Hello! Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up in the Mid-Atlantic, covering North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. 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. AP-Mid-Atlantic News Editor Steve McMillan can be reached at 804-643-6646 or smcmillan@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A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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

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TODAY'S TOP STORIES

NORTH CAROLINA

XGR—LEGISLATURE RETURNS

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Republicans in the General Assembly fell short on Tuesday trying to overturn Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes on teacher pay and the budget, ensuring their spending impasse will extend into spring and perhaps longer. On a party-line vote, the Senate failed to override Cooper's veto of a measure that would have enacted pay raises for teachers, teacher assistants, school custodians and other staff at least at levels contained in the larger two-year budget Cooper also vetoed last June. By Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 710 words.

PROLIFIC MAIL THIEF

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for roaming neighborhoods after dark, stealing mail from mailboxes and then cashing thousands of dollars in pilfered checks, prosecutors said Tuesday. Since at least 2016, Erik Magana's scheme targeted affluent neighborhoods in several North Carolina towns including Charlotte, Davidson and Gastonia as well as Fort Mill, South Carolina, according to court documents. Authorities say he would drive up to mailboxes, reach his hand through the window of the car and take mail that residents had failed to bring inside after daytime delivery. Authorities documented mail stolen from at least 1,300 victims. By Jonathan Drew. SENT: 440 words.

STORM DAMAGE-FUNDING

NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, N.C. — The Army Corps of Engineers will award $281 million to a North Carolina city and county heavily impacted by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. The Corps will release $237 million to Surf City/ North Topsail Beach and $44.5 million to Carteret County for the locations to pursue damage reduction projects, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr announced in a statement obtained by news outlets Monday. SENT: 200 words.

GREEN BERET THEFT

RALEIGH, N.C. — A former U.S. Army Green Beret has pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to steal money from the government that was meant to support the armed forces' mission in Afghanistan, prosecutors said. The Raleigh-based U.S. Attorney's office said in a news release that William Todd Chamberlain, 46, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and receiving stolen government property. When he's sentenced at a later date, he'll face as many as 15 years in prison. By Jonathan Drew SENT: 510 words.

IN BRIEF:

— MARINERS-SUNKEN BOAT — The body of a fisherman who disappeared after his boat capsized on the North Carolina coast has been found, a sheriff's office said.

— HOMELESS MAN KILLED — A homeless man sleeping under a truck in North Carolina was killed when the vehicle ran over him, police confirmed.

— SHARK BITE-NORTH CAROLINA — A North Carolina man taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather was bitten by a shark while surfing off the coast Monday afternoon.

— ATLANTA BRAVES STADIUM — The Atlanta Braves say they'll soon reveal a new name for their stadium in the city's northwest suburbs. The stadium has been called SunTrust Park since it opened in 2017. Atlanta-based SunTrust later merged with Charlotte, North Carolina-based BB&T to create a bank known as Truist.

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VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Democrats argued for years that Republicans abused their majority status by drawing gerrymandered legislative and congressional districts that gave the GOP an unfair advantage on Election Day. Now that they are in charge, Democrats say they still favor redistricting reform, but are split on how to do it. By Alan Suderman. SENT: 690 words.

EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT-VIRGINIA

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia moved a step closer to ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment on Tuesday, even as the measure's future nationally remains in doubt. A House committee approved a resolution to ratify the gender equality measure, which advocates hope will become the next amendment to the U.S. Constitution. By Sarah Rankin. SENT: 270 words, AP Photos.

SWATTING SCHEME-VIRGINIA

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The U.S. Justice Department has charged a former Virginia college student with calling in fake emergencies to prompt law enforcement responses, in coordination with a group the FBI labelled as sympathetic to neo-Nazi ideology. John William Kirby Kelley, 19, was charged last week with conspiracy to make threats. He's accused of being part of a network that “shared racist views” and had a “particular disdain for African Americans and Jewish people,” according to an FBI affidavit unsealed Friday. It says the group targeted such people in so-called swatting attacks coordinated in online chatrooms. Swatting is a practice in which fake emergencies are called in to authorities to draw a large law enforcement response. SENT: 320 words.

IN BRIEF:

— CONFEDERATE FLAG-DRESS CODE — A county school board in Virginia has decided not to update its dress code to ban displays of the Confederate flag.

— RAPE CONVICTION-COMPENSATION — A man wrongly convicted of rape in northern Virginia more than four decades ago would receive almost $160,000 under legislation pending in the General Assembly.

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MARYLAND/ DELAWARE

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE

DES MOINES, Iowa — New tension between the Democrats' progressive stars threatened to shake up the party's presidential nomination fight Tuesday night in the final debate showdown before primary voting begins. Just six candidates gathered in Des Moines, each eager to seize a dose of final-days momentum on national television before Iowa's Feb. 3 caucuses. But a sudden “he-said, she-said” dispute over gender involving two longtime allies, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, loomed over the event. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 830 words.

XGR-OPENING DAY

DOVER, Del. — House and Senate members will gather Tuesday afternoon to open the 2020 session of the General Assembly. While some bills have already been filed in advance of the session, opening day is typically one marked by ceremony, rather than substance.Delaware lawmakers convene this year's legislative session, with gun control proposals and marijuana legalization among the unresolved issues carried over from last year. By Randall Chase. SENT: 140 words. Will be updated.

BALTIMORE CRIME-MARYLAND BUDGET

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan highlighted initiatives to fight violent crime in Baltimore, improve education statewide and protect the environment Tuesday in his budget plan for the next fiscal year. Hogan, a Republican, referenced a violent weekend in Maryland's largest city in calling on lawmakers to support his crime-fighting proposals this session. By Brian Witte. SENT: 550 words, AP Photos.

GOP CHAIRWOMAN REMOVAL

GEORGETOWN, Del. — A Delaware county Republican committee has voted to remove its vice chairwoman after she made comments criticized by some as anti-Semitic. The Sussex County GOP expressed no confidence in Nelly Jordan by just two votes during an hourslong discussion on Monday, news outlets reported. The committee will fill Jordan's position temporarily until the next election. SENT: 220 words.

IN BRIEF:

— HISPANIC THREATS — A Maryland man pleaded guilty Tuesday to posting threats on Facebook that he planned to kill Hispanics in Florida and elsewhere.

— MS-13 GANG-MARYLAND — A Maryland judge has sentenced a teenager to 50 years in prison for his role in the killing of a 14-year-old girl who was beaten and slashed with a machete in a gang-related attack last year.

— DOVER POLICE CHIEF— Officials in Delaware’s capital city have confirmed a Pennsylvania police captain as the department's new chief.

— RESTAURANT DEPOT SHOOTING— Federal authorities say a man has pleaded guilty and another one has been convicted in a 2018 Baltimore warehouse shooting.

— POLICE DOG-GIRLFRIEND BITTEN— A sheriff's office in Maryland says a K-9 who bit his handler's girlfriend on two separate occasions will be reassigned.

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SPORTS

NASCAR-SHORT TRACK RULES

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has changed the rules on its aerodynamic package for short tracks and road courses because the racing didn't improve at those venues under rules introduced last season. NASCAR had been fairly adamant the rules package would remain unchanged but reversed course late last season when it was evident the racing clearly had suffered at smaller tracks. The most glaring issue was a ho-hum penultimate race at Phoenix Raceway, which this season will host the championship finale. By Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. SENT: 280 words.

BKC--T25-DUKE-CLEMSON

CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 3 Duke tries to stay undefeated in the ACC as the Blue Devils head to Clemson on Tuesday night. The Tigers are trying to do what they have done only once in their ACC history — beat North Carolina and Duke back to back. UPCOMING: 600 words, AP photos. Game starts at 7 p.m. EST.

BKC--T25-MARYLAND-WISCONSIN

MADISON, Wis. — No. 17 Maryland looks to avoid back-to-back losses in Big Ten play when the Terrapins head to Wisconsin to face Greg Gard's Badgers. By Keith Jenkins. UPCOMING: 600 words, AP photos. Game starts at 8 p.m. CT.

BKC--VIRGINIA TECH-WAKE FOREST

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest looks to stop a two-game skid when it hosts Virginia Tech on Tuesday night. UPCOMING: 600 words. Game starts at 8 p.m.