AP News Digest 2 p.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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ELECTION 2020-DNC — Kamala Harris headlines the third night of the Democratic National Convention as Democrats continue demonstrate the racial, gender and ideological diversity of Joe Biden’s coalition. Former President Barack Obama will take the stage, as will a collection of the best-known women in U.S. politics: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But only Harris will make history as she becomes the first woman of color to receive a major party’s vice presidential nomination. By Steve Peoples. SENT: 1100 words. UPCOMING: 890 words by 4 p.m., with updates from events starting at 9 p.m. WITH: ELECTION 2020-DNC-LATEST, ELECTION 2020-DNC-TAKEAWAYS, developing.

ELECTION 2020-DNC-HARRIS — Kamala Harris is poised to make history as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket, a moment intended to galvanize Democratic voters heading into the fall campaign against President Donald Trump. By Will Weissert. SENT: 650 words. UPCOMING: Developing from evening remarks.

ELECTION 2020-DNC-OBAMA — Since leaving the White House nearly four years ago, former President Barack Obama has repeatedly called for a new generation of political leaders to step up. On Wednesday, he’ll implore Americans to vote for Joe Biden, a 77-year-old who has been on the national political stage for more than four decades. By Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace. SENT: 800 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing from evening remarks.

Find more coverage of the conventions and Election 2020 on the 2020 U.S. Elections featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

ELECTION 2020-TRUMP VIRUS — There’s a clear disconnect between coronavirus health guidelines and the scene at some recent Trump and Pence campaign events. It’s sending a confusing message to the public even as Trump and Pence are trying to secure the confidence of Americans during a global pandemic and in the leadup to the November election. By Thomas Beaumont. UPCOMING: 900 words by 2:30 p.m., photos.

MED--VIRUS OUTBREAK-BUBBLES -- Doctors checking comatose COVID-19 patients for signs of a stroke instead stumbled onto a new clue about how the coronavirus may harm the lungs. As part of testing at New York’s Mount Sinai Health System, doctors tracked harmless tiny air bubbles injected into the bloodstream. The bubbles should have been filtered out by the lung’s smallest blood vessels but instead escaped. By Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 745 words, photos.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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ELECTION 2020-CALAMARI COMEBACK -- Rhode Island was a big sensation at the virtual Democratic National Convention for its unconventional video plugging calamari — the state’s official appetizer. SENT: 475 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN-DRIVE-THROUGH HAUNTED HOUSE -- No fear of coronavirus at drive-through haunted house. SENT: 175 words, photos.

TOE AMPUTATED ON PORCH -- A Missouri doctor loses his state medical license after amputating a patient’s gangrenous toe on the porch of his rural office. SENT: 200 words.

TEXAS FACTORY FIRE — A large fire is burning at a Texas factory where trash bags and other plastics are produced. SENT: 200 words, video.

FEDEX EMERGENCY LANDING -- A FedEx cargo jet made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport due to a landing gear malfunction. SENT: 150 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE — A former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty to altering a document related to the secret surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser during the Russia investigation. SENT: 90 words, developing. UPCOMING: 600 words by 3 p.m., photo.

ELECTION 2020-DNC-HILLARY CLINTON — After more than four decades in public life, Hillary Clinton returns to the Democratic National Convention to cement her legacy as a champion of women in politics. SENT: 756 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-DNC-PROGRESSIVES — Some of the most prominent spots at this week’s Democratic National Convention have gone to Republicans, frustrating younger progressive voices who are trying to assert their influence in the party. UPCOMING: 800 words by 6 p.m., photos.

ELECTION 2020-POSTAL SERVICE — The Postal Service faces fresh lawsuits and questions over mail delivery disruptions despite the postmaster general’s abrupt decision to halt further changes after public outcry ahead of the November election. UPCOMING: 600 words by 4 p.m., photos.

UNITED NATIONS-UNITED STATES-IRAN — After a resounding defeat in the U.N. Security Council, the United States is poised to call for the United Nations to reimpose sanctions on Iran under a rarely used diplomatic maneuver — a move that is likely to further isolate the Trump administration and may set off a credibility crisis for the United Nations. SENT: 920 words, photos. WITH: UNITED STATES-HONG KONG — The Trump administration suspends or terminates three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong covering extradition and tax exemptions. SENT: 170 words. UPCOMING: Developing, 500 words by 3 p.m., photo.

UNITED STATES-IRAQ — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledges that the Trump administration will continue to support Iraq as it confronts the threat posed by the Islamic State group, but he also called for the Baghdad government to redouble efforts to rein in pro-Iran militias. SENT: 620 words, photos

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK -- A lawsuit expected to be filed by Iowa’s largest teacher’s union challenging the governor’s mandate to return to classrooms during a pandemic is only the latest threat to Iowa’s school year. Last week’s devastating derecho damaged many school buildings and caused several districts to delay start dates. Iowa’s largest district is trying to defy the governor and start online-only for health reasons. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PRESS CRACKDOWN -- Governments around the world are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to justify crackdowns on press freedom. In some cases, regimes have moved to curb to alleged misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic that doesn’t align with official proclamations about its spread or severity. In others, the pandemic serves as a distraction by directing national attention away from these incidents. The lack of a robust U.S. defense of press freedom isn’t helping, experts say. SENT: 798 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FUNERAL REFUSED — Noel Alexander had helped build the church. He’d been its music minister and served on numerous committees. After he died from COVID-19 at age 79, the minister had approved holding his visitation and funeral there. But the minister was out of town. When the first family member arrived, two church officials told her neither Alexander’s body nor his family could come in for visitation or the funeral the following day. SENT: 690 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Iran has surpassed 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus. The announcement comes as Iran struggles with the largest outbreak in the Middle East. But despite the somber statistic, the Islamic Republic is still holding university entrance exams for over 1 million students and is preparing for mass Shiite commemorations at the end of the month. SENT: 765 words, photos.

AP-POLL-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GIG-ECONOMY -- The pandemic shuffled the deck for the so-called gig economy as fear of contracting the coronavirus led many who once traveled in shared vehicles to stay home, and grocery delivery services struggled to keep up with demand from people who didn’t want to risk stepping into a store. A new survey from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows how consumer attitudes about using ride-hailing and delivery services have changed. SENT: 950 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-DUBAI-ALCOHOL ECONOMY — Dubai has again loosened laws governing alcohol sales and possession of liquor as the sheikhdom tries to claw its way out of an economic depression worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. The move comes as alcohol sales, a vital part of Dubai’s tourism and hospitality industry, have suffered greatly under lockdown restrictions imposed amid the pandemic. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

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

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NATIONAL

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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES — Thousands of people were under orders to evacuate in regions surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area as nearly 40 wildfires blazed across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week. Smoke blanketed the city of San Francisco. SENT: 700 words, photos.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-LEE STATUE -- When the bronze equestrian statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee arrived in Richmond from Paris in 1890, it took 10,000 men, women and children to haul its pieces more than a mile to the site where the towering monument was assembled and erected. Now, 130 years later, conservation experts who plan to relocate, yet preserve, the statue face the intricate logistics of disassembling and transporting it to a storage facility. They also must ensure worker safety amid heated public debate about whether the statue is an important piece of Southern heritage or a symbol of white supremacy and racism. SENT: 885 words, photos.

REL--CHRISTIANS-POLICE REFORM -- A coalition of Christian groups including the Church of God in Christ and the National Association of Evangelicals is launching a new criminal justice reform push that seeks to rally believers behind policing changes grounded in biblical principles. The effort is led by the AND Campaign, a Christian social justice advocacy group. It’s expected to include prayer gatherings, nonviolent protests and policy advocacy — all aimed at advancing the cause of racial equity in the justice system. SENT: 600 words, photo.

MURDER PLOT-SWEETIE PIES — The son of the owner of a St. Louis-area soul food restaurant that was the setting for the reality show “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” has been charged in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of his nephew four years ago. SENT: 345 words.

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INTERNATIONAL

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BELARUS-PROTESTS — Authorities in Belarus resumed detentions of protesters who keep taking to the streets to demand the resignation of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, as opposition leaders ratchet up pressure on the government by forming a coordination council to push for for a new election. SENT: 640 words, photos.

MALI CRISIS —The junta that forced Mali’s president to resign urged people to go back to business as usual, seeking to normalize their coup amid global condemnation from leaders who feared the power grab would only further mire West Africa’s fight against growing Islamic extremism. SENT: 1,025 words, photos.

GERMANY-HIGHWAY CRASHES — A man deliberately drove his car into motorcycles along a stretch of Berlin highway, leaving at least one person in life-threatening condition in what German officials said was a terror attack. SENT: 675 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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MED-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-PHARMACY VACCINATIONS — Pharmacists in all 50 states will be authorized to give childhood vaccinations this fall under a new federal directive. Alex Azar, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the order. Azar made the decision as part of the emergency powers he has during the U.S. coronavirus epidemic, which was declared a public health emergency. SENT: 495 words, photo.

UN-INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CLASH -- Indigenous peoples are fighting the United Nations and others who propose a 3.5 million-acre conservation project in wildlife-rich forests of southern Myanmar. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

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BUSINESS

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APPLE -$2 TRILLION— Apple is the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion, just two years after it became the first to reach $1 trillion. Apple shares have gained nearly 60% this year as the company overcame the shutdown of factories in China that produce the iPhone and the closure of its retail sales amid the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 200 words, photo.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks are ticking higher in midday trading on Wall Street, adding a bit more to the S&P 500′s record. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% a day after it wiped out the last of its losses created by the pandemic and surpassed its Feb. 19 peak. SENT: 700 words, photos, developing.

MALLS-PARKING LOT DRIVE-INS — After being closed for months due to the pandemic, malls are bringing all types of drive-in entertainment to their massive parking lots, hoping to lure people back to their properties. A mall in upstate New York, for example, is hosting a drive-in wrestling match. Others around the country are bringing movies or magic shows that can be watched from a car. Malls have struggled to attract shoppers for years, but the pandemic has hit them especially hard. SENT: 895 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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TV-LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA — Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson are some of the stars of the Freeform miniseries “Love in the Time of Corona,” about four sets of relationships during the COVID-19 lockdown. By Alicia Rancilio. SENT: 560 words, photos, video.

FILM-TESLA — Ethan Hawke and Kyle MacLachlan talk about how they play dueling geniuses in the new bio-pic film “Tesla.” By Brooke Lefferts. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos and video.

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SPORTS

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HKN-HURRICANES-BRUINS — The Boston Bruins look to eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes when they meet in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Bruins rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to win Monday for a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. UPCOMING: 650 words and photos. Game starts at 4 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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