Morning News Briefs: Wednesday, October 26, 2016

NC Launches New Challenge To Dams License For Power Sales

North Carolina officials are challenging a federal decision allowing decades of private profits from a series of hydroelectric dams originally constructed to support hundreds of jobs.

State attorneys asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Monday to reconsider its September decision allowing the dams in central North Carolina to continue generating electricity for sale until 2055. North Carolina lawyers say officials supported construction because they meant jobs, and now the commission is ignoring the fact the jobs are gone.

The Yadkin River dams were built to power a now-closed Alcoa Inc. aluminum smelter that once employed 1,000 workers. The company has made about $200 million since closing the smelter in 2007 by selling the electricity to commercial customers.

Candidates Returning To North Carolina

Donald Trump is coming back to North Carolina for events in a battleground state he needs to win in most electoral scenarios to become president.

The Republican presidential nominee will speak inside a downtown Charlotte theater late Wednesday afternoon, and hold a rally at the Kinston Jet Center at night. Trump has visited North Carolina regularly since accepting the nomination in July.

Hillary Clinton is expected back in North Carolina on Thursday to campaign with help from first lady Michelle Obama at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. Former President Bill Clinton and ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean also are holding events in North Carolina on the Democratic nominee's behalf Wednesday.

NC GOP Chairman Files Complaint Against Cooper

The North Carolina Republican Party chairman has formally accused Democratic gubernatorial nominee Roy Cooper of violating ethics rules for comments he made about a federal review of state prison contracts.

The GOP said Robin Hayes' letter dated Tuesday was filed with the North Carolina State Bar. Hayes wants examined what the sitting attorney general said during last week's debate with Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. A Cooper spokesman calls the letter a "political attack" with "no basis in reality."

Cooper said McCrory "now has an FBI criminal investigation" based on allegations about a prison contractor, but McCrory responded "there is no FBI investigation."

Few Complaints About NC Touch-Screen Voting Machines

North Carolina's elections board says it's received a smattering of complaints about electronic voting machines getting things wrong, but nothing outside the norm for a presidential election year.

State Board of Elections spokesman Pat Gannon said Tuesday the complaints involve touch-screen machines used for early voting in less than a third of the state's 100 counties and by even fewer on election day.

The North Carolina NAACP had reports from five counties that the machines wrongly identified a voter's choice, but the voters were able to correct their ballots before casting them.

Cumberland County elections director Terri Robertson says five people told her machines initially displayed a wrong vote, but all corrected their ballots after reviewing them.

North Carolina Demands, Gets Back Oak Bowl Gift From Paypal

PayPal gave back a handmade oak bowl given to the company by North Carolina after it canceled a planned expansion in the state over a new law about who can use what bathrooms in public buildings.

Commerce Secretary John Skvarla told The Charlotte Observer that the bowl made from an oak tree struck by lightning last year on the capitol grounds was meant for companies coming to North Carolina.

The state made about 340 bowls from the fallen oak.

PayPal canceled an expansion that would bring about 400 jobs to Charlotte after the state passed House Bill 2, which requires people to use restrooms matching their birth certificates in schools and many public buildings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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