Morning Headlines: Monday, February 29, 2016

Melissa Harris-Perry Leaves MSNBC Show

A professor at Wake Forest University has said goodbye to her MSNBC news program.

Melissa Harris-Perry is stepping away from her weekend show that focused on race, gender and social justice.

Harris-Perry says this is in response to MSNBC's preemption of her program for much of February, running political coverage instead.

Harris-Perry is an author and a professor of political science at Wake Forest University.

She began hosting the show in 2012.

Regulators Face Deadline To OK $1B Duke Energy Gas Plant

North Carolina electricity regulators are facing a deadline as they weigh the pros and cons of allowing Duke Energy to replace an Asheville coal-burning power plant with units fueled by natural gas.

The Monday deadline for the North Carolina Utilities Commission to decide whether to approve construction was set by state legislators last year.

Public Meeting On Noise Walls For Greensboro Urban Loop

Highway officials are holding a public meeting to discuss noise walls along the Greensboro Urban Loop.

Tonight's meeting at the Fellowship Presbyterian Church will focus on residents along the loop's next phase of construction.

The News and Record of Greensboro reports residents will be asked to mail in ballots on whether they want the noise walls.

Local Civil Rights Leader Dies

A leader in the early civil rights movement in Winston-Salem has died. Carl W. Matthews died Friday morning of natural causes, according to family members.

Matthews led the Winston-Salem sit-in movement in 1960 when he took a seat at the “white-only” lunch counter at the downtown S.H. Kress & Co. store.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports funeral arrangements for Matthews are scheduled for Thursday.

Carl Matthews was 84.

Fayetteville Neighborhood Deals With Water Weeks After Rains

Residents of a gated community near Fayetteville are trying to figure out why areas of the neighborhood remain flooded days or weeks after it rains.

The water pools over two sections of road in the neighborhood, becoming an icy mess in the winter when the temperature dips below freezing.

Gates Four Homeowners Association Secretary Mike Molin told The Fayetteville Observer that the problems started about a year ago.

Another Loss For Demon Deacons

In sports, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets 87-76 on Sunday. The Pittsburgh Panthers dominated No. 15 Duke 76-62, and Virginia Tech beat Wake Forest 81-74.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.