ELECTION 2020-ABSENTEE VOTING-NORTH CAROLINA

GOP elections board members resign over absentee settlement

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The two Republican members of North Carolina’s state elections board have resigned after signing off on a settlement to help voters fix absentee ballot problems that has been criticized by state GOP leaders. Ken Raymond and David Black announced their resignations late Wednesday from the North Carolina State Board of Elections over the tentative agreement to let voters correct problems with witness information on their absentee ballots without filling out an entirely new ballot. Raymond and Black had joined the three Democratic state board members in unanimously approving the settlement, which was announced Tuesday and is still subject to a judge’s approval.

AP-US-ELECTION-2020-POSTAL-SERVICE-DELAYS

Records: Mail delivery lags behind targets as election nears

Data obtained by The Associated Press shows Postal Service districts across the nation are missing the agency’s own standards for on-time delivery as millions of Americans prepare to vote by mail. The lag times are especially pronounced in key regions of some battleground states, where delivery times are below the national average. That raises the possibility that scores of mailed ballots could miss deadlines for reaching local election offices if voters wait too long. Missing a deadline is one of the key reasons mail-in ballots get rejected. Postal service leaders have said the agency will prioritize election mail.

SUPREME COURT-VACANCY

GOP senators see political, principle gain in court fight

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump marveled at a rally this week about how important Supreme Court nominations are to voters. But Senate Republicans are with the voters on that question. Despite Democratic cries of hypocrisy, they’re hoping the battle over replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg will help them keep their Senate majority as well as Trump’s job in the White House. Beyond this year’s election, the Republicans see the effort as achieving a generational priority — a solid majority on the high court for years to come. They say that’s worth the possible political risk.

BC-NC-BEACH DEATH

Man dies after trying to save daughter in rough N.C. surf

COROLLA, N.C. (AP) — A man has died after trying to save his daughter from what officials say was life-threatening surf on the North Carolina coast. The Virginian-Pilot reports that the incident occurred Tuesday afternoon in Currituck County on the Outer Banks. Currituck County spokesman Randall Edwards said the man was overcome by waves when he entered the water. Lifeguards from Corolla Beach Rescue responded within three minutes. The unidentified man was pulled from the water in cardiac arrest. The man regained a pulse after emergency personnel performed CPR. But he died at a hospital several hours later. The man’s daughter was rescued by lifeguards and was not injured.

AP-NC-VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA-COLLEGES

N.C. State students can take in-person classes in spring

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State University says its students can take in-person classes for the spring semester and live in campus housing. The school said on its website on Wednesday that classes will start Jan. 11 and finish April 29. The university also said it will have spring break March 15-19, and  will conduct final exams May 3-7. N.C. State reported more than 30 clusters of COVID-19 since classes began in August. According to the school, students contracted COVID-19 in residence halls, fraternity and sorority houses and in off-campus apartments. Chancellor Randy Woodson said he was cautiously optimistic.

SUPREME COURT-RUSHING

‘Rock star’ appeals judge Allison Rushing in high court mix

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Allison Jones Rushing already has landed what most lawyers would consider a career-defining judicial position before turning 40. But her time as a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge could be brief should President Donald Trump pick her as his nominee to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court. She began at the 4th Circuit just 18 months ago after a party-line Senate confirmation vote. She faced questions about her relatively short legal experience and link to a conservative legal group. The North Carolina native would be the first millennial on the Supreme Court. She’s clerked for two current justices.

ELECTION 2020-VOTER VOICES-SUPREME COURT

High court fight adds to pile of issues weighing on voters

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has set off a contentious political fight in Washington. But in conversations with dozens of voters in battleground states since then, many cited health care, the economy and personal complaints about President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, before mentioning the Supreme Court vacancy. During a time of so much upheaval, from the pandemic to the economic recession to the reckoning over racial justice and policing, the interviews suggest the vacancy’s impact could be less of a factor than it would have been in a less extraordinary year.

AP-NC-FATAL SHOOTING-CHILD

Woman charged as accessory in North Carolina’s child’s death

WILSON, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina have arrested a woman and charged her with being an accessory in the shooting death of a 5-year-old boy last month. The Wilson Times reports police said 21-year-old Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit was arrested on Tuesday. Police haven’t said how Pettit allegedly served as an accessory to the crime. Wilson Police said officers responding to a report of a shooting at a mobile home park on Aug. 9 found 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant suffering from a gunshot wound. Cannon died at a local hospital. A neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Nathaniel Sessoms, has been charged with first-degree murder in the boy’s death.