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.
-------------———
TOP STORIES
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, bump elbows as they attend a lunch with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 12, 2020. (AP PhotoSusan Walsh)
-------------———
FINANCIAL MARKETS — The deepening coronavirus crisis sent stocks into another alarming slide Thursday, extending a sell-off that has wiped out most of the big run-up on Wall Street since President Donald Trump's inauguration. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down as much as 2,100 points, or 8.9%, in the early afternoon, while the broader S&P 500 was off 8.2%, amid a cascade of cancellations and shutdowns across the globe. By Stan Choe. SENT: 765 words, photos. WITH: FINANCIAL MARKETS-BEAR MARKET — Wall Street’s staggering skid that began less than three weeks ago pulls the Dow Jones Industrial Average into what’s known as a bear market. SENT: 860 words, photo; VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONSUMERS — Buffeted by fears of a fast-spreading virus, consumers in the United States and overseas are showing signs of cutting back on spending, a major threat to global growth. SENT: 1,500 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK - Sweeping travel bans cascaded around the globe, walling off countries and even entire continents, keeping people inside their homes, and slowing the engines of commerce to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Markets collapsed with the growing realization that there would be no fast end to the uncertainty. By Lori Hinnant and Nicole Winfield. SENT: 1,560 words, photos.
Personel remove the balls from the playing court after the NCAA college basketball games were cancelled at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, March 12, 2020. The biggest conferences in college sports all canceled their basketball tournaments because of the new coronavirus, seemingly putting the NCAA Tournament in doubt. The vast majority of people recover from the new coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, most people recover in about two to six weeks, depending on the severity of the illness. (AP PhotoGerry Broome)
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON -- Washington is straining for an ample response to the coronavirus outbreak that is testing the nation's political and health care systems after President Donald Trump restricted air travel from Europe, Congress ran into trouble approving an aid package and the centers of power — the domed Capitol and stately White House — are being shuttered to visitors. By Zeke Miller, Lisa Mascaro, Jill Colvin and Andrew Taylor. SENT: 1,210 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,000 words by 5 p.m. Timing of expected House vote uncertain. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-FACT CHECK — Trump incorrectly stated in his address to the nation that the health insurance industry has agreed to waive patient copayments. It was among his claims that were at odds with the facts. By Calvin Woodward and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. SENT: 810 words, photos.
Find more all-format coverage on the coronavirus outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
ELECTION 2020-TRUMP -- Bowing to the outbreak, President Trump is giving up his political lifeblood, campaign rallies. But after canceling a trip to Colorado and Nevada, Trump still holds out hope for a Florida event in two weeks. By Jonathan Lemire. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 4:30 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DEMOCRATS -- Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders weigh in on the coronavirus response a day after President Trump’s Oval Office speech as the pandemic disrupts daily life in the United States as well as the 2020 campaign. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m. WITH: ELECTION 2020-BIDEN-CAMPAIGN MANAGER — Biden shakes up leadership ranks again, names veteran of Obama, Hillary Clinton runs as campaign manager. SENT: 310 words. WITH: ELECTION 2020-DEBATE — Sunday’s presidential debate is moving from Arizona to Washington because of concerns about coronavirus. SENT: 150 words, photo.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
—————————
MORE ON VIRUS OUTBREAK
—————————
VIRUS OUTBREAK-US — A basketball tournament, with no fans. A St. Patrick’s Day, with no parades. College campuses, with no students. Corporate headquarters, with barren cubicles. California's governor urged people to avoid even small social gatherings, if they can't remain six feet apart. SENT: 1,250 words, photos.
MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-PATIENTS - Amid all the fears, quarantines and stockpiling of food, it has been easy to ignore the fact that more than 60,000 people have recovered from the coronavirus spreading around the globe. The disease can cause varying degrees of illness and is especially troublesome for older adults and people with existing health problems, who are at risk of severe effects. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-ECONOMIC TEAM - President Donald Trump’s economic team’s is struggling to provide a credible message that can calm volatile markets spun into a freefall by the coronavirus pandemic. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 4 p.m. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-MADE IN CHINA — Administration wants Americans to remember pandemic carries "Made in China” label. SENT: 910 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP-ANALYSIS -- President Trump turned his national address on the coronavirus outbreak into an opportunity to push isolationism and make the health scare about foreigners. The remarks trace their lineage to the immigration policies Trump has been pushing for the past three years. A News Analysis by Jill Colvin. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 4 p.m.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications director tested positive for the new coronavirus, just days after traveling with Bolsonaro to a meeting with U.S. President Trump in Florida. SENT: 350 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRAPPED IN EUROPE — Europeans are swallowing their disappointment and trying to come to terms with the idea that they are now locked out of the United States by the new anti-virus travel ban. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE — The European Union has condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to restrict travel from Europe to the United States. SENT: 860 words, photos; VIRUS OUTBREAK-ITALY-ELDERLY — Virus lockdown means Italy's old are isolated from relatives. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCIENCE AND FAITH - The coronavirus pandemic has prompted multiple religious faiths to change or cancel services as houses of worship try to help contain the disease. But some church leaders are also tackling another task: communicating a message that elevates both faith and science. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran said it had asked for an emergency $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the spread of a new virus that's swept across the country, infecting more than 10,000 people and killing hundreds. SENT: 1,020 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA — The new coronavirus has been slow to spread in Africa but cases are increasing on the continent, with South Africa reporting 17 confirmed infections Thursday, including its first transmitted locally. SENT: 573 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS - The new coronavirus rocks sports for another day. Major conferences cancel postseason basketball tournaments, golf will play tournaments with no fans and the NBA identifies a second player diagnosed with deadly virus. By National Writer Eddie Pells. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 5 p.m. With OLY-VIRUS OUTBREAK-TOKYO Q&A — Q&A: Will WHO's 'pandemic' ruling impact the Tokyo Olympics? SENT: 860 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY — The entertainment industry is bracing for a potential shutdown in the coming weeks due to the coronavirus. SENT: 920 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CANADA-TRUDEAU — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is quarantining himself at home after his wife exhibited flu-like symptoms. SENT: 300 words.
-------------———————————————-
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
-------------———————————————-
VIRUS OUTBREAK-STARBUCKS -- Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside because of the coronavirus. SENT: 280 words, photos.
CONGRESS-OMAR — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has married a political consultant who worked for her, months after the two were accused of having an affair. SENT: 225 words, photos.
ST. LOUIS-OFFICER SHOT -- A St. Louis police officer who pleaded guilty to accidentally killing a female colleague while playing a variation of Russian roulette said the woman knew the risk she was taking. SENT: 360 words, photo.
PRINCESS CRUISES-HALTED — Princess Cruises, which had one of its ships quarantined off the coast of Japan last month, is suspending global operations through early May because of the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 130 words, photos.
BRITAIN-OBIT-MICHEL ROUX -- Michel Roux, the French-born chef who had a profound influence on elevating Britain's fine dining habits, dies at age 78. SENT: 485 words, photos.
——————————————-
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
———————————————
UNITED STATES-IRAQ -- U.S. defense leaders threaten a retaliatory strike against Iranian-backed Shia militia in Iraq, saying they know who launched the rockets in Iraq that killed and wounded U.S. and coalition troops. SENT: 400 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-IRELAND - President Trump welcomes Ireland’s leader to the White House for an early St. Patrick’s Day visit, keeping up one bit of tradition in the midst of the disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. UPCOMING: 400 words, photos by 2:30 p.m.
-------------——————
INTERNATIONAL
-------------——————
UNITED NATIONS-IRAN-US-VIRUS -- Iran’s foreign minister demanded that the United States immediately halt what he called a “campaign of economic terrorism” and lift sanctions, saying they have made it increasingly difficult for the country to export oil and virtually impossible to import medicine and medical equipment, including to identify and treat coronavirus patients. SENT: 515 words.
FRANCE-BATTLE-OF-PARIS — The battle to win the hearts of Parisians and preside over France's capital from the opulent city hall has been nasty, and unpredictable. SENT: 870 words, photos.
EAST AFRICA-LOCUST OUTBREAK — A supercomputer is boosting efforts in East Africa to control a locust outbreak that raises what the U.N. food agency calls "an unprecedented threat" to the region's food security. SENT: 550 words, photos.
————————
NATIONAL
————————
ELECTION 2020-CHICAGO PROSECUTOR - Chicago mom Rya Smith has no doubts about backing the top prosecutor in nation's second-biggest county for another term, even while acknowledging the office fumbled a criminal case against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. SENT: 910 words, photos.
PRISON GUARDS-PEPPER SPRAY — A private prison in northeast Louisiana must pay a total of $177,500 to five former inmates of that prison who were pepper-sprayed while handcuffed and kneeling in 2016. SENT: 700 words.
DETAINED VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS - When Jose Ramon Zambrano and his pregnant wife crossed the Rio Grande to apply for asylum in the U.S. they were looking for a fresh start far away from a certain arrest in his native Venezuela, where his mother is a prominent government opponent. Instead, he’s spent the past six months locked up in Texas, separated from a newborn son he’s never met and waiting for a deportation that’s unlikely to ever come. Nationwide, 858 Venezuelans are held in detention centers. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 5 p.m.
IMMIGRATION-PREGNANT WOMAN'S DEATH — Authorities say a 19-year-old pregnant woman from Guatemala died this week from injuries suffered when she fell trying to climb the U.S. border wall near El Paso, Texas. SENT: 420 words.
—————————
SCIENCE
—————————
EUROPE-RUSSIA-MARS MISSION — The European Space Agency and Russia's Roscosmos are postponing a planned joint mission to Mars until 2022, in part due to travel restrictions resulting from the new coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 370 words.
----------—————————
HOW TO REACH US
-------------————————
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.