AP-NC-VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHURCH

Health officials report third COVID-19 death tied to church

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina health officials say a third person has died as the result of a COVID-19 outbreak linked to a weeklong church event. The Charlotte Observer reports 82 cases have developed as the result of the events at the United House of Prayer for All People in Charlotte from Oct. 4-11. Mecklenburg County Deputy Health Director Raynard Washington says in a statement that at least five people have been hospitalized in connection with the church outbreak. The county tested at least 127 people for COVID-19 Thursday and has scheduled for Friday.

AP-US-ELECTION-2020-NORTH-CAROLINA-VOTING

GOP to high court: Halt longer N. Carolina absentee deadline

Republican officials have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to return North Carolina to a shorter deadline for accepting absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. State Republican legislative leaders and President Donald Trump’s campaign filed appeals on Thursday. The North Carolina State Board of Elections had announced in late September that absentee ballots could be accepted by counties until Nov. 12, as long as they were mailed by Election Day. That rule change lengthened the period for accepting ballots from three days to nine. The state board made the change as part of a legal settlement with voting rights advocates.

LUMBEE TRIBE-RECOGNITION

Trump adds support to Lumbee Tribe federal recognition bill

PEMBROKE, N.C. (AP) — Full federal recognition of North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe got a boost with President Donald Trump expressing support for a U.S. Senate bill that could bring millions of dollars more in funding to the community. The tribe received limited recognition from the federal government in the 1950s. The Senate measure also would allow the tribe to open a casino in Robeson County. Trump’s announcement of support came the day before the president announced he would hold a weekend rally in Lumberton. Joe Biden’s campaign has given support to a Lumbee recognition bill in the House.

MAN INDICTED-BIDEN THREAT

Court records: Man had guns, search online for Biden home

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — Court documents indicate a North Carolina man indicted last month on child pornography charges had searched online earlier this year for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s home, traveled near the home and wrote a checklist which ended with the word “execute.” The information was contained in documents linked to a detention hearing for Alexander Hillel Treisman. A magistrate in an order signed Oct. 8 also said Treisman was in possession of an AR-15 rifle, a canister of explosive material and a box of ammunition, all of which were found inside a van abandoned in a bank parking lot in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

THEOLOGY SCHOOL-FRAUD CHARGES

6 linked to Georgia theology school charged with fraud

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Six people from three states are charged with defrauding $12 million from federal student aid programs by allegedly enrolling students into a theology school without requiring any classwork. The defendants are from Georgia, Alabama and Nevada. They also were accused of creating fake students as part of a scheme to operate a campus in Columbus, Georgia, for North Carolina-based Apex School of Theology. The group allegedly recruited people to act as students to apply for federal financial aid. The supposed students did no work and attended no classes, but split their financial aid with the defendants. The scheme also involved creating work for fake students.

AP-NC-HATTERAS SEASHORE ORDNANCE FOUND

Unexploded ordnance washes up on North Carolina beach

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — Park rangers on the North Carolina coast say potential unexploded ordnance has washed onshore, leading authorities to establish a safety perimeter to protect visitors. A statement from Cape Hatteras National Seashore says the item was discovered on the beach at Buxton on Thursday near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Beach Access parking area. The safety perimeter measures approximately a half mile and will remain in place until a U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit from Norfolk, Virginia arrives on scene to safety removes the ordnance. David Hallac, superintendent of National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, says big waves often lead to unexploded ordnance and practice bombs washing onshore.

ELECTION 2020-DEBATE

Trump, Biden fight over the raging virus, climate and race

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden fought over how to tame the raging coronavirus in Thursday’s final 2020 debate. They largely shelved the rancor that overshadowed their previous face-off in favor of a more substantive exchange that highlighted their vastly different approaches to solving the major domestic and foreign policy challenges facing the nation. With less than two weeks until the election, Trump sought to portray himself as the same outsider he first pitched to voters four years ago, arguing anew that he wasn’t a politician. Biden, meanwhile, argued that Trump was an incompetent leader of a country facing multiple crises and tried to connect what he saw as the president’s failures to the everyday lives of Americans.

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