AP-US-SEVERE-WEATHER

Flood threats persist as storms continue to drench the South

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Relentless wind and rain have pummeled large swaths of the South, spawning tornadoes, sparking a flash flood emergency in Alabama and damaging homes from Texas to Virginia. Crews are preparing to continue cleaning up debris and assessing destruction across the region as some schools canceled classes or moved them online due to damage at buildings and surrounding areas. The National Weather Service’s prediction center warned Wednesday morning that flash flooding could also now affect the Central Gulf Coast as storms move southeast. Rain continues to soak much of the region. So far, three deaths have been reported.

LICENSE PLATE REPLACEMENTS

North Carolina suspends old license plate replacement

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — A scarcity of aluminum has forced North Carolina to suspend an effort to replace old license plates.The Division of Motor Vehicles announced this week that the move will help ensure there is enough material to produce first-time plates. The agency had been replacing all license tags that are at least six years old in line with a mandate signed into law two years ago. But the agency says Corrections Enterprises, which makes the plates at the Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, doesn’t have enough aluminum to keep up with increased demand.The agency said it issues 400 to 500 new license plates on a typical day, but it is sending out 10 times as many with replacement plates.

MOCKSVILLE-POLICE DEPARTMENT

Mocksville to dissolve police department

MOCKSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Officials in Mocksville are dissolving the town’s police department and entering a contract with the county sheriff’s office. News outlets report that the town board voted Tuesday to dissolve the department and approved a $1.3 million, 3-year contract with the Davie County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services starting July 1. The board cites a more than $1 million savings for the town over several years.

RACIAL INJUSTICE

NC police reform package approved by Senate committee

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A state Senate committee has advanced a criminal justice reform package focused on targeting insubordinate and overly aggressive officers while giving more mental health assistance to police and deputies. The measure approved Tuesday attempts to pinpoint misbehaving officers and prevent misconduct from others that could result in injury or death. The bill contains a few proposals from a task force created by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to address racial inequities in the state’s justice system. But most will be left out. Legislative Democrats held a news conference earlier Tuesday promoting their criminal justice bills and urged Republicans to embrace them.

ABORTION-NORTH CAROLINA

N Carolina GOP advances bill to ban Down syndrome abortions

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers have advanced a bill to make it illegal for physicians to perform abortions because of the fetus’ race or a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Bill sponsors say procedures performed based on race or Down syndrome amount to “discriminatory eugenic abortion.” Abortion rights group oppose the measure and say it will interfere with a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy. Under the bill, a physician would be subject to monetary damages if he or she still knowingly performed the procedure. A handful of states have passed similar laws regarding Down syndrome diagnoses and have been caught up in legal battles after their passage.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS-SCHOLARSHIPS

NC Senate eases caps on income, grants for K-12 scholarships

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Qualifying income levels and maximum grants would rise for North Carolina’s publicly funded scholarship program for K-12 students to attend private schools under a measure approved  by the state Senate. The legislation was approved Tuesday on a nearly party-line vote. It favors Republicans attempts to build on the Opportunity Scholarship Program started several years ago by the GOP.  The measure also would combine the state’s two scholarship programs for children with disabilities. The House already approved a somewhat similar measure. Any final measure approved would go to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is a longtime opponent of education vouchers.

STORE EVACUATED-ARMED WOMAN

Police seek armed woman accused of threatening store workers

MATTHEWS, N.C.. (AP) — Police are looking for a woman accused of threatening a North Carolina department store’s employees with gun, a dispute that led to the store’s evacuation. The Charlotte Observer reports that no shots were fired and nobody was injured during Monday afternoon’s incident at a Kohl’s store in Matthews. The Matthews Police Department said investigators identified the suspect as a 39-year-old Charlotte woman and described her as a disgruntled customer. However, police didn’t immediately explain how the altercation started. Police obtained warrants for the woman’s arrest on charges including shoplifting and communicating threats.

AP-CLIMATE-NEW-NORMALS

America’s new normal: A degree hotter than two decades ago

America’s normal temperature is now a degree hotter than just 20 years ago. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Tuesday released climate figures showing the nation’s new normal temperature keeps getting hotter. They also show normal is wetter in the eastern and central U.S. while drier in the West. Meteorologists every decade update normal climate numbers for the United States based on 30 years of data. The figures show climate change at work. The U.S. normal annual temperature is now 53.3 degrees Fahrenheit based on data from 1991 to 2020. Normal was 52.3 degrees just 20 years earlier.

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