STATE BUDGET-COOPER
NC governor reveals what he wants to do with $6.2B surplus
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has proposed how he’d like lawmakers to adjust the second year of a two-year state government budget that got signed into law just six months ago. The Democratic governor unveiled his ideas Wednesday at a news conference. He would spend or earmark much of a projected $6.2 billion surplus to address further a host of needs like building construction, education inequities, affordable housing and worker retention. There would also be higher pay for state employees and teachers beyond what the enacted budget already directs. The spending is likely to breed skepticism among legislative Republicans. The General Assembly reconvenes next week.
CHILDREN DEATHS-NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina sees increase in child homicides, suicides
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A task force is reporting that the number of North Carolina children who died by either homicide or suicide has more than doubled over the past decade. The state Child Fatality Task Force’s report said that in 2020, 92 children died as a result of homicide, making it the leading cause of death for that age group. News outlets report homicide was the second-leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4. Also in 2020, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death for children with 56 deaths.
COMMERCIAL FLIGHT-SEXUAL ASSAULT
North Carolina man gets 10 months for sex assault on flight
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl during a flight on a commercial airliner last year. U.S. Attorney Michael Easley says in a news release that Ryan Eugene Larned of Fayetteville was also sentenced to five years’ supervised release and was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine for sexual contact without consent. Larned also will have to register as a sex offender. On a flight between Charlotte and Raleigh, Larned was seated next to a teenager, who was flying alone. Prosecutors say Larned put his coat over the teen and himself, then reached into her pants. The teen immediately reported the assault.
SCHOOL BUS CRASH
Officials: 17 hurt in crash involving school bus, dump truck
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Officials in North Carolina say a crash involving a school bus and a dump truck left 17 people injured. News outlets report that officials said the crash happened Wednesday in Charlotte when a bus headed to South Mecklenburg High School was involved in a crash with a dump truck and another car. Medic and school officials say one person had life-threatening injuries and another had serious injuries, but the 15 children aboard the bus suffered minor injuries. Charlotte Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Gerin says it took firefighters about 30 minutes to free the bus driver and an hour to free the dump truck driver.
WINSTON-SALEM SHOOTINGS
Police: Shots fired at church, in front of police station
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say two people were shot and wounded after someone fired at a church in North Carolina, and another person shot at a car while it was at a police station. The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Winston-Salem police said that shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to a church where a large group had gathered. One or more people fired a gun multiple times, but a police statement didn’t specify whether the gunfire occurred inside or outside the church. Investigators said a 19-year-old who left the church and drove to a police substation was pursued by another vehicle. Someone in the pursuing vehicle shot into the 19-year-old’s car while it was at the police station..
ROAD RAGE SHOOTOUT
Wounded dump truck driver arrested in road-rage shootout
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina’s capital city say a dump truck driver who was shot and wounded on Wednesday in a road rage incident has been charged. A spokeswoman for Raleigh police said a dump truck driver who ran a red light and the driver of an Audi who followed him pulled out guns in a confrontation. The dump truck driver fired at the Audi, whose driver fired back and hit the dump truck driver in the leg. Police arrested the dump truck driver, Sylvester Stokes, and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and with possession of a firearm by a felon.
FATAL STORE SHOOTING
Man shot, killed while entering North Carolina store
HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — Police say a man was shot and killed as he entered a store in North Carolina and a suspect has been charged. The High Point Enterprise says High Point police officers responded to the shooting at a Walmart at around 2:10 p.m. on Tuesday and found a man with several gunshot wounds. The man was taken to a local hospital where he died. Capt. D.E. Griffiths said the man was going into the store through a main entrance when he was shot. Around 6 p.m., police said in a news release that 20-year-old Zyicoren A. Little was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
BEACH HOUSE COLLAPSES-WARNING
2 North Carolina beach houses collapse into Atlantic surf
RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — The National Park Service says two unoccupied beach houses have fallen into the waves along North Carolina’s coast. The unoccupied homes were located along Ocean Drive in the Outer Banks community of Rodanthe. The park service confirmed the collapses Tuesday and has closed off the areas around the fallen structures. Debris from the first fallen house has spreading widely. Officials from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore say they’ll be working closely with the homeowner to coordinate cleanup activities. This is the third time a Rodanthe home has fallen into the surf this year.
