Morning News Briefs: Friday, November 4, 2016

Obama, Pence Holding Rallies On Eve Of Early Voting's Close

President Barack Obama and Mike Pence are coming to North Carolina on the eve of the close of early in-person voting to remind people about the high stakes as Election Day nears.

The outgoing president and Republican vice presidential nominee are returning to the state Friday to stump.

For Obama it's his second trip to the state in three days. He's speaking for Hillary Clinton and other down-ballot Democratic candidates in the afternoon at Fayetteville State University and in the evening at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte. Pence will headline a rally in Greenville.

Early voting ends Saturday.

Poll Monitors, Lawyers Will Be Available For NC Election

A coalition of advocacy groups plans to send more than 1,000 volunteers to monitor polls in North Carolina on Election Day, along with a legal team of nearly 250 which will deploy from command centers to counties with the thorniest voting problems.

Spokeswoman Jen Jones says this election marks the first time that Democracy North Carolina will have lawyers and paralegals at the ready.

Meanwhile, the director of the State Board of Elections said in an email that the U.S. Justice Department will send monitors to Forsyth, Cumberland, Robeson and Wake counties. A Justice Department spokesman declined to confirm that.

Burr Softens Blanket Rejection Of Clinton Supreme Court Pick

Sen. Richard Burr is walking back from his promise to block any nominees Democrat Hillary Clinton would make to the U.S. Supreme Court if she's elected president.

Burr told a private gathering of Republican supporters on Saturday that if re-elected to a third term he would do everything possible "to make sure that four years from now, we're still going to have an opening on the Supreme Court."

Burr said in a statement Thursday he would "assess the record of any Supreme Court nominee."

McCrory: Mobile Homes On Way For Some Homeless After Matthew

Families in four North Carolina counties forced from their homes after flooding from Hurricane Matthew could be moving into mobile homes soon.

Gov. Pat McCrory said Thursday the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the help for people displaced from their homes in Columbus, Edgecombe, Robeson and Wayne counties. The help could be extended to more counties.

The state signed contracts last month to start providing mobile homes in areas where hotels and rental homes were flooded, or didn't exist before the storm.

About 240 people are living in four shelters and more than 1,700 families are living in temporary housing after Matthew, which drenched the state a month ago.

Belk Lays Off About 40 Workers At Charlotte Headquarters

The Belk department store chain has laid off about 40 employees at its Charlotte headquarters.

Spokeswoman Jessica Graham says the layoffs come as Belk has restructured several groups in its corporate office. Graham did not say which departments were affected by the job reductions.

The Charlotte Observer reports the move comes almost a year after Belk sold itself to Sycamore Partners, a New York private equity firm.

As of April, Belk employed about 1,400 people at its corporate headquarters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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