AP-NC-TRAFFIC CRASH-TWO KILLED

State Highway Patrol: Mother, child killed in car crash

HICKORY, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says a mother and her 3-year-old child were killed in a collision. The Hickory Daily Record reports the patrol says a car driven by 20-year-old Allison Faith Presley of Indian Trail crossed the center line on N.C. Highway 16 on Wednesday and collided with a car traveling in the opposite direction. According to the patrol, Presley and her child died at the scene. The investigating trooper says it appears Presley fell asleep at the wheel, and added that the child’s car seat was improperly installed. The patrol says the driver of the other car was taken to the hospital while a passenger had minor injuries.

AP-NC-SHOOTING-SHERIFF’S DEPUTY

North Carolina man arrested for shooting at sheriff’s deputy

GRAHAM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office has arrested a man who they say shot at a deputy. The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that a deputy responded to a call late Tuesday night about a man with a gun at a location on old N.C. Highway 87. The sheriff’s office says when the deputy arrived, a man was in the back of a truck waving a gun around. The man, identified as William Broadie Childress, shot at the deputy, who returned fire. Neither person was hurt. The sheriff’s office filed multiple charges against Childress, who is jailed on a $75,000 secured bond.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

N. Carolina bill ending extra $300 benefits heads to Cooper

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republicans in charge of the North Carolina General Assembly have agreed to legislation ending the $300 federal weekly supplemental benefit to the unemployed in the state. The House and Senate voted separately on Wednesday. Nearly all Democrats voted against the elimination, signaling a possible veto from Gov. Roy Cooper. The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation already is expected to expire nationwide in early September. The bill would end the program in North Carolina in roughly a month. Republicans have agreed with business owners who say the extra benefit are a disincentive to return to work. Democrats say it’s the wrong time to cut off benefits.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BIDEN

Falling short: Why the White House will miss its vax target

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven weeks ago, President Joe Biden laid out a lofty goal to vaccinate 70% of all American adults by July Fourth. The White House now acknowledges it will fall a little short of that target. Administration officials attribute their miscalculation to a combination of factors. They include the lessened sense of urgency that followed early success in the vaccination campaign as well as a decision to reach higher than a play-it-safe lower goal. They also encountered unexpectedly strong resistance among some Americans to getting a shot. Biden will be in North Carolina on Thursday urging Americans to roll up their sleeves.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCHOOL MASKS

Face mask decisions left with local NC schools in House bill

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The House has voted to let local school leaders — and not state officials — decide for next school year whether people  in K-12 schools must wear face coverings. The chamber voted Wednesday to give local school boards and leaders of private schools the “exclusive authority” to decide on face coverings. Gov. Roy Cooper’s current executive order and guidance by state health officials direct that most everyone wear face coverings indoors. The measure marks another effort by Republicans to scale back the Democratic governor’s influence over the state’s coronavirus response. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

AP-US-TUBING-DEATHS

Tubing accident survivor recalls clinging for her life

EDEN, N.C. (AP) — One of four survivors of a deadly tubing accident said by the time her family saw the dam on the Dan River, it was too late. Irene Villano told news outlets they hadn’t seen any signs warning of the 8-foot-high Duke Energy dam when they heard water rushing. Villano says she was the last in the group of nine relatives to go over the dam. Villano, her father, her older brother and cousin had their tubes around them and they clung to the dam for 20 hours and waited. The next afternoon, a Duke Energy employee spotted them and called 911. Duke Energy says there were two warning signs and the company added three more Tuesday.

AP-NC-BODY IN TRUNK

North Carolina man accused of stuffing girlfriend in tote

HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina have accused a man of killing his girlfriend and taking her body to Tennessee to dispose of it. News outlets report 24-year-old Michael Louis Cadogan is charged with first-degree murder, concealment of death and tampering with a corpse. According to police, officers were called to check on 19-year-old Gianna Rose Delgado after getting information that she was assaulted. According to court documents in Tennessee, Cadogan contacted a friend and admitted strangling Delgado during an argument and needed help with disposing of Delgado’s body and car. That friend contacted police. Cadogan is being held without bond in Tennessee.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

NC medical marijuana legalization gets hearing in Senate

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A bipartisan effort to legalize marijuana for medical use in North Carolina has received a legislative committee hearing. But it’s unclear yet whether enough legislators are ready now to alter their views on pot. Nearly three-quarters of states already allow medical marijuana. Senators debated the measure on Wednesday. Patients would have to be declared in writing by a physician to have one of several “debilitating medical conditions” to obtain an ID card to purchase or possess marijuana. Ten cannabis suppliers that are licensed could operate several sales centers. The bill would have to clear four committees to reach the Senate floor.

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