AP-US-HIKER-RESCUED-NORTH-CAROLINA

Hiker largely unhurt after tumbling 1,000 feet in mountains

PISGAH FOREST, N.C. (AP) — A hiker in North Carolina was rescued largely unhurt after slipping from an overlook near the Blue Ridge Parkway and tumbling about 1,000 feet. The Charlotte Observer reports the hiker was able to walk with assistance Sunday after rescue crews rappelled about 150 feet down Slate Rock in the Pisgah National Forest to reach him. The Transylvania County Rescue Squad tells the newspaper the hiker was on a trail when he rolled down the largely barren rock outcropping known for its view of mountain peaks in western North Carolina. The fall marks the third time this year that a hiker in the state has needed to be rescued.

NORTH CAROLINA FERRY SERVICE

North Carolina ferry service says it needs to hire more crew

The North Carolina ferry service that carries passengers to the Outer Banks is facing a shortage of deck hands, seamen and captains. The Virginian-Pilot reported last week that there’s often a waiting list to get a ferry job. But this year the service needs to fill an expanded summer schedule. Jed Dixon, deputy director of the North Carolina Ferry Division, said the pandemic prevented an annual job fair that typically helps recruit enough employees. But he said that people could simply be choosing other careers. North Carolina has a system of 22 ferries on seven routes.  About 2 million people ride the vessels each year. The ferry service needs roughly 20 more employees.

AMTRAK-DEEP SOUTH

Amtrak’s long-range plan would add new routes across South

ATLANTA (AP) — Amtrak says a new route in its long-range plans would connect Savannah, Georgia, to Nashville, Tennessee and stop in Atlanta. Amtrak’s proposed new routes also include one that would connect Montgomery, Alabama, to Atlanta. The routes are among several nationwide proposed by Amtrak after President Joe Biden announced his sweeping plan to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. Amtrak’s 2035 vision plan would add at least 30 new routes across the country and add more trips to at least 20 existing routes. Amtrak officials are hoping Congress will provide the $80 billion designated for rail in Biden’s American Jobs Plan announced last week.

FATAL CRASH-POLICE OFFICER

Police: Officer has died in single-vehicle crash

NEWTON GROVE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say that a police officer from North Carolina’s Sampson County has died in a single-car crash. WNCN reports that the accident occurred Saturday night and involved an officer from the Newton Grove Police Department. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the officer was Brent Nelson Hall, 26, of Clinton. The patrol said that he was driving to begin his shift in a department-owned Dodge Charger at a “high rate of speed” on U.S. 701 Business/Northeast Boulevard. Authorities said that he was not pursuing anyone and did not have the lights and sirens activated. The highway patrol said that he was not wearing his seatbelt. The wreck remains under investigation.

FATAL WRECK

Wreck in North Carolina claims the lives of mother and baby

CLAYTON, N.C. (AP) — A mother and her 2-month-old child have died in a car wreck in North Carolina’s Johnston County. The Raleigh News & Observer reports that the accident occurred Friday afternoon east of Clayton and north Selma on U.S. 42 The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said that the mother who died was Virginia Reyes, 22, of Clinton. Her baby died at a local hospital. The wreck involved a dump truck and a sedan.  Jordan Pack, a spokesman for the state highway patrol, said the truck driver was taken to the hospital. Pack was unable to comment on the truck driver’s injuries.

HORSE-RABIES

Investigators are trying to figure out how horse got rabies

CHERRYVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Investigators in North Carolina are trying to figure out how a horse contracted rabies. The Charlotte Observer reported Sunday that rabies in horses is uncommon in the United States. The rabid horse was at a farm in Cherryville in Gaston County, which is about 30 miles northwest of Charlotte. The infection was discovered by a veterinarian who was treating “a sick horse” last week. The horse has died. The farm’s other horses are being given a rabies vaccination and are being observed. There are about 30 to 60 rabies cases among horses out of nearly 7,000 cases in the U.S. each year.

AP-US-CONVENIENCE-STORE-ATTACK

Police: Man with pole trashes Asian-owned convenience store

An Asian-owned convenience store in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been trashed by a man who wielded a metal post and yelled racial slurs. The Charlotte Observer reports that the incident occurred Tuesday amid a nationwide spike in anti-Asian attacks. Surveillance footage shows a man pulling a merchandise rack to the floor and swinging a street sign post into the glass of the refrigerators. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said a man has been arrested on charges that include robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats. Since the attack, more than $30,000 has been raised through GoFundMe to cover the store’s damage.

RIGHT WHALES

Births among endangered right whales highest since 2015

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Scientists say critically endangered North Atlantic right whales gave birth over the winter in the greatest numbers seen since 2015. That’s an encouraging sign for researchers who became alarmed three years ago when right whales produced no known offspring at all. Survey teams from the Carolinas to Florida spotted 17 newborn right whale calves swimming with their mothers between December and March. One of those calves was later struck by a boat and killed. The death was a reminder of how fragile the species has become. Scientists estimate only about 360 North Atlantic right whales remain. As many as 49 are believed to have died since 2017, compared with 39 recorded births.