Morning News Briefs: Friday, January 13, 2017

Cooper Names Cabinet Members For Commerce, Gov't Operations

Gov. Roy Cooper has chosen a business recruiter under a previous Democratic governor as his commerce secretary and a former biotech executive to lead the agency that oversees government operations and buildings.

Cooper on Thursday named Tony Copeland to head the Commerce Department and Machelle Sanders as his administration secretary.

Copeland was assistant commerce secretary in Gov. Mike Easley's administration and previously led the Raleigh-based telecommunications company called BTI. Sanders most recently worked for Biogen in Research Triangle Park.

The governor has now named five Cabinet secretaries. A new state law says they're subject to Senate confirmation. Cooper has sued challenging that requirement.

Cooper Campaign Spent $24M On Way To Election Victory

Democrat Roy Cooper's campaign ended up outspending Republican Pat McCrory by $7.5 million during the campaign cycle capped by Cooper narrowly defeating the incumbent governor.

Their campaign committees filed with the State Board of Elections year-end finance reports due by midnight Wednesday. It showed Cooper's committee spending $24.3 million during the four-year cycle that ended Dec. 31 compared to $16.8 million by McCrory. The margin helped Cooper run more television ads than McCrory.

Kerosene Mix-Up With Gasoline Leads To 2 Winston-Salem Fires

Officials in Winston-Salem say a kerosene and gasoline mix-up at a convenience store has led to two fires, both at houses.

Winston-Salem Fire Department Division Chief Sandy Shepherd told a news conference that a small house fire on Thursday is still under investigation, but no injuries were reported. The fire started when gasoline spilled and ignited, burning a small part of carpet in the house.

The city issued an urgent alert Wednesday after a house fire was linked to the kerosene and gasoline mix-up at the Citgo convenience store on the city's north side.

Phuzz Phest Shutting Down

An annual three-day music festival in Winston-Salem is ending. Phuzz Phest made the announcement via social media.

Phuzz Phest started in 2011 and grew to be a multi-day festival featuring over 50 bands, both local and national, at venues across downtown Winston-Salem. The decision to end the mostly volunteer-run festival appears to be both financial and logistical.

Founder and Director Philip Pledger says local music series and one-off concerts will continue, as will the work of the associated label, Phuzz Records.

Judge Orders Release Of Police Shooting Video Of Teen In 2016

A North Carolina judge has ordered all Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department body and dash-cam video to be released in connection with a deadly police shooting of a teen in 2016.

The ruling from Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge Jesse Caldwell on Thursday grants public access to footage from the June 2 shooting of Rodney Rodriguez Smith. A new North Carolina law requires a judge's approval to release police video.

Lawmakers: Utility-Scale Wind Farm Poses Security Threat

North Carolina legislators want the incoming Trump administration to shut down a utility-scale wind farm nearing completion because they say it poses a national security threat.

A spokesman for state House Speaker Tim Moore said Thursday a letter signed by Moore and other legislators was sent to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team.

The lawmakers said they worry the wind turbines and blades rising about 50 stories above northeastern North Carolina farmlands could interfere with long-distance Navy radar installation in nearby Chesapeake, Virginia. The radar system scans for ships and planes hundreds of miles into the Atlantic and Caribbean.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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