AP News Digest 3:50 a.m.

APTOPIX Virus Outbreak Pennsylvania (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All Times EST. 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 — A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation. By Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone. SENT: 1,050 words, photos, video.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-US SURGE — Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital. The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking point and leaving staff members and public health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares. By Heather Hollingsworth and Marion Renault. SENT: 950 words, photos.

BIDEN-OBAMA — President-elect Joe Biden is getting a lot of the old gang back together. Now well into the process of selecting Cabinet and senior appointees, the Biden administration has a distinctly Obama-esque feel, with familiar names like John Kerry and Susan Rice. By Aamer Madhani. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-DEALING-WITH-DEATH — Even for hospital staff for whom death is a constant, witnessing the loss of a fellow human being to COVID-19 is a churn of emotions. At the Paris hospital that recorded the first virus death outside Asia, nurses and paramedics in the intensive care unit have their own coping mechanisms. Some use meditation. Others try to remain detached. But in treating the critically sick, they also become involved emotionally. By John Leicester. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-INDIA-SERUM-INSTITUTE — The coronavirus pandemic is a “wake up call” for governments to invest more in health care, says Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines. The Serum Institute has taken on a vital role as the largest company licensed to manufacture the Oxford University-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. It is increasing its production capacity by the end of 2021 to over 2.5 billion doses a year to cope with future disease outbreaks. By Aniruddha Ghosal. SENT: 620 words, photos.

EUROPE-CLIMATE — European Union leaders reached a hard-fought deal to cut the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the end of the decade compared with 1990 levels, avoiding a hugely embarrassing deadlock ahead of a U.N. climate meeting this weekend. By Samuel Petrequin. SENT: 590 words, photos. With CLIMATE-GLOBAL EMISSIONS — World carbon dioxide emissions drop 7% in pandemic-hit 2020.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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BIDEN-HARRIS-PERSON-OF-THE-YEAR — Biden, Harris named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.” SENT: 130 words, photo.

PATRIOTS-RAMS — Akers runs wild, Newton benched as Rams rout Patriots 24-3. SENT: 940 words, photos.

OBIT-ANTHONY-VEASNA-SO — Anthony Veasna So, acclaimed fiction writer, dead at age 28. SENT: 450 words, photos.

OBIT-TOMMY-LISTER — Tommy “Tiny” Lister, who played Deebo in ”Friday,” dies. SENT: 440 words, photos.

CARIBBEAN-SHARK ATTACK — St. Martin reports fatal shark attack, first in recent history. SENT: 380 words.

BHUTAN-SAME-SEX RELATIONS — Bhutan lawmakers vote to decriminalize same-sex relations. SENT: 240 words.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-AUSTRALIA — Australia’s prime minister says that his government won’t rush approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine because he wants people to have confidence in the product. SENT: 700 words, photo. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST — Bahrain has announced plans to give the public free coronavirus vaccines, as Saudi Arabia said it approved an inoculation by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech to fight the pandemic. SENT: 450 words, photo.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-CONFUSING MESSAGES — Local governments in California are issuing confusing messages as most of the state is under a broad shutdown order that includes an overnight curfew to try to stem record-breaking coronavirus cases that threaten to overwhelm the hospital system. SENT: 1,070 words, photos.

ONE GOOD THING-INDONESIA-VIRTUAL BAZAAR — Cash-strapped Indonesians turn to online Sunday market. SENT: 540 words, photos, video.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-MEXICO — Mexico’s coronavirus spokesman says the country’s median age of death from COVID-19 was a shockingly young 55, as compared to an average of 75 in many European countries. SENT: 240 words, photo.

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

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-CONGRESS-DEFENSE BILL — A Senate vote on a wide-ranging defense policy bill is delayed after Kentucky Republican Rand Paul objected to the measure, casting the next steps in doubt and raising the slim prospect of a government shutdown if a short-term spending bill caught up in the dispute is not approved by Friday. SENT: 930 words, photos. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS — Congress stuck, McConnell resists state aid in COVID-19 deal.

TRUMP-LEGAL CHALLENGES — The Texas lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate Biden’s victory has quickly become a conservative litmus test. Many Republican attorneys general are signing onto the case even as some of them have openly predicted its failure. By Nomaan Merchant and Alanna Durkin Richer. SENT: 920 words, photos.

BIDEN — The revelation that federal prosecutors launched a tax investigation into Biden’s son Hunter looms over the incoming administration, reviving distracting storylines and complicating the choice of an attorney general who would have to oversee a probe into Biden’s own son. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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FEDERAL-EXECUTIONS — The Trump administration carried out its ninth federal execution of the year in what has been a first series of executions during a presidential lame-duck period in 130 years, putting to death a Texas street-gang member in the slayings of a religious couple from Iowa more than two decades ago. By Legal Affairs Writer Michael Tarm. SENT: 1,220 words, photos.

ARIZONA GOVERNOR-TRUMP — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey spent much of Donald Trump’s presidency trying not to provoke confrontation with the president or his fervent defenders. He almost made it through. SENT: 980 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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SOUTH SUDAN-HUNGER CRISIS — One county in South Sudan is likely in famine and tens of thousands of people in five other counties are on the brink of starvation, according to a new report by international food security experts. SENT: 910 words, photo.

HONG KONG-JIMMY LAI — Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been charged under the city’s national security law, amid a widening crackdown on dissent, according to local media reports. SENT: 380 words, photos.

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SCIENCE

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VIRGIN GALACTIC-TEST FLIGHT — The window opens for Virgin Galactic’s first rocket-powered test flight from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico as the company prepares for commercial flights next year. SENT: 540 words, photos.

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BUSINESS

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FINANCIAL-MARKETS Asian stock markets were mixed after Wall Street sank following signs damage to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus is worsening while Congress is deadlocked over possible new aid. By Business Writer Joe McDonald. SENT: 470 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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BOOKS-STEPHEN-LANG For a guy who has made a career out of playing villains, Stephen Lang certainly has a knack for turning a dark period in American history into a children’s book with a message. SENT: 800 words, photos, video.

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SPORTS

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PROTESTS-NEXT STEPS — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision not to punish athletes who raise fists on the medal stand was met with a tepid response from the IOC. By National Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 710 words, photos. With TOKYO-MORE-SPONSORS-NEEDED — Tokyo Games sponsors pay $3.3 billion, but more still needed.

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HOW TO REACH US

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