CAPITOL-RIOT-PROUD-BOYS
Proud Boys member pleads guilty to conspiracy in Jan. 6 riot
WASHINGTON (AP) — A North Carolina man has become the second member of the Proud Boys to plead guilty to conspiring with other members of the extremist group to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. Charles Donohoe pleaded guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy and assaulting federal officers during an appearance in federal court in Washington. The indictment against Donohoe and other members of extremist groups, like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, have been a focus of the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. The 34-year-old Donohoe has close ties to Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.
DUELING STALLIONS-NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina beachgoers warned of dueling stallions
BEAUFORT, N.C. (AP) — Wild stallions are tangling with each other on the North Carolina coast, and a nonprofit group is warning beachgoers to steer clear of the fights. Foundation for Shackleford Horses says on its Facebook page that the stallions are fighting over mares, for territory and herd dominance. They’re described in the post as “Stallion Wars.” According to the foundation, people can be walking on the beach and watching horses while a stallion is eyeing a harem over the dune and trying to steal them from another stallion. It’s estimated that there are herds of nearly 100 wild horses at each end of the Outer Banks.
BC-US-TEXAS-SYNAGOGUE-STANDOFF-REOPENING
Repaired Texas synagogue reopens months after hostage crisis
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — In the three months since Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three of his congregants were held at gunpoint in their Texas synagogue, new carpet has been laid in the sanctuary, the walls have been repainted, the entry retiled and new doors installed. He said it has been healing to watch. On Friday, Congregation Beth Israel in the Fort Worth suburb of Colleyville will be rededicated and members will celebrate Shabbat in their own building for the first time since the attack. The Jan. 15 standoff ended with the escape of the remaining three hostages and an FBI tactical team rushing in and killing the gunman.
WRONG-WAY DRIVER BLOCKED
North Carolina trooper uses car to block wrong-way driver
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper used his car to block a wrong-way driver on an exit ramp on Interstate 40. News outlets report the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office called the patrol shortly after midnight Friday to help stop a driver who was speeding more than 100 mph. The patrol said that in order to stop the driver being pursued, State Trooper Cody Thao parked his car at the top of the ramp near Rock Quarry Road to stop him from driving into oncoming traffic on the interstate. The driver being pursued was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries and charged with driving while impaired.
OBIT-ROUSE
Former AP reporter, editor Michael Rouse dies at 82
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (AP) — J. Michael “Mike” Rouse, a former Associated Press reporter in North Carolina who helped usher the news cooperative into the early computer age though vote tabulation and story transmission, has died. He was 82. His son, David Rouse, said Friday that his father died Thursday night at a hospice in Wilmington, having been in failing health for several years. As an editor for the Carolinas, Rouse and his bureau chief, Carl Bell, hired the South Carolina Education Association to have teachers in every precincts to call in the votes. He set up telephone banks in the basement of a municipal auditorium in Columbia and borrowed a computer from Richland Technical Institute.
SCHOOLS REPORT
NC officials: Budget pays over half of school spending order
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration says North Carolina’s state budget spends a little over half of the amount necessary to comply with a plan that a judge approved to address public education inequities. Cooper’s budget office this week gave special Superior Court Judge Michael Robinson details on provisions in the budget enacted in November and how they match up with a remedial spending plan that Judge David Lee approved. It’s Robinson’s job to see if Lee’s order directing $1.75 billion be spent for the plan needs to be adjusted before the Supreme Court takes up appeals. This is the latest step in the decades-old “Leandro” school funding litigation.
ELECTION 2022-SENATE-BEASLEY
Beasley makes largest quarterly fundraising in Senate bid
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The heavy favorite to win next month’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary in North Carolina says her campaign brought in its largest quarterly fundraising haul to date. Cheri Beasley’s campaign said Thursday it raised over $3.6 million in the first three months of this year. The former chief justice of the state Supreme Court has led in fundraising among all Democratic and Republican candidates seeking to succeed the retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr. First-quarter filings are due April 15, and the Democratic and Republican primaries are May 17. Fourteen people are seeking the GOP nomination, with U.S. Rep. Ted Budd and former Gov. Pat McCrory among them.
AVIAN FLU-NORTH CAROLINA
Poultry shows, public sales suspended in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The state veterinarian in North Carolina says all poultry shows and public sales in North Carolina are being suspended because of the threat of the avian flu. State Veterinarian Mike Martin says in a news release that the suspension includes all exhibitions, farm tours, shows, sales, flea markets, auction markets, swaps and meets pertaining to poultry and feathered fowl. The activities are suspended until further notice. The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says North Carolina joins several other states, including Georgia, that have also cancelled or altered poultry events due to the flu.
