Here’s a look at how AP’s general news coverage is shaping up for select stories. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s complete coverage of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, and the rest of the world, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org
Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to 919-510-8937, 202-641-9660, 410-837-8315, 804-643-6646 or metro@ap.org. Mid-South Assistant News Director Jonathan Drew can be reached at 919-510-8937 or jdrew@ap.org.
For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477.
This information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Coverage Plan will keep you up to date. All times are Eastern unless specified otherwise.
NORTH CAROLINA
ABORTION-NORTH CAROLINA
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature will attempt to quickly override the governor’s veto of legislation banning nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The state Senate plans to consider first an override Tuesday afternoon. House Speaker Tim Moore’s chief of staff said the speaker then aims to complete the override later in the day should Senate Republicans be successful. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill over the weekend in an unconventionally public ceremony after spending last week traveling around the state to convince one or more Republicans to uphold his expected veto. Both the House and Senate passed the bill along party lines this month. By Hannah Schoenbaum and Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 320 words, photo. Will be updated.
____
SOUTH CAROLINA
XGR-SOUTH CAROLINA BUDGET
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A group of six House and Senate negotiators discuss how to resolve differences in each chamber’s $13 billion spending plan for next year for South Carolina. Unlike many years, they weren’t far apart — a healthy economy and tax collections have helped both sides get much of what they want. By Jeffrey Collins. UPCOMING: 500 words by 5 p.m.
XGR-ABORTION-SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Republican-controlled South Carolina House is expected to debate a bill that would ban abortion as soon as cardiac activity is detected. The debate on Tuesday comes after the state Senate rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw the procedure as soon as conception. The chambers’ disagreement over restrictions epitomizes fault lines that have developed between Republicans nationwide since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. The measure in the House would ban abortion when an ultrasound detects cardiac activity, around six weeks and before most people know they are pregnant. Opponents say a ban around six weeks is essentially an “outright abortion ban.” By James Pollard. SENT: 600 words, photo.
____
VIRGINIA
CONGRESS-STAFF-ATTACKED
FAIRFAX, Va. — A northern Virginia man charged with attacking two staffers for Rep. Gerry Connolly with a baseball bat is also being charged with a hate crime against another woman less than an hour earlier. Forty-nine-year-old Xuan-Kha Tran Pham was arraigned Tuesday on four counts in Fairfax County General District Court. The hearing was by video hookup from the county jail. Pham refused to appear, so a judge read the charges against him while he huddled under a blanket in his jail cell. The charges also include aggravated wounding and malicious aggravated wounding for the baseball bat attack on two staffers at Connolly’s district office in Fairfax. By Matthew Barakat. SENT: 730 words, photos, audio.
VIRGINIA BUDGET
RICHMOND, Va. — Even a short breach in the federal debt ceiling would be enough to disrupt an already fragile state economy, Virginia finance staffers on Tuesday told lawmakers, who remain in slow-moving negotiations over adjustments to the two-year state budget. By Sarah Rankin. UPCOMING: 450 words, photo.
PIPELINE PROJECT-WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Forest Service has reissued approval to build a controversial natural gas pipeline through national forest land in Virginia and West Virginia. That’s despite past federal appeals court rulings determining developers had “inadequately considered” environmental impacts. Monday’s decision will allow for construction of the $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline across a 3.5-mile corridor of the national forest. In previous litigation, the 4th U.S. Court of Appeals twice vacated U.S. Forest Service decisions allowing for the pipeline in the Jefferson National Forest. Environmental groups say the decision means groups like hers have “no choice” but to go back to court. By Leah Willingham. SENT: 510 words, photos.
RECALLED GERBER FORMULA DISTRIBUTED
NEW YORK — A Gerber infant formula was recalled earlier this year over potential contamination of Cronobacter sakazakii, a bacteria that could cause life-threatening infections in infants. However, the recalled product was distributed to retails across eight states beyond the start of the recall, cooperative food wholesaler Associated Wholesale Grocers said in a company announcement published by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration this week. By Wyatte Grantham-Philips. SENT: 520 words, photo.
____
MARYLAND/DELAWARE
GUN CONTROL-MARYLAND
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled to sign legislation to limit where guns can be carried and who can carry them. By Brian Witte.
BALTIMORE-POLICE SHOOTING
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Police Department will release bodycam footage of Thursday’s police shooting of a fleeing teenager whom police said was armed and refused to drop his gun during a foot pursuit. By Lea Skene.
____
SPORTS
CAR–INDYCAR-NEWGARDEN
INDIANAPOLIS — Josef Newgarden has completed every lap of each of the last five Indianapolis 500s and seven of the last eight. During that span, he’s vied for pole position, started on the front row, even led the race for 35 laps. But Newgarden has not finished higher than third since 2017. Can he change direction this year? By Michael Marot. UPCOMING: 700 words, with photos by 4 p.m. ET.
BBA–ANGELS-ORIOLES
Los Angeles plays Baltimore at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.
CAR–INDYCAR-NEWGARDEN
INDIANAPOLIS — Josef Newgarden has completed every lap of each of the last five Indianapolis 500s and seven of the last eight. During that span, he’s vied for pole position, started on the front row, even led the race for 35 laps. But Newgarden has not finished higher than third since 2017. Can he change direction this year? By Michael Marot. UPCOMING: 700 words, with photos by 4 p.m. ET.
BBA–ANGELS-ORIOLES
Los Angeles plays Baltimore at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.
CAR–NASCAR-GREATEST DRIVERS
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Darlington Raceway has hosted plenty of landmark moments and got another this past weekend when 33 of the NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers convened for a celebration during the sport’s 75th anniversary season. By Pete Iacobelli. UPCOMING, 620 words by 2 p.m.
BBN–NATIONALS-MARLINS
Washington plays Miami at loanDepot park. By Santos Perez. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos.
____
LOCALIZATION:
DARTMOUTH NATIVE AMERICAN REMAINS-LOCALIZE IT: Dartmouth College announced that it found the skeletal remains of 15 Native Americans in its possession and was working to identify and repatriate the remains. The announcement comes as universities around the country have struggled to return tens of thousands of Native artifacts to tribes as required by federal law. We provide details and offer resources for local reporting. Find the latest Localize It guides.
HEALTH WORKER SHORTAGE-LOCALIZE IT: Thousands of doctors and nurses signed on to work in the country’s most desperate regions during the COVID-19 in exchange for forgiveness of their medical school debt. But now, the National Health Service Corps, the program that brought them onboard, is in jeopardy, caught up in the battle over the federal debt ceiling. We provide details and offer tips for local reporting. Find the latest Localize It guides.
STUDENT TEST SCORES-LOCALIZE IT: New data on student test scores from a dozen states has been incorporated into an analysis of learning setbacks tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was released Thursday by researchers at Harvard and Stanford universities as an update to their Education Recovery Scorecard, which now examines learning loss in math and reading across school districts in a total of 41 states. We provide details and offer tips for local reporting. Find the latest Localize It guides here.
IMMIGRATION-ASYLUM-LOCALIZE IT: Migrants who seek refuge in the United States are confronting a fundamental shift in border enforcement and opportunities for seeking asylum amid a surge in arrivals at the Southwest border. Coronavirus restrictions on immigration are coming to an end this week after three years. Those rules were used nearly 3 million times to quickly expel migrants without greater penalties. We provide suggestions for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides here.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK-SALARIES-LOCALIZE IT: As many schools struggle to find enough teachers, state governors across the U.S. are pushing for pay increases, bonuses and other perks in a growing competition to attract and retain educators. We offer suggestions for localization. Find the latest Localize It guides here.
____
VIDEO
Vigil held for Farmington shooting victims
Number of migrants crossings drops after lifting of Title 42
McCarthy decries “heinous” attack on lawmaker’s office
____
AUDIO
Biden, congressional leaders likely to meet Tuesday for talks on raising the debt limit
Bells toll for Buffalo supermarket mass shooting victims 1 year after massacre
Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the latest in a string of digital media setbacks
Biden proposal would let conservationists lease public land much as drillers and ranchers do
____
U.S. STORIES
NEW MEXICO-SHOOTING — The police chief of Farmington, New Mexico, says it appears an 18-year-old man who shot and killed three people and wounded six others fired at random as he roamed the neighborhood. The man was killed Monday within minutes of officers responding to reports of shots fired. A Farmington police officer was wounded, treated at a hospital and released. A state police officer also was wounded and remains hospitalized in stable condition. Police Chief Steve Hebbe says it appears the man fired at least three weapons, including an “AR-style rifle,” as he roamed a quarter-mile through the a neighborhood, randomly shooting at homes and cars. Police were trying to discover a motive. SENT: 1,030 words, photos, video, audio.
WASHINGTON DRUG LAW — Washington state lawmakers are considering a major new drug policy. A special legislative session begins Tuesday, a day after lawmakers reached a compromise that Democratic and Republican leaders say strikes a balance between public order and compassion for those with substance abuse issues. A major new drug law would avoid making the state the second in the U.S. to decriminalize the possession of controlled substances. Under a tentative deal, intentional possession or public use of small amounts of illegal drugs would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that. SENT: 520 words, photos.
— With: WASHINGTON DRUG LAW-THINGS TO KNOW
TRUMP RUSSIA PROBE EXPLAINER — An investigation into the origins of the FBI’s probe into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has finally been concluded. The prosecutor leading the inquiry has submitted a much-awaited report that found major flaws. It is the culmination of a four-year investigation into possible misconduct. It contained withering criticism of the FBI but few significant revelations. Nonetheless, it will give fodder to Trump supporters who have denounced the Russia investigation, as well as as Trump opponents who say prosecutor John Durham’s meager court record — one guilty plea and two acquittals at trial — shows his probe was a politically motivated farce. SENT: 1,040 words, photos, audio.
MED-FERTILITY CARE-INSURANCE COVERAGE — Coverage of fertility treatments remains hard to find in many corners of health insurance even as it grows briskly with big employers that see it as a must-have benefit to keep workers. More than half of the largest employers in the U.S. now cover fertility care, which includes in vitro fertilization. Researchers say a divide is growing between people who receive help paying for care and those who are left out. There are also questions about how much fertility coverage should be emphasized or mandated compared to helping people find other ways to build families, such as adoption. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
THE LONELY NATION — American lore is full of tales of the lone cowboy, the rugged individualist who will do what needs to be done and ride off into the sunset. In reality, loneliness in America can be deadly. This month, the U.S. surgeon general declared it an epidemic, saying that it takes as deadly a toll as smoking. He cited some potent forces: the gradual withering of longstanding institutions, decreased engagement with churches, the fraying bonds of families. So does the focus on American individualism encourage isolation and alienation? Perhaps that is, like other chunks of the American story, a premise built on myths. SENT: 1,290 words, photos.
____
NEW TO STORYSHARE: SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM NETWORK
Looking for more state news and photos? Sign up to participate in AP StoryShare, an online platform where news organizations from a growing list of states share content.
Besides state and regional news, StoryShare offers distinctive reporting around broad topics such as climate, education and Indigenous affairs. The platform now also has a network devoted to solutions-focused journalism.
Access to StoryShare is free for AP members. For account information, contact Jennifer Lehman at jlehman@ap.org or our team at storyshare@ap.org.
____________________
If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477.
_____________________
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
