BC-SC--South Carolina News Digest UPDATE, SC

Hello! Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up in South Carolina. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the Carolinas News Editor is Tim Rogers at 919-510-8937 or at tmrogers@ap.org. The desk supervisor is Jonathan Drew. For technical support, please call the AP's Services and Technology Department in Raleigh at 919-881-9974.

A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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

EDITORS: Adds THEATER-Q&A-MARIO CORREA and CORONER'S CROSSES

OBIT-EDWARDS

CHARLESTON - James B. Edwards, South Carolina's first Republican governor since Reconstruction and later energy secretary for two years in the Reagan administration, has died. He was 87. His son-in-law Ken Wingate confirmed that Edwards died Friday. By Bruce Smith. SENT: 500 words. AP Photo NY110.

GUARD-RECRUITS

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina National Guard has turned its recruiters into long-term mentors to help their newest soldiers adapt and flourish during their first months in the military. The Guard's top recruiter, Lt. Col. Matthew Fryman, said the Recruit Sustainment Program helps give young recruits a leg up before they go through the Army's nine weeks of basic combat training, which is required before they enter the state's part-time military. It also helps the 10,000-member Guard meet a recruiting goal it missed last year by about 100 soldiers, Fryman said. By Susanne M. Schafer. SENT: 520 words.

THEATER-Q&A-MARIO CORREA

NEW YORK - Mario Correa, a political junkie who worked on Capitol Hill in high school and college, has turned four recent political sex scandals - including that of Mark Sanford - into comedy gold with the play "Tail! Spin!" By Drama Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 620 words, photos.

CORONER'S CROSSES

Cars whizzed by on East Blackstock Road south of Spartanburg recently at the start of rush hour. In the median stood Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger and investigator Jonathan Lawson, holding a can of white spray paint and a stencil of a cross. The middle of the road, still stained with motor oil and debris, was the site of a fatal crash that had occurred a day earlier. A 75-year-old woman was preparing to turn into her neighborhood when she was struck from behind by another vehicle and pushed into oncoming traffic. By Daniel J. Gross. Spartanburg Herald-Journal. AP Member Exchange.

MISSING CHILD

LITTLE RIVER - The body of an autistic 4-year-old boy who had been missing since Christmas Eve has been found in a pond in Horry County. Coroner Robert Edge told local media outlets that the body of Jayden Morrison was found in a pond in Little River on Friday morning. SENT: 180 words. AP Photos SCMYR201, SCMYR303, SCMYR301, SCMYR302.

ALSO:

- BASEBALL BAT ATTACK, from CHESTERFIELD - Friends and relatives of a woman who authorities allege was abducted and killed by a stranger are holding a candlelight vigil at the Chesterfield County courthouse. SENT: 130 words.

- POLICE SANTA, from YORK - In the small South Carolina town of York, Santa wears a blue uniform and drives a police cruiser. SENT: 130 words.

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The AP, Columbia