ELECTION 2020-VOTING TWICE

Trump faces pushback for urging people to vote twice as test

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is facing a backlash for urging voters in North Carolina to vote by mail and then try to vote again in person to test the mail-in ballot system in the Nov. 3 election. North Carolina’s attorney general, Democrat Josh Stein, says it’s outrageous for the president to suggest that people “break the law in order to help him sow chaos in our election.” It’s a felony under North Carolina state law to vote twice. Once someone has cast an absentee ballot, that person may not change or cancel it, or decide to vote in person on Election Day, according to the state election board’s website..

AP-NC-MISSING CHILDREN-FLOODWATERS

Bodies of 2 children found after floodwaters recede

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) — Authorities have recovered the body of a 4-year-old boy who had been swept away in floodwaters in North Carolina. The Raleigh News & Observer reported Thursday that the boy’s body was found about 30 yards from where the body of his 5-year-old sister was found on Wednesday. The children were swept away late Monday after their mother’s car slid into fast-moving water in a creek near the Neuse River. The children’s mother, Vanessa Castro, survived. The car left the road in Smithfield in Johnston County, which is southeast of Raleigh.

AP-US-ELECTION-2020-NORTH-CAROLINA-GOVERNOR

NC governor’s race sets pace for Democrats in the South

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s gubernatorial election between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest provides one of Joe Biden’s best chances for victory in the South. With less than three months until Election Day, the governor is in prime position to win reelection, with a lead over Forest in public opinion polls. Cooper has earned high praise for his proactive, but balanced approach to controlling the coronavirus. His reelection path offers clues to what will work for Southern Democrats in an election cycle that will once again determine control of the White House and Congress.

ELECTION 2020-PENCE VISIT

Mike Pence visiting North Carolina for anti-abortion rally

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence is set to arrive in the presidential battleground state of North Carolina to promote an anti-abortion agenda and candidates. Pence is scheduled Thursday to participate in a discussion at a women’s health center in Raleigh before speaking at a rally put on by the anti-abortion political group Susan B. Anthony List. Pence was also expected to receive the endorsement of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association while in Raleigh. The vice president’s visit comes one day after President Donald Trump visited Wilmington to declared it a World War II “Heritage City.” Trump is also expected to be in Winston-Salem next week.

STALKING VICTIM KILLED

Police: North Carolina woman killed by stalking suspect

HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — Police say a North Carolina man accused of stalking a coworker shot the woman to death then killed himself. High Point police say 23-year-old Brooklyn Williams and 27-year-old Andre Cousiamono both died of gunshot wounds to the head Tuesday afternoon. Officials say officers were called to a home after someone reported seeing two bodies on the porch. The two weren’t involved in a romantic relationship and were described as coworkers. Records show that Cousiamono was arrested last month on outstanding warrants for felony stalking and cyberstalking. Police said he also had pending charges of stalking, communicating threats and harassing phone calls from incidents involving Williams.

VOTE FRAUD CHARGES

Prosecutors charge 19 in North Carolina with voter fraud

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in North Carolina have announced voter fraud charges against 19 non-citizens accused of illegally casting a ballot in 2016. Each defendant voted in a federal election in 2016, and one defendant also voted in 2018, according to a news release Wednesday from the office of U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin. In some instances, the defendants were also charged with related offenses such as making a false statement. Brief charging documents provided few details about the allegations against any of the defendants. Many did not have an attorney listed in court records.

OBIT-MELANIE GOODWIN

Ex-NC Rep. Goodwin, who made history with childbirth, dies

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s first lawmaker to give birth while holding office has died at age 50. The husband of former state Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin announced on Wednesday that she died Tuesday night after she was diagnosed with cancer more than a decade ago. Goodwin was an attorney who served in the state House from 2005 through 2010. She gave birth to the couple’s second child in 2008.  At the time she said she hoped her juggling of legislative and family duties would serve as a model that both could be done. Goodwin recently worked at the state Industrial Commission.

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