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
XGR–SPORTS GAMBLING
RALEIGH, N.C. — An effort to legalize sports gambling in North Carolina appears poised to clear high hurdles this week in the state Senate. Senate leaders scheduled for Wednesday floor debate and the first of two required votes on the measure. It would also authorize remote horse-race betting. Passage of the Senate bill is likely by the end of the week. After that, the House will decide whether to accept the Senate’s changes or attempt to negotiate a compromise. The House passed its own version of the sports betting bill in March without including horse racing. About half of the states now allow mobile or online sports betting. By Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 460 words. UPCOMING: 600 words by 6 p.m.
TOYOTA-US-FACTORIES
Toyota will invest another $2.1 billion in an electric and hybrid vehicle battery factory that’s under construction near Greensboro, North Carolina. The plant will supply batteries to Toyota’s huge complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, which will build Toyota’s first U.S.-made electric vehicle, a new SUV with three rows of seats. The plans announced Wednesday won’t immediately create any more jobs at either factory. Toyota plans to have 2,100 employees at the battery factory. The investment will prepare infrastructure to expand for growth. Production is to start in 2025. It brings the total investment to $5.9 billion. The huge Kentucky complex now employs 9,500 people. The company says jobs will shift to the new electric vehicle when production starts in 2025. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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SOUTH CAROLINA
MURDAUGH-FEDERAL CHARGES
Convicted murderer and disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is scheduled for his first appearance in federal court on Wednesday on money laundering and wire fraud charges for stealing from clients. Murdaugh is serving life in prison in a South Carolina prison for killing his wife and son and faces about 100 other charges in state court. UPCOMING : 400 words.
ELECTION 2024-HALEY
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley’s husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa. The mission will encompass most of the remainder of his wife’s campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. A person with knowledge of Michael Haley’s deployment tells The Associated Press that a formal deployment ceremony will likely happen in several weeks. It’ll be Michael Haley’s second active-duty deployment since he joined the Guard as an officer in 2006. His first was in January 2013, when Nikki Haley was South Carolina’s governor. She’s been highly critical of President Joe Biden’s competency as commander in chief as she campaigns for the White House nomination. By Meg Kinnard. SENT: 470 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-DESANTIS-IOWA
SALIX, Iowa — Ron DeSantis is making a four-stop blitz through Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday. He’s aiming for a personal connection with voters even as he intensifies his criticism of former President Donald Trump. The Florida governor’s first stop was the floor of Port Neal Welding in Salix, a rural town near Sioux City. DeSantis has subsequent Wednesday appearances scheduled in Council Bluffs, Pella and Cedar Rapids. He’s packing in early events in the state where caucuses kick off the Republican presidential primary voting. From there, he will head to New Hampshire on Thursday and South Carolina on Friday. By Thomas Beaumont and Will Weissert. SENT: 1,010 words, photos, video, audio.
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VIRGINIA
YOUNGKIN-SOUTHERN BORDER
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin is joining the list of Republican governors who have committed to sending soldiers or other law enforcement officers to the U.S. border with Mexico. Youngkin announced Wednesday that in response to a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott he had signed an executive order directing the deployment of 100 Virginia National Guard soldiers and 21 support personnel to the southern border. By Sarah Rankin. Upcoming: 400 words, photos.
BOEING-CRASH VICTIMS
A federal judge is ruling that families of passengers who died in the second crash of a Boeing 737 Max can seek damages for the pain and terror suffered by their relatives before the plane crashed in Ethiopia. The ruling posted Tuesday night is a setback for Boeing, which had argued that evidence about the victims’ suffering is speculative and would have an unfair impact on jurors. A trial on compensation for victims’ families is scheduled to start June 20 in Chicago. It’s not a criminal trial. In 2021, Boeing reached a settlement with the Justice Department to avoid criminal prosecution for misleading federal regulators who approved the Max. By David Koenig. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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SPORTS
BBA–GUARDIANS-ORIOLES
BALTIMORE — The Orioles take on Cleveland in the rubber match of this three-game series. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts at 3:05 p.m. ET.
BBN–NATIONALS-DODGERS
Washington plays Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.
BBC–NCAA-WAKE FOREST-WALTER’S JOURNEY
The baseball part in Tom Walter’s career arc often has been relegated to a secondary role. He’s donated his kidney to a player, moved a team away from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and overachieved with a program facing the prospect of being dropped during an anxious time in the nation’s capital. Now he’s got a once-in-a-career team in NCAA Tournament top seed Wake Forest. By Eric Olson. 980 words, photos.
HKN–HURRICANES WRAPUP
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have built a sustained winner with five straight playoff trips and three straight division titles. They’re still figuring out how to take the final step toward winning a Stanley Cup after closing with an Eastern Conference Final sweep. By Aaron Beard. UPCOMING: 600 words and photos by 3 p.m.
SOC–CHARLOTTE FC-PHILADELPHIA UNION
The Charlotte FC plays at the Philadelphia Union. UPCOMING: 150 words, more on merit.
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LOCALIZATION:
VICTIMS-COMPENSATION-REFORMS-LOCALIZE IT: Thousands of violent crime victims turn to compensation programs in every state for help with medical bills, relocation, funerals and other expenses. The programs disperse millions of dollars each year, but The Associated Press found racial inequities and other barriers in how claims are denied in many states. Across the country, victims are using their stories to try to change the systems that excluded them. They have organized rallies, testified at legislatures and met with dozens of lawmakers — with much success. Legislatures in more than half of U.S. states have passed measures to improve their programs over the last three years. We offer details on these legislative changes and tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
OPIOID-CRISIS-PURDUE-BANKRUPTCY-LOCALIZE IT: A federal court on Tuesday cleared the way for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s proposed settlement with state and local governments across the U.S. and other entities to be finalized. It’s among the largest and most high-profile settlements of its kind, but it’s far from the only one. State and local governments are figuring out how they’re going to use money from opioid settlements with drugmakers, distribution companies and, in some cases, pharmacies. The settlements were designed to avoid some of the pitfalls of the big national deals between states and tobacco companies in the 1990s, which saw spending go to government priorities that had nothing to do with the direct damage inflicted by tobacco. But advocates still worry about the details of how the opioid money will be spent and who gets the power in deciding. We point you to state data and offer tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
2020 CENSUS-LOCALIZE IT: America got older, faster during the decade ended in 2020. New census figures released Thursday show the share of U.S. residents age 65 or older ballooned by more than a third from 2010 through 2020, while the share of children declined, particularly those under age 5. Aging was propelled by the two largest cohorts in the U.S.: more baby boomers turning 65 and millennials moving later into their 20s and 30s. Also, fewer children were born between 2010 and 2020. The most recent census was the first since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. The survey showed same-sex households made up 1.7% of households that included couples. Find the latest Localize It guides.
BIRTH TO DEATH-LOCALIZE IT: To be Black anywhere in America is to struggle with health problems from birth to death. Black Americans are more likely than white people to die during childbirth, suffer from asthma, mental health troubles, high blood pressure, and Alzheimer’s. The reasons are myriad: worse access to adequate medical care, neighborhoods that are polluted, lack of healthy food choices, mistrust of doctors. But the core problem is racism over centuries that afflicts Black people from cradle to grave. We direct you to state and local data and offer tips for telling this story in your community. Find the latest Localize It guides.
With audio guide: BIRTH TO DEATH-LOCALIZE IT-PANEL DISCUSSION
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.
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VIDEO
McCarthy confident debt ceiling vote will pass
Ripple effects of Hollywood writers’ strike spread beyond studios
DOT proposes rule requiring automatic emergency brakes
People in Alabama record SpaceX capsule re-entry
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AUDIO
How and when to remove children from their homes? A federal lawsuit raises thorny questions
Brother: Authorities told family that body of missing Missouri ER doctor was found in Arkansas
Jaguar recalls I-Pace electric vehicles due to fire risk in batteries made by LG Energy Solution
Al Pacino, 83, and Noor Alfallah, 29, are expecting a baby
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U.S. STORIES
DEBT LIMIT — The debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial House vote. President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy are working to assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent. Biden and McCarthy are rushing to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default in less than week. Despite deep disappointment from hard-right Republicans that budget cuts don’t go far enough, McCarthy insists he’ll have the votes to ensure approval. He said the package is a “small step” toward tackling the U.S. debt load and he’ll next set up a bipartisan commission to probe the issue. SENT: 900 words, photos, video, audio.
— With: DEBT LIMIT-WORK RULES
VICTIM COMPENSATION-REFORMS — An Associated Press examination found that more than half of state legislatures in recent years have passed changes to their state victim compensation programs, where thousands of people turn each year for help with funeral costs, medical bills or other expenses after becoming the victim of a violent crime. It’s also where the AP found that a disproportionate number of Black families and victims were denied help in many states, often for subjective reasons rooted in racial bias. Those denied victims have largely driven the changes at legislatures and are advocating for a federal overhaul of compensation guidelines that officials at the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime confirm is underway. SENT: 1,580 words, photos, video.
— With: VICTIM COMPENSATION-REFORMS-TAKEAWAYS
SUPREME COURT-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION — After bans on affirmative action in states from California to Florida, colleges have tried a range of strategies to achieve a diverse student body. Many have given greater preference to low-income families, and some started admitting top students from communities across their states. But after years of experimentation, there’s no clear solution, and some states requiring race-neutral policies have seen drops in Black and Hispanic enrollments. Now, as the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, colleges nationwide could soon face the same test, with some bracing for setbacks that could erase decades of progress on campus diversity. SENT: 1,240 words, photos.
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