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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TRUMP-TAXES — Ethics experts say revelations that President Donald Trump is personally liable for more than $400 million in debt cast a shadow over his presidency and raise concerns that he could be manipulated to sway U.S. policy by organizations and individuals he’s indebted to. By Aamer Madhani and Deb Riechmann. UPCOMING: 900 words by 5 p.m., photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOLDIER SUICIDES — Within the ranks of the storied 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 10 soldiers have taken their own lives so far this year. That number is pushing division leadership to reexamine how they’re addressing suicide awareness. By Sarah Blake Morgan. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE — Debates like Tuesday’s between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are one of the most hyped aspects of a presidential campaign. But in a harshly divided era, can they really persuade voters? By Jonathan Lemire. UPCOMING: 850 words by 5 p.m., photos.

ELECTION 2020-ELECTORAL COLLEGE —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking extraordinary steps to prepare for the 2020 election results, seeking to increase Democrats’ hold on state delegations whose electors could decide a disputed election. It’s one of several moves being made ahead of an election unlike any other. By Lisa Mascaro. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4:30 p.m., photo.

ELECTION-2020-FIRST-TIME-REFUGEE-VOTERS — Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing wars and persecution who were welcomed into the U.S. are now American citizens voting the first time in what could be the most consequential presidential election of their lifetimes. From Arizona to Florida, the first-time voters are studying the candidates, excited but mindful of their weighty responsibility in helping to choose their country’s leader. By Anita Snow. SENT: 990 words, photos.

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

VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA — India’s confirmed coronavirus tally has reached 6 million cases, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began. The Health Ministry on Monday reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving the overall tally to 60,74,703. SENT: 280 words, photos.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — California firefighters are battled destructive new wildfires north of San Francisco as strong winds fan flames in the already badly scorched state. The fires erupted Sunday in the famed Napa-Sonoma wine region north of San Francisco and in far Northern California’s Shasta County, forcing hasty neighborhood evacuations. SENT: 800 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ONE-GOOD-THING-GUATEMALA-DANCE — Guatemalan couple Fabio Rodolfo Vásquez and María Moreno entered an online dance contest during the coronavirus pandemic to help them cope with the recent death of their daughter — and won it. A homemade video where Vásquez dances to “Danger” by The Flirts went viral, and the Guatemalan couple, who met on the dance floor more than 30 years ago, became an overnight sensation. SENT: 450 words, photos, video.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEXICO-500 YEARS — There were mass cremations of bodies; entire families died and the inhabitants of the city, afraid to pull their bodies out, simply collapsed their homes on top of them to bury them on the spot. That pandemic was spawned by smallpox brought by Spanish conquistadores and their servants and it exploded in Mexico City in September 1520. SENT: 600 words, photo.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-ZIMBABWE — Zimbabwe’s schools Monday reopened for pupils for two grades as part of a gradual process that will see all pupils return to class by early November. But many teachers did not report for work, as their union demanded that the government should first pay them a COVID-19 allowance and improve their salaries and working conditions. SENT: 400 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ISRAEL-JEWISH-LAW — For Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, coronavirus restrictions have raised numerous questions about how to maintain their religious lifestyle during the outbreak. A religious publisher in Jerusalem has released a book in July with over 600 pages of guidance from 46 different rabbis on topics ranging from socially distanced circumcisions to Passover Seders over Zoom on the holiday to praying with a quorum from a balcony. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

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

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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ROMANIA-DEAD-MAYOR-RELECTED — Romanian villagers re-elect mayor despite his COVID-19 death. SENT: 420 words.

INDIANA-MALL-SHOOTING — Man wanted in fatal shooting at Indiana mall surrenders. SENT; 200 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GREECE — Coronavirus outbreak on cruise ship sailing in Greece. SENT: 215 words.

BRITAIN-ASSANGE — Dissident Ai Weiwei protests possible extradition of Assange. SENT: 400 words, photos.

BRITAIN-UBER - Uber can keep operating in London after the ride-hailing company won a court appeal on Monday against the refusal by transit regulators to renew its license. SENT; 310 words, photo.

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WASHINGTON/2020 ELECTION

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ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-SCOTUS —President Donald Trump and Joe Biden were already set to fight over nearly every top issue when they share a stage in Cleveland — but the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg means things may get even tenser, even faster. By Will Weissert and Jessica Gresko. SENT: 1100 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE MODERATOR — Chris Wallace isn’t giving any hints about how he’ll moderate the first presidential debate But the veteran journalist and “Fox News Sunday” host — the only general election debate moderator with experience in the role — has a record that gives a pretty good idea of what he’ll be like. By David Bauder. SENT: 990 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE-QUESTIONS — Big questions heading into the first debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. By Steve Peoples. UPCOMING: 700 words by 4 p.m., photos.

SUPREME COURT-VACANCY — Democrats are confronting the limits of their power as they fight against the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Unable to block President Donald Trump’s pick on their own, they are working to convince voters that Barrett’s nomination threatens the health care protections of the Affordable Care Act. But there will be opportunities for diversion as partisans on both sides battle over the role of faith in the judiciary. By Mary Clare Jalonick. UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m., photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TESTING — President Donald Trump announces the federal government will begin distributing millions of rapid, point-of-care coronavirus tests to states this week, urging governors to prioritize them for reopening schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 720 words. UPCOMING: Developing from 3:30 p.m. Trump announcement, 800 words by 5 p.m., photos, video.

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

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NATIONAL

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RACIAL INJUSTICE-BREONNA TAYLOR — A curfew is being lifted in Louisville, where many people have been charged with refusing to stop their nighttime protests after a grand jury’s decision not to charge officers in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. SENT: 802 words, photos. Developing.

SEX-ED-REFERENDUM — Democrats in the Washington state Legislature thought they had passed a routine sex education requirement for public schools earlier this year. But a coalition of Republicans and religious conservatives launched a swift, historic backlash that’s led to a bitter partisan fight and an effort to overturn the measure on the November ballot. SENT: 890 words.

WHITE-NATIONALIST-THREAT — A federal jury found a self-proclaimed white nationalist who rose to prominence during a deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, guilty of threatening to rape the wife of a man who was part of a racist group he felt was harassing and bullying him. SENT: 500 words, photo.

ABSENTEE VOTING-IOWA — A judge is refusing to block a Republican-backed Iowa law that makes it harder for county officials to process absentee ballot applications and more likely that incomplete requests won’t be fulfilled. SENT: 600 words.

PORTLAND-PROTESTS —Several people in Portland, Oregon were arrested in anti-police brutality protests that continued into early Sunday, hours after demonstrations ended with few reports of violence. SENT: 690 words, photos.

HANDCUFFED-SUSPECT-KILLED-MARYLAND — A Maryland county has agreed to a $20 million settlement with the family of a man who was handcuffed in a patrol car when a police officer shot and killed him, a county official said. SENT: 600 words.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh is continuing for a second day with both sides blaming each other for resuming the attacks that have reportedly killed and wounded dozens. SENT: 680 words, photos. With: Armenia-Azerbaijan-AP Explains. SENT: 340 words, photos.

IRAQ-US — U.S., Iraqi and other officials say the Trump administration has warned Iraq that it will close its embassy in Baghdad if the government does not take swift and decisive action to end persistent rocket and other attacks by Iranian-backed militias and rogue armed elements on American and allied interests in the country. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.

BRAZIL-JAGUARS — Veterinarians in the Brazilian state of Goias are working to heal jaguars injured in the wildfires crackling their way through the Pantanal wetlands, including a sedated female whose paws were scorched. SENT: 650 words, photos.

POLAND-LGBT RIGHTS — Polish leaders rejected suggestions that LGBT people are deprived of any of their rights in the country, after an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives cited a need to work for “non-discrimination, tolerance and mutual acceptance.” SENT: 670 words, photos.

FRANCE-BUDGET — France’s government has presented its 2021 budget, a plan that aims to rescue the country’s beleaguered economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic by injecting a 42 billion-euro ($49 billion) stimulus next year. SENT: 240 words, photos.

BELARUS-PROTESTS — Authorities in Belarus have detained 500 people during weekend protests against the country’s authoritarian president, who has claimed his sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged. SENT: 430 words, photos.

GREECE-MIGRANTS — Greek police are accusing 35 people — all foreign nationals and all but two of them members of non-governmental organizations — of a variety of serious crimes for allegedly facilitating the clandestine arrival of migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos from Turkey. SENT: 330 words.

AUSTRALIA-VATICAN SCANDAL — Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ former finance minister, will soon return to the Vatican during an extraordinary economic scandal for the first time since he was cleared of child abuse allegations in Australia five months ago, a church agency said Monday.. SENT: 440 words, photo.

PAKISTAN-DANIEL PEARL — Pakistan’s Supreme Court is to hear an appeal by the family of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl that challenges the acquittal of a British-born Pakistani in the gruesome 2002 beheading of the Wall Street Journal reporter. SENT: 450 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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ELECTION-2020-DEBATE-SPORTS BETTING — In another example of sports betting companies going mainstream, viewers of Tuesday’s presidential debate can win prizes and money by predicting any number of things: Will either candidate wear a mask? Will Donald Trump say “fake news” or “China” more often? By Wayne Parry. SENT: 650 words, photos.

HKN--STANLEY CUP — The Tampa Bay Lightning look to win the Stanley Cup in Game 6, trying again to finish off a Dallas Stars team that has proved resilient in these playoffs in the bubble. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Game starts 8 p.m.

BBO--PLAYOFFS RDP -- Baseball’s playoffs open Tuesday with a twist -- best-of-three series that raise the stakes of an early surprise. On tap is a marquee pitching matchup: Yankees’ Gerrit Cole vs. Indians’ Shane Bieber. By Jay Cohen. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 6 p.m.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Mike Stewart 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.