Hello! The Carolinas News Editor is Tim Rogers. The breaking news supervisor is Jack Jones.

A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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.

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TOP STORIES:

TROPICAL WEATHER-HERMINE

CEDAR KEY, Fla. — Tropical Storm Hermine strengthened into a hurricane Thursday and steamed toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, where people put up shutters, nailed plywood across store windows and braced for the first direct hit on the state from a hurricane in over a decade. The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s winds reached about 75 mph in the afternoon, just above the 74 mph hurricane threshold. By Josh Replogle. SENT: 780 words, AP Photos FLJR103, FLJAJ201, FLJAJ101, FLJAJ103, FLJAJ104, FLCO102, FLCO103, FLJAJ202, FLJR106, FLJR201, FLPAN101, FLJR102, FLPET301, FLPET303.

With:

— TROPICAL WEATHER-HERMINE-THE LATEST.

SENATE 2016-NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH — A super PAC with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced plans Thursday to spend $8.1 million on television ads in the North Carolina Senate race, where Republican incumbent Richard Burr is facing a spirited Democratic challenge. With a goal of keeping the chamber in GOP hands, the Senate Leadership Fund said it is reserving ad time starting Sept. 13 in nearly all of the state’s TV markets and will air the ads regularly into late October. One Nation, a nonprofit arm of the fund, announced last month that it would air $2.5 million in ads praising Burr for what it called his efforts to preserve Medicare. By Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 410 words.

DOUBLE MURDER-INVESTIGATIVE MISCONDUCT

DURHAM — Advocates are undertaking a massive review of convictions in a North Carolina county where one prosecutor was disbarred for misconduct in the Duke University lacrosse case and another was suspended for ethics violations. Inspired by the innocence claims of Darryl Howard, who was freed Wednesday after spending 21 years in prison for two slayings he says he didn’t commit, the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence has spent about two years quietly combing through hundreds of cases from Durham County of people who remain behind bars. By Martha Waggoner and Emery P. Dalesio. SENT: 740 words, AP Photos NCRAL203, NCRAL202, NCRAL201, NCED101, NCRAL204, NCDUS101, NCDUS102.

With:

— DOUBLE MURDER-INVESTIGATIVE MISCONDUCT-THE LATEST.

TEST SCORES

RALEIGH — North Carolina students recorded slight gains in their math and reading proficiency, graduation rates, and readiness for college careers during the past school year, the 11th consecutive year in which progress has been made, the state Department of Public Instruction said Thursday. “Many schools face significant challenges in terms of critical resources and student needs, but these results show that hard-working educators are making a difference and that students are making gains in their learning,” State Superintendent June Atkinson said in a statement. SENT: 370 words.

MISSISSIPPI TAXES

JACKSON, Miss. — As Mississippi lawmakers evaluate the state tax system, they should look at Indiana, North Carolina and Washington, D.C., as success stories, an economist said Thursday. Nicole Kaeding of the Tax Foundation said those two states and the city phased in changes, including cuts in corporate and personal income taxes. By Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 440 words.

AIR FORCE PILOTS-STADIUM FLYOVER PROBE

ATLANTA — Four Georgia-based pilots are restricted from flight duties after their attack jets swooped low over a football stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Carolina Panthers practiced, U.S. Air Force officials said. Four A-10C Thunderbolt IIs flew at low altitude over Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Monday, and the pilots will be on restricted duty pending results of an inquiry into the incident, officials at Moody Air Force Base in south Georgia said. By Jeff Martin and Steve Reed. SENT: 380 words.

IN BRIEF:

— CAMPAIGN 2016-KAINE, from RALEIGH — Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine is slated to deliver what Hillary Clinton’s campaign calls a “major national security address” next week in North Carolina. SENT: 80 words.

— HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL-NORTH CAROLINA, from RALEIGH — The remaining two health insurers on North Carolina’s online marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act are taking another shot at proposing rates and regions where they will offer broadly subsidized health insurance policies. SENT: 130 words.

— NEWSPAPER GROUP SALE, from GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A fourth-generation family-owned media company with newspapers in Tennessee and North Carolina has been purchased by a Minneapolis company. SENT: 120 words.

— CAROLINAS LABOR DAY, from CHARLOTTE — Travelers from the Carolinas hitting the road for the holiday weekend will find gasoline prices up a bit from recent weeks, but still the lowest on Labor Day in 11 years. SENT: 120 words.

SPORTS:

FBC–T25-NORTH CAROLINA-TRUBISKY

CHAPEL HILL — Mitch Trubisky’s wait is finally over. The quarterback will make his first career start Saturday for No. 22 North Carolina in the opener against No. 18 Georgia in Atlanta. It comes after two years of preparation with only spot game action and plenty of watching from the sideline. By Sports Writer Aaron Beard. SENT: 590 words, AP Photos NY151, NY152.

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The AP, Raleigh