BC-AP News Digest 2 pm
Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST.
--------------------
NEW/DEVELOPING
Displaced Iraqis flee their homes due to fighting between Iraqi special forces and Islamic State militints, in the Mamun neighborhood, on the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 2017. The advance comes as part of a major assault that started five days earlier to drive Islamic State militants from the western half of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
--------------------
UNITED STATES-MEXICO - Tillerson meets with Pena Nieto at 2 p.m.
------------------
ONLY ON AP
------------------
VENEZUELA UNDONE-LOST HOPE-ANALYSIS - Venezuela's economy is so crippled that tens of thousands are going hungry or even starving and the average shopper spends 35 hours a month waiting in line - yet the socialist government is more entrenched than ever. By Hannah Dreier and Joshua Goodman. SENT: 1,380 words, photos.
----------------
TOP STORIES
----------------
UNITED STATES-MEXICO - America's top diplomat and its homeland security chief try what their boss has so far failed -- to maintain healthy relations with Mexico despite President Donald Trump's demands that it pay for a border wall. By Josh Lederman. SENT: 770 words, photos. UPCOMING: 750 words with new approach by 2:30 p.m., photos. With UNITED STATES-MEXICO-GLANCE - A look at the types of aid U.S. provides Mexico (sent).
TRUMP-GENERALS - In a White House with competing power centers, the president's generals are a force to be reckoned with. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, both retired, and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Joint Chiefs chairman, all have standing invitations to President Donald Trump's working dinners and are influential voices in his decision-making. By Vivian Salama and Julie Pace. UPCOMING: 850 words by 5 p.m., photos.
OIL PIPELINE - Police in full riot gear traveling in law enforcement and military vehicles begin arresting Dakota Access pipeline opponents who remain at a North Dakota protest encampment in defiance of orders to leave. By James MacPherson and Blake Nicholson. SENT: 580 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 650 words with new approach by 4 p.m., photos, video. With OIL PIPELINE-THE LATEST.
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS-STATES - Bills to curtail transgender people's access to public restrooms are pending in a dozen states, but even in conservative bastions such as Texas and Arkansas they may be doomed by high-powered opposition. By National Writer David Crary. UPCOMING: 900 words by 4 p.m., photos.
IRAQ - Iraqi forces secure a series of cautious advances, pushing into two key pieces of infrastructure on the southern edge of Islamic State-held western Mosul and retaking a small village. By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sinan Salaheddin. SENT: 950 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 800 words with new approach by 4 p.m., photos, video. With ISLAMIC STATE-HERITAGE DESTROYED - Iraq hopes to reclaim heritage lost to IS; UNITED STATES-ISLAMIC STATE - Dunford: Counter-IS plan will have global scope (both sent).
OSCARS-DIVERSITY - After two years of intense public scrutiny over the academy's all-white acting nominations, the 2017 Oscar nominees are as diverse a group as the organization has ever seen, thanks to films like "Moonlight," ''Hidden Figures" and others. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. SENT: 1,030 words, photos. With STILL IN THE MARGINS - Oscars still lagging in female and minority representation; OSCARS-PREDICTIONS - What will win, what should win; OSCARS-JIMMY KIMMEL-Q&A - Jimmy Kimmel talks about Trump and other pre-Oscars concerns; OSCARS-OCTAVIA SPENCER - Oscars made strides, but Octavia Spencer wants more growth (all sent).
--------------------------------------
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
--------------------------------------
CNN-RECORDINGS - Conservative activist O'Keefe posts tapes targeting CNN. SENT: 490 words, photo.
POWERBALL JACKPOT - Indiana store sells winning $435 million Powerball ticket. SENT: 360 words.
HARVARD-RIHANNA - Rihanna is named Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year. SENT: 140 words, photo.
NERDWALLET-BUYING WHILE SELLING - How to buy a home when you haven't sold yours yet. SENT: 700 words, photo.
---------------------------------
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
---------------------------------
TRUMP-TRAVEL BAN-Q&A - President Donald Trump's travel ban is frozen by the courts, but the White House promises a new executive order that officials say will address concerns raised by judges that have put the policy on hold. A look at how it will work. UPCOMING: 850 words by 4 p.m., photos.
TRUMP-CONSERVATIVES - Top Trump administration officials and Vice President Mike Pence address a convention of skeptical conservatives to argue for a president's agenda that doesn't always align with GOP orthodoxy. SENT: 970 words, photos. UPCOMING: 800 words with new approach by 5 p.m., photos. With TRUMP-CONSERVATIVES-THE LATEST.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY - Democrats hope to harness grassroots resistance to President Donald Trump as they begin their annual meeting. UPCOMING: 750 words by 4 p.m., photos.
------------
NATIONAL
------------
POLICE-GUNSHOT VIDEO - An off-duty California officer who didn't want teens walking across his lawn fires his gun during a struggle with a 13-year-old boy, igniting unruly protests after video of the fight surfaces and two boys are arrested. SENT: 550 words, photos. UPCOMING: 650 words with new approach by 6 p.m., photos, video.
BATTLE OF SELMA - After decades of rancor, conservative Confederate preservationists and liberal black leaders in this landmark town of the civil rights movement are now fighting the same foe: Selma City Hall. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5 p.m., photos.
LGBT RIGHTS-ARKANSAS - The Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down a city's ordinance banning discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, but it stops short of saying whether a state law aimed at prohibiting such local LGBT protections is constitutional. SENT: 500 words, photos.
ABORTION DISCRIMINATION-ST LOUIS - People in St. Louis will now be protected from employers discriminating on the basis of "reproductive health decisions." UPCOMING: 600 words by 3 p.m., photo.
FISH FLAP-TRUMP - An executive order by President Donald Trump designed to cut back on federal regulations spurs disagreement among fishermen about how it will affect the people who catch the nation's fish. SENT: 500 words, photos.
--------------------
INTERNATIONAL
--------------------
SYRIA - Syrian peace talks under the auspices of the United Nations resume in Geneva, 10 months after falling apart over escalating bloodshed in the war-torn country. SENT: 970 words, photos. With SYRIA TALKS-Q&A; SYRIAN IMMIGRANT MAYOR-SANCTUARY CITY - Syrian immigrant mayor says town won't be a sanctuary city (both sent).
BRAZIL-CARNIVAL-EVANGELICAL MAYOR - Rio de Janeiro's Carnival is known for its heavy partying and carnal delights, and that puts the Brazilian city's Pentecostal mayor in a tight spot. SENT: 800 words, photos.
---------------
BUSINESS
---------------
OF MUTUAL INTEREST-TAX TIME - Tax time means many mutual-fund investors are paying the bill for their funds' past successes, even ones that predate their own investment. By Business Writer Stan Choe. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4 p.m., photos.
--------------
SCIENCE/HEALTH/TECHNOLOGY
--------------
ORBITING JUPITER - NASA's Jupiter-circling spacecraft is stuck making long laps around the gas giant because of sticky valves. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 350 words, photos.
TECH TEST DRIVES - Experts say car buyers should know how to use the navigation, infotainment and communication systems before driving a new car off the lot. By Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin. SENT: 880 words, photos.
------------
SPORTS
------------
OLY--2024-BID DEBACLE - A supposedly cheaper, leaner way to pick Olympic hosts was expected to produce more bidders. But the first big test - the 2024 Games - leaves only Los Angeles and Paris. Might both cities be chosen for consecutive Games? By National Writer Eddie Pells. UPCOMING: 750 words by 4 p.m., photos.
-------------------------
HOW TO REACH US
-------------------------
At the Nerve Center, Alexandra Olson 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://www.apexchange.com. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 877-836-9477.
Law enforcement vehicles arrive at the closed Dakota Access pipeline protest camp near Cannon Ball, N.D., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, where dozens of people remain. Most protesters left peacefully Wednesday when authorities closed the camp on Army Corps of Engineers land in advance of spring flooding, but some are refusing to go. (AP Photo/James MacPherson)
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has his tie straightened by his Australian counterpart Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in his office at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with manufacturing executives at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. From left are, Trump, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, and Ford CEO Mark Fields. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, an abandoned baby reaches out to mobiles above its crib at the Door of Hope in Johannesburg. The sanctuary was started 17 years ago to provide a safe place where babies could be abandoned by their mothers. Sixty-four babies were taken in by the center in 2016 and 43 percent of those were adopted. The rest are cared for and eventually go to orphanages, said the organization, which receives funding from the government's social welfare department and private donations. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
