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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TOP STORIES
A Palestinian boy grazes sheep while wearing a face mask during a lockdown imposed following the discovery of coronavirus cases in Gaza City , Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoHatem Moussa)
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ELECTION 2020-LABOR DAY — Joe Biden and President Donald Trump spent Labor Day diminishing each other’s credentials on the economy and ability to understand American workers. Biden said Trump “lives by a code of lies, greed and selfishness,” while Trump said Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, would “destroy this country and would destroy this economy.” By Noreen Nasir, Alexandra Jaffe and Kathleen Ronayne. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
A firefighter battles the Creek Fire in the Shaver Lake community of Fresno County, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. (AP PhotoNoah Berger)
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES — New wildfires ravaged bone-dry California during a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than 200 people trapped by flames and ended with the state’s largest utility turning off power to 172,000 customers to try to prevent its power lines and other equipment from sparking more fires. By Marcio Jose Sanchez and Christopher Weber. SENT: 1,130 words, photos. With CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE-GENDER REVEAL — California fire sparked by device to reveal baby’s gender. SENT: 600 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK — At the height of the coronavirus lockdown, President Donald Trump and his top health advisers trumpeted a new test that would help Americans reclaim their lives — one that would tell them if they already had the virus and were protected from getting it again. Months later, the U.S. is awash in the tests but the bold predictions about their usefulness have yet to materialize. By Health Writer Matthew Perrone. SENT: 1,140 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-LABOR DAY — The Lost Summer of 2020 drew to a close with many big Labor Day gatherings canceled across the U.S. and health authorities pleading with people to keep their distance from others so as not to cause another surge in coronavirus cases like the one that followed Memorial Day. By Jeffrey Collins. SENT: 540 words, photos.
Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom and below.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-GAZA-HEALTH WORKERS — Dozens of health-care workers in the Gaza Strip have been infected by the coronavirus during an outbreak that was first detected last month. The infections have further strained an already overburdened medical system gutted by years of strife with Israel and intra-Palestinian feuding. By Fares Akram. SENT: 1,075 words, photos.
CONGRESS RETURNS — At least there won’t be a government shutdown. But as lawmakers return to Washington for an abbreviated preelection session, hopes are dimming for another coronavirus relief bill — or much else. By Andrew Taylor. SENT: 790 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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TROPICAL WEATHER — Two tropical storms form in the Atlantic, including Rene, off the coast of Africa. Rene is the earliest “R-named” storm in a record-setting hurricane season. SENT: 180 words. With WEST-AFRICA-FLOODING — Senegal’s capital gets year’s worth of rain in single night. SENT: 200 words.
CHILD KILLED-CHICAGO SHOOTING — An 8-year-old girl was killed and two adults were severely wounded after they were shot Monday evening in Chicago while traveling in a vehicle on the city’s South Side. SENT: 355 words.
FRENCH OPEN-BARTY OUT — Top-ranked Ash Barty will not defend her French Open title because of concerns over traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Barty skipped the U.S. Open and has now decided against traveling to Europe for events in Rome and Roland Garros. SENT: 490 words, photos.
SRI LANKA-SHIP-FIRE — Ships and aircraft from Sri Lanka and India intensified efforts to extinguish a new fire on an oil tanker off Sri Lanka’s coast carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil, two days after the previous three-day blaze was doused. SENT: 390 words, photo.
PHILIPPINES-US MARINE-KILLING — The Philippine president pardons a U.S. Marine in a surprise move that will free him from imprisonment in the 2014 killing of a transgender Filipino woman. SENT: 710 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHINA — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has praised China’s role in battling the coronavirus pandemic and expressed support for the World Health Organization. His praise for the country and for the UN. health agency was a repudiation of U.S. criticism and a bid to rally domestic support for Communist Party leadership. SENT: 450 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-MIDNIGHT-INTERLUDE — One writer crossed the border between Taiwan and China with a cold, a risky undertaking at a time of pandemic. Health authorities in the Taiwan airport acted quickly, sending her to a centralized quarantine location an hour outside of Taipei to be kept under observation. She experienced the seriousness with which the Taiwanese government treats the coronavirus, which is also behind the success of the island’s fight against the pandemic. By Huizhong Wu. SENT: 650 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-HAND SANITIZER — When picking a hand sanitizer, opt for one that contains mostly alcohol and has few other ingredients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hand sanitizers should be at least 60% alcohol. Health officials also say to watch out for hand sanitizers packaged in food and drink containers, since accidentally ingesting them could be dangerous. SENT: 230 words, photo.
Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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ELECTION 2020-VACCINE — A vaccine to shield Americans from becoming infected with the coronavirus is emerging as the latest flashpoint in the race for the White House. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 885 words, photos.
TRUMP-MILITARY — President Donald Trump says Pentagon leaders want to keep waging wars in order to keep defense contractors “happy.” Trump continues to fight allegations that he made offensive comments about fallen U.S. service-members. At a White House news conference Monday, Trump repeated his claim that the story was a “hoax” and said: “I’m not saying the military’s in love with me. The soldiers are.” SENT: 230 words, photo.
OFFSHORE DRILLING-SOUTH CAROLINA — Offshore drilling is an issue that’s created some bipartisan unity in South Carolina among opponents arguing such expansion would mar the state’s pristine coastline. And it’s surfacing in a political action committee’s effort to oust U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. By Meg Kinnard. SENT: 735 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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JAPAN-POLITICS — The official campaigning to head Japan’s ruling party has begun with the right-hand man of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seen as a top candidate and his likely successor to lead the government. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yosihide Suga faces two younger contenders, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. The winner of the in-party vote on Sept. 14 will eventually become Japan’s next prime minister because of the ruling bloc’s majority in the parliament. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 475 words, photos.
CHINA-INDIA-DISPUTED-BORDER — China says Indian forces crossed into territory it holds along their disputed border and fired warning shots at a Chinese patrol in a move it called a “serious military provocation.” They have been engaged in a tense standoff in the cold-desert Ladakh region since May. SENT: 520 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-CHINA-JOURNALISTS — The last two journalists working for Australian media in China have left the country after police demanded interviews with them and temporarily blocked their departures. By Rod McGuirk. SENT: 700 words, photos.
GERMANY-RUSSIA-NAVALNY — The German hospital treating Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said he has been taken out of an induced coma and is responsive. German experts say Navalny was poisoned with a substance belonging to the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny, a fierce, high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was flown to Germany last month after falling ill on a domestic flight in Russia. By Frank Jordans. SENT: 815 words, photos.
SAUDI-KHASHOGGI KILLING — Final verdicts were issued in the case of slain Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son announced pardons that spared five from execution. The court issued final verdicts against eight people, ordering a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the five. Another received a 10-year sentence, and two others were ordered to serve seven years in prison. The killing cast a pall over Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, who has denied involvement. By Aya Batrawy. SENT: 960 words, photos.
BRITAIN-ASSANGE — A British judge has rejected a request by lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to delay his extradition hearing until next year to give his lawyers more time to respond to U.S. allegations that he conspired with hackers to obtain classified information. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 860 words, photos. With BRITAIN-ASSANGE-TIMELINE (sent).
EUROPE-SERBIA-KOSOVO — The European Union warns Serbia and Kosovo that they could undermine their EU membership hopes by moving their Israeli embassies to Jerusalem. By Lorne Cook. SENT: 925 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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ROCHESTER POLICE DEATH — Protesters demonstrated outside Rochester’s police headquarters naked except for “spit hoods” in reference to the killing of Daniel Prude. Local news outlets reported the demonstrators sat silently Monday morning with their hands behind them outside the city Public Safety Building. Prude, a 41-year-old Black man, died in March after police found him running naked through the street, put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting, then held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. SENT: 745 words.
PORTLAND-PROTESTS — Pro-Trump supporters and counter-protesters clashed at Oregon’s Capitol. The right-wing crowd rushed a smaller group of Black Lives Matters counter-demonstrators, firing paint-gun pellets at them. There were skirmishes, and the Black Lives Matter group dispersed shortly after local police arrived on the scene. Earlier Monday, hundreds of people gathered in a small town south of Portland for a pro-Trump vehicle rally. By Andrew Selsky. SENT: 510 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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JAPAN-ECONOMY — Japan has reported its economy shrank at a record, even worse rate in the April-June quarter than initially estimated. The Cabinet Office said Tuesday Japan’s seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 28.1%, worse than the 27.8% figure given last month. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 425 words, photos.
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HEALTH/SCIENCE
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SPACE-MIGHTY MICE — Scientists who sent bulked-up, mutant “mighty mice” to the International Space Station say the animals held onto their muscle during the monthlong flight. That’s promising news for future astronauts traveling to Mars. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 470 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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US OPEN — Serena Williams is into the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for a 12th consecutive appearance. Williams needed to come from behind in the third set before taking another step closer to Grand Slam title No. 24 by edging Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. By Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 995 words, photos.
BYU-NAVY — Tyler Allgeier ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and BYU put the clamps on Navy’s usually potent triple option in a season-opening 55-3 rout inside an eerily empty stadium at the Naval Academy. BYU and Navy met for the first time since 1989. By David Ginsburg. SENT: 840 words, photos.
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