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This information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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.
SOUTH CAROLINA
TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS-WOOD
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Attorney Lin Wood, who filed legal challenges seeking to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, is relinquishing his law license, electing to retire from practicing rather than face possible disbarment. Wood asked officials in his home state of Georgia on Tuesday to “retire” his law license, a move that comes as multiple states have sought to discipline him for falsely claiming that Trump won the 2020 election. Dozens of lawsuits making such allegations were rejected by the courts across the country. Georgia officials had been weighing whether to disbar Wood. In May, a Michigan watchdog group in filed a complaint against Wood and eight other Trump-aligned lawyers alleging misconduct for a suit there. By Meg Kinnard. SENT: 500 words, photo.
SMALL PLANE CRASH-SOUTH CAROLINA
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Five people are dead after a single-engine plane crashed over the weekend in a South Carolina coastal resort town. Officials say Sunday’s fiery wreck near a golf course in North Myrtle Beach killed all four passengers and the pilot. The Myrtle Beach Sun News reports that Horry County’s chief deputy coroner said one person died shortly after being taken to a regional hospital while the others died at the crash. The names of the victims and cause of the crash remain undisclosed. SENT: 140 words, photos.
____
VIRGINIA
RIP CURRENT RESCUES-VIRGINIA
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Strong rip currents prompted lifeguards to pull about 200 swimmers from the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia and North Carolina over the holiday weekend. Tom Gill is chief of the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service. He told The Virginian-Pilot that the city’s more than 180 rescues was a high number, even for a holiday weekend. Authorities reported 21 rescues on North Carolina’s Hatteras Island. The rescues in Virginia and North Carolina follow at least 10 deaths last month that authorities attributed to rip currents along the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama and Florida. So far this year, the National Weather Service reports that 57 people have died this year in the U.S. because of rip currents, as of July 1. SENT: 380 words.
____
MARYLAND/DELAWARE
WRONGFUL CONVICTION-COMPENSATION
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland board approved $2.9 million in compensation for a man who was wrongly imprisoned for more than 30 years, including a decade on death row, for murders he did not commit. By Brian Witte.
WAGE SETTLEMENT-CORRECTIONS
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland board approved a $13 million settlement to resolve claims of unpaid wages at the state’s corrections department. By Brian Witte.
MARYLAND PARTY-SHOOTING
SALISBURY, Md. — A Maryland sheriff’s office says a 14-year-old boy was killed and six other people were injured in a shooting at a Fourth of July block party on the Eastern Shore. The Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office says its criminal investigation division responded to a report of a shooting early Wednesday in Salisbury. The sheriff’s office says investigators determined that seven people were shot and one victim, a 14-year-old boy, died at a hospital. The other six victims were being treated at a hospital, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening. Capt. Timothy Robinson says no arrests have been made, but there is an active investigation. SENT: 150 words, audio.
MASS-KILLINGS-LIST
The latest mass killing in the United States happened Monday night in Philadelphia. It was part of the gun violence that flared this week as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July, leaving more than a dozen dead and almost 60 wounded in Washington, D.C, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Texas and Florida. Here’s what happened in each of the 29 U.S. mass killings since January.
____
SPORTS
BBA–ORIOLES-YANKEES
NEW YORK — Dean Kremer (8-4, 5.04 ERA) pitches for the Baltimore Orioles against Giancarlo Stanton and the New York Yankees, who have won the first two games of this four-game series between AL East playoff contenders. New York may recall right-hander Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start. By Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Game starts 7:05 p.m.
BBN–REDS-NATIONALS
The Cincinnati Reds turn to RHP Graham Ashcraft in the third game of their series at Washington, seeking a fourth consecutive victory. First-time All-Star RHP Josiah Gray (6-6, 3.30) starts for the Nationals. By Byron Kerr. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts at 7:05 p.m. EDT
SOC–CHARLOTTE FC-NEW YORK CITY FC
The Charlotte FC plays at the New York City FC. UPCOMING: 150 words, more on merit.
____
LOCALIZATION:
MATERNAL MORTALITY-LOCALIZE IT: The United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality among wealthy nations. A new state-by-state study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association details which racial or ethnic communities saw the highest increases in maternal mortality between 1999 and 2019, as well as states and regions of the U.S. where the rates are high. We show you how to find your state’s data and provide ideas for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
MOMS FOR LIBERTY-LOCALIZE IT: Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled extremist for its attacks on inclusion in schools, is looking to take over more school boards and get involved in other education races in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up a clash with teachers unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools. We offer a look at the group’s background and various chapters and provide reporting pathways to explore. Find the latest Localize It guides.
NEW LAWS-LOCALIZE IT: New state laws take effect this month in states across the U.S. Some impose restrictions on abortion or gender-affirming treatments for minors. Others raise or lower taxes, and tighten or loosen gun laws — sometimes depending on whether the state legislature is led by Democrats or Republicans. We offer tips for covering some of the major themes in these laws. Find the latest Localize It guides.
SUPREME-COURT-STUDENT-LOANS-LOCALIZE IT:The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel or reduce student loan debts for millions of borrowers. Find the latest Localize It guides.
SUPREME COURT-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION-LOCALIZE IT: The conservative Supreme Court has struck down affirmative action in college admissions and appears poised to overturn Biden’s student loan forgiveness. What does that say to students of color, who have been saddled with outsize student loans and who face more difficult paths to college enrollment? We offer tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
LEFT BEHIND BARS-PELL GRANTS: Thousands more inmates will graduate with college degrees as the federal government increases Pell Grants for those behind bars. At California’s Folsom Prison, the programs are lifechanging for those who get the degrees. We share a report with state enrollment numbers and demographic data and offer tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
BROADBAND-STATES-LOCALIZE IT: The Biden distribution’s plan for sending $42.5 billion in federal grant money to the states in the push to bring broadband connectivity to every household in the U.S. includes accountability measures and gives the states a six-month window to submit plans to distribute the money. We point you to broadband and funding maps and offer suggestions for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
____
VIDEO
9 people shot and wounded in D.C., including 2 juveniles
Families of Americans held abroad call for action
Biden greets crowd waiting for July 4 fireworks
____
AUDIO
Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized
1 dead, 6 hurt in July Fourth block party shooting on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as markets worldwide pull back
Revelers across the US brave heat and rain to celebrate Fourth of July
____
U.S. STORIES
JULY 4 VIOLENCE — Mass shootings broke out at festivals, block parties and other gatherings in a handful of cities this week as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July. Gun violence that flared in Washington, D.C, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Texas and Florida left more than a dozen dead and about 60 wounded — including children as young as 2 years old. In Shreveport, Louisiana, four people were killed and 10 others wounded late Tuesday night, police said. Nine people outside enjoying the Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital were shot and wounded early Wednesday. On Monday night, a shooter in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia, killing five people and wounding two boys. SENT: 420 words, photos.
ELECTION 2023-CENTRAL PARK FIVE — A member of the “Central Park Five” is a step closer to winning a seat on the New York City Council. Yusef Salaam won more than half of the votes cast in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election. Salaam was 15 when he was wrongly arrested in the raping and beating of a white woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. Salaam and four other Black and Brown teenagers were wrongly convicted and spent years in prison before they were exonerated. Yusef Salaam prevailed over state Assembly members Al Taylor and Inez Dickens in the primary. SENT: 710 words, photo.
EDUCATION-RANSOMWARE-CRISIS — Ransomware gangs have been stealing confidential documents from schools and dumping them online. The documents describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents — even suicide attempts. Rich in digitized data, the nation’s schools are prime targets for far-flung criminal hackers, who are assiduously locating and scooping up sensitive files that not long ago were committed to paper in locked cabinets. Districts are ill-equipped to respond. Three months after an attack on the Minneapolis district that dumped sexual assault case files online, administrators have not delivered on their promise to inform individual victims. Unlike for hospitals, no federal law exists to require this notification from schools. SENT: 1,470 words, photos, audio.
HOTTEST DAY GLOBALLY — Scientists at the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer project calculate that entire planet sweltered to the unofficial hottest day in human recordkeeping July 3 and then soared past that to an even hotter day on July 4. It comes on top of months of record warmth in the North Atlantic, record low sea ice in Antarctica and a strengthening El Nino. Temperatures across the globe, with cities in China, Canada, Peru and the United States setting high marks for heat. Greenhouse gases are trapping heat on Earth and the El Nino, a natural warming in part of the Pacific Ocean, adds to the human-caused heat. SENT: 950 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.
