APARTMENT SHOOTINGS

Police: 1 dead, 2 wounded in NC apartment complex shootings

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Police say a man died and two others were wounded after shootings at a central North Carolina apartment complex. It happened Monday in Winston-Salem. Officers arriving at the Rolling Hills Apartment complex located a wounded 16-year-old girl and a 31-year-old woman. An additional shooting victim who had been driven away for medical help was located in a bank parking lot. Kelvin Rayvon James Jr. died The two wounded are in stable condition. Investigators determined James had been in a verbal dispute with another male, leading to gunfire, and that the two wounded had not been targeted. Police had announced no arrests Tuesday.

REDISTRICTING

NC redistricting hearing speakers criticize GOP proposals

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Speakers at a public hearing on North Carolina redistricting want Republicans to shelve proposed congressional district maps. They say the maps would likely give the GOP most of the seats and needlessly fracture the state’s largest counties. The House and Senate redistricting committees held meetings Monday to receive input on U.S. House maps that Republicans and Democrats have created. It’s the next step before the legislature begins voting on the plans. Lawmakers are hoping by early next month to enact new maps for use starting with next year’s elections. Almost all of the roughly 30 speakers at the in-person meetings Monday took issue with GOP plans.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina’s $25 reward helped boost COVID vaccinations

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — What works and what doesn’t when it comes to encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19? A new study in North Carolina shows that offering $25 to people getting their first shot was an important factor. Less successful, however, was the state’s rollout of a $4.5 million lottery package that ultimately went to just eight winners. The report was released Monday by researchers with the state Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They looked at a state pilot program offering prepaid cards worth $25 to people in four counties.

AP-US-GACY-EXHUMATIONS

Sheriff: Newly ID’d Gacy victim’s death was news to family

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say a North Carolina man who moved to Chicago was one of the victims of John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted of killing 33 young men and boys in the 1970s. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference Monday that Francis Wayne Alexander would have been 21 or 22 years old when Gacy killed him sometime between early 1976 and early 1977. Alexander was one of eight Gacy victims whose remains were buried without police knowing who they were. Dart’s office exhumed those remains in 2011 in the hopes that DNA testing could help. Five victims now remain unidentified. In a statement, Alexander’s sister, Carolyn Sanders, thanked the sheriff’s office for giving the family some “closure.”

SCHOOL SYSTEM-THANKSGIVING BREAK

School system sets Thanksgiving break for mental health

CHAPEL HILL, N,.C. (AP) — A North Carolina school system says it will give students the entire week of Thanksgiving off to support their mental health and wellness. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools announced that the new days off include an optional teacher work day and two new “wellness” days.  Superintendent Nyah Hamlett cited feedback from employees, students and families as reasons for the initiatives, which also include two years of retention bonuses for most district staff. Chapel Hill High School student body president told the school board that there is a mental health crisis at the high school level.

GACY EXHUMATIONS-TIMELINE

Timeline of serial killer John Wayne Gacy’s life, case

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities have identified a victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy as Francis Wayne Alexander, a North Carolina man who moved to Chicago shortly before disappearing sometime between early 1976 and early 1977. The announcement Monday is the latest development in the case of the 1970s serial killer, who was convicted of killing 33 young men and boys in the Chicago area during the 1970s and was executed in 1994. The identification of Alexander’s remains leaves five victims still unknown.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS-BRIBERY

Ex-tennis coach pleads guilty in college admissions case

BOSTON (AP) — A former Georgetown University tennis coach has pleaded guilty in the ongoing college admissions bribery case. Gordon Ernst appeared virtually Monday in Boston federal court to acknowledge the plea change. The 54-year-old was accused of accepting more than $2 million to help the children of wealthy parents get into the school in Washington. He had been slated to face trial in November. Prosecutors recommend Ernst serve no more than four years in prison. Ernst has agreed to plead guilty to multiple counts of federal programs bribery and to forfeit $3.4 million earned from the scheme. He’ll be sentenced in March. 

INMATE ESCAPE-DUMP TRUCK

North Carolina inmate who escaped in dump truck recaptured

ASHEBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina prison inmate who authorities say escaped from a work detail by driving off in a dump truck has been recaptured. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office says it received two calls on Saturday regarding a suspicious person walking along a local road. When deputies reached the scene, they confirmed the man was 53-year-old Richard Alexander Mundy. He was taken into custody and turned over the N.C. Department of Corrections. On Friday, authorities found the dump truck he had stolen. The sheriff’s office says Mundy was working in an off-prison assignment in Laurinburg just before noon Thursday when he stole the dump truck.

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