victory and help blunt some of front-runner Bernie Sanders' momentum. By Steve Peoples, Meg Kinnard and Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,190 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: Updates throughout the day; polls close at 7 p.m. WITH: ELECTION 2020-SOUTH CAROLINA-QUESTIONS -- The South Carolina primary is certain to be a fork in the road, but then what? SENT: 1,070 words, photos; ELECTION 2020-BIDEN -- Can Biden’s campaign reestablish its footing? SENT: 1,170 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
UNITED STATES-AFGHANISTAN-PEACE DEAL - The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban militants aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan that began after 9/11 and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America's longest war. This historic deal, signed by chief negotiators from the two sides and witnessed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the Qatari capital of Doha, could see the withdrawal of all American and allied forces in the next 14 months and allow President Donald Trump to fulfill a key campaign pledge to extract the U.S. from “endless wars.” By Matthew Lee and Kathy Gannon. SENT: 1,700 words, photos. WITH: AFGHANISTAN-TIMELINE — A timeline of key events in Afghanistan's 40 years of wars. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.
TIKTOK-CONCERNS - From the perspective of teens, TikTok is a major new outlet for self-expression, one proudly home to the silly, the loud and the weird. To others, the Chinese-owned online video service is an unnerving black box that could be sharing information with the Chinese government, facilitating espionage, or just promoting videos and songs some parents consider lewd. (TikTok denies the first two concerns and says it’s working on the third.) By Tali Arbel. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
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MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY — Italian authorities say the country now has more than 1,000 coronavirus cases and 29 people infected with the virus have died. SENT: 810 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA'S LESSONS - As the coronavirus spreads around the world, International health authorities are hoping countries can learn a few lessons from China — namely, that quarantines can be effective and acting fast is crucial. On the other hand, the question before the world is to what extent it can and wants to replicate China’s draconian methods. Communist China is an authoritarian country with a vast surveillance apparatus. Few other countries have the ability to impose a large-scale lockdown the way China did when it drew a cordon around 60 million people. By Yanan Wang and Aniruddha Ghosal. SENT: 725 words, photos. Eds: This is the Sunday Spotlight.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran is preparing for the possibility of “tens of thousands” of people getting tested for the new coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases spiked again, an official said, underscoring the fear both at home and abroad over the outbreak in the Islamic Republic. SENT: 950 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a 270 billion yen ($2.5 billion) emergency economic package to help fight the coronavirus as he sought the public's support for his government's fight against the outbreak. SENT: 420 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-OIL — With the viral outbreak spreading to more countries, the price of oil has dropped precipitously as global demand weakens even further. That has sent shares tumbling for oil giants like Exxon and Chevron while smaller producers with idling rigs continue to slash jobs. SENT: 1,000 words.
SOC—VIRUS OUTBREAK-STRANDED WUHAN — The stranded Chinese soccer team from Wuhan -- the city at the epicenter of the spreading virus -- enters its second month of preseason training in Spain without knowing when it can return home. The coach tells the AP one player’s grandmother died in China because of the virus. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE — France is banning all large indoor public gatherings and recommending that people refrain from giving kisses as greetings to slow the spread of coronavirus cases. SENT: 240 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPANESE SPORTS — Japanese sporting events were held at empty stadiums in a move aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus. The Chiba Lotte Marines hosted the Rakuten Eagles with no spectators in the stands at Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba Prefecture, one of six preseason baseball games played at empty stadiums. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LATIN AMERICA — Officials in Ecuador on Saturday confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the South American nation and Mexico reported two more to raise the country's total to four. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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BRITAIN-JOHNSON BABY — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed Saturday that he and his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, are engaged to be married and expecting a baby in the early summer. SENT: 160 words, photos.
REL--VATICAN-POPE SICK — Pope cancels audiences for third day with apparent cold. SENT: 310 words, photos.
AFRICAN AMERICAN GRAVES — A private archaeology firm says it has discovered what appear to be about 44 graves from a long-forgotten African American cemetery under a Florida parking lot. SENT: 175 words.
OKLAHOMA PROFESSOR-RACIAL SLUR — Dozens of students at the University of Oklahoma have ended a sit-in outside the university's administrative offices following two instances of professors using racial slurs in the classroom. SENT: 250 words.
ROMO-CBS — Tony Romo will remain with CBS as its top NFL analyst after agreeing to a record extension. SENT: 270 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/ POLITICS
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FACT CHECK-WEEK -- As the coronavirus threat looms for Americans, The Associated Press is looking at the veracity of rhetoric on the subject. AP's Fact Check finds that some of the statements from President Donald Trump and leading Democrats are shortchanging reality. Trump suggests that the U.S. is moving rapidly toward a vaccine — when in fact his public-health experts say that's a year or more away at best. He's also stated coronavirus cases in the U.S. are dropping. They are considered nearly certain to increase. Democrats, meantime, have said the federal response is hampered by Trump budget cuts to public-health agencies. But those agency budgets have not been cut. By Calvin Woodward and Hope Yen. SENT: 2,300 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-IMMIGRATION-ASYLUM -- The man slipped into the U.S. and made it just 25 yards from the Mexican border before he was arrested. A seven-month journey from Sri Lanka was over, but now the man would be get to tell an American official why he had fled his homeland to seek asylum in the United States. As a member of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, he had been beaten and threatened. But things went quickly awry. Officials rejected his claim and he was designated for rapid deportation. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Monday to decide whether he can be deported without getting to make his case to a federal judge. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 880 words, photo.
ELECTION 2020-ALABAMA-SENATE - Jeff Sessions faces a crowded and competitive field in Tuesday's Republican primary as he seeks to reclaim the GOP nomination for the Senate seat he held for 20 years for being tapped, and later forced out, as President Trump's first attorney general. SENT: 880 words, photos.
OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR-ANCESTRY — When Oklahoma’s new Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen, was elected in 2018, many tribal citizens embraced him. But now Stitt is facing fierce blowback for engaging in a battle with the tribes over casino gambling revenue, particularly from fellow tribal citizens. SENT: 1,100 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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TURKEY-SYRIA — Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country's borders with Europe were open, making good on a longstanding threat to let refugees into the continent as thousands of migrants gathered at the frontier with Greece. SENT: 975 words, photos.
INDIA-VIOLENCE — The wounded came in waves. First in ones and twos, limping up the steps and staggering through the aluminum doors, and then in wheelbarrows, with bleeding skulls and stabbed necks. Finally, the motorcycles and auto-rickshaws arrived, their seats stained with the blood of as many as they could hold. As the Mustafabad neighborhood of India's capital was ravaged by communal riots for three days this week, the Al-Hind Hospital turned from a community clinic into a trauma ward. SENT: 850 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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SQUEEGEE KIDS-BALTIMORE — A debate over Baltimore's so-called squeegee kids is reaching a crescendo as the city grapples with issues of crime and poverty and a complicated history with race relations. Officials estimate 100 squeegee kids regularly work at intersections citywide, dashing into the street as red lights hit to clean windshields in exchange for cash from drivers. They're ages 14 to 21, and most are black. Some drivers consider them a nuisance, and the windshield-washing is illegal though widely practiced. SENT: 1,190 words, photos.
CHICAGO POLICE-TRANSIT SHOOTING — Chicago's mayor says video footage of police shooting and wounding a suspect inside a downtown Chicago train station is “extremely disturbing.” SENT: 610 words.
OBIT-TRADER-JOE'S-FOUNDER — The man who created Trader Joe’s markets with a vision that college-educated but poorly paid young people would buy healthy foods if they could only afford them has died. Joe Coulombe's family says he died at age 89. By John Rogers. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
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BUSINESS
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FINANCIAL MARKETS-VIRUS OUTBREAK-INVESTORS — Those who own stocks might find it difficult to stay the course when uncertainty rules, but experts say that is precisely when they should do so. SENT: 580 words.
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SPORTS
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BKC--T25-AUBURN-KENTUCKY — No. 8 Kentucky goes for its eighth straight victory and a share of the SEC regular-season title when it plays No. 15 Auburn. The last time Kentucky lost was a month ago -- to Auburn. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 3:45 p.m.
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HOW TO REACH US
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