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Good morning! Here’s a look at how AP’s general news coverage is shaping up today in North Carolina. Questions about today’s coverage plans are welcome, and should be directed to Carolinas News Editor Tim Rogers at 919-510-8937 or at [email protected]. Jack Jones is on the desk, followed by Skip Foreman at 2 p.m.

A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date.

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

UPCOMING TODAY:

SENATE 2016-NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH — Republican Sen. Richard Burr drives alone, steering his white 2013 Hyundai sedan to dozens of factory tours and other North Carolina stops. If there’s a TV camera or a reporter, he’ll talk. If not, he’ll move on. Large-scale campaign events are rare for him less than three months before voters decide whether to keep him in office. That’s the way the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman likes it, and it’s been part of a winning formula in several elections, including two for the Senate. It’s like his penchant for wearing loafers without socks, even in the dead of winter. Why change? By Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 950 words. AP Photos WX202, NCCB202, NCCB201, DCAB120.

POPCORN KID

HOLDEN BEACH — Pink lemonade, smoky barbecue, birthday cake, southern butter pecan and ranch are only a few of the 30-plus flavors of popcorn offered by 10-year-old Mason Marshall. In Holden Beach, he’s known as “the popcorn kid.” By Makenzie Holland of the StarNews of Wilmington. UPCOMING: 440 words.

FROM AP MEMBERS:

IN BRIEF:

— FIRING AT DEPUTY-SENTENCE, from GRAHAM — A man has been sentenced to serve at least 18 years in prison for firing upon a deputy in North Carolina and crashing into another deputy’s car in a high-speed chase last year. SENT: 130 words.

— ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING, from LELAND — No criminal charges are being filed after investigators concluded a man was accidentally shot when a friend attempted to take a firearm away from him earlier this year. SENT: 130 words.

— TROPICAL WEATHER, from MIAMI — Tropical Storm Gaston is moving northwestward in the Atlantic with no change in strength. SENT: 130 words.

— PANTHERS-UPTOWN PARKING, from CHARLOTTE — An uptown development boom means fans of the Carolina Panthers will need to reverse field to find parking and tailgating space in uptown Charlotte during the upcoming season. SENT: 130 words.

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