Here are some of the stories we're following today:

More North Carolina Officials Refuse To Perform Marriages

Dozens of magistrates in North Carolina have refused to perform weddings since a law went into effect allowing officials to refrain from performing the ceremony.

The state court system says it's received 32 notices from magistrates since a law took effect June 11 allowing court officials who for religious reasons oppose gay marriage to opt out of performing all marriages.

The law exempts court officials with a "sincerely held religious objection" and is designed for those opposing gay marriage.

State Sen. Phil Berger says the law is probably preventing situations like the one in Kentucky, where a clerk has refused to issue licenses.

Emails To McCrory: Don't Scrap Confederate License Plates

Gov. Pat McCrory is hearing strong opinions after his proposal to remove the Confederate battle flag from a North Carolina license plate.

WRAL-TV reports that in the weeks after McCrory proposed ending sales of specialty license plates bearing the flag, emails from opponents vastly outnumbered supporters. McCrory spoke after a white supremacist killed nine black South Carolina churchgoers. South Carolina removed the flag from outside its statehouse several weeks later.

Emails released by the governor's office after a public records request show hundreds of people complained the idea equaled a free speech clamp-down. Supporters objected to a flag adopted by the Ku Klux Klan.

Salisbury Has Fastest Internet In The U.S.

Salisbury residents and businesses now have access to the fastest Internet speeds available in the country. Fibrant, the city's optical-fiber service,  introduced the technology at Catawba College along with Gov. Pat McCrory.

The connection can reach speeds of up to 10 gigabit per second.

Salisbury is the first in the country to offer the service city-wide. Kent Winrich, Director of Broadband and Infrastructure for the city, says it could help Rowan County and the region become a tech leader.

AG To Meet With NAACP, Clergy About Fatal Shooting

Ministers and activists are meeting with the state attorney general to discuss his decision not to retry a Charlotte police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black man.

Officials with the state chapter of the NAACP say they and Charlotte clergy members will meet Friday with Attorney General Roy Cooper to discuss his decision not to retry Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Randall Kerrick.

A judge last month declared a mistrial in Kerrick's voluntary manslaughter trial after jurors said they were deadlocked.

Duke, Wake Forest Win Season Openers

Thomas Sirk produced 357 yards from scrimmage and passed for two touchdowns in his first start and Duke beat Tulane 37-7 in the opener for both teams last night.

John Wolford passed for three touchdowns and ran 70 yards for another score, and Wake Forest opened by routing Elon 41-3 .

 

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