SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER-ASSAULT
NC sheriff’s office: Woman asssaulted school officer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office says it has charged a woman with assaulting a school resource officer. News outlets report the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said a parent arrived at Philo-Hill Magnet Academy on Tuesday morning and got into a fight with the officer. The woman drove away from school and a sheriff’s deputy tried to stop her. She didn’t stop and a chase ensued. The sheriff’s office says the woman eventually stopped on a street and was taken into custody without further incident. She faces multiple misdemeanor charges.
WILDFIRE-NORTH CAROLINA
Wildfire covers 1,000 acres on North Carolina’s Outer Banks
A wildfire in eastern North Carolina has burned parts of the Outer Banks and covered the area in smoke. The Roanoke Island Volunteer Fire Department said Tuesday morning that there was an active wildland fire at Dare County Bombing Range, a training location for military aircraft crews. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in North Carolina said Tuesday afternoon that the fire had slightly spread to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, which is one of the only places in the world where endangered red wolves can be seen in the wild. The fire covered 1,000 acres and was 60% contained as of Wednesday morning.
ELECTION 2022-LEGISLATURE-COOPER
Cooper sides against NC Senate incumbent deViere in primary
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has endorsed the challenger of a sitting state senator in the May 17 primary. It’s an unusual public intervention by the second-term governor in intraparty politics. Cooper is backing Val Applewhite for the Cumberland County seat currently held by Sen. Kirk deViere, who at times has voted with the Republican majority on measures Cooper opposed. Cooper’s endorsement Tuesday says Applewhite isn’t afraid to stand up to “Right Wing Republicans.” DeViere says he’s confident voters will choose “the voice that best represents their interests — not the interests of partisan Raleigh politicians.”
APARTMENT FIRE-CHILD DEATH
Child dies, 3 hospitalized in North Carolina apartment fire
CARY, N.C. (AP) — Officials say one child was killed and three other people were taken to the hospital after fire roared through a North Carolina apartment building. News outlets report the fire broke out in a three-story apartment building in Cary. Deanna Hawkes, Cary’s public safety spokeswoman, says firefighters responding to the complex after 2:30 p.m. Monday found “heavy fire and smoke.” The Cary Fire Department rescued three people and found a fourth person outside of the fire. All were taken to a local hospital, Hawkes said. One of the victims was a child and Hawkes didn’t know the child’s age. No firefighters were hurt.
CHILD KILLED-MURDER CHARGE
North Carolina man charged with murder in 3-year-old’s death
LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say a man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two men and a 3-year-old girl last week. News outlets report Lexington police said Brian Keith Moses of Winston-Salem is accused of killing the toddler, who died Friday, two days after she was found severely injured in a Lexington apartment where two men were killed. Moses also is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon and first-degree arson, according to arrest warrants.
SHRIMP NETS-TURTLES
Turtle escape-hatches now required in more shrimp nets
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The federal government is reminding shrimpers that more boats are now required to have escape hatches for sea turtles installed in their nets. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a statement on Tuesday saying boats that are at least 40 feet long and use skimmer nets must now also use turtle excluder devices, commonly called TEDs. They’ve been required for decades in the more common offshore nets called otter trawls. NOAA Fisheries notes that TEDs are made to order, which takes time. It says vessel owners who don’t yet have TEDs should consider ordering them well in advance of planned fishing trips. It included a list of TED-makers, adding that it can add more as it learns of them.
BOOKKEEPER-EMBEZZLEMENT
Ex-North Carolina bookkeeper pleads guilty to embezzlement
WASHINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A prosecutor says a former bookkeeper for a sewer district in North Carolina has pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly half a million dollars over a seven-year period from the company where she worked. News outlets report District Attorney Scott Thomas said Debra Conway of New Bern pleaded guilty on Monday to six felony counts of embezzlement. She was sentenced to between five and seven years in prison followed by five years of probation, and Thomas says she is also ordered to pay $543,000 in restitution.
SUPREME COURT-REDISTRICTING
Court rejects GOP redistricting plans in NC, Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a victory for Democrats, the Supreme Court has turned away efforts from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to block state court-ordered congressional districting plans. In separate orders late Monday, the justices are allowing maps selected by each state’s Supreme Court to be in effect for the 2022 elections. Those maps are more favorable than the ones drawn by the states’ legislatures. In North Carolina, the map most likely will give Democrats an additional House seat in 2023. The Pennsylvania map also probably will lead to the election of more Democrats, the Republicans say, as the two parties battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections.
