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Governor In Court Over Election Oversight Revision

Judges are hearing whether North Carolina's Republican lawmakers are acting constitutionally as they again seek to neuter the new Democratic governor's oversight of state and local elections.

Lawyers for Gov. Roy Cooper and legislative leaders are due back in court Friday.

A panel of three state trial judges will review a new law that takes away Cooper's authority to appoint the majority of members of the statewide elections board and those in all 100 counties. Governors have picked election board majorities for more than a century.

GOP legislators now want to divide elections boards equally between Democrats and Republicans.

NC Class-Size Decrease Fix New State Law

Easing class-size mandates in North Carolina's early grades next fall by phasing them in instead over two years is now the law.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signed Thursday the compromise legislation from Republicans an hour after it received final General Assembly approval by the House.

The fix came about as school districts complained meeting the lower maximums in kindergarten through third grade this coming year would mean layoffs for art, music and physical education instructors and crowded classes in other grades. The new law directs district leaders to provide information about how classroom teacher money is used.

Body Camera Footage Changes Leave Out City Councils

Access to footage through North Carolina's new police camera law would be slightly expanded in legislation advancing in the General Assembly. But lawmakers don't want to disclose video to town council members after some questioned whether they would keep secret what they saw.

The law taking effect last fall declares such law enforcement video isn't a public record but the victim's family and others can ask to look at footage. People also can ask a judge to have the video released.

Federal Judge Sends UNC Athlete Lawsuit Back To State Court

A judge has granted the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's motion to dismiss a lawsuit tied to its multiyear academic scandal from federal court, sending the matter back to state court.

U.S. District Court Judge Loretta C. Biggs ruled Wednesday that UNC has 11th Amendment immunity as an arm of the state, preventing the school from being sued in federal court.

Ex-football player Devon Ramsay and former women's basketball player Rashanda McCants filed the lawsuit in 2015.

Florida Woman Found In Car In North Carolina

Authorities in North Carolina have released the name of a Florida woman who was killed when her car was swept off a road in flooding that followed heavy rains earlier this week.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Baker says 65-year-old Sandra Berry of Kissimmee, Florida, died Wednesday night when her car was swept off N.C. 58 in Greene County and sank.

Baker says Berry drove around barricades put up to keep vehicles off the flooded highway. Firefighters found her body after someone saw her car in the water.

More than 8 inches of rain fell in the area between Sunday and Tuesday, prompting flooding across central and eastern North Carolina.

Scientists To Review Large Number Of Humpback Whale Deaths

Government scientists are launching an investigation into an unusually large number of humpback whale deaths from North Carolina to Maine.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries says 41 whales have been stranded in the region in 2016 and so far in 2017.

Officials say 10 of the 20 whales that have been examined so far were killed by collisions with boats. That's far above the average of fewer than two per year, and officials say there's been no spike in boat traffic to explain it.

Humpbacks can grow to 60 feet long. They're popular with whale watchers because of the dramatic way they breach the ocean's surface.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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