Great Plains News Digest
The following AP stories are planned for today or have moved. For text, photos, video, live and audio plans beyond the next 24 hours, please visit Coverage Plan.
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IOWA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
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US–TRUMP-DOGE-AMERICORPS
AmeriCorps members who respond to disasters and help nonprofits let go in DOGE cuts
SUMMARY: Young volunteers who respond to natural disasters and help with community projects across the U.S. have been discharged. It’s a result of the Trump administration’s campaign to shrink the government’s workforce and services. Members of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps were informed Tuesday that they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. According to the programs website, more than 2,000 people ages 18 to 26 serve for nearly a year and get assigned to projects with nonprofits or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
WORDS: 453 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 12:22 p.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:05b1d1cd53e0b5b9f64c17eaba7adf95&mediaType=text
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KANSAS – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
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US–MEASLES OUTBREAK-EXPLAINER
US measles cases surpass 700 with outbreaks in six states. Here’s what to know
SUMMARY: Kansas health officials confirmed five new cases of measles Wednesday. U.S. measles cases topped 700 as of Friday, and two children and an adult have died. New Mexico, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas have active measles outbreaks. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is prevented by vaccines. Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.
WORDS: 1509 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 12:07 p.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e904ec9781f1d164c73afe4ab71774fe&mediaType=text
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KANSAS – UPCOMING – SPORTS
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BBO–ROYALS-YANKEES
DESCRIPTION: NEW YORK — Clarke Schmidt makes his season debut for the New York Yankees after recovering from right rotator cuff inflammation, and Kris Bubic (2-1) starts for the Kansas City Royals in the finale of a three-game series. 300 words, photos, starts 7:05 p.m.
UPCOMING: By 04/16/2025 9:05 p.m. CDT, Text
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MINNESOTA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
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US–TRUMP-DOGE-AMERICORPS
AmeriCorps members who respond to disasters and help nonprofits let go in DOGE cuts
SUMMARY: Young volunteers who respond to natural disasters and help with community projects across the U.S. have been discharged. It’s a result of the Trump administration’s campaign to shrink the government’s workforce and services. Members of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps were informed Tuesday that they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. According to the programs website, more than 2,000 people ages 18 to 26 serve for nearly a year and get assigned to projects with nonprofits or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
WORDS: 453 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 12:22 p.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:05b1d1cd53e0b5b9f64c17eaba7adf95&mediaType=text
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MINNESOTA – UPCOMING – SPORTS
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HKN–WEST PREVIEW
DESCRIPTION: The Western Conference playoffs are shaping up as a series of collisions, with Winnipeg, Dallas and Vegas the top teams facing serious challenges ahead from the likes of Colorado, Los Angeles, Edmonton and St. Louis. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos 3 p.m. EDT.
UPCOMING: By 04/16/2025 2:00 p.m. CDT, Text
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MISSOURI – UPCOMING – SPORTS
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HKN–WEST PREVIEW
DESCRIPTION: The Western Conference playoffs are shaping up as a series of collisions, with Winnipeg, Dallas and Vegas the top teams facing serious challenges ahead from the likes of Colorado, Los Angeles, Edmonton and St. Louis. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos 3 p.m. EDT.
UPCOMING: By 04/16/2025 2:00 p.m. CDT, Text
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BBO–ROYALS-YANKEES
DESCRIPTION: NEW YORK — Clarke Schmidt makes his season debut for the New York Yankees after recovering from right rotator cuff inflammation, and Kris Bubic (2-1) starts for the Kansas City Royals in the finale of a three-game series. 300 words, photos, starts 7:05 p.m.
UPCOMING: By 04/16/2025 9:05 p.m. CDT, Text
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NEBRASKA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
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US–FORT BENNING-REDEDICATION
Fort Benning takes back its old name, but to honor a different soldier
SUMMARY: The Army has restored the name Fort Benning to its storied training post in Georgia, only this time to honor an 18-year-old corporal who fought in World War I rather than a Confederate general. A ceremony to make the name change official was held Wednesday at the base outside Columbus. The switch comes less than two years after the post was redesignated Fort Moore as officials stripped the names of Confederate officers from bases. Confederate Brig. Gen. Henry Benning’s name had adorned the post since 1918. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently ordered the Georgia base to be renamed for Fred Benning, who was decorated for bravery during World War I.
WORDS: 741 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 12:43 p.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:b502587d6ea8fbc6fa353e9544d5e1c3&mediaType=text
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US–KENNEDY-MEASLES RESPONSE
RFK Jr.’s mixed message about the measles outbreaks draws criticism from health officials
SUMMARY: Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to contain measles outbreaks around the country have drawn criticism from a number of health officials who say he has delivered a mixed message about the effectiveness of the measles vaccine. Kennedy also has not been regularly briefed on the outbreak by his own infectious disease experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s according to two former federal health officials who would have organized such briefings for the health secretary. In another irregularity, the nation’s leading pediatric organization has not been involved in the response. Kennedy says the CDC has done “a very good job controlling the measles outbreak.”
WORDS: 1279 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 10:49 a.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:1a2cbdc14eb0c256695fdfac00cbfb6d&mediaType=text
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OKLAHOMA – NEW AND DEVELOPING – NEWS
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US–MEASLES OUTBREAK-EXPLAINER
US measles cases surpass 700 with outbreaks in six states. Here’s what to know
SUMMARY: Kansas health officials confirmed five new cases of measles Wednesday. U.S. measles cases topped 700 as of Friday, and two children and an adult have died. New Mexico, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas have active measles outbreaks. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is prevented by vaccines. Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.
WORDS: 1509 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 12:07 p.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:e904ec9781f1d164c73afe4ab71774fe&mediaType=text
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US–OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING-ANNIVERSARY
The Oklahoma City bombing was 30 years ago. Some survivors worry America didn’t learn the lesson
SUMMARY: Thirty years after a truck bomb detonated outside a federal building in the nation’s heartland, deep scars still remain from the deadliest homegrown attack on U.S. soil. Three decades have not healed all the wounds from the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. A mother still grieves the loss of her first-born baby daughter. A son whose father was killed in the attack never got to know his dad. One of the youngest survivors who was injured in the attack still struggles to breathe. Several survivors tell The Associated Press they fear the current political climate could spawn another deadly attack.
WORDS: 1054 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 9:35 a.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:ad18c59a2d3194d9c8f0e2103a30e4c2&mediaType=text
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US–OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING-AP WAS THERE
AP Was There: A truck bomb rips through a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995
SUMMARY: Journalists in Oklahoma City have vivid memories of the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that killed 168 people. On April 19, 1995, Associated Press staffers felt what seemed like a small quake. Reports soon confirmed what was the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history. Judy Gibbs Robinson, the first AP reporter on the scene, recalls the chaos and devastation. Meanwhile, an amateur photographer captured a haunting image of a firefighter cradling a baby that won him a Pulitzer Prize. The AP newsroom, bolstered by colleagues from across the country, worked tirelessly, sharing details of the tragedy with the rest of the world.
WORDS: 1802 – MOVED: 04/16/2025 9:32 a.m. CDT
https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=itemid:6aa6eb16863e618ec5f94b0e84a158fd&mediaType=text
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