INDIANA NEWS DIGEST

Here’s a look at how AP’s general news coverage is shaping up today in Indiana. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the AP-Indianapolis at 317-639-5501 or indy@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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. All times are Eastern. Some TV and radio stations will receive broadcast versions of the stories below, along with all updates. TOP STORY: DEATH PENALTY-BIDEN-Q&A CHICAGO – Joe Biden, the first sitting U.S. president to openly oppose the death penalty, has discussed the possibility of instructing the Department of Justice to stop scheduling new executions, officials have told The Associated Press. Action to stop scheduling new executions could take immediate pressure off Biden from opponents of the death penalty. But they want him to go much further, including bulldozing the federal death chamber in Terre Haute, Indiana. By Michael Tarm. SENT: 1,160 words. AROUND THE STATE: GARY HATCHER HOLIDAY GARY, Ind. – The city of Gary has replaced Columbus Day with a holiday honoring its late Mayor Richard Hatcher. He was one of the first Black mayors of a big U.S. city. He was elected in 1967. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that the Gary Common Council voted 8-1 on Tuesday in favor a resolution making Richard Gordon Hatcher Day the second Monday of October for city employees. Hatcher died in 2019. SENT: 365 words, photos. EPA-DELCO SITE CLEANUP KOKOMO, Ind. – Contaminated soil and groundwater at the central Indiana site of a former General Motors plant would be cleaned up under a plan drafted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that aims to help open up the land for redevelopment. The EPA’s plan would remediate and manage tainted soil and groundwater at the former GM Delco Plant 5 facility in Kokomo. Workers there assembled and tested circuit boards between 1953 and 1991, when the plant closed. SENT:260 words. INDIANA-PUBLIC NOTICES INDIANPOLIS – Public notices in newspapers about local government actions could disappear or be greatly scaled back under proposals that Indiana legislators are considering. Supporters say the proposals could cuts costs for city, county and township governments and school districts by allowing them to post the notices to their websites rather than pay for publication in local newspapers. SENT: 160 words. EXCHANGE-MEETING TWO PRESIDENTS KOKOMO, Ind. – Fourth-grader Fallon Heaslip eagerly gathered with the crowd of other students and staff members outside of Sycamore Elementary School on that sunny Tuesday afternoon. A few feet away, Malik Harris, also a fourth-grader, was staring at the road in anticipation, waiting for the chance encounter that even now – more than a decade later – he still remembers with vivid detail. After all, not everyone gets to meet the president of the United States in their lifetimes. But with the recent inauguration of President Joe Biden, Heaslip and Harris have now officially met two. It was Nov. 23, 2010. President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Biden were touring Kokomo and visiting facilities like Chrysler and other businesses downtown. By Kim Dunlap. Kokomo Tribune. SENT: 1,080 words, photos requested. BRIEF: – VIRUS OUTBREAK-ZOO TIGERS: Two tigers at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo have tested positive for the coronavirus. Zoo officials say animal care staff on Feb. 1 first saw mild symptoms consistent with the virus that causes COVID-19 in a Sumatran tiger. SPORTS: FBN-HALL OF FAME