Hello! The Carolinas News Editor is Tim Rogers. The supervisor is Skip Foreman.

A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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 shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates.

TOP STORIES:

NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR

RALEIGH — A battle over how to run elections in closely divided North Carolina returned to court Thursday as state judges pondered whether Republican legislators crossed the line by removing appointment powers from the new Democratic governor just before he entered office. Gov. Roy Cooper sued GOP legislative leaders just before his New Year’s Day swearing-in, challenging a law the General Assembly approved in a surprise special session barely a week after Republican incumbent Pat McCrory conceded to Cooper in their close race. By Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 540 words.

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— NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR-THE LATEST.

STUDENT SLAMMED

RALEIGH — A student who was slammed to the floor by a police officer in a North Carolina high school has suffered a concussion and may have other related health issues, her attorney said Thursday. Jasmine Darwin is having headaches, vision problems and other issues associated with a concussion, attorney Freddy Rabner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said. Darwin, who was a student at Rolesville High School, sought treatment at a hospital twice and has follow-up appointments with several specialists, he said. By Martha Waggoner. SENT: 540 words, AP Photos NY112, AX301.

WINTER WEATHER-SOUTH

ATLANTA — A winter storm expected to strike the South with freezing rain, sleet and several inches of snow in some areas has prompted early school closings, emergency declarations by two states and a rush by some to stock up on food. One man in Kentucky died Thursday after his pickup truck slid off a snow-slicked roadway, authorities said. By Jeff Martin. SENT: 750 words, GAATH 101-0105171203, GAATH101-0105171156, GAATH 101-0105171203, GAATH101-0105171156.

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— WINTER WEATHER-SOUTH-THE LATEST.

— WINTER WEATHER-NC.

LGBT RIGHTS-TEXAS

AUSTIN, Texas — Top Texas Republicans are eager to bring a fight that sparked upheaval and business boycotts in North Carolina to the country’s largest conservative state, unveiling Thursday a bill that would ban transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice. The “Texas Privacy Act” requires all Texas residents to use the bathroom or locker room according to the gender on their birth certificates and prohibits local governments from passing ordinances designed to protect gay rights in public restrooms and other “intimate settings.” By Will Weissert. SENT: 520 words.

NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR-PUBLIC SAFETY

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s new governor has named a longtime State Bureau of Investigation official to lead the Department of Public Safety. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Thursday that he’s chosen Erik Hooks to run the agency, which oversees the Highway Patrol and SBI, among other divisions. SENT: 220 words.

MARINES-WOMEN-INFANTRY

CAMP LEJEUNE — For the first time, the Marine Corps has put three enlisted female Marines in a ground combat unit once open only to men, officials said Thursday. They will serve as a rifleman, machine gunner and mortar Marine, said 1st Lt. John McCombs, spokesman for the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejuene. SENT: 280 words.

SISTERS KICKED OFF FLIGHT

DELAND, Fla. — Two sisters said they were kicked off an Allegiant Air flight after authorities deemed them a threat, and it cost them the chance to see their dying father. Debbie Hartman and Trisha Baker of DeLand, Florida, said they were on the plane Monday in Orlando, waiting to take off for Asheville, North Carolina, to see their father, who was in hospice care. SENT: 330 words.

IN BRIEF:

— ARKANSAS PLANE CRASH, from GURDON, Ark. — Authorities say two people were killed when a single-engine airplane crashed near Gurdon in southwestern Arkansas while on a flight from Texas to North Carolina. SENT: 110 words.

— SOUTHERN DROUGHT, from BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Weeks of rains have eliminated the worst drought conditions in the Southeast, but nearly three-quarters of the region remains well below normal in rainfall.Drought Severity by State.

— CHARLOTTE SHOOTING DEATH, from CHARLOTTE — Police in Charlotte are investigating the fourth death in the first five days of 2017. SENT: 130 words. SENT: 120 words.

— XGR–COOPER-MEDICAID, from RALEIGH — North Carolina’s legislative leaders have asked federal regulators to reject an anticipated proposal by Gov. Roy Cooper to expand Medicaid, citing state laws they say show he lacks the authority to ask on his own. SENT: 130 words.

— SCHOOL COUNSELOR KILLED, from NEWTON — A man has pleaded guilty to killing a school guidance counselor in Catawba County more than two years ago. SENT: 130 words.

— GAY INMATE-LAWSUIT, from CHARLOTTE — A former North Carolina inmate is suing a sheriff and his staff after saying he was brutally assaulted by another inmate because he’s gay. SENT: 130 words.

— FATAL SHOOTING-BURLINGTON, from BURLINGTON — Four suspects have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman in Burlington last month. SENT: 130 words.

— INNOCENCE DOCUMENTARY, from WINSTON-SALEM — A rough cut of a documentary about the North Carolina man who was the first person released from prison through the work of a special innocence commission will be shown in Winston-Salem. SENT: 130 words..

— NCCU CHANCELLOR, from DURHAM — N.C. Central University has appointed a 22-member committee to search for a successor to the late Chancellor Debra Saunders-White. SENT: 130 words.

SPORTS:

BKN–HORNETS-PISTONS

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The struggling Pistons try to rebound from Tuesday’s loss to Indiana when they host the Hornets. By Noah Trister. UPCOMING: 600 words, AP photos from 7:30 p.m. tip.

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The AP, Raleigh