TRUMP VISIT

Trump coming to North Carolina to see work on virus vaccine

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump is coming to North Carolina to visit a biotech facility involved in work to create a COVID-19 vaccine. Trump’s trip on Monday to Morrisville is his first public event in the state since the eve of the March 3 presidential primary. Trump won North Carolina’s electoral votes in 2016 by nearly 4 percentage points. The state is also considered a presidential battleground this fall. The FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ Innovation Center that he’ll tour is manufacturing key components of a vaccine candidate developed by another company.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LIQUOR SALES

North Carolina liquor sales see 12% jump during fiscal year

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Liquor sales in North Carolina have seen a 12% increase during the fiscal year that ended on June 30. The Fayetteville Observer reports the jump largely came in March when Gov. Roy Cooper shut down bars and restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic. Charles Hill owns multiple liquor stores in the state. He told the newspaper that customers said they were purchasing high amounts of alcohol because of fears Cooper would also shut down liquor stores. Liquor purchases by bars and restaurants has remained below normal levels as of June.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE TESTING

Colleges plan for virus testing, but strategies vary widely

BOSTON (AP) — Dozens of U.S. colleges are announcing plans to test students for the coronavirus this fall, but their strategies vary widely. Colby College in Maine plans to test all students every other day for two weeks and then twice a week. Harvard University will test students on campus three times a week. But some plan to test students only if they show symptoms or come into contact with a positive case, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Federal health officials discourage widespread testing on college campuses, but some researchers say it’s necessary to prevent outbreaks. Cornell and Yale university researchers say that without widespread testing, COVID-19 could be spread by infected students who don’t show symptoms.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-DUKE

Duke campus housing only for 1st, 2nd year students in fall

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke University in North Carolina says campus housing this fall will be only for first- and second-year students as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Provost Sally Kornbluth wrote in an email to faculty that upperclassmen and graduate students will take online classes in the fall semester. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports juniors and seniors will have access to libraries and labs but not residence or dining halls. This represents a schedule modification for Duke, which is set to begin classes Aug. 17. Duke previously had upperclassmen arriving at school a couple of days before the semester’s start.

MAN DIES SAVING DOG

North Carolina man dies trying to save dog in Tennessee lake

HAMPTON, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities have identified a North Carolina man who died trying to save a dog that jumped into a Tennessee lake. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says 52-year-old Eric Jordan jumped into Watauga Lake near Hampton on Friday. The agency says Jordan was on a boat traveling near Fish Springs Marina when a dog onboard jumped into the water. The boat’s driver slowed down, and Jordan entered the water while it was still moving to try and rescue the animal. Officials said Jordan began to struggle, and a nearby boater pulled him onto their vessel. He was given CPR but didn’t survive. It’s unclear whether the dog was saved.

GARBAGE TRUCK-FATAL

N.C. driver dead after collision with parked trash truck

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Police in a North Carolina city says a sport utility vehicle driver died when she crashed into the back of a garbage truck parked along the side of the road. Winston-Salem police say Kelly Burick Taylor of Rural Hall was driving on University Parkway on Saturday when she collided into the truck on the right side of the road. A SUV passenger was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The police department says it’s unclear what led to the SUV colliding with the truck.

OFFICERS-FATAL SHOOTING

N.C. state investigators to review officer-involved shooting

ROXBORO, N.C. (AP) — Two police officers in a north-central North Carolina town are on paid leave as the State Bureau of Investigation reviews the shooting death of an African American man that occurred following a 911 call. The police chief in Roxboro said David Brooks Jr. died following the officer-involved shooting on Friday morning. Police Chief David Hess said officers responded to a call about a man wearing a mask and carrying what appeared to be a shotgun walking down U.S. Highway 158 near a discount retail store. Investigators found a loaded sawed-off shotgun at the scene.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA

2 more N.C. prison inmates die from COVID-19 complications

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Two more male inmates at a North Carolina prison with among the highest number of COVID-19 cases have died after testing positive for the virus. The Department of Public Safety ssays one offender at Albemarle Correctional Institution in Stanly County died Friday, while another housed at the prison died at a hospital on Thursday. Eight state prisoners with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began. Three were serving their sentences at Albemarle, which has reported over 100 positive cases to date. The Division of Prisons is currently working toward testing every inmate in the state’s more than 50 prisons.

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