North Carolina News – April 26

APPLE-US INVESTMENTS

Apple announces 1st East Coast campus in North Carolina

Apple plans to invest more than $1 billion in North Carolina to build the company’s first East Coast campus. The move is expected to bring at least 3,000 new jobs to the state. The company announced Monday that the development is part of an effort to up its U.S. investment as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The North Carolina project falls under a commitment from Apple to invest $430 billion and add a total of 20,000 new jobs over the next five years. Apple is expanding its teams in Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, New York, California and other states.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SEASONAL-WORKERS

Help Wanted: In pandemic, worry about finding summer workers

BOSTON (AP) — Hotels, restaurants and other businesses in tourist destinations are warning that hiring challenges during the coronavirus pandemic could force them to pare back operating hours or curtail services just as they’re eyeing a bounce-back summer. They say the annual influx of overseas seasonal workers into the country has been severely delayed by rising COVID-19 cases globally. American embassies and consulates remain closed or severely short-staffed and the U.S. has imposed travel restrictions on various countries. Businesses have also struggled to attract U.S. workers, even as many have redoubled their efforts to hire locally amid high unemployment.

STATE OF THE STATE

Cooper’s second term a focus in NC General Assembly address

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is giving his biennial address to a joint session of the General Assembly. Monday night’s televised State of the State address is happening later on the calendar than usual due to safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. This marks Cooper’s third State of the State address and first since he was reelected in November. House Speaker Tim Moore will deliver the Republican response to Cooper’s speech. GOP leaders and Cooper have spoken about finding consensus on the state budget and other issues following past political rancor between them. Cooper’s persistent push to expand Medicaid coverage to more adults remains a point of division with Republicans.

FATAL STABBING-CHILD

Woman charged in stabbing death of 5-year-old daughter

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities have charged a North Carolina woman with murder in the stabbing death of her 5-year-old daughter. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that deputies were called to a residence at about 8:43 a.m. Sunday for a report of a stabbing. When deputies and emergency personnel arrived, they determined that the girl had died of stab wounds. Penny Short Hartle was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder. Hartle did not receive bond and is scheduled to have her first appearance in court on Monday. Authorities did not release any additional details.

CHILD KILLED

Police charge North Carolina man in killing of 4-year-old

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police charged a North Carolina man with murder Sunday after a 4-year-old girl was found severely injured at a Raleigh hotel and later died. Raleigh police said they responded to a call about an injured child at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. When officers arrived at the Candlewood Suites hotel, they found a severely injured girl. She was taken to the hospital, but did not survive. Police said they arrested 27-year-old Milton Ray Horton Jr. and charged him with murder. Police Capt. Kevin Lillis told The News & Observer that Horton and the child were not related, but knew each other. He said Horton and the child had been at the hotel for about two weeks.

TODDLER KILLED-MISTRIAL

Police mistake prompts mistrial in toddler’s 2017 death

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial in the case of a North Carolina man charged with killing a 22-month-old boy after the Raleigh Police Department failed to turn over evidence to the defense on time. Michael Buchanan was charged with murder in the 2017 death of Torrance Adams. Buchanan, who was the boyfriend of the toddler’s mother, claimed the boy choked on a waffle and then hit his head on the sink. The News & Observer reports that Judge Paul Ridgeway declared a mistrial in Buchanan’s trial on April 16, ruling that “a fair and impartial trial has become impossible due to prejudice to the defendant as a result of the late disclosure of the evidence.” The judge cited data from the cellphone of the boy’s mother, Marquise McCall.

AP-NC-FATAL SHOOTING

North Carolina man killed in overnight shooting in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police in Raleigh are investigating a shooting that left one man dead early Sunday morning. Police said in a news release that officers were sent to Paula Street shortly before 3 a.m. There they found a man suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police identified the man as 32-year-old Ricardo Jermel Fogg of Wake Forest. Fogg was taken to a hospital, where he later died. Police said they have a suspect in custody, but did not immediately provide additional details.

AP-US-DRONE-OPERATORS-V-SURVEYORS

Drone operators challenge surveyors’ turf in mapping dispute

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Here’s another industry being disrupted by technology: Licensed surveyors are objecting to maps that combine drone images with property lines. Michael Jones is suing North Carolina’s Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors. The board has threatened him with criminal prosecution for unlicensed surveying. The libertarian Institute of Justice law firm says it’s a nationwide freedom of speech issue. The challenge goes both ways: Surveyors need Federal Aviation Administration approval to professionally fly drones, and drone operators need state licenses to produce legal surveys. Some experts say they should work together to create maps that do a better job of showing where to build fences.