TUBING DEATHS

Body of last missing tuber found after deadly dam accident

EDEN, N.C. (AP) — The body of the last person missing from a North Carolina river accident that killed five people has been found, weeks after a family rode inflatable tubes over a relatively small but dangerous Duke Energy dam. The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a news release Monday that crews recovered the body of 35-year-old Teresa Villano in the Dan River near the Draper Boat Landing. She was the last person missing after the June 16 accident. Four others in the group survived after floating over the dam on inflatable tubes. Boating experts say these dams are notorious for trapping people in powerful currents.

TENURE DISPUTE-SLAVERY PROJECT

Nikole Hannah-Jones chooses Howard over UNC-Chapel Hill

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones says she will not teach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill following an extended fight over tenure. Hannah-Jones announced her decision during an interview on “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday. She said she would instead take up the tenured Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at Howard University, a historically black school in Washington, D.C. One week ago, trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill approved tenure for Hannah-Jones, capping weeks of tension that began when a board member halted the process over questions about her teaching credentials.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NO BABY BOOM

Baby boom forecast busts in North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Predictions of a baby boom during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown have gone bust in North Carolina. Data compiled by Carolina Demography showed that birth rates in North Carolina fell by 3.1% from 2019 to 2020, in line with a national decline of 3.8% over the same period. Carolina Demography is located within the Carolina Population Center at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Boone Turchi, an associate professor of economics at UNC, told the News & Observer that the skyrocketing unemployment rates during the pandemic likely prompted many people to wait to have children.

AP-NC-DEPUTY SHOOTING-MURDER SUSPECT

Murder suspect shot, killed by North Carolina deputy

LENOIR, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man suspected in a woman’s death was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy hours after the victim’s body was found. News outlets report the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office says deputies went looking for Thomas Billings on Friday to serve him with a domestic violence order filed by a woman he had been living with. Authorities say the woman went to the home and was on the phone with a relative when that relative heard a commotion and the phone went dead. Deputies spotted Billings’ car and a confrontation followed. According to the sheriff’s office, Billings was armed when he was shot by the deputy.

BC-NC-POLICE SHOOTING-TRAFFIC CHECKPOINT

North Carolina officer on leave after gun goes off, hits man

TARBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina police officer is on administrative leave after his gun went off and wounded a motorist who drove off from a traffic checkpoint and led the officer on a foot chase. Tarboro police said in a news release that the motorist drove off on Sunday after the officer smelled alcohol and marijuana in the car . The news release says that during the ensuing chase, the man hit another car, then got out and ran. When the officer caught him and tried to take him into custody, his gun went off. Police filed multiple charges against the driver, and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.

AP-NC-PEDESTRIAN KILLED

North Carolina man charged after pedestrian struck, killed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man has been arrested and charged by police in a fatal hit-and-run. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say in a news release that 33-year-old Rinnell Curry was killed on Sunday after being struck by a car on a street in west Charlotte. According to police, Curry was standing in the road away from her vehicle when she was hit. The news release says detectives got information on the car and found it at the driver’s residence. Police arrested 46-year-old Jody Yeldell early Monday and charged him with driving with a revoked license, driving while impaired, felony death by motor vehicle and felony hit and run.

FATAL DEPUTY SHOOTING

Deputy fatally shoots armed person during traffic stop

SALEMBURG, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a deputy fatally shot an armed person during a traffic stop in eastern North Carolina. TV station WNCN reports the shooting in Sampson County was reported around 1 p.m. Sunday. According to a news release from the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when a deputy stopped a pickup truck near the small town of Salemburg, east of Fayetteville. The news release says the deputy discharged his firearm after encountering “an armed suspect.” Neither the suspect nor officer were immediately identified. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will investigate.

PURSUIT-ARRESTS

4 in custody after pursuit involving stolen TV vehicle

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say four suspects are in custody after a manhunt that stretched across two days and involved the theft of a TV news vehicle. The News & Observer reports the incident began Saturday morning after a state trooper started pursuing a speeding vehicle in Chatham County. That part of the pursuit ended soon after when the suspect vehicle spun into a median and the suspects fled on foot. By Saturday evening, two were in custody. The arrest of a third was announced late Saturday night after the Highway Patrol said he stole a car belonging to WRAL-TV and attempted to flee in it. The final person was arrested Sunday morning.