Deep South News Digest Advisory

| January 16, 2020 4:05 PM

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

The Atlanta AP Bureau at 404-522-8971 or [email protected]

The Columbia AP Bureau at 803-799-5510 or [email protected]

The Montgomery AP Bureau at 334-262-5947 or [email protected]

The New Orleans AP Bureau at 504-523-3931 or [email protected]

The Jackson AP Bureau at 601-948-5897 or [email protected]

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

Deep South Editor Jim Van Anglen can be reached at 1-800-821-3737 or [email protected]. Administrative Correspondent Rebecca Santana can be reached at 504-523-3931 or [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 A reminder: this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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. Advisories and digests will keep you up to date.

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

GEORGIA (All times Eastern)

TOP STORIES:

IMMIGRATION COURTS

LUMPKIN, Ga. — In a locked, guarded courtroom in a compound surrounded by razor wire, Immigration Judge Jerome Rothschild waits -- and stalls. A Spanish interpreter is running late because of a flat tire. Rothschild tells the five immigrants before him that he’ll take a break before the proceedings even start. His hope: to delay just long enough so these immigrants won’t have to sit by, uncomprehendingly, as their futures are decided. By Kate Brumback, Deepti Hajela and Amy Taxin. SENT: 3,705 words.

AP Photos transref:NYAG401, transref:NYAG402, transref:NYAG403, transref:NYAG404, transref:NYAG405, transref:NYAG451, transref:NYAG407, transref:NYAG406, transref:NYAG408, transref:NYAG409, transref:NYAG410, transref:NYAG411, transref:NYAG412, transref:NYAG413, transref:NYAG414, transref:NYAG415, transref:GFX1983.

AP Video

IMMIGRATION COURTS-REMOTE LOCATION

LUMPKIN, Ga. — Immigrants being held in a detention center in remote Lumpkin, Georgia, face a host of challenges in fighting their cases. The town has few available resources, with only three immigration lawyers working there full time. There are no hotels, and many businesses in the downtown are shuttered. In the vacuum, a small network has sprung up to help the immigrants, offering them legal advice, places for the relatives to stay, and even gas cards for the families. One of two immigration attorneys who live in Lumpkin says it's critical to have an attorney physically present for detainees. By David Goldman and Kate Brumback. SENT: 870 words, photos.

GEORGIA EXECUTION

ATLANTA — Georgia’s parole board on Thursday spared the life of a prisoner just hours ahead of his scheduled execution, commuting his sentence to life without the possibility of parole. Jimmy Fletcher Meders, 58, had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection at 7 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Jackson. But the State Board of Pardons and Paroles released its decision granting him clemency around 1 p.m. By Kate Brumback. SENT: 621 words.

AP Photos transref:GAHO301.

XGR-STATE OF THE STATE

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said raising teacher pay is one of his top goals as he gave his second annual State of the State address Thursday, a stance that could put him on a collision course with legislative leaders who want to cut income taxes. The Republican governor announced that his budget proposal includes a $2,000 pay raise for public school teachers, the second part of a campaign promise for a $5,000 teacher pay raise. Kemp was able to secure a $3,000 raise for educators last year. By Ben Nadler and Jeff Amy. SENT: 705 words.

AP Photos transref:GAJB101, transref:GAJB103, transref:GAJB105, transref:GAJB102, transref:GAATJ201.

XGR-ONLINE SALES TAXES-GEORGIA

ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers have reached a deal to tighten sales tax collections by online businesses including Amazon, eBay and Airbnb. The House and Senate both passed a conference report Thursday, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. By Jeff Amy. SENT: 452 words.

US ELECTIONS-GEORGIA-VULNERABLE SERVER

BOSTON — 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. The server was left exposed to the open internet for at least six months, a problem the same expert discovered in August 2016. It was subsequently wiped clean in mid-2017 with no notice, just days after election integrity activists filed a lawsuit seeking an overhaul of what they called the state's unreliable and negligently run election system. By Frank Bajak. SENT: 1,022 words.

AP Photos transref:NYBZ430, transref:NYBZ429.

RIGHT WHALES-INJURED CALF

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Scientists succeeded in giving an antibiotic shot to a badly injured newborn whale they have been tracking off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, hoping to improve what experts stressed Thursday remain grim odds for the endangered sea animal. A crew of trained specialists got close enough to the injured right whale calf and its mother off the coast of Fernandina Beach, Florida, on Wednesday to inject the baby using a syringe fired from an air gun, said Barb Zoodsma, who oversees the right whale recovery program in the U.S. Southeast for the National Marine Fisheries Service. By Russ Bynum. SENT: 455 words.

AP Photos transref:FLHO101.

MLK EVENT-MILITARY CONTRACTOR

KENNESAW, Ga. — Some student groups at one of Georgia's largest universities say an executive of a defense contractor should not be speaking at Thursday's school-sponsored Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon. The Kennesaw State University students say his involvement goes against the civil rights leader's anti-war legacy and his message of nonviolence. The school says the MLK Legacy Luncheon speaker will be Roderick McLean, a vice president at Lockheed Martin. The university says the event is intended to honor King's legacy. But a statement from KSUnited and local civil rights leaders says the choice of speaker shows KSU's support of war. The students are planning an alternative event. SENT: 290 words.

ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN

MADISON, Wis. — Democrats know that to defeat President Donald Trump they need to do a better job motivating young voters like University of Wisconsin junior David Pelikan, one of about 40 students being trained this week to become organizers for the eventual presidential nominee. The training is part of a multimillion-dollar Democratic Party effort in eight key states. Pelikan and others are learning how to organize and be ready to start working for the nominee By Scott Bauer. SENT: 618 words.

IN BRIEF:

— RECORDING STUDIO-SHOOTING — Police in Atlanta say shots were fired at a recording studio that boasts clients such as Bruno Mars, T.I., Drake and other artists.

— JAIL DEATH — State investigators are looking into the death of a man who was being held in a Georgia jail.

IN SPORTS:

BKN—TIMBERWOLVES-HAWKS TRADE

MINNEAPOLIS — With the Minnesota Timberwolves committed to a new style of play, Jeff Teague didn't fit the trend. The Timberwolves traded the 11th-year veteran point guard to his original team Thursday in a three-player swap of backups with the Atlanta Hawks, who sent shooting guard Allen Crabbe in return. By Dave Campbell. SENT: 623 words.

AP Photos transref:MNCL116, transref:CXA121, transref:TNBD111.

SOUTH CAROLINA (All times Eastern)

TOP STORIES:

ELECTION 2020-IOWA CAUCUS RULES-Q&A

WASHINGTON — For the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party will report three sets of results from the party's presidential caucuses. And there is no guarantee that all three will show the same winner. Each set of results represents a different stage of the caucus. The new rules for the Feb. 3 contest were mandated by the Democratic National Committee in a bid to make the process more transparent. By Stephen Ohlemacher.

AP Photos transref:WX211.

TEACHER OF YEAR-ANTHEM PROTEST

UNDATED — A former Minnesota Teacher of the Year staged a protest at the College Football Playoff championship attended by President Donald Trump by taking a knee during the national anthem. Kelly Holstine was among top teachers from around the country attending Monday night's game at the Superdome in New Orleans in which LSU beat Clemson 42-25. SENT: 244 words.

IN BRIEF:

— ANIMAL MISTREATMENT — Someone concerned about the health of a puppy they bought in South Carolina led deputies to a puppy mill where more than 270 animals were being kept in deplorable conditions, Laurens County Sheriff Don Reynolds said.

— OFFICER SHOOTING-TRAFFIC STOP —Two deputies in South Carolina shot a man running away from a traffic stop after he fired at them first, authorities said.

— DNA-JOHN DOE — Investigators say new DNA testing shows an unidentified man found in southern Wisconsin in 1993 may have ties to an American Indian tribe in South Carolina and to people in Mexico

— ESCAPEE CAPTURED — A 16-year-old inmate who escaped from a South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice facility on Wednesday has been captured and returned to custody.

IN SPORTS:

BKW--T25-SOUTH CAROLINA-MISSOURI

COLUMBIA, Mo. — South Carolina travels to Missouri to take on the Tigers in the Gamecocks’ first game as the top-ranked women’s team in the country. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos. Game starts at 8:30 p.m.

FBC—CLEMSON-BRICE TRANSFER

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson backup quarterback Chase Brice has decided to transfer, he said Thursday on social media. Brice is a 6-foot-2, 230-pound redshirt sophomore from Grayson, Georgia, who had backed up Trevor Lawrence and Kelly Bryant the past two seasons. SENT: 205 words.

AP Photos transref:NCGB137.

ALABAMA (All times Central)

TOP STORIES:

UFC FIGHTER-MISSING STEPDAUGHTER

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama state senator announced plans to file a bill to revoke bond for more offenses in the wake of the death of a UFC heavyweight fighter’s stepdaughter. The proposal was inspired by the case of Aniah Blanchard, Sen. Cam Ward said Tuesday at a news conference in Montgomery, news outlets reported. SENT: 216 words.

HOMOPHOBIC SLURS-HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

MADISON, Ala. — The superintendent of an Alabama school district issued an apology after a group of high school baseball players shouted homophobic slurs at a same-sex couple. Students on the James Clemens High School baseball team drove by the home of Colin Tomblin and his partner, Jason, on Friday and yelled out homophobic slurs, according to Tomblin who posted a video of the incident on Facebook. SENT: 267 words.

CHILD SUICIDE-LAWSUIT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The mother of a 9-year-old girl who took her own life filed suit Thursday blaming the fourth-grader's death on educators she accused of ignoring the girl's complaints about months of bullying by a boy. Administrators and teachers at U.S. Jones Elementary School in the west Alabama town of Demopolis showed “deliberate and blatant indifference” to bullying McKenzie Adams endured before killing herself at her grandmother's home in December 2018, the lawsuit claimed. By Jay Reeves. SENT: 350 words.

MISSING WOMAN-ALABAMA

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A convicted sex offender has been charged in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama woman whose body was found in a shallow grave weeks after she texted a friend she was “in trouble." The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office charged Fredrick Hampton, 50, on Thursday with abuse of Paighton Houston's corpse. Hampton hasn't been charged with involvement in the 29-year-old's death, news outlets reported. He hasn't yet surrendered to authorities. SENT: 323 words.

JAZZ FEST

NEW ORLEANS — The Who, Stevie Nicks and Foo Fighters will join Lizzo, Lionel Richie, Lenny Kravitz, The Avett Brothers and Elvis Costello at the 2020 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, organizers announced Thursday. The festival, which annually celebrates the culture and heritage of New Orleans and Louisiana alongside performances by national and international artists, is scheduled over two weekends in the spring — April 23-26 and April 30-May 3 — at the Fair Grounds Race Course. More than 650 bands covering many genres of music will perform on 14 stages during the eight-day event. By Chevel Johnson. SENT: 370 words.

AP Photos transref:NYET510, transref:NYET511.

SUFFRAGE MEMORIAL-OHIO STATEHOUSE

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio's Statehouse would join a small number of others around the country with outdoor monuments dedicated to real women in U.S. history under a proposal Thursday to create a memorial to Ohio women who fought for voting rights. Currently, all statues of historical figures outside the Statehouse are of men, including Christopher Columbus, President William McKinley (a former Ohio governor), and seven Civil War generals including Ulysses S. Grant. By andrew Welsh-Huggins. SENT: 786 words.

AP Photos transref:RPWH101, transref:NY503, transref:NY504, transref:ALMON502, transref:WYLAR501.

IN BRIEF:

— SCHOOL BUS-FATAL CRASH — Authorities have identified a woman who died when a passenger vehicle and a school bus collided in Alabama, leaving a child with minor injuries.

— BURNING BOAT-RESCUE — Three people who abandoned their ship after it caught fire near the Gulf Coast have been rescued

— NEWARK AIRPORT-GUN — An Alabama man who allegedly had a gun in his luggage at Newark Liberty International Airport is now facing a weapons charge

LOUISIANA (All times Central)

TOP STORIES:

LOUISIANA EDUCATION SUPERINTENDENT

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana's statewide public school board began its search for a new education superintendent Thursday shortly after members took their oath of office for their new four-year term. A headhunter firm could be in place before the end of the month. By Melinda Deslatte. SENT: 399 words.

AP Photos transref:NY901.

TEACHER OF YEAR-ANTHEM PROTEST

JAZZ FEST

AP Photos transref:NYET510, transref:NYET511.

DISABLED ASYLUM SEEKER

NEW ORLEANS — A disabled Honduran man who is seeking asylum has been released from detention by immigration authorities in Louisiana, a civil rights group said Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana says Manuel Amaya Portillo, 23, was granted humanitarian parole and will stay with a sponsor in New Jersey while his asylum case plays out. By Kevin McGill. SENT: 300 words.

DEATH-GUNSHOT WOUND

BATON ROUGE, La. — An investigator who mistook a homicide as a fatal overdose was issued a letter of reprimand for the error from the Louisiana coroner's office where he works. W. Shane Tindall was found to be at fault for the misidentified cause of death, The Advocate reported, citing the letter by East Baton Rouge Coroner's Office chief of investigations Shane Evans, which was obtained through a public records request. SENT: 214 words.

IN BRIEF:

— WRONG-WAY FATAL — A driver going the wrong way on an interstate highway caused a four-vehicle wreck that killed an 83-year-old man, Louisiana State Police said Thursday.

— FIRE FATALITY — A Louisiana coroner has identified a 61-year-old man who was found dead inside a burning home that authorities determined didn't have working smoke detectors.

IN SPORTS:

FBN—ODELL BECKHAM-WARRANT

NEW ORLEANS — A misdemeanor simple battery warrant has been issued for Cleveland Browns wide receiver and former LSU star Odell Beckham Jr., police in New Orleans said Thursday. The warrant comes as video posted on social media appears to show Beckham swatting a security officer's buttocks during LSU's locker room victory celebration after Monday night's college national championship game in the Superdome. By Kevin McGill and Tom Withers. SENT: 506 words.

AP Photos transref:NY182.

FBC—BAYLOR-ARANDA

UNDATED — Baylor was finalizing a deal Thursday to make LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda the new coach of the Bears, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Big 12 school was not ready to make any official announcement on Matt Rhule's successor. By Stephen Hawkins. SENT: 585 words.

AP Photos transref:NY195.

BKN--JAZZ-PELICANS

NEW ORLEANS — The Utah Jazz ride a 10-game winning streak into their game against the Pelicans on Thursday night. New Orleans has won nine of 13. By Brett Martel. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Tip-off 7 p.m.

BKW--T25-LSU-MISSISSIPPI ST

STARKVILLE, Miss. - No. 10 Mississippi State seeks its eighth consecutive victory as it hosts LSU. By Robbie Faulk. UPCOMING: 600 words, with photos. The game starts at 8 p.m.

FBN—PANTHERS-BRADY

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Panthers are hoping Joe Brady can bolster a sagging offense like he did at LSU. Carolina officially announced Thursday that Brady will be their new offensive coordinator after one year as LSU's passing game coordinator. Brady won the Broyles Award given annually to the top assistant coach in college football after helping the Tigers to a 15-0 season and a national championship. By Steve Reed. SENT: 401 words.

MISSISSIPPI (All times Central)

TOP STORIES:

CELLPHONE-PRISON SENTENCE

JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Supreme Court's confirmation of a 12-year prison sentence for an African American man who carried his mobile phone into a county jail cell is being slammed as a brutal example of racial injustice. Even one of the justices who joined in the unanimous ruling said that while the sentence is legal, the prosecutor and trial judge could have avoided punishing the man entirely. By Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 697 words.

AP Photos transref:MSRS201, transref:MSRS109, transref:MSRS108, transref:MSRS105, transref:MSHO101, transref:JX203.

PRISON UNREST-MISSISSIPPI

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi's new governor said Thursday that the state will conduct a nationwide search for a new commissioner to lead a state prison system that's reckoning with what he called a “catastrophe” — a recent outburst of deadly violence and longstanding problems with vacant jobs and damaged facilities. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves also said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation will assign an officer to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman to uncover any criminal activity connected to the violence. By Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 686 words.

AP Photos transref:MSRS102, transref:MSJAD103, transref:NYHK203.

JAZZ FEST

AP Photos transref:NYET510, transref:NYET511.

OLE MISS-CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

JACKSON, Miss. — A Confederate monument will remain, for now, in a prominent spot on the University of Mississippi campus, nearly a year after student leaders requested that it be moved to a Civil War cemetery. The board that governs Mississippi's eight public universities met Thursday and delayed a vote on a proposal to move the monument. Trustee Tom Duff said he wants more information from the university, but he did not specify what he's seeking. By Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 530 words.

AP Photos transref:MSOXF101.

MISSISSIPPI DAM

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Leaders in a Mississippi county approved a plan Thursday to drain a swollen lake where officials say a decades-old earthen dam could fail after days of heavy rain. The Starkville Daily News reported that Oktibbeha County supervisors unanimously endorsed the proposal during a emergency meeting. SENT: 342 words.

AP Photos transref:MSRS110, transref:MSRS111, transref:MSRS101, transref:MSRS116.

SUFFRAGE MEMORIAL-OHIO STATEHOUSE

AP Photos transref:RPWH101, transref:NY503, transref:NY504, transref:ALMON502, transref:WYLAR501.

IN SPORTS:

BKW--T25-LSU-MISSISSIPPI ST

STARKVILLE, Miss. - No. 10 Mississippi State seeks its eighth consecutive victory as it hosts LSU. By Robbie Faulk. UPCOMING: 600 words, with photos. The game starts at 8 p.m.

___

If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them them to:

The Atlanta AP Bureau: [email protected]

The Columbia AP Bureau: [email protected]

The Montgomery AP Bureau: [email protected]

The New Orleans AP Bureau: [email protected]

The Jackson AP Bureau: [email protected]