TEEN HIT BY TRAIN

Police: Teen hit by train, killed

APEX, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say an 18-year-old woman was killed when she was hit by an Amtrak train while walking along the tracks.Apex police said in a news release that officers responding to an emergency call around 10 p.m. Tuesday found the woman from the Garner area dead.  Wake County EMS District Chief Joe McLean tells WNCN-TV that the woman and a teenage boy were walking on the tracks when a Miami-bound Amtrak train struck the woman.  McLean says the boy wasn’t hurt and none of the 122 passengers on board the train was injured.Amtrak police are also investigating the incident. Police say the spot where the woman was struck is not near a railroad crossing and not a place where people typically walk along the train tracks.

EX-TEACHER-INDECENT LIBERTIES

Ex-teacher pleads guilty to taking indecent liberties

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A former teacher at a Winston-Salem charter school pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor.The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Tyrus Cromartie was sentenced to 10 to 12 months in prison with an additional 10 to 12 months suspended. He must register as a sex offender and cannot be alone with a minor child without supervision.Assistant District Attorney Kia Chavious says the former Quality Education Academy math teacher tried to get two students, aged 13 and 14 at the time, to have sex with him. They never met, Chavious says, but Cromartie sent the girls text messages suggesting possible meeting times. Cromartie’s attorney says his client was fully cooperative and has met with a counselor.

STATE BUDGET

NC Republicans finally agree on next year’s spending total

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republicans in the North Carolina legislature have announced an agreement on how much they want to spend on state government next year. GOP leaders in the two chambers said Tuesday their spending cap would be $25.7 billion. That’s several hundred million less than what Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper wants to spend. Both figures are below projected revenues. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger also says the two chambers are committed to cutting taxes and will set aside over $4 billion for capital projects. A disagreement between the two chambers over the spending limit has delayed budget work for weeks.

CONCEALED WEAPONS

Right-to-carry in more NC churches gets final legislative OK

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly has finalized another bill to try to expand gun rights — this time in churches. The Senate agreed Tuesday to the House changes to Senate legislation that would allow members or visitors at churches that meet on private school campuses to carry a handgun if they have a concealed weapons permit. Current law treats these places of worship differently than standalone religious venues. The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. He vetoed a broader gun bill containing the same idea a year ago, saying it threatened the safety of students and teachers.

CHARTER SCHOOL INVESTIGATION

Charter school closing after review finds ‘irregularities’

STATE ROAD, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina charter school is closing amid investigations that exposed irregularities that its board says threaten the school’s financial well-being and ability to operate within its charter. News outlets report that Bridges Academy in State Road announced Friday that it is closing June 30. The school and the state are promising to help the school’s 171 students in kindergarten through eighth grade transfer records. A State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman says the agency is investigating allegations that the school “fraudulently obtained excess funding from the state.” The board says a review by a consulting team brought in to help rebuild the school’s leadership team found irregularities in the school’s operations. The state auditor’s office began a separate investigation.

DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES

DMV: Prepare for long lines this summer, try online instead

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — Get ready for long lines at North Carolina DMV offices this summer. Pandemic delays and economic forces could bring record demand for licenses. The Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner is urging motorists to conduct their business online if they can. The agency says summer is usually the busiest time at DMV, but many people have waited to get vaccinated before completing transactions. And many teenagers have been delayed in completing in-person driving tests to obtain their provisional licenses. The DMV is encouraging people to schedule appointments if they must complete a transaction in-person. Otherwise, they should wait until after Labor Day.

AP-NC-ENGINEERING FIRM-FRAUD SCHEME

Engineering firm pleads guilty to bid-rigging, fraud schemes

WASHINGTON (AP) — A North Carolina engineering firm has pleaded guilty to conspiracies to rig bids and defraud the N.C. Department of Transportation, and was ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution and $7 million in fines. The U.S. Department of Justice says in a news release Monday that court documents show Contech Engineered Solutions LLC pleaded guilty on Monday to violating the Sherman Act and conspiracy to commit fraud. The news release says Contech admitted to conspiring to rig bids to the NCDOT and conspiring to defraud the department to obtain contracts for infrastructure projects. Authorities say the conspiracies started as early as 2009 and continued at least until March 2018.

BC-NC-SUSPECTS CAPTURED

Escaped suspect in North Carolina attempted murder captured

LA GRANGE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office says a man who was able to slip away from police as they served a warrant in late May has been arrested in Lenoir County. News outlets report Greene County Sheriff Lemmie Smith says 23-year-old Ronald Sauls, Jr. was arrested Tuesday on a charge of attempted murder during an operation in La Grange which involved multiple law enforcement agencies. Sauls, along with his cousin Bobby Sauls, was arrested around 9:15 a.m. On May 27, authorities went to serve an attempted murder warrant on Ronald Sauls, but he escaped out of an apartment window.

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