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Election Board To Examine North Carolina Congress Race Named
A new North Carolina elections board expected to attempt to resolve the nation's last unsettled congressional race is now in place.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper appointed the reconstituted board's five members Thursday. Three are Democrats and two are Republicans.
A board news release says the panel is expected to meet in February to consider evidence in the 9th Congressional District election. The previous board refused to certify the November results because of alleged absentee ballot irregularities.
Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. The new board could declare a winner or order a new election.
Judge Rejects Request To Delay Removal Of Confederate Statue
A North Carolina judge has rejected an emergency plea to delay removal of a Confederate statue.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports the United Daughters of the Confederacy made the request Thursday to halt removal of the statue from downtown Winston-Salem. The UDC had until Thursday to have the Confederate statue moved or face city action to remove it.
City Manager Lee Garrity, relaying information from city attorney Angela Carmon, said a Forsyth County judge turned down the UDC's request to halt the city's effort to have the statue removed.
Trump Issues Disaster Declaration For North Carolina
President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for North Carolina to provide for federal assistance to areas impacted by Tropical Storm Michael last fall.
The declaration was announced in a news release issued Thursday and covers 21 counties statewide. It provides federal funding for state and local government and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged Oct. 10 to 12 by the tropical storm.
Counties affected by the declaration are Alamance, Brunswick, Caswell, Chatham, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Granville, Hyde, Iredell, McDowell, Montgomery, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Vance and Yadkin.
Fans Of 'Empire' Actor, Sorority Aid Effort To Save College
A historically black women's college in Greensboro that's one of two such institutions left in the U.S. is trying to raise $5 million to stave off losing accreditation. Bennett College has reported sizeable donations as it closes in on its Friday fundraising deadline, aided by supporters of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.
Smollett is black and gay and told police he was attacked in Chicago this week. Just days before, he had appeared on MSNBC alongside university president Phyllis Dawkins to raise awareness of the school's plight. Fans have expressed support for Smollett by donating to Bennett College.
Bennett also announced that African-American sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha pledged $100,000, while Wells Fargo has pledged $50,000.
UNC Head Leaves After Confederacy Tiff
The head of the country's oldest public university is saying goodbye to the North Carolina campus she's leaving after a tiff over a Confederate monument.
Carol Folt spent Thursday comparing herself to college seniors looking beyond graduation to life's new chapter. She joked during her last trustees meeting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that she feels like she's graduating early.
Folt planned to leave in May, but the state university governing board forced her out early because she unilaterally ordered the removal of the stone base that formerly featured the statue of a Confederate soldier. The metal soldier was torn down last summer by protesters who said the monument was a racist symbol.
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