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.
——————————————————
COMPLETE OUR SURVEY
——————————————————
How can we help you plan your coverage more effectively? Let us know here.
_____________
TOP STORIES
_____________
VIRUS OUTBREAK — Pandemic restrictions are falling away almost everywhere — except inside many of America’s nursing homes. Rules designed to protect the nation’s most vulnerable from COVID-19 are still being enforced despite widespread vaccination of residents, and plummeting infections and deaths. By Michael Rubinkam. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
LIBYA-SEXUAL VIOLENCE — Human rights organizations in Libya have denounced the alleged sexual assaults and attempted rapes of young asylum-seekers from Somalia. They were locked up in a government-run detention center for vulnerable migrants in Tripoli after being freed from traffickers. But instead of being protected after traumatizing abuse in the hands of criminals, they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by guards, two victims have told The Associated Press. By Samy Magdy and Renata Brito. SENT: 1,210 words.
TROPICAL WEATHER — Forecasters warned of life-threatening flash flooding in parts of the Deep South, particularly across central Alabama, as Tropical Depression Claudette traveled over coastal states. Heavy rain led to high water late Saturday into early Sunday in the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa metropolitan areas. The rapidly changing conditions came as Claudette was expected to batter parts of Georgia and the Carolinas on Sunday. By Kevin McGill and Russ Bynum. SENT: 590 words, photos, .
PRIDE PARADE CRASH — Authorities say a driver slammed into spectators at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, killing one man and injuring another. News outlets report a statement from the president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus says the driver and the victims were a “part of the chorus family.” The driver was taken into custody. SENT: 430 words, photos.
_______________________________
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
_______________________________
CHILD STABBED-MOTHER ARRESTED — Police say an angry Florida man pulled a gun on a drive-thru worker because they forget the cream cheese with his bagel. SENT: 180 words, photo.
CREAM CHEESE-GUN THREAT — Police say an angry Florida man pulled a gun on a drive-thru worker because they forget the cream cheese with his bagel. SENT: 250 words.
YOSEMITE HIGHLINE FEAT — Two brothers from San Francisco say they have set a record for the longest highline ever walked in both Yosemite National Park and California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. SENT: 480 words, photo.
SRI LANKA-SHIP FIRE — The U.N. representative in Sri Lanka says the sinking of a container ship that caught fire while transporting chemicals off the capital Colombo has caused a significant damage to the planet by releasing hazardous substances into the ecosystem. SENT: 340 words, photos.
__________________________________
MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
__________________________________
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TAIWAN —A plane with 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is heading to Taiwan from the U.S. in a donation with both public health and geopolitical meaning. The U.S. representative office in Taiwan says the shipment is arriving Sunday. SENT: 420 words, photos.
________________________
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
________________________
FACT-CHECK-WEEK — A look at the veracity of some statements from President Joe Biden’s week of diplomacy and his return to the domestic fray. SENT: 1,700 words, photos.
_____________
NATIONAL
_____________
TRANSGENDER SURGERY — The Department of Veterans Affairs is moving to offer transgender veterans gender confirmation surgery. VA Secretary Denis McDonough made the announcement Saturday at a Pride Month event in Orlando, Florida. SENT: 330 words, photo.
WESTERN HEATWAVE —The Southwest U.S. continued to bake, and weather forecasters kept warnings in effect for excessive heat in Arizona and Nevada at least through the weekend. SENT: 340 words, photo.
OREGON-KILLINGS — A man sought in the killings of three people after a hit-and-run crash near a casino and a shooting at a marijuana dispensary in a small Oregon city has remained at large. SENT: 300 words.
AMMON BUNDY-IDAHO GOVENOR — Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has come out with his first s announcing his campaign to become governor of Idaho. Bundy said he wants to defend Idaho from President “Joe Biden and those in the Deep State that control him.” SENT: 440 words, photo.
___________________
INTERNATIONAL
___________________
AUSTRALIA-EXCESSIVE SECRECY — Australia is increasingly suppressing information seen as pivotal to a free and open media. That’s put the country at the center of accusations it’s become one of the world’s most secretive democracies. Last week, a former Australian spy was convicted over his unconfirmed role as a whistleblower in an espionage operation against the government of East Timor. It’s the latest high-profile case in a national system in which secrecy laws are routinely used to suppress information. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.
FRANCE ELECTIONS — Marine Le Pen’s far right party is riding high on her tough-on-security, stop-immigration message as French voters start choosing regional leaders Sunday. The election is seen as a dress rehearsal for next year’s presidential vote. President Emmanuel Macron’s young centrist party is expected to fare poorly. It lacks a strong local political base and is suffering from frustration at his government’s handling of the pandemic. SENT: 540 words, photos.
ARMENIA ELECTION — Armenians are voting in a national election after months of tensions over last year’s defeat in fighting against Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The snap parliamentary election was called by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a bid to resolve public anger over the peace deal he signed in November that triggered months of protests demanding his resignation. SENT: 360 words, photos.
CHINA-TIBET-TOURISM Boom — Tourism is booming in Tibet as more Chinese travel in-country because of the coronavirus pandemic, posing risks to the region’s fragile environment and historic sites. SENT: 470 words, photos.
___________________
ENTERTAINMENT
___________________
TRIBECA FESTIVAL-RADIO CITY REOPENING — Fifteen months after shuttering for the pandemic, New York’s Radio City Music Hall reopened its doors Saturday for the Tribeca Festival premiere of a new Dave Chappelle documentary. The audience for the debut of “Dave Chappelle: This Time This Place,” was fully-vaccinated and at full-capacity. It was the first time the hallowed midtown hall was packed since it closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. By AP Film writer Jake Coyle. SENT: 710 words, photos.
_________
SPORTS
_________
LIGHTNING-ISLANDERS — Matt Martin capped New York’s three-goal second period, Ryan Pulock made a diving stop in front of an open goal in the closing seconds and the Islanders held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece. SENT: 990 words, photos. With LIGHTNING-ISLANDERS-PREVIEW (sent)
__________________
HOW TO REACH US
___________________
At the Nerve Center, Rob Jagodzinski 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.
