Good evening. Here's a look at how AP’s news coverage is shaping up in the Rockies. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to:

The Denver AP Bureau at 303-825-0123 or apdenver@ap.org

The Cheyenne AP Bureau at 307-632-9351 or apcheyenne@ap.org

The Helena AP Bureau at 406-442-7440 or apmontana@ap.org

Rockies News Editor Matt Volz can be reached at 406-442-7440 or mvolz@ap.org.

A reminder: this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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. Advisories and digests will keep you up to date. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org.

All times are Mountain.

Some TV and radio stations will receive broadcast versions of the stories below, along with all updates.

___

COLORADO:

COLORADO-STATE OF STATE

DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis urged lawmakers Thursday to join him in combatting income inequality in a state where an economic boom has left too many behind, and he placed a particular emphasis on healthcare costs as crucial to that fight. Delivering his second state of the state address to a Legislature in the control of fellow Democrats, Polis threw his weight behind a drive to create a state-administered public option for health insurance. By James Anderson. SENT: 650 words, photos.

COAL CLOSURES-TRI STATE

DENVER — Two coal-fired power plants and a coal mine in Colorado and New Mexico will close, the utility Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced Thursday. Tri-State, which serves 43 electric associations in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nebraska, announced the closures as part of its Responsible Energy Plan, the Denver Post reports. SENT: 570 words.

STORAGE UNIT-DEAD BOY

DENVER — The father of a 7-year-old boy whose body was found in a storage unit pleaded guilty in his death on Thursday under a plea deal with prosecutors. Leland Pankey, 40, pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death and tampering with a deceased body in the death of Caden McWilliams but prosecutors dropped a murder charge. He will face between 16 to 72 years when he is sentenced Feb. 28. SENT: 330 words.

DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT SETTLED

DENVER — An insurance company has agreed to pay $20.5 million to settle claims that it discriminated against black and female employees in Denver and Nashville, Tennessee. A complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed black employees at Jackson National Life Insurance were passed over for promotions and were paid less than their white counterparts, The Denver Post reported Thursday. The complaint also outlined a hostile work environment that included sexual harassment, racially demeaning cartoons and slurs. SENT: 270 words.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOOTING

COLORADO SPRINGS — A man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015 was once again deemed incompetent to stand trial in state court on Thursday. No new information about Robert Dear had been received from the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo in time for the periodic hearing to review his status so a judge ruled that Dear was still considered incompetent. SENT: 210 words.

WILDFIRES-UNHEALTHY SMOKE

PARADISE, Calif. — Increasingly intense wildfires that have scorched forests from California to Australia are stoking worry about long-term health impacts from smoke exposure in affected cities and towns. , Researchers are tracking respiratory problems suffered by survivors and people in downwind communities, work that has far-reaching implications as climate change turns some regions of the globe drier and more fire-prone. By Matthew Brown. SENT: 1,490 words, photos.

TRUMP-ENVIRONMENT

WASHINGTON — President Trump proposes rolling back enforcement of a landmark environmental law, reducing federal oversight of many major projects, from pipelines to commercial development, to speed the approval process. By Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 570 words, photos.

IN BRIEF:

— OLD FAITHFUL TRESPASSING-SENTENCE — Two men who pleaded guilty to trespassing on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park last fall were sentenced to 10 days in jail and have been banned from the park for five years. (With AP Photo)

— HOUSING SALE OFFER DECLINED — City officials in Colorado have declined an offer from an Indiana-based company interested in buying multiple affordable housing complexes in the city.

SPORTS:

FBC-MOUNTAIN WEST-TV DEALS

DENVER — The Mountain West has agreed to six-year media rights deals with CBS Sports and Fox Sports that are worth a combined $270 million. The agreements include football and men's basketball. The deals begin in 2020-21 and run through the 2025-26 season, the conference announced Thursday. There are additional third-tier rights still in negotiation. By Pat Graham. SENT: 440 words.

FBC-MEMPHIS-MACINTYRE

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis has hired former Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre as defensive coordinator after he filled the same role at Mississippi this past season. New Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield announced the hire Thursday and called MacIntyre “the perfect fit to lead our defense.” The move is pending completion of state hiring protocols. SENT: 230 words.

FBN-NFL THIS WEEK

NEW YORK -- It’s back to work for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Same for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers and Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, too. By Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak Jr. UPCOMING: 1,100 words, photos by 4 p.m. With four previews, capsules: Vikings-49ers, Titans-Ravens, Texans-Chiefs, Seahawks-Packers.

BKC-PAC-12 THIS WEEK

No. 24 Arizona plays at No. 9 Oregon in the Pac-12's marquee game of the week. The Wildcats crushed rival Arizona State in its conference opener. The Ducks lost to Colorado before beating Utah. The game will include a match-up between two of the conference's best point guards, Oregon's Payton Pritchard and Arizona's Nico Mannion. SENT: 435 words, photos.

BKW--T25-PAC-12 DOMINANCE

LOS ANGELES -- With the success of Oregon, Oregon State and Stanford in recent seasons, the Pac-12 has been considered one of the most competitive conferences in women’s basketball. But it has made a huge impact nationally as this season nears the midway point. Four teams are ranked in the top eight in this week’s Associated Press Top 25, marking the first time that has happened in conference history. By Joe Reedy. SENT: 870 words, photos.

MONTANA:

WILDFIRES-UNHEALTHY SMOKE

PARADISE, Calif. — Increasingly intense wildfires that have scorched forests from California to Australia are stoking worry about long-term health impacts from smoke exposure in affected cities and towns. , Researchers are tracking respiratory problems suffered by survivors and people in downwind communities, work that has far-reaching implications as climate change turns some regions of the globe drier and more fire-prone. By Matthew Brown. SENT: 1,490 words, photos.

INFRASTRUCTURE BOND DELAYS

HELENA — An ongoing audit of Montana's Medicaid program threatens to delay or increase the costs of infrastructure projects approved by the Legislature, state officials said. The governor's budget office and the state health department are at odds with a Legislative Audit Division finding that says it's “reasonable” the federal government will require repayment of at least $130 million in Medicaid funds. SENT: 520 words.

TEEN TREATMENT-CHILDREN REMOVED-LAWSUITS

MISSOULA — Two more federal lawsuits have been filed against a now-closed teen treatment center in Montana alleging owners and employees physically and mentally abused children and forced them to work at the defendants' homes and businesses without pay. The lawsuits were filed within the past week in Missoula on behalf of families from Montana and Virginia. SENT: 230 words.

HELENA GUNSHOT DEATH-HEARING

HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has granted a hearing requested by a lobbyist and former firearms safety instructor who claims the judge was biased after he was sentenced to prison in October in the accidental shooting death of his hunting partner in Helena. SENT: 200 words.

TRUMP-ENVIRONMENT

WASHINGTON — President Trump proposes rolling back enforcement of a landmark environmental law, reducing federal oversight of many major projects, from pipelines to commercial development, to speed the approval process. By Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 570 words, photos.

IN BRIEF:

— LIVESTOCK PAYMENTS — The state of Montana has made more payments to ranchers for livestock killed by predators in 2019 than any previous year.

— OLD FAITHFUL TRESPASSING-SENTENCE — Two men who pleaded guilty to trespassing on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park last fall were sentenced to 10 days in jail and have been banned from the park for five years.

— ELECTION 2020-CANDIDATE FILING — Candidate filing for the 2020 election in Montana is underway.

— GRAND TETON-MOUNTAIN GOATS — Foul weather has postponed plans to kill nonnative mountain goats in Grand Teton National Park.

___

WYOMING:

COAL CLOSURES-TRI STATE

DENVER — Two coal-fired power plants and a coal mine in Colorado and New Mexico will close, the utility Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced Thursday. Tri-State, which serves 43 electric associations in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nebraska, announced the closures as part of its Responsible Energy Plan, the Denver Post reports. SENT: 570 words.

WILDFIRES-UNHEALTHY SMOKE

PARADISE, Calif. — Increasingly intense wildfires that have scorched forests from California to Australia are stoking worry about long-term health impacts from smoke exposure in affected cities and towns. , Researchers are tracking respiratory problems suffered by survivors and people in downwind communities, work that has far-reaching implications as climate change turns some regions of the globe drier and more fire-prone. By Matthew Brown. SENT: 1,420 words, photos.

TRUMP-ENVIRONMENT

WASHINGTON — President Trump proposes rolling back enforcement of a landmark environmental law, reducing federal oversight of many major projects, from pipelines to commercial development, to speed the approval process. By Ellen Knickmeyer. SENT: 570 words, photos.

IN BRIEF:

— TETON PASS AVALANCHE — An avalanche trapped a delivery truck and closed a pass in western Wyoming.

— OLD FAITHFUL TRESPASSING-SENTENCE — Two men who pleaded guilty to trespassing on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park last fall were sentenced to 10 days in jail and have been banned from the park for five years.

— WYOMING-INTERSTATE TOLLS — Wyoming lawmakers will try again to enact tolls on Interstate 80.

GRAND TETON-MOUNTAIN GOATS — Foul weather has postponed plans to kill nonnative mountain goats in Grand Teton National Park.

SPORTS:

FBC-MOUNTAIN WEST-TV DEALS

DENVER — The Mountain West has agreed to six-year media rights deals with CBS Sports and Fox Sports that are worth a combined $270 million. The agreements include football and men's basketball. The deals begin in 2020-21 and run through the 2025-26 season, the conference announced Thursday. There are additional third-tier rights still in negotiation. By Pat Graham. SENT: 440 words.

___

If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to apdenver@ap.org, apcheyenne@ap.org or apmontana@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.