Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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BKN-NBA-LABOR — The NBA will have labor peace for years to come. The league and its players came to an agreement on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement, the NBA announced. It is still pending ratification, though that process is almost certainly no more than a formality. By Tim Reynolds. SENT: 540 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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SEVERE-WEATHER — A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas and collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois. By Andrew DeMillo. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, video.
TRUMP INDICTMENT-INVINCIBILITY — When Donald Trump steps before a judge next week to be arraigned in a New York courtroom, it will not only mark the first time a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges. It will also represent a reckoning for a man long nicknamed “Teflon Don,” who until now has managed to skirt serious legal jeopardy despite 40 years of legal scrutiny. By Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.
All related coverage: https://newsroom.ap.org/page/TrumpInvestigations
CONGRESS-DEBT CEILING — The most recent debates over increasing the nation’s borrowing authority generally have been contentious but resolved before markets started to panic. But this year, a new Republican majority in the House is itching for a spending showdown. They blame what they view as excessive federal spending for inflation and for the growing national debt. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 1,290 words, photos.
SWITZERLAND-CREADIT-SUISSE-UBS — The UBS takeover of embattled rival Credit Suisse has shaken Switzerland’s self-image and dented its reputation as a global financial center, analysts say, warning that the country’s prosperity could grow too dependent on a single banking behemoth. By Jamey Keaten. SENT: 1,110 words, photos.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-EXPLAINER — Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II is poised to enter a new phase in the coming weeks. With no suggestion of a negotiated end to the 13 months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defense minister said last week that a spring counteroffensive could begin as soon as April. By Barry Hatton. SENT: 830 words, photos.
TIK TOK-ATTORNEY — Under intense scrutiny from Washington that could lead to a potential ban, the top attorney for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance defended the social media platform’s plan to safeguard U.S. user data from China. By Haleluya Hadero. SENT: 920 words, photos.
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MORE ON TRUMP INDICTMENT
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TRUMP INDICTMENT-DEMOCRACY – The indictment against former President Donald Trump in a case involving a payoff to suppress revelations of an extramarital affair is raising concerns that it could undermine public confidence in what many see as far more important investigations into whether he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. By Gary Fields. SENT: 900 words, photos.
TRUMP INDICTMENT-POLITICIAN MUG SHOTS -- Donald Trump is the first former president ever to be indicted, but he’s not the first politician who will have a mug shot taken. Lawmakers arrested on past criminal charges have taken different approaches to their mug shots. While some are somber, others see them as an opportunity to rally supporters who believe the cases against them are politically motivated. By Will Weissert. SENT: 930 words, photos.
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR — Ukrainians marked the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha with calls for remembrance and justice after a brutal Russian occupation that left hundreds of civilians dead in the streets and in mass graves, establishing the town as a symbol of the war’s atrocities. SENT: 840 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-BELARUS — Russia and the U.S. clashed in the United Nations on Friday over Moscow’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which neighboring Ukraine denounced as a desperate Kremlin attempt to avoid military defeat and “threaten the world with nuclear apocalypse.” SENT: 590 words, photo.
RUSSIA-JOURNALIST — The arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges in Russia has news organizations based outside the country weighing for the second time in a year whether the risks of reporting there during wartime are too great. SENT: 820 words, photo. WITH: RUSSIA-INFAMOUS-PRISON -- Moscow prison for US reporter was used in Stalin’s purges. SENT: 710 words, photos.
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MORE NEWS
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VOTING MACHINES-DEFAMATION CASE — A Delaware judge’s ruling Friday set the stage for a dramatic springtime trial on whether Fox News bears financial responsibility for airing false allegations that a voting machine company rigged the 2020 presidential election against former President Donald Trump. By Randall Chase and David Bauder. SENT: 760 words, photos, audio.
ROMANIA-ANDREW-TATE — Andrew Tate, the divisive internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest, an official say. SENT: 520 words, photos.
MONUMENT-VALLEY-MITTEN-FORMATIONS — A sunset spectacle featuring towering rock formations that resemble mittens played out this week at Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border. SENT: 160 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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HARRIS-AFRICA — Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing for $7 billion in private-sector investments to help Africa prepare for the effects of climate change. The announcement comes as she wraps up her weeklong trip to the continent. By Chris Megerian. SENT: 350 words, photos.
LBJ-STOLEN-ELECTION-TAPES — In 1977, Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan had an exclusive interview with a South Texas election judge who detailed certifying false votes for Lyndon B. Johnson nearly three decades earlier. Johnson had won by an 87-vote margin in the 1948 Democratic primary runoff. Mangan’s story made headlines across the country. The audio recordings from his interviews for the story were posted Thursday on the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum’s archival website. SENT: 878 words, photos, audio.
UNITED STATES-VANUATU — The Biden administration says it will open an embassy in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in its latest move to blunt China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific. SENT: 330 words.
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NATIONAL
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COLORADO-SPRINGS-SHOOTING — Surveillance footage capturing the attack at a Colorado gay nightclub that left five people dead and 17 others wounded will not be made public until it is presented at trial, a judge has ruled. SENT: 490 words, photos.
NASHVILLE-SCHOOL-SHOOTINGS-VICTIMS — Family and friends of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three children who were killed in a school shooting in Nashville this week, remembered her Friday as a “shining light” and said farewell to a girl who loved art, music, animals and snuggling with her older sister on the couch. SENT: 480 words, photos.
LGBTQ-DRAG-LAWSUIT-TENNESSEE — A federal judge has temporarily blocked Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows just hours before it was set to go into effect, siding with a group that filed a lawsuit claiming the statute violates the First Amendment. SENT: 610 words.
MOTHER-DAUGHTER-KILLED The man named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter was charged with two counts of murder in their deaths, police in Washington state say. SENT: 390 words, photo.
MOTHER-SLAIN-MISSING-CHILD — The body of a 2-year-old Florida boy who had been the subject of a frantic search after his mother was slain was found Friday in a lake in the jaws of an alligator, police say. SENT: 360 words, photos.
OFFSHORE-WIND-FISHERIES — A joint study by two federal government scientific agencies and the commercial fishing industry documents numerous impacts that offshore wind power projects have on fish and marine mammals. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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INDIA CLIMATE-COAL POWER CRISIS — For the second year in a row, India’s government has ordered the nation’s coal-fired power plants to run at full power. But this year’s order is even more sweeping than last year’s — all coal and oil-fired generators will be maxed out for the entire summer, from April through June. Analysts say it will dramatically increase India’s already sky-high greenhouse gas emissions. SENT: 850 words, photos.
JAPAN-FUKISHIMA — Evacuation orders were lifted in small sections of Tomioka, a town just southwest of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant in time for the area’s popular cherry blossom season and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida joined a ceremony there to mark the reopening. SENT: 390 words, photos.
SUDAN-POLITICS — Sudan’s military leaders and pro-democracy forces will delay the signing of an agreement to usher in a civilian government, both sides said in a joint statement. SENT: 280 words.
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SPORTS
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BKW-NCAA--IOWA-SOUTH CAROLINA — Caitlin Clark overwhelmed the reigning champions with another sensational game, scoring 41 points to help Iowa spoil South Carolina’s perfect season with a 77-73 victory on Friday night in the Final Four. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. SENT: 930 words, photos.
BKW-NCAA-CHAMPIONSHIP-LOOKAHEAD — Caitlin Clark gets the national stage for one more game this season. Same with the Texas homecoming for Alexis Morris. The standout guards have made it a party of first-timers for the women’s NCAA championship game Sunday. By Schuyler Dixon. SENT: 590 words, photos.
BKW--NCAA-LSU-VIRGINIA TECH — Kim Mulkey is back in another national championship game, this time taking the flagship university from her home state there for the first time. It took LSU only two seasons to get there with the feisty and flamboyant dressed coach, and a big comeback in the national semifinal game that was quite an undercard Friday night. By Schuyler Dixon. SENT: 825 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.
