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A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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

SEX OFFENDER BAN-LAWSUIT

RALEIGH — Convicted sex offenders are pushing back against North Carolina laws they contend deprive them of constitutional rights without protecting children. Two anonymous sex offenders and a Raleigh-based national nonprofit that advocates for them filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the state laws. It’s part of an effort to trim sex registry laws that now require more than 800,000 convicts nationwide to register their names, addresses and photographs, perhaps for as long as they live. By Emery P. Dalesio. SENT: 450 words.

NORTH CAROLINA-A STATE DIVIDED

RALEIGH — North Carolina legislators begin a new session Wednesday amid rancor with a new governor and deep skepticism about whether they will reach consensus on big issues or remain stuck in a quagmire of state officials’ own making. Leaders of the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper have already filed dueling lawsuits within the last month. By Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 730 words.

POLICE SHOOT SUSPECT-VIDEO

CHARLOTTE — A North Carolina judge ordered the release of video showing a fatal shooting by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in 2012, the second time a judge has made such a decision since a new state law required a judge’s approval to release police video. Mecklenburg County Superior Judge Lisa Bell ruled Monday that the police department must release the body camera footage to The Charlotte Observer (http://bit.ly/2jsp4yl ). SENT: 260 words.

IN BRIEF:

— SHARK ATTACKS, from GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Unprovoked shark attacks dropped last year after a record-breaking number in 2015.Unprovoked Shark Attacks in the US. SENT: 130 words.

— GIRL-MACHETE ATTACK, from APEX — Prosecutors in North Carolina say the charges against a man accused of attacking an 18-year-old girl with a machete have been upgraded. SENT: 130 words.

— UNEMPLOYMENT-NC, from RALEIGH — The latest jobless numbers from the N.C. Department of Commerce show the state’s unemployment rate edged slightly higher in December. SENT: 120 words.

— INFANT DEATH-GUILTY PLEA, from GRANTSBORO — A prosecutor in Pamlico County says a man is facing up to 25 years in prison on a number of charges, including voluntary manslaughter for the death of his 8-month-old son. SENT: 130 words.

— SCHOOL BUS ASSAULT-ARREST, from GRAHAM — Alamance County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a man in the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl taken from a school bus stop last year. SENT: 110 words.

— GUNMAN-PIZZA SHOP, from WASHINGTON — A man who police said was inspired by false internet rumors to fire an assault weapon inside a Washington pizzeria has been offered a plea deal. SENT: 120 words.

— VOTER REGISTRATION, from RALEIGH — More North Carolina residents are registering to vote or updating registrations when they visit government agencies to obtain driver’s licenses or seek food stamps or Medicaid coverage. SENT: 120 words.

— COOPER-MEDICAID, from RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Republican legislative leaders want a judge to extend her temporary ban on efforts by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration to expand Medicaid coverage under former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

— JUDGE-BEER BRIBE, from RALEIGH — A former judge in North Carolina faces sentencing in March for trying to bribe an officer with two cases of Bud Light. SENT: 120 words.

— BASS HARVEST CHARGES, from WILMINGTON — Two commercial fishermen have pleaded guilty to illegally harvesting striped bass off North Carolina. SENT: 130 words.

— GRANDMOTHER CHARGED-DWI WRECK, from FAYETTEVILLE — A Fayetteville woman has been charged with driving while impaired after a crash injured her 2-year-old grandson over the weekend. SENT: 130 words.

SPORTS:

BKW–T25-CONNECTICUT-EAST CAROLINA

GREENVILLE— Top-ranked Connecticut looks for its 94th straight victory when the Huskies visit East Carolina. By Sports Writer Joedy McCreary. UPCOMING: 600 words, AP photos from 7 p.m. start.

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The AP, Raleigh