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Confederate Monuments To Get Slavery, Civil Rights Context
Three Confederate monuments on the North Carolina Capitol grounds will feature signs with historical context about slavery and civil rights, following a decision by a state historical panel.
The state Historical Commission also said Wednesday that a monument honoring African-Americans should be added to the grounds.
The commission decided Wednesday against moving the monuments, despite Gov. Roy Cooper's request to do so. Members said even if they supported relocation, a state law means the monuments must stay in place.
Special Session Being Considered To Revisit Ballot Questions
North Carolina Republican legislators are weighing whether to reconvene the General Assembly to rewrite two ballot questions that would alter the state constitution now that a court blocked them from being voted on this fall.
House Rules Committee Chairman David Lewis said Wednesday he's recommended to fellow GOP members they call a special session. But he doesn't know whether Republicans can bring back to Raleigh fast enough the 72 House members needed to approve alterations.
Senate leader Phil Berger's office also says a special session is one option being discussed.
Judge: Constitution Party Candidates Can Appear On Ballot
A new North Carolina political party has won a federal court victory so that a handful of its candidates can appear on the November ballot despite a new state law.
A judge on Wednesday halted enforcement of the law finalized in June that would prevent three candidates chosen by the Constitution Party of North Carolina's convention from running because they had lost in another party's primary in May.
The party sued the state elections board, calling it unconstitutional. The judge granted an injunction, writing that retroactively removing the candidates was an "erratic execution" of election laws. The Constitution Party gained official recognition from the state just before the so-called sore-loser law passed.
Plans Still Uncertain For Guilford County Schools Damaged By April Tornado
Students are returning to class in Guilford County next week, many having been relocated after an EF-2 tornado damaged several schools in April.
One of the schools was Peeler Open Elementary. Students were relocated to Bluford STEM Academy, just a few minutes away. Both schools are magnets, and have high percentages of students dealing with poverty.
Principal Gradesa Lockhart says Peeler lost some students from this past school year, but the total population for both of them is less than 600.
She says they're still waiting for information on what will happen next year, and hopes Peeler stays in the community.
Students at Erwin Montessori and Hampton elementary schools were also relocated after the tornado. No decisions have been made yet on rebuilding the schools.
Police: Genealogy Helps ID Rape Suspect In Decade-Old Cases
Police in North Carolina say they used online genealogical data to identify and track down a suspect in a series of unsolved rapes dating back a decade.
The Fayetteville Police Department issued a news release Wednesday saying that 43-year-old Darold Wayne Bowden has been charged with multiple rape counts related to six assaults from 2006 to 2008.
Lt. John Somerindyke said at a news conference that police submitted crime-scene DNA evidence to a company that compared it with online genealogical data.
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