VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA

Police department workers test positive after vaccine event

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Officials say six workers at a North Carolina police department have tested positive for COVID-19 days after a vaccination event. Haywood County officials said Friday that six people in the Waynesville Police Department received positive test results two days after several police department workers received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The health department didn’t say whether those who participated in the clinic were among those who tested positive. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that officials say the police department has taken the necessary steps to identify those affected and exposed.

GOVERNOR-NATIONAL GUARD

NC governor sending another 100 Guard members to Washington

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Another 100 North Carolina National Guard members are going to Washington to help with security leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office confirmed on Friday the additional call-ups beyond the 200 he agreed to mobilize for duty in the nation’s capital. At least 21,000 National Guard troops from dozens of states have agreed to assist with security in Washington in light of last week’s mob attack at the U.S. Capitol. Cooper also this week called up 350 guard members for duty in North Carolina. He cited security concerns in state capitals nationwide.

BC-NC-DEPUTY SHOOTING-TOY GUN

Investigators: Man had toy gun when deputies killed him

LUMBERTON, N.C. (AP) — State investigators say a North Carolina man was holding a toy gun when sheriff’s deputies shot and killed him last weekend. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office says deputies believed 46-year-old Matthew Oxendine of Red Springs was pointing a gun at them when he was killed last Sunday. The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation was called in to look into the shooting, which is standard after a law enforcement officer shoots someone. According to the SBI, its crime scene agents recovered a toy gun from the car Oxendine was in. The shooting followed a response by deputies to a 911 call from a residence in Pembroke.

COCKFIGHTING-NORTH CAROLINA-GUAM

Advocates: Carolina breeders supporting cockfighting in Guam

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Animal rights advocates say breeders in North Carolina shipped more than 1,000 live roosters to Guam for the island’s cockfighting trade. News outlets report two animal welfare groups on Thursday sent letters to U.S. attorneys in the state calling for an investigation. They say breeders are charging as much as $2,000 per bird. Animal Wellness Action President Wayne Pacelle says his group looked at shipping records in Guam and found that 9,000 roosters were mailed there from 12 states. Shipments from North Carolina ranked in the top five. A federal ban on cockfighting took effect in Guam in 2019.

OBIT-OLDEST MARINE

Dorothy Schmidt Cole, oldest living Marine, dies at 107

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman recognized as the oldest living U.S. Marine has died at age 107. The Marine Times says Dorothy Schmidt Cole died of a heart attack at her daughter’s home in Kannapolis on Jan. 7. The Corps recognized Cole as the oldest living Marine on her birthday in September. According to Marine Times, Cole enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Cole had attempted to join the Navy two years earlier but was told she didn’t meet their height standards. She is survived by her daughter.

AP-US-CAPITOL-BREACH-MILITARY-POLICE

Capitol rioters included highly trained ex-military and cops

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least 22 current or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement have been identified as being at or near last week’s Capitol riot, with more than a dozen others under investigation. That’s what an Associated Press review of public records and social media found. In many cases, those who stormed the Capitol appeared to employ tactics, body armor and radio headsets that were similar to those of the police they were confronting. Experts have long warned about extremists recruiting people with military and law enforcement training, and they say the Jan. 6 insurrection saw some of their worst fears realized.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WAKE COUNTY

Wake County Detention Center is trying to stop virus spread

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Wake County Detention Center is seeing its worst spread of the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. WRAL reports that close to 100 inmates out of 1,100 are in isolation after testing positive. Plus, more than a dozen Wake County Sheriff’s Office staffers have tested positive. Sheriff Gerald Baker said Wednesday that the virus has been “kind of like a pinball machine” and “all over the place.” Authorities have identified 55 virus cases at the downtown jail and another 40 at the Hammond Road facility. Authorities caution that not all test results are in. The detention center is now essentially on lockdown as authorities try to limit the spread.

POLICE CONFRONTATION-TEEN

Police say they continue to probe officer’s tackling of teen

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Police in the North Carolina city of Winston-Salem are still investigating a months-old incident in which a white police officer is seen tackling a Black teenage girl. The Winston-Salem Journal reported Thursday that the department’s Professional Standards Division continues to conduct an internal investigation. Cellphone video shows officer Zacharie K. Jones tackling and detaining Shakayla Davis-Sides in early November. She was 15 at the time and among a group of teens stopped by police as they investigated a break-in. Capt. Jose Gomez told the newspaper in an email on Wednesday that the internal investigation continues. The incident was condemned by local groups and some city officials.