DISASTER RELIEF

Bill seeking to shore up flood-prone NC areas gets hearing

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A top North Carolina House Republican says legislation that spends $220 million in part to shore up highways, rivers and coastal areas prone to flooding will make the state more resilient when the next big storm arrives. The House Environment Committee scheduled debate Tuesday on the proposed “Disaster Relief and Mitigation Act.” It’s being pushed by Majority Leader John Bell, who calls it a bipartisan measure reflecting input from leaders in North Carolina communities that have taken the brunt of recent storms. Improvements along the Lumber and Neuse rivers are among the bill’s priorities.

DUKE ENERGY-RATE INCREASE

Higher rates in effect for Duke Energy customers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Higher rates are going into effect for Duke Energy customers.News outlets report that rates are increasing an average of 4.7% across all of the Charlotte-based utility’s customer groups on Tuesday. A typical residential customer’s average monthly power bill will rise to just under $120. That’s an increase of about $6.The increase varies depending on the rate they pay from an average increase of 3.6% for industrial customers to 4.7% for commercial customers 5.3% for residential customers. The N.C. Utilities Commission approved the rates new rates earlier this year.Duke Energy initially requested a significantly larger rate increase to help pay for cleaning up coal ash at plants, but agreed to a settlement that will save customers more than $1.1 billion.

CONFEDERATE MONUMENT

Obelisk honoring Confederate officer torn down in Asheville

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A 75-foot memorial to a Confederate leader has been removed from its perch in downtown Asheville where it stood for more than 120 years. WLOS-TV in Asheville reports that the stone obelisk was fully dismantled over the Memorial Day weekend. The demolition took more than a week. Its completion came after a North Carolina appeals court rejected an emergency motion to halt the work. The monument memorialized Confederate colonel and governor Zebulon Vance. It is one of many Confederate statues and memorials that have been torn down across the South in the last year amid protests for racial justice.

DEPUTY SHOOTING-NORTH CAROLINA

Rallies against Brown killing set for several N.C. cities

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Rallies against the deputy-involved shooting of an unarmed Black man in Elizabeth City are set to be held in various North Carolina cities. The Tuesday afternoon rallies are being organized by Repairers of the Breach, the North Carolina Council of Churches and B.R.I.D.G.E. They groups say they want accountability following the April shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. Repairers of the Breach said in a news release that the rallies are scheduled for 5 p.m. in Asheville, Charlotte, Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Protesters say Brown was unjustly killed while sheriff’s deputies tried to serve drug-related warrants. A prosecutor cleared the deputies, saying Brown used his vehicle as a weapon.

DEMOCRATS-BLACK WOMEN-CANDIDATES

Black women’s next targets: governorships and Senate seats

ATLANTA (AP) — Black women are stepping up as Democratic candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate as the party looks to expand its footprint in Sun Belt battlegrounds. Black women are running top-tier campaigns in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, and they’ll likely be joined in the coming months by Georgia voting rights activist Stacey Abrams launching her second bid for governor. Such a slate would have been virtually unthinkable a decade ago, even with Black women long providing an anchor for Democrats’ coalition. But Democratic power players say there’s a new paradigm: Black women are not only legitimate contenders, but in some cases are also Democrats’ best shots.

OUTER BANKS DROWNING

Virginia man drowns at Outer Banks, follows Kure Beach death

MANTEO, N.C. (AP) — A northern Virginia man has died after his body was recovered from the surf in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The National Park Service said Saturday that the 46-year-old Falls Church man died in an apparent drowning at the south end of Hatteras Island Friday evening. His family said the man, whose name was not released, had been surf fishing. Surf conditions were reported to be rough over the Memorial Day weekend. The Virginia man’s death was the second off the Carolina coast in recent days. News outlets report that a Raleigh man, 70-year-old William Delahoyde, died Thursday in an apparent drowning at Kure Beach near Wilmington.

TEEN-MURDER CHARGE

18-year-old woman charged with murder in cemetery death

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An 18-year-old woman has been charged with murder after the body of a 69-year old man was found in a North Carolina cemetery. Raleigh Police on Saturday night announced the arrest of Maria Elizabeth Pena-Echeverria. She has been charged with murder and is being held at the Wake County Detention Center. Police were called to Mount Olivet Cemetery in the city Friday night, where they found a seriously injured man. He was declared dead later at a nearby hospital. On Saturday, police identified the man as James Lacy Taylor. The investigation is ongoing.

DISMEMBERED BODY

N.C. man charged with murder after dismembered body found

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man has been charged with murder days after the dismembered body of a woman was found in a residential driveway. News outlets report that 29-year-old Willie Lee Langston of La Grange was arrested Friday by Goldsboro Police. Langston is being held without bond at Wayne County Detention Center. Police said charges against additional suspects are possible. The body of a woman in her 30s, whose identity was not released, was found dumped in a man’s driveway on Monday. Police believe the slaying occurred elsewhere and the body was later dumped in the driveway.

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