ELECTION 2022-NORTH CAROLINA-CAWTHORN
North Carolina voters dispute Cawthorn candidacy over Jan. 6
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A group of North Carolina voters want U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn disqualified as a congressional candidate. They say his actions surrounding the riot in Washington on Jan. 6 last year amount to engaging in an insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution. Lawyers filed a challenge of the Republican’s candidacy with the State Board of Elections on Monday. Cawthorn claimed President Joe Biden’s victory was fraudulent at Donald Trump’s rally that day and accused Republicans who weren’t fighting of trying to silence Trump’s supporters. The voters want to force Cawthorn to answer questions under oath before a special panel hears the case.
FATAL SHOOTING-SHERIFF’S DEPUTY
Black man shot by off-duty deputy, sparking protest
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The shooting of a Black man by a sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina sparked a protest Sunday. The News & Observer reports that the shooting took place shortly after 2:15 p.m. Saturday in Fayetteville. A news release issued by the Fayetteville Police Department said 37-year-old Jason Walker was struck by the truck of an off-duty Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy. Authorities said the deputy shot Walker and then called 911. The deputy was not identified by police. The police department said a preliminary investigation determined Walker “ran into traffic and jumped on a moving vehicle.” A group of protesters who demonstrated outside the Fayetteville police station Sunday disputed the account given by police.
FATAL FIRE-THREE DEAD
Three people killed in early-morning fire in North Carolina
BELL ARTHUR, N.C. (AP) — An early-morning fire at a mobile home in North Carolina has left three people dead. Pitt County Fire Marshal Jay Morris told WNCT-TV that the fire broke out early Sunday morning in a doublewide mobile home behind a house in Bell Arthur. He said two people escaped the fire, but three others died. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but it appears to have been electrical. In a Facebook post, the Red Oak Fire Department asked for prayers for the family involved.
SKI RESORT MISHAP
Several skiers hurt at N.C. ski resort after hydrant struck
BANNER ELK, N.C. (AP) — Several people were hurt at a North Carolina ski resort when a hydrant sprayed a blast of water onto skiers riding above on a lift, prompting several skiers to jump. Management at Beech Mountain Resort told WBTV that a guest skied into the water and air hydrant Friday while snowmaking operations were underway. Video circulating on social media shows skiers on the chair lift getting hit by blasts of water. The resort said in a statement that two people were taken to an area hospital by Avery County emergency medical workers with what appeared to be injuries that were not life-threatening. The person who skied into the hydrant was not injured.
BC-NC-TODDLER KILLED
N.C. man charged in death of 2-year-old toddler
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina have charged a 26-year-old man in the death of a 2-year-old toddler in Fayetteville. WRAL-TV reports that Fayetteville police arrested and charged Keshawn Ayers on Friday night. Police found the child unresponsive at a home on Malloy Street on Dec. 31. First responders took the toddler to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. The medical examiner determined the death to be a homicide. At the time, officials said that Ayers had custody of the child. Police said Ayers is the toddler’s mother’s boyfriend. Ayers is facing charges of first-degree murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious injury.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
School bus service suspended due to driver COVID-19 cases
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — High school students in two North Carolina cities won’t be able to ride school buses for at least two weeks because a large number of drivers are temporarily out of work after testing positive for COVID-19. The News & Record of Greensboro reports that Guilford County Schools said Friday that 76 of the district’s drivers are out of work with the virus. Superintendent Sharon Contreras said those absences come on top of the district’s pre-existing driver shortage. Contreras said local government leaders have agreed to give free rides on Greensboro and High Point city buses to students who show their student ID. Parents are also being asked to take their children to school if possible.
CAREER COACH-STOLEN FUNDS
Career coach sentenced to prison for stealing federal funds
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina career coach has received a two-year prison sentence after her conviction for stealing $68,000 from a federally funded workforce development program and using it for herself. Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, says in a news release that 39-year-old Jessica Anne Miller of Hickory was sentenced Thursday on a wire fraud charge. According to court documents, Miller worked as a career coach for a group contracted by a nonprofit association of local governments. Miller previously admitted in court that she engaged in a scheme to divert funds to herself by creating fraudulent documents, falsifying signatures, and making false and misleading statements to people who were supposed to get the money.
COMPANY OWNER’S DEATH-FRAUD
Man admits embezzling from employer after owner’s death
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A federal prosecutor says a North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from his employer following the company owner’s death. U.S. Attorney Dena J. King says in a news release that 56-year-old Benjamin Padua Jr. of Huntersville pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Thursday and was released on bond. Prosecutors said that from September 2019 to February 2021, Padua abused his senior finance position with an unidentified trucking company. The news release said he used falsified documents and improper accounting entries to embezzle.
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