VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOLDIER SUICIDES

As suicides rise, Army brass reassessing outreach

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Within the ranks of the storied 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 10 soldiers have taken their own lives so far this year. That number is pushing division leadership to reexamine how they’re addressing suicide awareness. Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue points to the coronavirus pandemic and the stressors that forced isolation have put on soldiers and their families. But many of the questions surrounding these suicides, including in the case of a 27-year-old paratrooper on the verge of promotion, are still left unanswered.

ELECTION 2020-NORTH CAROLINA

Pandemic overwhelms Trump’s message in critical N. Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s push to inject new dynamics into the final weeks of the 2020 election is being overshadowed by the frightening realities of everyday life in the pandemic. The Republican president and his allies continue to downplay the health threat, but for swing voters on the ground in North Carolina, the coronavirus and the related economic challenges are a much more pressing concern than Trump’s push to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, his wild threats of voter fraud or angry civil rights protesters. Still, it’s far from certain that Trump’s messaging challenge will ensure a victory for Democrat Joe Biden.

BC-NC-GREENSBORO-POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

Greensboro taking steps toward more transparency with police

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — City officials in the North Carolina city of Greensboro say they plan to spend more time studying police interactions with the public and to regularly release information on police officers’ job performance. The News & Record reported Sunday that a memo from the city’s manager to council members outlines three steps. A member of a citizens review board will regularly review at random nine police interactions with citizens. The city will also open an online portal for people to give impressions of police actions without having to file a formal complaint. The city will also offer an online “dashboard” of data about police encounters with residents.

WOMAN RESCUED-WOODS

Walker lost in North Carolina woods saved after 2-day search

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — A 31-year-old woman has been rescued after a search to find her in a patch of thick North Carolina woods spanned two days. The U.S. Coast Guard and other emergency responders launched a search-and-rescue operation at around 9 p.m. Friday after the woman became lost during a walk by the Buxton Woods Reserve near the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Officials said a helicopter briefly spotted the woman before she disappeared and wasn’t seen again that night. Rangers said the search was suspended until Saturday morning when a ranger saw her walking near the National Seashore’s administrative housing and she was brought to safety.

MACHETE ATTACK

Deputies shot at man armed with machete after hit-and-run

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say law-enforcement officers in North Carolina shot at a man who attacked sheriff’s deputies with a machete and drove his car at a police officer in separate encounters. The Times-News reports that the suspect, 39-year-old Benjamin Michael Morley, was treated for a wound on his left leg after police apprehended him on Friday night. Police started chasing Morley after he allegedly struck a student with his car on the University of North Carolina’s flagship Chapel Hill campus and then drove away. A UNC officer who tried to stop Morley fired at him as he was backing up and driving toward the officer. Later, two Alamance County sheriff’s deputies fired at Morley when he lunged at them and swung a machete.

AP-ELECTION-2020-VIRUS-RESTRICTIONS

Lockdowns are fading, but GOP outrage isn’t in campaigns

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — It’s not just Democrats who want voters thinking about the pandemic on Election Day. Across the country, some Republican candidates are counting on lingering voter resentment of cornavirus lockdown orders to boost them into office. Among them are Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther. She became an overnight symbol of conservative defiance earlier this year after spending  two days in a Texas jail for refusing to close her doors. She’s now running for a state Senate seat in a campaign that has hammered Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over virus restrictions.

AP-US-HAUNTED-HOUSE-SHOOTING

Sheriff: 1 wounded in shooting at haunted house

CHINA GROVE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say one person was wounded in a shooting at a Halloween haunted house attraction in North Carolina. Investigators arrested five juveniles and seized three guns after responding to a report of shots fired at the Reaper’s Realm haunted house in China Grove on Saturday night. The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that fights broke out among a crowd of about 1,000 people. One person was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound on one of his feet. The sheriff’s office said the person has been released from the hospital.

TRUMP-UTILITY LAKE RULES

New rule may strip pollution protections from popular lakes

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Environmental activists say a little-noticed provision in a Trump administration rule could lead to pollution of some man-made lakes. The provision classifies reservoirs created to provide cooling waters for power plants as parts of “waste treatment systems,” which aren’t covered under the Clean Water Act. It was part of a significant rewrite of the law that took effect earlier this year. Environmentalists challenging the rewrite in court say the provision strips protections from some large reservoirs that are popular fishing spots, such as Sutton Lake in Wilmington, North Carolina. The utility industry says critics are exaggerating the effect of the new rule and that state laws will still protect the lakes.