West Virginia News Digest

Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up today in West Virginia. Questions about today's coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the Charleston bureau at (304) 346-0897 or [email protected]. Beth Campbell is on the desk. News editor Scott Stroud can be reached at [email protected]. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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. All times are Eastern. If circumstances change before 6 p.m., a new digest will be sent reflecting those developments.

For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org.

Top Stories:

GOVERNOR'S RACE-JUSTICE

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice filed his and President Donald Trump's reelection paperwork on Thursday, ratcheting up his alignment with the president as he formally enters the 2020 campaign season.

Also:

COAL TRAIN BLOCKED

PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A group of Kentucky coal miners who blocked a railroad track for three days over unpaid wages have ended their protest, claiming victory with their paychecks.

In Brief:

—SCHOOL BUS-DUI CRASH, from Charleston: A Kanawha County school bus driver has been charged with a DUI after the vehicle was involved in a four-car collision that sent two students to the hospital Thursday morning.

—ATTEMPTED CHILD ABDUCTION, from Huntington: A trial date has been set for a West Virginia woman charged with making up a story about an Egyptian man trying to kidnap her child in a shopping mall.

—CLOROX PLANT, from Martinsburg: The Clorox Company says it plans to build a new manufacturing facility that would employ 100 workers in West Virginia.

—AIRPORT-GUNS, from Charleston: The federal Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that the number of guns found at West Virginia airports nearly doubled last year.

—VOTING-UPGRADES, from Charleston: Many voters casting ballots in West Virginia in 2020 will do so on new voting machines.

In Sports:

WEST VIRGINIA DEFENSE

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Chances are that West Virginia’s opponents don't have to dribble the ball past midcourt to the point of exhaustion anymore. But it comes at a cost. In bidding farewell for now to their full-court suffocating defense, the Mountaineers have doubled down on an even-greater priority: keeping teams out of the paint.

WEST VIRGINIA-THORN

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University will retire the number of basketball great Rod Thorn next month, athletic director Shane Lyons said Thursday.

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