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Supreme Court: 2 Amendments Fought By Cooper To Be On Ballot

North Carolina's highest court has decided two proposed amendments to the state constitution addressing judicial vacancies and the state elections board will be on ballots this fall.

The state Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court decision denying a request by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to block the questions for those amendments from appearing on ballots. Cooper had argued the questions remained flawed even after the Republican-controlled legislature altered them in response to an earlier court ruling.

Judges: Too Late For New Congressional Map For Fall Election

A panel of federal judges has agreed it's too late to create a new congressional map for North Carolina's fall elections, even though the judges declared the current lines illegal partisan gerrymanders.

The judges issued their order Tuesday, a week after they ruled for election advocacy groups, the state Democratic Party and Democratic voters who sued and accused Republican legislators of excessive partisan bias while drawing the 2016 map. The judicial panel had raised the possibility of drawing new boundaries now and holding this year's elections under them.

North Carolina Schools Get $22M In Safety Grants

North Carolina's top education official says the state's public schools are getting a security boost as the new school year starts by using much of the funds lawmakers set aside this year for safety and mental health programs.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson announced at a Raleigh news conference Tuesday that education officials have distributed $22 million in safety grants since July, adding cameras and hundreds of new campus-based police officers across the state.

Amtrak To Cancel, Curtail North Carolina Runs In September

Amtrak is canceling or curtailing some of its North Carolina service this month because of track work.

The News & Observer reports N.C. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Katie Trout said most of the cancellations are the result of rail replacement between Greensboro and Selma.

Cancellations will impact the Piedmont, which runs between Raleigh and Charlotte, and the Carolinian, from Charlotte to New York, from Sept. 10 through Sept. 19.

Adams Publishing Group Buys 2 Cooke Communications Sites

Adams Publishing Group says it has bought Cooke Communications operations in North Carolina and Florida.

The Daily Reflector of Greenville reports it is included in the sale to Adams, along with The Rocky Mount Telegram, The Daily Advance of Elizabeth City, The Key West Citizen in Key West, Florida, and several non-daily newspapers and websites.

Adams Publishing operates 30 daily newspapers, more than 100 non-daily newspapers, and other enterprises in 20 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 2,300 employees.

Cooke Communications is a family-owned company founded by John Kent Cooke Sr. and his family in 2000.

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