Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EST. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.

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Adds BORDER WALL, TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-OATH BOOK, PRO-GUN RALLY-VIRGINIA, ELECTIONS-GEORGIA-VULNERABLE SERVER, NORTHWEST STORM, BRITAIN-IRAN-PLANE CRASH, KILLER NURSE, COMCAST-PEACOCK-STREAMING, POE HOUSE-DESIGNATION, RIGHT WHALES-INJURED CALF, FBN-CHEESEHEAD-TOUR

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US-IMMIGRATION COURTS — The nation's immigration court system is shouldering crushing caseloads, chaos and confusion. Dysfunctional for years, the system has grown worse following a surge in asylum seekers and the Trump administration’s crackdown on the southwest border and illegal immigration. The AP visited immigration courts in 11 cities during a 10-day period in the fall, observing how massive caseloads and shifting policies have increased the turmoil. By Kate Brumback, Deepti Hajela and Amy Taxin. SENT: 3,500 words, photos, video. An abridged version of 1,550 words is available.

ELECTION 2020-BUTTIGIEG-POLICE -- Lingering criticism over Pete Buttigieg’s demotion of a popular black police chief when Buttigieg was mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has raised questions about whether the presidential candidate can attract the support of African Americans. Buttigieg has said he was saving the chief from possible federal criminal charges. But interviews and documents obtained by The Associated Press paint a more complicated picture. By Michelle R. Smith. SENT: 3,150 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,150 words is available.

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TOP STORIES ______________

TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT — The U.S. Senate opens the impeachment trial of President Trump with quiet ceremony— senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of “impartial justice” as jurors, the lead House prosecutor formally reading the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,160 words photos, video. With TRUMP IMPEACHMENT-ROBERTS — Chief Justice John Roberts is likely to play a modest role when he presides over the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. By Mark Sherman. SENT: 680 words, photos, video.

TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-UKRAINE ASSISTANCE — The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Trump's impeachment, a federal watchdog agency finds. By Andrew Taylor and Zeke Miller. SENT: 480 words, photo.

TRUMP-TRADE — The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a new North American trade pact that rewrites the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. Passage of the measure gives President Trump a major policy victory before senators turns their full attention to his impeachment trial. By Kevin Freking. SENT: 780 words, photos.

RUSSIA-PUTIN — President Vladimir Putin fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister. SENT: 960 words, photos. With RUSSIA-NEW PRIME MINISTER — Next Russian PM a career bureaucrat with no political desire. SENT: 580 words, photos.

BORDER WALL — Defense officials say the Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon to fund the construction of 270 miles of border wall this year as part of a counter-drug effort. By Lolita C. Baldor. SENT: 500 words, photo.

ELECTION 2020-IOWA CAUCUS RULES — New rules that will be implemented for the Feb. 3 Iowa caucus could give presidential candidates an unprecedented opportunity to spin the results. In previous years, the Iowa Democratic Party reported just one number: the number of state delegates won by each candidate. For the first time, the party will this year report two other numbers — who had the most votes at the beginning and at the end of the night. By Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 1,600 words, photo. With ELECTION 2020-IOWA CAUCUS RULES-Q&A —How the new rules could muddle the results. SENT: 760 words, photo.

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UNITED STATES-UKRAINE — Ukraine's announcement that it's opening an investigation into alleged surveillance of the U.S. ambassador comes as welcome relief to many in America's diplomatic corps. But the State Department's silence on the matter has alarmed current and former diplomats. By Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 1,100 words, photo.

TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-DOCUMENTS — A close associate of President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani claims Trump was directly involved in the effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-MEDIA — Journalists covering President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial face media access restrictions they say cripple their ability to do their job. By Ashraf Khalil. SENT: 530 words, photos.

TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT-OATH BOOK — Senate impeachment trials are so important that a simple, spoken oath is not enough. Senators also must sign their names on the creamy pages of a dark-covered oath book. SENT: 250 words, photos.

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RIGHT WHALES-INJURED CALF — Wounded baby whale gets antibiotic shot to improve grim odds. SENT: 430 words, photo.

POE HOUSE-DESIGNATION — Edgar Allan Poe house in Baltimore named literary landmark. SENT: 140 words, photo.

PANAMA-DEADLY EXORCISM — 7 killed, 14 tortured in Panama exorcism terror rituals. SENT: 510 words.

BRITAIN-FACIAL RECOGNITION — UK police use of facial recognition tests public's tolerance. SENT: 1100 words, photos.

SNOWBOUND WOMAN FOUND — The family of a woman with dementia who survived for six days in her snowbound SUV say they feared the worst. SENT: 260 words, photo.

FBN-CHEESEHEAD-TOUR — There’s no milk, bacteria, fermentation or refrigeration at this Wisconsin cheese factory. That’s because they are making foam cheeseheads. SENT: 220 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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BRITAIN-IRAN-PLANE CRASH — The governments of five countries that lost citizens when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner demanded that Tehran accept “full responsibility” and pay compensation to the victims’ families — though they had little to offer besides moral pressure to get Iran to comply. SENT: 620 words, photos.

SYRIA-CHILDREN — A new report by U.N.-backed investigators into Syria's war is for the first time focusing solely on the plight of the children caught up in the conflict: rape of girls, torture and forced military training of boys, bombing of schools and hospitals, among many other violations. SENT: 410 words, photos.

CENTRAL AMERICA-MIGRANTS — Less-organized migrants, tighter immigration control by Guatemalan authorities and the presence of U.S. advisers reduce the likelihood that the hundreds of migrants who departed Honduras will form anything like the cohesive procession the term “caravan” now conjures. SENT: 710 words, photos.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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TRUMP-RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS — In a bid to solidify his evangelical base, President Donald Trump is taking steps to give religious organizations easier access to federal programs and he reaffirmed students' rights to pray in public schools. By Collin Binkley and Elana Schor. SENT: 850 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-SANDERS-WARREN — Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are learning the hard way that, in a presidential primary, only one candidate comes out on top. They agree on the big ideas but have different visions on how to get there. By Will Weissert. SENT: 1,080 words, photos.

ELECTIONS-GEORGIA-VULNERABLE SERVER — A computer security expert says he found that a forensic image of the election server central to a legal battle over the integrity of Georgia elections showed signs that the original server was hacked. SENT: 870 words, photos. With ELECTION-ATTACKS — The FBI, in a change of policy, is committing to inform state officials if local election systems have been breached, federal officials tell The Associated Press. SENT: 710 words, photo.

Find more coverage on the 2020 U.S. Election s featured topic page on APNewsroom.

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NATIONAL __________

WHITE SUPREMACISTS ARRESTED — FBI agents have arrested a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist and two other men who are linked to a violent white supremacist group and were believed to be heading to a pro-gun rally next week in Virginia’s capital. SENT: 730 words, photos. With PRO-GUN RALLY-VIRGINIA — A judge upheld a ban on firearms at a pro-gun rally scheduled for next week in Virginia, rejecting a request from gun-rights groups who had sued to overturn it. SENT: 540 words, photos.

GEORGIA EXECUTION — Georgia’s parole board has spared the life of man hours ahead of his scheduled execution, commuting his sentence to life without the possibility of parole. SENT: 600 words, photos.

KILLER NURSE — A former Texas nurse suspected in the killing of dozens of children pleaded guilty in the 1981 death of an 11-month-old boy, receiving a life sentence that a prosecutor said should ensure she dies in prison. SENT: 560 words, photos, video.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-WEINSTEIN — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers went to court Thursday with a last-minute demand to halt jury selection and move his rape trial out of New York City, where they say intense publicity, protesters and even the consideration of supermodel Gigi Hadid as a juror have turned the case into a “media and entertainment circus.” SENT: 700 words, photos.

NORTHWEST STORM — Rural mountain communities outside Seattle that have been without power for days and cut off from the outside world by a series of winter storms that dumped several feet of unusual snow on parts of western Washington state saw some relief as convoys brought in food and supplies. SENT: 540 words, photos.

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HEALTH/SCIENCE

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AFRICA-MALARIA VACCINE — Babies in Malawi are receiving the first and only vaccine against malaria, one of the deadliest and most stubborn of diseases, in an unusual pilot program. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.

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RELIGION-MUSLIM GIRL-MEDIA EMPIRE — The MuslimGirl.com website was started by a New Jersey teenager in her bedroom as a way to defy Muslim stereotypes after 9/11. A decade later, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh has built it into an online magazine with a global audience. SENT: 970 words, photos.

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STARBUCKS-UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES — Starbucks, the home of the $4 latte, is expanding a program to open coffee shops in poor neighborhoods. The Seattle-based company plans to open or remodel 85 stores by 2025 in rural and urban communities across the U.S. Each store will have event space, and Starbucks will work with local United Way chapters to offer programs like youth job training. SENT: 850 words, photos.

MICROSOFT-CLIMATE PLEDGE — Microsoft says it will be 100% “carbon-negative” by 2030 by removing more carbon from the environment than it emits. SENT: 480 words, photo.

BOEING MAX-COMMITTEE — A government committee asked to review U.S. approval of new passenger planes after two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max has found that the system is safe and effective but could be improved. SENT: 720 words, photo.

COMCAST-PEACOCK-STREAMING — Paying subscribers of NBCUniversal's upcoming Peacock streaming service will get Premier League soccer matches unavailable on TV and late-night shows from Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers a few hours early. They'll also get original videos and episodes of returning broadcast series the day after they air. A free version of Peacock will include next-day access to first-year shows. SENT: 630 words, photo.

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SPORTS

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METS-BELTRAN OUT — Carlos Beltrán is out as manager of the New York Mets before a single game, the latest fallout from the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal that has rocked Major League Baseball. SENT: 1,260 words, photos.

AP-FBN—TITANS-CHIEFS-PREVIEW — The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans in the AFC championship game. For Chiefs coach Andy Reid it's one more opportunity to return to the Super Bowl. SENT: 1,320 words, photos.

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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

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GRAMMYWATCH-GLORIA GAYNOR — Gloria Gaynor won her first and only Grammy for “I Will Survive" in 1980. She now has a chance to win two more trophies thanks to her inspirational album “Testimony," which is nominated for best roots gospel album, and “Talking About Jesus,” which is up for best gospel performance. SENT: 970 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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