Morning News Briefs: Wednesday, October 12, 2016
North Carolina Keeps Watch On Bloated Rivers After Matthew
Homeowners, students and businesses in one of eastern North Carolina's population centers are keeping a nervous watch on the river that flows along downtown, as Hurricane Matthew's deadly after-effects lingered days after the storm passed.
The National Weather Service says the Tar River in Greenville was at nearly 23 feet. It's expected to reach 25 feet late Thursday night or early Friday.
The airport in Greenville was flooded and officials ordered the evacuation of about one tenth of the city's 90,000 people. East Carolina University is closed for the rest of the week.
The Neuse River in Kinston is also still rising and is expected to peak Saturday. The weather service says the flooding is comparable to that of Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Forecasters say all roads on the south side of Kinston will be flooded.
Flooding was also reported in Fayetteville. Forecasters say moderate flooding is occurring and conditions aren't expected to get better before Friday morning.
LGBT Rights Law Focus In NC Governor's Debate
North Carolina's controversial law limiting nondiscrimination rules for LGBT people took center stage at the gubernatorial debate of Republican incumbent Pat McCrory and Democratic challenger Roy Cooper.
Cooper said Tuesday that McCrory wrote discrimination into the state law by signing what's known as House Bill 2. The law has been criticized by corporate CEOs, civil rights groups and entertainers, and Cooper wants it repealed.
But McCrory says liberal politicians like Charlotte's mayor and Cooper forced the hands of Republican lawmakers to pass the law. The legislation came a month after Charlotte leaders approved an ordinance expanding anti-discrimination protections to LGBT people. Cooper says McCrory is always blaming someone else and not himself.
McCrory also declined Tuesday to withdraw his support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump following his recently disclosed comments about women. Cooper says it was hard to believe the governor would continue to back Trump.
Pence, Kaine Holding Campaign Events In North Carolina
Both major-party candidates for vice president are returning to North Carolina.
Democratic nominee Tim Kaine and Republican counterpart Mike Pence will both make campaign stops in the state Wednesday. The Virginia senator is heading to Davidson College north of Charlotte for a late-afternoon North Carolina Democratic Party rally on campus. Pence will attend an early-evening rally at a north Raleigh hotel.
Their visits continue a big week of political appearances in the presidential battleground state. Republican Donald Trump has events scheduled Friday in Greensboro and Charlotte. And Pence — the Indiana governor — already was in North Carolina on Monday.
Obama Says Trump Lacks Temperament, Judgment To Be President
President Barack Obama harshly criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during a rally in Greensboro, saying he has proven over and over again that he is unfit to lead the country.
Obama says in his races with Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney, they disagreed on policy, but he never thought they weren't honorable.
Obama is pitching the current presidential contest as different. He says Trump "doesn't have the temperament, or the judgment, or the knowledge, or apparently, the desire to obtain the knowledge, or the basic honesty that a president needs to have."
Man With Gun Shot By Trooper
Authorities say a man shot to death by a North Carolina state trooper had a gun in his hand and got angry at officers who were on a search and rescue mission in the flooded city of Lumberton.
Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Gordon said in a news release that the sergeant was with two Robeson County deputies as they were riding through about 4 feet of water around 8 p.m. Monday. He did not detail what the man was upset about.
Gov. Pat McCrory says the shooting happened under "very difficult circumstances."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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