AP News Digest 9 a.m.

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

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK — As Brazil and India struggle with surging coronavirus cases, a top health expert is warning that the world is still smack in the middle of the pandemic. Those comments from Dr. Mike Ryan of the World Health Organization are dampening hopes for a speedy global economic rebound. India reported a record single-day jump in new infections for the seventh straight day and Russia had a record number of daily coronavirus deaths. By Elaine Kurtenbach and Menelaos Hadjacostis. SENT: 1,165 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL DENIAL — Manaus is one the cities in Brazil hardest hit by the new coronavirus. The number of deaths has nearly tripled in April and May, but due to the lack of testing, just 5% of the burials in the last two months were confirmed cases of COVID-19. In the absence of evidence proving otherwise, families of the dead are quick to deny the possibility that the virus claimed their loved ones. Further fueling the collective denial at the grassroots is misinformation and conflicting messages from the country’s leaders. By Renata Brito. SENT: 2,245 words, photos, video. WITH: VIRUS OUTBREAK-BLAMELESS BOLSONARO — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is deflecting all responsibility for the coronavirus crisis. By David Biller. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRUMP — President Donald Trump honored America’s war dead in back-to-back appearances colored by an epic struggle off the battlefield, against the coronavirus. Eager to demonstrate national revival from the pandemic, Trump doubled up on his Memorial Day schedule. By Darlene Superville. SENT: 835 words, photos, video.

ELECTION 2020-BIDEN APPEARANCE — Joe Biden makes his first in-person appearance in more than two months as he marks Memorial Day by laying a wreath at a veterans park near his Delaware home. Biden wore a face mask, in contrast to President Trump, who has refused to cover his face in public as health officials suggest. By Will Weissert. SENT: 875 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEAT PLANTS-IMMIGRANTS — The meat and poultry industry has historically relied on immigrant labor to do some of the most dangerous jobs in America, from employing refugees to a notorious record of hiring immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Now that reliance and uncertainty about the pandemic is fueling concerns about possible labor shortages to meet demands for beef, pork and chicken. By Stephen Groves and Sophia Tareen. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA — California’s churches, mosques and synagogue may get the nod to reopen their doors sooner than expected under new state guidelines. They suggest masks should be worn, temperatures taken, and services shortened. Sharing prayer books or prayer rugs or using the collection plate are discouraged in the name of social distancing. Churches are the latest focus of efforts to restart California life since it was shuttered by a March stay-at-home order designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. By Stefanie Dazio and Robert Jablon. SENT: 915 words, photos.

Find more all-format coverage on the Virus Outbreak featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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PEOPLE-GEORGE R.R. MARTIN — "Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin has joined a group to buy the historic Santa Fe Southern Railroad. SENT: 470 words.

COSTA RICA-SAME-SEX MARRIAGE — Costa Rica is expected to become the latest country to legalize same-sex marriage when a ruling from its supreme court goes into effect ending the country’s ban. SENT: 310 words.

PALESTINIANS-BETHLEHEM CHURCH — Bethlehem’s storied Church of the Nativity has reopened to visitors after a nearly three-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 200 words, photo.

OBIT-SMALL — Longtime broadcast news executive William J. Small, who led CBS News’ Washington coverage during the civil rights movement, Vietnam War and Watergate and was later president of NBC News and United Press International, has died. SENT: 820 words, photos.

CHARITY MATCH-RATINGS — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in a charity golf match turned out to be must-see TV. SENT: 240 words.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE — A U.S. biotechnology company has begun injecting a coronavirus vaccine candidate into people in Australia with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year. Novavax will inject 131 volunteers in the first phase of the trial testing the safety of the vaccine and looking for signs of its effectiveness. About a dozen experimental vaccines against the coronavirus are in early stages of testing or poised to start, mostly in China, the U.S. and Europe. By Rod McGuirk. SENT: 460 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE-AUTO INDUSTRY — French President Emmanuel Macron is set to unveil new measures to rescue the country’s car industry, which has been hammered by the virus lockdown and recession. Macron said the government’s support for the car industry, which includes brands like Peugeot-Citroen and Renault as well as parts suppliers, will increase “massively.” By Sylvie Corbet. SENT: 660 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated after Macron’s speech at 8:30 a.m.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-AUSTRALIA — A coronavirus cluster has been detected on a freight ship berthed in the Australian west coast port of Fremantle, raising questions about why local authorities weren’t alerted to the danger. Six of 48 crew members from the Al Kuwait tested positive for the virus four days after the livestock carrier arrived from the United Arab Emirates. By Rod McGuirk. SENT: 670 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — A junior British government minister has quit over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s failure to fire his top aide for breaching lockdown rules. Scotland Minister Douglas Ross said in a resignation letter Tuesday that “the vast majority of people” didn’t agree with what Dominic Cummings had done. Cummings drove 250 miles to his parents’ house, despite a national order for people to remain at home. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 340 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — About 24,000 Filipinos who lost their jobs abroad are being transported by land, sea or air to their provincial homes. President Rodrigo Duterte is warning local officials not to refuse them entry out of coronavirus fears. India, meanwhile, reported a record single-day jump in new virus cases for a seventh consecutive day. SENT: 825 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LEBANON-MIGRANT WORKERS — The lives of tens of thousands of migrant workers in Lebanon have only gotten worse as an unprecedented economic crisis and global health scare took hold of this Mediterranean country. Many are not getting paid because of the crisis and they can’t go home because airports are closed and rare repatriation trips come at exorbitant cost. By Sarah El Deeb. SENT: 965 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Congress is at a crossroads in the coronavirus crisis. As negotiations over further aid legislation develop, the response offers Congress an opportunity to shape the country’s post-pandemic future. But it also carries the risk of repeating mistakes of past crises, including the 2008-09 recession. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 925 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-ABRAMS-BOTTOMS — Keisha Lance Bottoms and Stacey Abrams spent years climbing parallel ladders from nearby outposts at Atlanta City Hall and the Georgia Capitol. Now the Atlanta mayor and the former Georgia governor candidate find themselves at the same political intersection on Joe Biden’s list of potential running mates. By Bill Barrow. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-STEVE KING — Iowa congressman Steve King is on the outs with a significant bloc of his long-reliable conservative base, but not for almost two decades of incendiary utterances about abortion, immigrants and Islam. Instead, King has been dogged by questions over whether he’s lost his effectiveness. By Thomas Beaumont. SENT: 1,080 words, photo.

Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page on APNewsroom.

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INTERNATIONAL

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HONG KONG-SECURITY LAW — Hong Kong’s leader says national security legislation proposed by China’s legislature will not threaten the semi-autonomous territory’s civil rights, despite widespread criticism of the move as an encroachment on freedom of speech and assembly. Chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters that there was “no need for us to worry” over the move due for approval by the ceremonial National People’s Congress. By Zen Soo. SENT: 640 words, photos.

KOREAS-TENSIONS — A U.N. investigation into a recent exchange of gunfire between the two Koreas has determined that both countries violated the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The May 3 gunfire exchange was the first shooting inside the Korean Demilitarized Zone in about 2½ years. There were no known casualties on either side. SENT: 385 words, photo.

HONG KONG-OBIT-STANLEY — Macao casino tycoon Stanley Ho has died at age 98. The dashing billionaire and bon vivant was considered the father of modern gambling in China. By Zen Soo and Kelvin Chan. SENT: 980 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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GEORGIA CHASE-DEADLY SHOOTING — A lawyer for the family of Ahmaud Arbery said that a federal prosecutor told the slain man’s mother federal officials are investigating potential misconduct by local officials who handled the case. By Jeff Amy. SENT: 255 words, photos.

SLAYINGS-MANHUNT — A lawyer for the family of a Connecticut murder suspect pleaded for his surrender as police involved in a multi-state search for the 23-year-old college student circulated a photo of a person matching his description walking along railroad tracks in Pennsylvania. SENT: 450 words, photos.

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

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LATAM AIRLINES-BANKRUPTCY — South American carrier Latam Airlines says it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it grapples with the sharp downturn in air travel sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier aims to continue operating and hopes to reduce its debt and find new financing sources through the bankruptcy process. By Adam Schreck. SENT: 625 words, photo.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Global shares are rising as hopes for economic recovery overshadow worries over the coronavirus pandemic. Benchmarks in Paris, London and Tokyo gained on Tuesday. Investors are shifting their focus to how various nations are adapting to getting back to business, while striving to keep new COVID-19 cases in check. By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 540 words, photos.

MEXICO-WALMART — Walmart de Mexico says it has paid the Mexican government about $359 million in taxes due on its 2014 sale of a restaurant chain known as VIP’s after tax authorities demanded it. The payment appears to mark a victory for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has railed against what he claims is tax evasion by big companies. SENT: 145 words.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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HOME LAUNCH — Stormy weather is threatening to delay SpaceX’s first astronaut launch. A SpaceX rocket is scheduled to blast off Wednesday from Florida, carrying a Dragon capsule with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. It will be the first time astronauts launch from the U.S. in nine years and a first for a private company. By Marcia Dunn. SENT: 370 words, photos. With: VIRGIN-ORBIT — Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit failed in its first test launch of a new rocket carried aloft by a Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. By John Antczak. SENT: 760 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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NASCAR-XFINITY — Kyle Busch passed Austin Cindric on the final lap in overtime to win his 97th career Xfinity Series race on Monday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After a crash involving several cars sent the race to overtime, Cindric passed Busch on a restart starting at the inside lane of the front row. But Busch pushed the pedal to the floor and passed Cindric on the last lap to earn his 18th overall win at Charlotte Motor Speedway — more than any other driver. By Steve Reed. SENT: 640 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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OBIT-JIMMY COBB — Jimmy Cobb, a percussionist and the last surviving member of Miles Davis’ 1959 “Kind of Blue” groundbreaking jazz album, has died at 91. By Russell Contreras. SENT: 510 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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