North Carolina News – January 8

AP-NC-FORMER CIRCUS TRAIN CARS

North Carolina to try again to sell former circus train cars

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The state of North Carolina say it will try again to auction off railroad cars, including nine that were once owned by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The Raleigh News & Observer reported Friday that the N.C. Department of Transportation had originally put 16 cars up for sale last month. It received offers for two passenger cars built in the 1960s. The state said it will hold another online auction for the other 14 cars, probably by the end of the month. He said the department will consider lowering the asking prices and revising the terms and conditions of the sales.

GRENADE

ATF: Virginia teen killed by grenade likely sold at NC store

SHALLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a hand grenade that killed a Virginia teenager may be one of the many explosives that were unknowingly sold at a North Carolina antique mall. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a statement Thursday the teen died on Dec. 23 in Abingdon, Virginia. The agency says the deadly explosion may have come from a grenade purchased at Fancy Flea Antique Mall in Shallotte, North Carolina. The ATF said last month they were looking for a grenade that was sold at that store in June. They say the vendor did not believe the grenades were active at the time of the sale. The agency now says more live grenades might have been purchased there.

AP-NC-VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA-UNC

UNC-Chapel Hill sets three-week delay for in-person learning

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The flagship school of North Carolina’s university system says it is delaying the start of in-person undergraduate classes for the spring semester. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced on Thursday that while classes will begin on Jan. 19, as scheduled, it is delaying the start of in-person undergraduate classes for three weeks, citing record cases of COVID-19, and record hospitalizations in North Carolina and around the country. Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said only a limited number of undergraduate courses were planned for in-person instruction. The chancellor says start dates for graduate and professional programs may vary and all programs have the option of starting remotely.

CAPITOL BREACH-COOPER

NC governor, congressional members call for Trump’s removal

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office if he does not resign. Cooper joins three other Democrats who have explicitly called for Trump’s removal. This comes in response to Trump’s efforts to overturn the election of President-elect Joe Biden. A violent mob descended on the U.S. Capitol as members of Congress counted Electoral College votes on Wednesday. Several Trump administration officials have since resigned. Democrats want Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment to force Trump out of the White House.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA

N.C. mulls incentives for prison inmates who get vaccinated

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Top North Carolina prison officials are discussing whether to offer incentives to inmates who decide to get vaccinated. Commissioner of Prisons Todd Ishee said Thursday that increased visitation privileges are among the options being considered. The state’s governor and top public health official have rejected the idea of implementing financial incentives statewide. Vaccine hesitancy has proven high among nursing home residents. Residents and workers are being paid to take a COVID-19 vaccine in some of the state’s long-term care facilities. This comes as the state sees its highest levels of spread yet. Gov. Roy Cooper has extended a modified

SENATE-COMMITTEES

Hise joins NC Senate budget chairs, Daniel co-leads finance

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Veteran western North Carolina Republican legislators have filled chairmanship vacancies on the Senate’s two most influential policy committees. Sen. Ralph Hise of Mitchell County will now join Sens. Brent Jackson and Kathy Harrington as co-chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee. And Sen. Warren Daniel of Burke County is a new Senate Finance Committee chairman.  Senate leader Phil Berger announced committee assignments for the next two years on Thursday. The reshuffling comes as former budget-writer Harry Brown didn’t seek reelection and finance co-chairman Jerry Tillman resigned. No Democratic senators will hold chairmanships as Republicans kept control of the chamber in the November elections.

BC-NC-PROPOSED SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS

State’s proposed social studies standards prompt debate

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Efforts in North Carolina to make social studies standards more inclusive are drawing complaints as well as praise. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that reaction on Wednesday to the proposed standards was largely split along partisan lines. The State Board of Education reviewed proposed K-12 standards that include language such as having teachers discuss systemic discrimination and the perspectives of marginalized groups. Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said the new standards appear to be political in nature. Board member Jill Camnitz said the standards are not about blame and guilt.  She said the standards seek to draw “on the richness of the American historical experience” so that children can “better appreciate their legacy.”

BC-NC-DEER KILLING-RESIDENTIAL AREA

Police: Killing of deer in residential area was ‘dangerous’

SOUTHERN SHORES, N.C. (AP) — Police in a town in North Carolina’s Outer Banks are investigating after someone shot and killed a deer with an arrow inside the town’s limits. The Town of Southern Shores police department said in a statement that the deer was found dead on Saturday morning. Police said the town code prohibits the shooting or discharging of arrows within the town’s corporate limits. Police said the killing of the deer with an arrow “is extremely dangerous in a residential community, especially in common areas where people recreate. It is not safe, and it is unacceptable.”