AP News Digest 3:55 a.m.
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ONLY ON AP
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PANDEMIC-AFRICA-GUINEAN-WRESTLER — A West African wrestler’s dream of competing in the Tokyo Olympics came down to a plane ticket. Fatoumata Yarie Camara is the only Guinean athlete to qualify for these games. She was ready for Tokyo, but confusion over travel reigned for weeks. Guinean officials promised a ticket, but at the last minute announced a withdrawal from the Olympics over COVID-19 concerns. But under international pressure, Guinea reversed its decision. Now Camara is set to compete, fulfilling her Olympic dream. By Gerald Imray, Boubacar Diallo and Trisha Thomas. SENT: 1,790 words, photos. UPCOMING: Video. An abridged version of 1,050 words is also available.
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TOP STORIES
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CONGRESS-INFRASTRUCTURE — The Senate votes to start work on a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, a key part of President Joe Biden’s agenda. But it’s unclear if enough senators will eventually support final passage. By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking and Alan Fram. SENT: 1,080 words, photos, video. With CONGRESS-INFRASTRUCTURE-GLANCE.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-JAPAN — Japanese officials sounded the alarm after Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for two straight days with the Olympics well underway. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 410 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VACCINATION-ON-VACATION — Europe’s famed summer holiday season is in full swing, but efforts to inoculate people against the coronavirus are not taking a break. Instead, with lockdowns easing despite concerns about variants and nations looking to breathe new life into their ailing tourism industries, vaccinations are being taken to vacationers. By Nicolas Garriga and Mike Corder. SENT: 840 words, photos.
BIDEN-BUREAU OF PRISONS — While most criminal justice overhauls require action from local officials or legislation, reforming the federal prison system is Justice Department controls. And there are crying needs for improvement, with federal prisons plagued by violence, suicide, escapes, understaffing and health concerns. By Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo. SENT: 1,090 words, photo.
BANGLADESH-ROHINGYA REFUGEES — Days of heavy rainfall have pelted Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, destroying dwellings and sending thousands of people to live with extended family or in communal shelters. Just in the past 24 hours alone, more than 11.8 inches of rain fell on the camps in Cox’s Bazar district hosting more than 800,000 Rohingya. That’s nearly half the average July rainfall in one day while more heavy downpours are expected in the next few days and the monsoon season stretches over the next three months. SENT: 410 words, photos.
SWIMMING — Caeleb Dressel climbed atop the lane rope, a look of wonder in his eyes. He gazed all around the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, eager to soak up every last moment of something he’s never done before. Win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. By Sports Writer Paul Newberry. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. With TOKYO-OLYMPICS-THE-LATEST.
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MORE ON THE OLYMPICS
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RAHM-AT-HOME — Men’s golf has begun at the Olympics, and Jon Rahm — the No. 1 player in the world — was nearly 6,000 miles away watching from home. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 750 words, photo.
SNEAKING-A-PEEK — The Olympics this year have no spectators, at least officially, but the Japanese people of Tokyo and its environs are finding subtle ways of getting a glimpse of the competitions in their midst. By Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 970 words, photos.
GLIMPSES-SIGNIFICANT-BOUQUET — Medalists’ bouquets hold deeper meaning for Japan. SENT: 260 words, photos.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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ALASKA EARTHQUAKE — Tsunami watch issued for Hawaii after 8.2 magnitude quake hits Alaska. SENT: 160 words.
PEOPLE-BOB-ODENKIRK — Bob Odenkirk condition stable after “heart related incident.” SENT: 540 words, photo.
ARTHUR — “Arthur” to end on PBS Kids after 25-season stint. SENT: 160 words, photo.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-BIDEN — Biden will announce that federal employees must show proof they’ve received a coronavirus vaccine or submit to regular testing and stringent social distancing, masking and travel restrictions. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. UPCOMING: 1,300 words after 4 p.m. speech. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-REPUBLICANS — Republicans are responding with hostility to new masking guidance from public health officials, opening a new front in the cultural war over COVID restrictions just as efforts to try to convince large swaths of unvaccinated Americans to get the shots appeared to be making headway. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-BREAKTHROUGH CASES — Although the vaccines are very good at protecting people from severe illness in “breakthrough” cases, it’s still possible to get infected with mild or no symptoms, or even to get very sick. SENT: 280 words, graphic.
BRITAIN-EARNS-ASTRAZENECA — AstraZeneca says that it intends to seek U.S. authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in the second half of this year, offering a new timetable for the much-delayed application. SENT: 340 words, photo.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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SANDERS-OUR REVOLUTION — The progressive advocacy group Our Revolution is rebranding now that Bernie Sanders is no longer the undisputed leader of the left. SENT: 1,090 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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OFFICERS-ARRESTED-COLORADO — A video showing a police officer pistol-whipping and choking a Black man during an arrest in a Denver suburb has reignited anger over policing in the community, with activists decrying what they say is just the latest example of the mistreatment of people of color. SENT: 730 words, photos.
ILLINOIS-BEN-&-JERRY’S-ISRAEL — Illinois regulators plan to warn the owner of Ben & Jerry’s to reverse the company’s decision to stop selling ice cream in the West Bank and east Jerusalem or face divestment by the state, an official says. By Political Writer John O’Connor. SENT: 510 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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HONG KONG — A lawyer for the first person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law asks for no more than 10 years in prison instead of the possible life sentence faced by the former restaurant waiter in a closely watched case as China’s ruling Communist Party tries to crush a pro-democracy movement. SENT: 400 words, photo.
BELGIUM-FLOOD-SURVIVORS — The devastating floods that killed 38 people in Belgium this month have left hundreds of survivors struggling with mental trauma. SENT: 960 words, photos.
ASIA-US-DEFENSE — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Vietnamese counterpart to deepen cooperation in security and pandemic recovery, after Washington vowed support for Southeast Asian nations embroiled in territorial rifts with China. SENT: 330 words, photos.
NORTH KOREA-CHINA — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid tribute to China’s war dead at a Pyongyang memorial and vowed to maintain firm ties with Beijing, state media reported, as he seeks to bolster relations with his country’s main ally amid deepening hardships linked to the pandemic. SENT: 300 words, photo.
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BUSINESS/TECH
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ROBINHOOD-IPO — Robinhood is sell its own stock Wall Street, the very place the online brokerage has rattled with its stated goal of democratizing finance. By Business Writers Stan Choe and Alex Veiga. SENT: 900 words, photo.
FINANCIAL-MARKETS — Asian stocks rose after the Federal Reserve kept its accommodative monetary policies and signaled that economic recovery was on track. SENT: 470 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-RON-POPEIL — Ron Popeil, the quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, has died. He was 86. SENT: 620 words, photo.
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HOW TO REACH US
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