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
FEDEX SHOOTING-INDIANAPOLIS — The former employee who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis was interviewed by FBI agents last year, after his mother called police to say that her son might commit “suicide by cop,” the bureau said. Coroners released the names of the victims a little less than 24 hours after the latest mass shooting to rock the U.S. Four of them were members of Indianapolis’ Sikh community. By Casey Smith and Rick Callahan. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, video. WITH: MASS SHOOTINGS-2021 (sent).
U.S. Secret Service police officers stand guard on the roof in front of the the American flag as it files at half-staff above the White House in Washington, Friday, April 16, 2021. (AP PhotoAndrew Harnik)
BIDEN-AGENDA — As the nation struggles with yet another mass shooting and faces a reckoning over the deaths of Black men at the hands of police, President Joe Biden is calling for action. But he is treading cautiously with the lawmakers who can bring it about. By Zeke Miller and Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 980 words, photos, video.
REPUBLICANS-GEORGIA — Georgia Republicans will test former President Donald Trump’s influence Saturday as party activists across the state consider whether to censure Gov. Brian Kemp for his refusal to try to overturn the 2020 election results. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 740 words, photos.
BIDEN-REFUGEES — Facing swift blowback from allies and aid groups, the White House says President Biden plans to lift his predecessor’s historically low cap on refugees by next month, after initially moving only to expand the eligibility criteria for resettlements. By Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Julie Watson. SENT: 850 words, photos.
The American flag flies at half-staff over the White House in Washington, Friday, April 16, 2021. (AP PhotoSusan Walsh)
RUSSIA-US SANCTIONS — Russia’s top diplomat says Moscow will expel 10 U.S. diplomats in response to U.S. sanctions. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will add eight U.S. officials to its sanctions list and move to shut down the work of U.S. nongovernmental organizations to end what he called interfering in Russia’s politics. SENT: 1,120 words, photos. WITH: RANSOMWARE-RUSSIA TIES: A global epidemic of digital extortion known as ransomware keeps growing, crippling local governments, hospitals, school districts and businesses unless they pay up. Most frustrating, these rackets are dominated by Russian-speaking cybercriminals who are shielded and sometimes even employed by Russia’s security agencies, according to security researchers, U.S. law enforcement — and now the Biden administration. By Frank Bajak. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICER-TRIAL — Former Officer Derek Chauvin’s trial in George Floyd’s death will be in a jury’s hands by early next week, after his brief defense wrapped up with Chauvin passing on a chance to take the stand and tell the public for the first time what he was thinking when he pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck. By Amy Forliti, Steve Karnowski and Tammy Webber. SENT: 720 words, photos. WITH: GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICER-TRIAL-CLOSING-ARGUMENTS — On Monday, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense will seek to drive home their cases in closing arguments that will seek to tie their evidence into neat packages for jurors. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
BRITAIN-PRINCE PHILIP — Soldiers, sailors and air force personnel are making final preparations for Prince Philip’s funeral. Plans call for a martial but personal service to mark the death of a royal patriarch who was also one of a dwindling number of World War II veterans. By Jill Lawless and Jo Kearney. SENT: 870 words, photos. WITH: PRINCE PHILIP-HEARSE: Prince Philip, who liked Land Rovers and drove them for much of his life, will make his last journey in one. SENT: 270 words, photo. PRINCE PHILIP-LEGACY: For many people across the country, Prince Philip’s greatest contribution was the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a program which seeks to give young people the skills and confidence they need to succeed. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
For full coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral, go to: https://newsroom.ap.org/page/PrincePhilip
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
TV-VACCINE-SPECIAL — President Biden, former President Barack Obama and a slew of celebrities including Billy Crystal, Jennifer Hudson and Lin-Manuel Miranda are part of a special aimed at boosting COVID-19 vaccination rates. “Roll Up Your Sleeves” will air at 7 p.m. Sunday on NBC. SENT: 210 words, photos.
TINY-DOG-POLICE-PARTNER — The Ohio county sheriff and his tiny police dog were inseparable, their lives intertwined. It seems fitting that retired sheriff Dan McClelland, 67, and his crime-fighting partner Midge, 16, both died on Wednesday. The family said they will be buried together. SENT: 460 words, photo.
MUSIC-ACM-HOSTS — A small group of vaccinated medical workers will be in the audience to hear live music for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards show, which will be hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton when it airs on Sunday. SENT: 560 words, photos.
NOT REAL NEWS — Misinformation spreading online this week centered on the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. SENT: 1,600 words.
MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIDEN-VARIANTS — The U.S. is setting up a $1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Zeke Miller. SENT: 790 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHILE-VACCINES — A real-world study of millions of Chileans who had received the Chinese-developed CoronaVac vaccine has found it 67% effective against symptoms and 80% against death from COVID-19, the South American country’s Health Ministry said Friday. SENT: 300 words.
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
BIDEN-MILITARY VOTE — Voters who served in the military have long leaned Republican, but there are signs that Democrat Joe Biden may have cut into that advantage. And Biden’s new plan to leave the Afghanistan war by Sept. 11 is seen as a plus to many. By Thomas Beaumont. SENT: 1,090 words, photo.
ROGER-STONE-TAX-LAWSUIT — The Justice Department sued Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone on Friday, accusing the conservative provocateur and his wife of failing to pay nearly $2 million in income tax. SENT: 360 words, photos.
GAETZ-GREENBERG -- Even before his arrest, a local Florida official, who is friends with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, was a lightning rod for controversy. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.
CAPITOL BREACH-FIRST PLEA — A heavy metal guitarist has become the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer, frontman of the band Iced Earth, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence. By Michael Balsamo and Alanna Durkin Richer. SENT: 490 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-JAPAN — President Biden and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga underscore their alliance in dealing with an increasingly assertive China, in White House talks that draw unusually frank warnings from a Japanese leader against China seeking to gain by “force or coercion” in the Indo-Pacific. By Ellen Knickmeyer, Mari Yamaguchi and Aamer Madhani. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.
INTERIOR-ENERGY — Interior Secretary Deb Haaland revokes a series of Trump-era orders that promoted fossil fuel development on public lands and waters and issues a new order that prioritizes climate change in agency decisions. By Matthew Daly. SENT: 700 words, photos.
NATIONAL
BOY SCOUTS BANKRUPTCY — Insurance company The Hartford has agreed to pay $650 million into a proposed trust fund for victims of child sexual abuse as part of the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case. SENT: 810 words, photos.
ROCHESTER-DANIEL-PRUDE — Newly released transcripts show that prosecutors overseeing a grand jury investigation into the death of Daniel Prude last year in Rochester, New York, undercut the case for criminal charges with testimony from a medical expert who said police officers who held Prude to the ground didn’t do anything wrong. The grand jury voted 15-5 not to charge the three officers involved in Prude’s restraint. SENT: 400 words, photos.
OVERTURNED-BOAT-RESCUE — Divers searching the site of a capsized lift boat off Louisiana recovered two more unresponsive crewmembers, the Coast Guard said after another day of frantic waiting by family members worried for the fate of those who went missing earlier this week. SENT: 800 words, photos.
DAUNTE WRIGHT — Elected leaders in the Minneapolis suburb where a police officer fatally shot Daunte Wright want officers to scale back their tactics amid nightly protests, leaving some law enforcement called in to assist asking whether the city still wants their help. SENT: 750 words. With EXPLAINING-POLICE-SHOOTING-MINNESOTA-AIR-FRESHENERS — Can officers stop drivers for air fresheners? (sent).
CHICAGO POLICE-SHOOTING — Newly released video that shows a Chicago police officer fatally shoot a 13-year-old will be key evidence when prosecutors consider a case against the officer and are confronted with both the emotions surrounding the chilling footage and legal precedent that makes it difficult to bring charges against law enforcement. By Don Babwin and Sara Burnett. SENT: 1,260 words, photos, video.
INTERNATIONAL
CHINA-VICE FOREIGN MINISTER-INTERVIEW — A top Chinese diplomat said Friday that U.S. policy toward China is “too negative” and that cooperation could be critically important as the Biden administration focuses on combatting COVID-19 and promoting economic recovery. SENT: 800 words, photos.
UKRAINE-FRANCE-GERMANY — The leaders of France and Germany are demanding the withdrawal of Russian troop reinforcements recently deployed at the border with Ukraine, the German chancellor’s office said Friday after the two heads of state held security talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. SENT: 600 words, photos.
CHINA-VICE-FOREIGN-MINISTER-INTERVIEW — A top Chinese diplomat has said that U.S. policy toward China is “too negative” and that cooperation could be critically important as the Biden administration focuses on combatting COVID-19 and promoting economic recovery. SENT: 870 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CANADA — Canada’s most populous province is limiting outdoor gatherings to those in the same household and will close playgrounds and golf courses amid a record wave of coronavirus infections fueled by variants, Ontario’s premier has announced. The decision sparked widespread condemnation in a province already on lockdown. SENT: 830 words, photos.
RUSSIA-NAVALNY — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been on hunger strike since March 31, on Friday described threats to force-feed him, using “straitjacket and other pleasures.” SENT: 370 words, photo.
IRAN-NUCLEAR — Iran began enriching uranium to its highest level ever, edging closer to weapons-grade levels to pressure talks in Vienna aimed at restoring its nuclear deal with world powers after an attack on its main atomic site. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 870 words, photos. WITH: CYPRUS-ISRAEL-IRAN — Israel’s foreign minister says his country is determined to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon after Tehran promised to step up its uranium enrichment process. SENT: 150 words.
CUBA-COMMUNIST PARTY — Raul Castro said he is resigning as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership that began with his brother Fidel and country’s 1959 revolution. SENT: 570 words, photos. WITH: CUBA-RAUL CASTRO-PROFILE — For most of his life, Raul Castro played second-string to his brother Fidel — first as a guerrilla commander, later as a senior figure in their socialist government. By Andrea Rodriguez. SENT: 450 words, photos.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
FETAL-TISSUE-RESEARCH — Federal officials on Friday reversed Trump administration restrictions on using human fetal tissue for medical research. The changes clear the way for using government money on work that in the past has led to treatments for a variety of diseases, including COVID-19. SENT: 300 words, photo.
SPACEX CREW-LAUNCH — NASA chose SpaceX on to build the lunar lander that will eventually put the first woman and person of color on the moon. SENT: 380 words, photo.
BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Stocks added to their recent gains driving the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to close at new highs. SENT: 700 words, photos.
GENERAL MOTORS-BATTERY FACTORY — The United Auto Workers union is calling on General Motors to pay full union wages at electric vehicle battery factories, thrusting what was a festering conflict into the spotlight because automakers want to pay less. SENT: 875 words, photo.
SPORTS
LSU-SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT — The U.S. Department of Education and a state Senate select committee are reviewing how the university has handled sexual misconduct allegations. The school is also contending with a $50 million federal lawsuit. What the fallout will be remains unclear. SENT: 1,120 words, photos.
BBO-SALARIES — The average major league salary dropped 4.8% to just under $4.17 million on opening day from the start of the previous full season in 2019. SENT: 720 words, photos.
OLY—TOKYO-NO-CANCELLATION — The head of the Tokyo Olympics is again forced to assure the world that the postponed games will open in just over three months and not be canceled despite surging COVID-19 cases in Japan. By Sports Writer Stephen Wade. SENT: 820 words, photo.
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