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
MEDICAID EXPANSION
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s health and human services secretary planned on Monday to discuss with reporters the timeline to begin the expansion of Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. Kody Kinsley said last month that expansion would be implemented starting Oct. 1 if state legislators gave its final OK to authorize it by later this week. But that deadline won’t be met as state budget negotiations have yet to be resolved. By Gary Robertson. UPCOMING: 400 words by 4 p.m.
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VIRGINIA
CHILE-STOLEN AT BIRTH
WASHINGTON — A 42-year-old Virginia man got to embrace his birth mother for the first time during a long-awaited family reunion in Valdivia, Chile. For months Jimmy Lippert Thyden has been on a journey to uncover the mysteries of his counterfeit adoption, and to reconnect with his biological mother, brothers and sister. Hospital workers took Maria Angelica Gonzalez’ son from her arms right after birth and later told her he had died. Over the past nine years, Nos Buscamos has orchestrated more than 450 reunions between adoptees and their birth families. The NGO estimates tens of thousands of babies were taken from Chilean families in the 1970s and 1980s. By Nathan Ellgren. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, video, audio.
BIDEN-SCHOOL VISIT
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are visiting a District of Columbia public middle school to welcome students back for the new year. The Bidens will head to Eliot-Hine Middle School in East Capitol Hill on Monday. The school serves about 300 students and is focused on socio-emotional support. The school building was recently renovated. Jill Biden is a longtime teacher and is the first first lady to continue her career outside the White House. Jill Biden teaches English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College, which is where she taught during the eight years her husband was President Barack Obama’s vice president. SENT: 170 words, photos.
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LOCALIZATION
ALTERNATIVE POLICING-MENTAL HEALTH-LOCALIZE IT: The Associated Press has found that 14 of the 20 most populous U.S. cities are experimenting with removing police from certain, non-violent 911 calls and sending behavioral health clinicians. Most programs were launched or expanded in the last few years, riding a groundswell of anger over police killings and nationwide call for reforms. Initiatives in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Columbus, Ohio, and Houston had combined annual budgets topping $123 million as of June. There’s no aggregate, comprehensive data yet on the programs’ effects, and their scope and public reception vary considerably. We list out the 14 cities with links to some of the programs along with resources and ideas for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
BROADBAND-AFFORDABILITY-LOCALIZE IT: One of the programs set up to ensure affordable internet for all is set to run out by the middle of 2024. The Affordable Connectivity Program’s primary allocation of $14.2 billion is projected to run out unless Congress takes steps to renew it. That could end access to affordable broadband for the more than 20 million households that use it. It also could hinder the Biden administration’s effort to bring connectivity to the people who need it most. With the clock ticking, the White House and advocacy groups are working to push Congress to extend the program this year. We provide data on how many eligible households are participating at the state- and congressional district-level along with suggested reporting threads and other tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
ELECTIONS 2024-EDUCATION-LOCALIZE IT: School board races have become hotly divided, with intense influence from outside groups and polarizing rhetoric, as education has vaulted to center stage in national politics. And in this upcoming November general election, school board races across several key states will be on the ballot. We provide tips for backgrounding candidates and an overview of conservative and progressive groups influencing races, plus ideas for questions to ask candidates that go beyond political talking points. Find the latest Localize It guides.
UKRAINIANS-TEMPORARY-LEGAL-STATUS-LOCALIZE IT: The Biden administration announced a major expansion of temporary legal status for Ukrainians already living in the United States, granting a reprieve for those who fled Russia’s invasion. The Homeland Security Department said the move is expected to make 166,700 Ukrainians eligible for Temporary Protected Status, up from about 26,000 currently. To qualify, Ukrainians must have been in the United States by last Wednesday, two days before the announcement. The temporary status was originally scheduled to expire on Oct. 19, 2023 but is being extended 18 months to April 19, 2025. The expansion comes as the administration extends Temporary Protected Status to people from a growing number of countries as part of a carrot-and-stick approach to immigration. We offer data resources and tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
PANDEMIC AID-GOVERNMENTS-LOCALIZE-IT: Thousands of local governments across the U.S. have reported spending nothing from their share of $350 billion of federal pandemic relief funds approved two years ago. But AP interviews with local and federal officials suggest that the publicly available data is misleading — pockmarked by differing interpretations over exactly what must be reported, lagging in timeliness and failing to account for some preliminary planning. We offer tips for localizing stories about how state and local governments are using their share of the pandemic aid. Find the latest Localize It guides.
EDUCATION-CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM-LOCALIZE IT: Across the country, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent, according to data compiled by Stanford University and The Associated Press. The absences added to the time that students missed during the school closures and pandemic disruptions, and cost them crucial time in classrooms as schools worked to help them recover from massive learning setbacks. We offer data on absenteeism for 40 states and tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
MEDICAID-STATES-LOCALIZE IT: Federal Medicaid officials are expressing concerns about the way some states are handling a massive eligibility review for millions of people on the government health-care program for lower-income residents. In some cases, people dialing into state call centers with questions about Medicaid have had to wait on hold for long periods, prompting some to simply hang up. Federal officials also have raised concerns about the high rates of people dropped from Medicaid for procedural reasons, such as not returning forms needed to renew their coverage. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently sent letters to all states and the District of Columbia reminding them of various federal regulations regarding Medicaid. We link to the letters and break out lists of states contacted about call center concerns and termination concerns, along with other resources and tips for localizing the story. Find the latest Localize It guides.
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AUDIO
Judge to hear arguments on Mark Meadows’ request to move Georgia election case to federal court
Biden is widely seen as too old for office, an AP-NORC poll finds. Trump’s got other problems
Tropical Storm Idalia forms in the Gulf of Mexico on a possible track toward the US, forecasters say
Biden and Harris will meet with King’s family on 60th anniversary of the March on Washington
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TOP STORIES
TRUMP INDICTMENT-CAPITOL RIOT — A judge has set a March 4, 2024, trial date for Donald Trump in the federal case in Washington charging the former president with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The decision from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday denied a defense request to push the trial back until April 2026, about a year and a half after the 2024 election. The decision also sets the trial later than the January date proposed by special counsel Jack Smith’s team. SENT: 700 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-AP POLL-BIDEN-TRUMP — Americans asked to describe the Democrat in the White House and the Republican best positioned to face him in next year’s election say President Joe Biden is “old” and “confused” and say former President Donald Trump is “corrupt” and “dishonest.” Unflattering portraits of Biden and Trump emerge clearly in an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, which asked an open-ended question about what comes to mind when people think of them. SENT: 1,200 words, photos. With AP POLL-BIDEN-TRUMP-AGE — Biden is widely seen as too old for office, an AP-NORC poll finds. Trump has problems of his own (sent).
FLORIDA-JACKSONVILLE-RACIST KILLINGS — By some measures, Jacksonville, Florida, was making strides to emerge from its racist past. Then three Black people were fatally shot by a young, white man as the city prepared for an annual commemoration of Ax Handle Saturday. A mob of white people descended on the city’s downtown 63 years ago and used baseball bats and ax handles to club peaceful Black demonstrators who were protesting segregation at a lunch counter. Some longtime residents say racism has once again become normalized because of the nation’s divisive politics. They say the deadly shooting over the weekend may be another example. SENT: 900 words, photos.,
TROPICAL WEATHER — The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Idalia is intensifying and expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches Florida’s Gulf coast. At 8 a.m. EDT Monday, the storm was about 90 miles off the western tip of Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. Forecasters say they expect Idalia to become a hurricane later Monday in the Gulf of Mexico, then curve northeast and reach Florida’s western coast on Wednesday. SENT: 620 words, video, photos, audio.
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