Duke Energy Says Most Carolinas Customers Have Power Back
Duke Energy says it has restored power to all but a sliver of the hundreds of thousands of customers affected by recent storms.
Company data shows that about 20,000 customers were still without power on Sunday. The Charlotte and Winston-Salem areas have the most people still waiting to have power restored.
The work should be finished by Monday night.
The company said in a news release that about 350,000 customers lost electricity at some point during the powerful storm that hit Friday night. Officials said the storm packed winds of up to 70 mph.
Duke Energy said the outages were worst in Mecklenburg, Gaston, Forsyth, Wilkes, Macon and Jackson counties in North Carolina, along with the Spartanburg, South Carolina area.
68 Companies Join Legal Fight Against NC LGBT Law
Sixty-eight companies have signed on to a legal brief opposing a North Carolina law that limits protections for LGBT people.
The amicus brief filed Friday is part of a legal challenge brought by the Department of Justice. The federal government has asked a judge to block a provision of the law that requires transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.
The amicus brief says many of the companies operate in North Carolina, and the law is hurting the ability to recruit while adding hurdles that are "directly impacting their bottom line."
The roster includes General Electric Co., Microsoft Corp. and United Airlines Inc.
NC Teachers See Broad Raises, More Bonus Chances
Broad pay raises and more opportunities for bonuses are coming to public school teachers in the budget that Gov. Pat McCrory is expected to sign into law.
The spending plan is predicted to increase state-funded teacher salaries on average by 4.7 percent this fall. Budget-writers predict the adjustments will bring average salaries — when local supplements are added — above $50,000 statewide.
There are also bonuses for high-school teachers whose students did well on Advanced Placement tests and for third-grade teachers whose students showed the best growth on their reading scores.
Police: 2 Suspects Apprehended At Winston-Salem Hospital
Two armed suspects have been taken into custody after causing a lockdown at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center on Saturday night.
Winston-Salem police told WXII-TV early Sunday that the two people in custody had allegedly fled the scene of a break-in.
The television station says hospital employees were alerted that two people, possibly armed and dangerous, were inside.
Employees tell the station the lockdown started around 11:45 p.m. Saturday.
One suspect was apprehended at a Baptist parking garage, while the other was caught on the street near the hospital. The suspects' names haven't been released.
Police say the suspects entered the home about a quarter mile north of Baptist and drew their weapons in order to open fire. The homeowners fired shots, and a homeowner was grazed by a bullet.
Tiger Dies At Greensboro Zoo Following Emergency Surgery
The Greensboro Science Center Zoo is mourning the loss of one of its tigers.
The zoo said in a statement that on Sunday morning, staff noticed Kisa, a 12-year-old female tiger, was behaving differently. Kisa was taken from her exhibit to an on-site hospital.
Dr. Sam Young diagnosed Kisa with a uterine infection and performed emergency surgery. Kisa died during recovery.
Kisa and her brother Axl were among the first animals to arrive at the zoo before it opened in 2007. The tigers were born in August 2004 at the Conservators Center in Mebane, North Carolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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