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.
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NORTH CAROLINA
COOPER-EDUCATION
RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is embarking on a campaign to beat back education and tax legislation from the Republican-controlled General Assembly. If passed, the GOP legislation would greatly expand private-school vouchers, make deeper income tax cuts and offer what he considers paltry teacher raises. Cooper tells The Associated Press he plans to release a video on Monday making his case and then hold public events over the coming days. He likens the pending legislation to a “state of emergency” for public education. With Republicans now holding veto-proof seat majorities in the House and Senate, Cooper is taking to his bully pulpit. By Gary Robertson. SENT: 530 words.
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SOUTH CAROLINA
ELECTION 2024-SCOTT
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has launched his presidential campaign. At an event in his hometown of North Charleston on Monday, Scott offered an optimistic message he hopes can contrast the two figures who have used political combativeness to dominate the early GOP primary field: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Scott is the Senate’s only Black Republican. His team acknowledges the challenge but notes that the political environment can change, that Scott won reelection by a commanding 20 points in November and that Scott has more money to start his campaign than any presidential candidate in history. By Meg Kinnard and Will Weissert. SENT: 1,050 words, photos, video. With: ELECTION 2024-SCOTT-WHAT TO KNOW
ELECTION 2024-HALEY-SCOTT
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Mutual supporters of Sen. Tim Scott and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are in a conundrum now that the two South Carolina natives are both candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. By Meg Kinnard. SENT: 1,230 words, photos.
XGR SOUTH CAROLINA-BILLS
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers finished their regular session in 2023 passing a flurry of bills that have kept Gov. Henry McMaster’s right hand busy signing them. The General Assembly has passed 87 bills in 2023. More than 70 of them have been sent to the governor this month, and he has approved almost all of them. The new laws include eliminating state permission for hospitals to expand and breaking up the state’s health and environment agency. The governor also signed a shield law into effect allowing South Carolina to keep secret anyone who provides drugs needed for lethal injections and employees and others who help executions take place. By Jeffrey Collins. SENT: 710 words, photos.
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MARYLAND/DELAWARE
DELAWARE SENATOR
DOVER, Del. — Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware says he will not seek reelection to a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. Carper announced Monday that he will retire when his current term expires in 2024. His announcement paves the way for a wide-open contest for the seat he has held since 2001 in heavily blue Delaware. He is the fourth Democratic senator to announce plans to retire in this coming cycle. Carper served five terms in the U.S. House and two terms as governor before being elected to the Senate in 2000. In the Senate, Carper built a reputation as a moderate lawmaker and a champion of environmental protection and the U.S. Postal Service. By Randall Chase. SENT: 420 words, photos.
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SPORTS
HKN–HURRICANES-PANTHERS
SUNRISE, Fla. — The surprising, eighth-seeded Florida Panthers can take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals when they play host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. Game begins 8 p.m. By Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.
FBN–PANTHERS-CORRAL’S FUTURE
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Panthers selected quarterback Matt Corral in the third round last season with the hopes he grow into a starter. But after sitting out last season with a foot injury Corral appears to be the odd man out in the quarterback room after Carolina selected Bryce Young No. 1 overall and signed veteran backup Andy Dalton. By Steve Reed. UPCOMING. 600 words by 4 p.m. ET
CAR–INDY 500-THE CHASE
INDIANAPOLIS — In past years, the Indianapolis 500 has been twice as important in IndyCar’s points chase. Not this year. Series officials decided to award single points for Sunday’s race, a move that promises to keep the already tight standings even closer. By Michael Marot. UPCOMING: 650 words, with photos by 5 p.m. ET.
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LOCALIZATION:
TRANSGENDER HEALTH-MODEL LEGISLATION-LOCALIZE IT: Legislation to restrict gender-affirming care is often pre-written and shopped out by a handful of interest groups. So-called model legislation has been used in statehouses for decades. Critics say model legislation allows a handful of far-right groups to create a false narrative around gender-affirming care for minors that is based on distorted science. Political observers say Republicans’ recent focus on such legislation is a “wedge issue” to motivate their voting base. The AP obtained the texts of more than 130 bills in 40 state legislatures and analyzed them for similarities to model bills peddled by the groups Do No Harm and the Family Research Council. We provide tips on localizing the story, including examples of some key model bills that you can check against legislation in your state. Find the latest Localize It guides.
VICTIMS COMPENSATION-RACE-LOCALIZE-IT: Black people are disproportionately denied aid from state programs that reimburse victims of violent crime. That’s according to an AP examination of data from 23 states that shows Black applicants were nearly twice as likely as white applicants to be denied aid in some states, including Indiana, Georgia and South Dakota. The denials add up to thousands of Black families missing out on millions of dollars in aid each year. Experts say the disparities are rooted in biases embedded in the design of victim compensation programs, among other factors. We provide exclusive data, plus tips and resources for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
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.
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VIDEO
Biden, McCarthy to meet as debt ceiling deadline nears
NY mayor calls for expedited work permits for asylum seekers
Civil rights groups warn tourists about Florida, ‘hostile’ laws
SpaceX chartered flight docks in space
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AUDIO
Biden, McCarthy to hold pivotal meeting on debt ceiling as time to resolve standoff grows short
With all the politics and maneuvering, how is life in Florida changing for its residents?
Michigan governor to sign red flag bill
Venmo to be officially available for teenagers, although many use it already
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U.S. STORIES
COLORADO RIVER-DROUGHT — Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a deal to significantly cut their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years. It’s a potential breakthrough in a stalemate over how to deal with a rising problem that pitted Western states against one another. The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water from the 1,450-mile river that provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes. Cities, irrigation districts and Native American tribes in the three states will receive federal funding in exchange for temporarily using less water, but officials did not say how much funding individual users in the states would get. SENT: 620 words, photos.
ABORTION TEXAS LAWSUIT — More Texas women who were told they could not end pregnancies with fatal fetal anomalies or that endangered their health are challenging the state’s restrictive abortion laws. They’re asking a Texas court to put an emergency block on some abortion restrictions and joining a lawsuit launched earlier this year by five other women in the state who were denied abortions, despite pregnancies they say endangered their health or lives. More than a dozen Texas women in total have joined the Center for Reproductive Rights’ lawsuit against the state’s law, which prohibit abortions unless a mother’s life is at risk — an exception that is not clearly defined. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
XGR-MICHIGAN-GUNS — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will give final approval Monday to the state’s new red flag law during a bill signing just outside of Detroit. The law is expected to take effect next spring and will allow family members, police, mental health professionals, roommates and former dating partners to petition a judge to remove firearms from those they believe pose an imminent threat to themselves or others. Questions remain whether the state will have better success in enforcing the law than others have after multiple Michigan sheriffs told The Associated Press that they won’t enforce the law if they don’t believe it’s constitutional. The law’s passage follows a mass shooting in February at Michigan State University that killed three students. SENT: 580 words, photo.
GEORGE FLOYD- TOP PROSECUTOR — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison reveals in a new book how worried prosecutors were that a judge would move the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin out of the city where he killed George Floyd. So they conducted a mock trial in a deep red rural county to test their strategy. It worked. Ellison was pleasantly surprised that even the mock jurors in Stearns County of central Minnesota would have convicted Chauvin and three co-defendants of manslaughter. And almost all would have convicted them on the top charge of second-degree murder. Two mock juries in Hennepin County, where the case ultimately stayed, came back guilty on all counts. SENT: 760 words, photos.
CONSIDERED VIEW-A CHANGING FLORIDA — For many of those who live in Florida, recent months have brought some changes — many linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Don’t say gay.” Regulation of books and classroom discussion. Teachers, parents and school librarians are all navigating new and uncertain ground. LGBTQ+ rights under attack. A very public spat between the state government and Disney. And at the center of it all is DeSantis, who has emerged as a rival of former President Donald Trump and likely has his eyes set on the White House. Lost in all of this are more traditional concerns like the rising cost of living. Rents are going sky-high and property insurance is becoming less available and less affordable. SENT: 1,460 words, photos.
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