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US Election 2024-The Daily Rundown

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US Election 2024-The Daily Rundown
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US Election 2024-The Daily Rundown

2024-05-21 19:29 Last Updated At:19:40

Here’s a rundown of the AP’s latest Election 2024 coverage plans, including live video and text plans, our explanatory journalism and highlights from previous cycles. Candidate schedules are included when available. All times are EDT.

You can find US Election 2024-The Daily Rundown in your CMS or in AP Newsroom.

For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan. Find our election coverage in the U.S. Elections hub in AP Newsroom.

To sign up for our Politics Advisory, delivered afternoons Monday through Friday to your inbox, click here.

Donald Trump’s hush money trial entered its final stretch with the prosecution resting its case following the conclusion of star witness Michael Cohen’s testimony. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits. Sent on May 20.

President Joe Biden holds two fundraisers in Boston.

++ Candidate schedules are subject to change. Coverage of some events is on merits. ++

7 a.m. — Live NY TRUMP POOL coverage outside of Trump Tower in New York is planned.

8:30 a.m. — Live POOL coverage from the courthouse hallway in New York is planned.

8:30 a.m. — Live AP coverage outside of the courthouse in New York is planned.

1 p.m. — AP will provide Live video of Arizona fake electors’ arraignments if the court has a livestream. The court currently has no plans to do so.

1:30 p.m. — Live US NETWORK POOL of President Joe Biden in Merrimack, New Hampshire, is planned.

5 p.m. — Live US NETWORK POOL of President Joe Biden at campaign fundraiser in Boston is planned.

7 p.m. — Live US NETWORK POOL of President Joe Biden at campaign fundraiser in Boston is planned.

ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-LANGUAGE — A video posted to Donald Trump’s account on his social media network included references to a “unified Reich” among hypothetical news headlines if he wins the election in November. SENT: 360 words, photo.

CANNES-TRUMP FILM — While Donald Trump’s hush money trial entered its sixth week in New York, an origin story for the Republican presidential candidate premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, unveiling a scathing portrait of the former president in the 1980s. SENT: 490 words, photos, video.

TRUMP MEDIA-RESULTS — Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of former President Donald Trump’s social networking site Truth Social, lost more than $300 million last quarter, according to its first earnings report as a publicly traded company. SENT: 290 words, photo.

TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — A defense witness in Donald Trump’s hush money trial whom the judge threatened to kick out of the courtroom will return to the stand while the judge weighs the former president’s bid to dismiss the case. Trump’s lawyers are hoping Robert Costello’s testimony will buttress their efforts to undermine the credibility of the key prosecution witness, Trump fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen. SENT: 800 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 990 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.

ELECTION 2024-CONGRESS-ELECTION DENIERS — As Donald Trump makes a comeback bid to return to power, Republicans in Congress have become even more likely to cast doubts on President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. A new report says nearly one-third of the lawmakers in Congress supported in some way Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election. Several more are running for election this year to the House and Senate. SENT: 1,030 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024 — Voters in Kentucky and Oregon weigh in on the presidential primaries even though Joe Biden and Donald Trump locked in their parties’ nominations months ago. Meanwhile, voters in Kentucky, Oregon, Georgia and Idaho will hold primaries to choose nominees for the U.S. House and other contests. And in California’s Central Valley, voters will select a Republican to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. SENT: 380 words, photos. Polls close in Kentucky and Georgia at 7 p.m.

ARIZONA-FAKE ELECTORS — Former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward and at least 11 other people are set to be arraigned in a Phoenix courtroom on conspiracy, forgery and fraud charges stemming from their roles in an effort to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Arizona to Joe Biden. SENT: 590 words, photos.

BIDEN — President Joe Biden travels to New Hampshire to talk about a law that helps veterans get key benefits if they were exposed to burn pits during their service. SENT: 300 words, photo. UPCOMING: Event at 1:30 p.m.

ELECTION 2024-DECISION NOTES-IDAHO, -OREGON, -KENTUCKY, -GEORGIA and -CALIFORNIA-20TH — What to expect in this week’s voting. SENT: 1,000 words each, photos. Sent on May 17.

BIDEN-GUNS — A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule in Texas that would require firearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. SENT: 520 words, photo, audio.

ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-FUNDRAISING — President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee said that they raised more than $51 million in April, falling well short of the $76 million that Donald Trump and the Republican Party reported taking in for the month. SENT: 500 words, photos.

ELECTION 2024-TRUMP ECONOMY — Numbers show that the economy during Donald Trump’s presidency has never lived up to his own hype. But polling shows Americans are more confident about his economic leadership than that of President Joe Biden. SENT: 1,010 words, photo.

May 21 — California 20th Congressional District special election, Georgia state primary, Kentucky presidential/state primary, Oregon presidential/state primary, Idaho state primary.

May 23 — Idaho Democratic caucuses.

May 28 — Texas state primary runoff.

June 4 — District of Columbia, Democratic presidential and district primary, Iowa state primary, Montana presidential/state primary, New Jersey presidential/state primary, New Mexico presidential/state primary, South Dakota presidential/state primary.

June 11 — Maine state primary, Nevada state primary, North Dakota state primary, Ohio CD 6 Special General, South Carolina state primary.

For coverage and planning questions, the Nerve Center can be reached at +1 800 845 8450 (ext. 1600). For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call +1 844 777 2006.

Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court during his ongoing hush money trial, Monday, May 20, 2024, in New York. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)

Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court during his ongoing hush money trial, Monday, May 20, 2024, in New York. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court halted Thursday night’s scheduled execution of a man who would have become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

The late-night ruling to spare for now the life of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, capped a flurry of last-ditch legal challenges and weeks of public pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who say he is innocent and was convicted based on flawed evidence.

For hours on Thursday night, Roberson had remained in a prison holding cell a few feet from America's busiest death chamber at the Walls Unit in Hunstville.

"He praised God and thanked supporters,” said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez, who spoke with Roberson after the court stayed his execution.

Although Texas' highest court normally does not weigh in on criminal cases, how it got involved in Roberson's case in the final hours underlined the extraordinary maneuvers used by a bipartisan coalition of state House lawmakers who have come to his defense.

Blocked by courts and Texas' parole board in their efforts to spare Roberson's life, legislators on Wednesday took a different route: issuing a subpoena for Roberson to testify before a House committee next week, days after he was scheduled to die by lethal injection.

Less than two hours before Roberson's execution, a judge in Austin granted the lawmakers an order upholding the subpoena, putting the execution on pause. An appeals court then briefly reversed that decision but was overruled by the high court's order.

“We're deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such consequential matters," Democratic Rep. Joe Moody and Republican Rep. Jeff Leach wrote in a joint statement.

Roberson, 57, was convicted of killing of his daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. His lawyers and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia.

Gov. Greg Abbott had authority to delay Roberson’s punishment for 30 days. Abbott has halted only one imminent execution in nearly a decade as governor and has not spoken publicly about the case.

Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt the execution, although Justice Sonia Sotomayor — in a 10-page statement about the case — urged Abbott to grant a 30-day delay.

Roberson’s lawyers had waited to see if Abbott would grant Roberson a one-time 30-day reprieve. It would have been the only action Abbott could take in the case as the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Wednesday denied Roberson’s clemency petition.

The board voted unanimously, 6-0, to not recommend that Roberson’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison or that his execution be delayed. All board members are appointed by the governor. The parole board has recommended clemency in a death row case only six times since the state resumed executions in 1982.

The one time Abbott halted an imminent execution was when he spared the life of Thomas Whitaker in 2018.

The Texas committee on Wednesday held an all-day meeting on Roberson's case. In a surprise move at the end of the hearing, the committee issued a subpoena for Roberson to testify next week.

During its meeting in Austin, the committee heard testimony about Roberson’s case and whether a 2013 law created to allow people in prison to challenge their convictions based on new scientific evidence was ignored in Roberson’s case.

Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell, whose office prosecuted Roberson, told the committee a court hearing was held in 2022 in which Roberson’s attorneys presented their new evidence to a judge, who rejected their claims.

“Based on the totality of the evidence, a murder took place here. Mr. Roberson took the life of his almost 3-year-old daughter,” Mitchell said.

Most of the members of the committee are part of a bipartisan group of more than 80 state lawmakers, including at least 30 Republicans, who had asked the parole board and Abbott to stop the execution.

Roberson’s case has renewed debate over shaken baby syndrome, known in the medical community as abusive head trauma.

His lawyers as well as the Texas lawmakers, medical experts and others including bestselling author John Grisham say his conviction was based on faulty and now outdated scientific evidence. The diagnosis refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

Roberson’s supporters don’t deny head and other injuries from child abuse are real. But they say doctors misdiagnosed Curtis’ injuries as being related to shaken baby syndrome and that new evidence has shown the girl died from complications related to severe pneumonia.

Roberson’s attorneys say his daughter had fallen out of bed in Roberson’s home after being seriously ill for a week.

Roberson’s lawyers also suggested his autism, then undiagnosed at the time of his daughter’s death, was used against him as authorities became suspicious of him because of his lack of emotion over her death. Autism affects how people communicate and interact with others.

Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70.

Dani Allen, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Dani Allen, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Dani Allen, center left with microphone, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Dani Allen, center left with microphone, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, protests with others outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, protests with others outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Ann Dorn, a local Catholic parishioner opposed to the death penalty, protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Ann Dorn, a local Catholic parishioner opposed to the death penalty, protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, and Jennifer Martin, center left, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, and Jennifer Martin, center left, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Jennifer Martin, left, and Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, right, holds signs as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Jennifer Martin, left, and Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, right, holds signs as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Gloria Rubac, left, an anti-death penalty activist, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Gloria Rubac, left, an anti-death penalty activist, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Jennifer Martin, center, and Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Jennifer Martin, center, and Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III, speak to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III, speak to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III, speak to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III, speak to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Elizabeth Ramirez, center, Casandra Rivera, center right, and Anna Vasquez, second from right, of the "San Antonio 4" group, deliver boxes with petitions in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)

Elizabeth Ramirez, center, Casandra Rivera, center right, and Anna Vasquez, second from right, of the "San Antonio 4" group, deliver boxes with petitions in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)

Casandra Rivera, left, Anna Vasquez, second from left, and Elizabeth Ramirez, center, of the "San Antonio 4" group, hold boxes with petitions being delivered in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)

Casandra Rivera, left, Anna Vasquez, second from left, and Elizabeth Ramirez, center, of the "San Antonio 4" group, hold boxes with petitions being delivered in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)

Texas man set to be first in US executed over shaken baby syndrome makes last appeals

Texas man set to be first in US executed over shaken baby syndrome makes last appeals

FILE - Texas lawmakers meet with Robert Roberson at a prison in Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27, 2024. (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP, File)

FILE - Texas lawmakers meet with Robert Roberson at a prison in Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27, 2024. (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP, File)

Texas man set to be first in US executed over shaken baby syndrome makes last appeals

Texas man set to be first in US executed over shaken baby syndrome makes last appeals

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