Candidate Filing Period In North Carolina Ends Monday
An unusual candidate filing period in North Carolina is about to end.
The State Board of Elections in Raleigh and local offices in all 100 counties will stop taking candidate notices at noon today.
The filing period began Dec. 1, almost two months before the period usually opens for elections in even-numbered years. The earlier start occurred because lawmakers decided they want to hold the presidential primary elections in mid-March. They moved up the other expected May primaries to the same date to avoid confusion and encourage turnout.
North Carolina voters will cast ballots in 2016 for president, U.S. Senate, Congress, governor and other executive branch offices. They also will choose judges, district attorneys, members of the General Assembly and winners of scores of county offices.
Death-Penalty Cases Sent Back To Courts
The state's highest court has sent four death-penalty cases back to the trial courts. The cases were tied to the controversial Racial Justice Act.
The Cumberland County cases involved appeals of death-row inmates who argued the racial bias played a role in their sentences. Judge Gregory Weeks commuted their sentences to life without parole in 2012 under the Racial Justice Act.
But the state supreme court ruled that the trial court did not give prosecutors enough time to go over the racial statistics. The justices also found Weeks erred in combining three of the unrelated cases in one hearing.
The Act was passed in 2009 over objections of prosecutors, who argued its broad language would open a Pandora's Box of appeals.
The law was ultimately repealed two years ago.
Fewer NC Students In College
The latest data show the number of students in North Carolina's colleges and universities is shrinking.
Fall semester enrollment has been falling for several years now.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of students seeking higher education here fell three percent from the same time last year.
That means about 522-thousand students are currently seeking a degree in North Carolina.
Still, the state's decline was nearly twice the nationwide enrollment drop.
Across the country, enrollment for 4-year public and private institutions was relatively flat. But for-profit schools took a massive hit after several years of decline.
The fall in enrollment at for-profit universities comes amid continuing controversy around their recruiting policies, price, and quality of education.
Fayetteville Police Are Developing Policy For Body Cameras
Fayetteville's police chief says that a policy on body cameras for his department could be posted publicly as soon as today.
The Fayetteville Observer reports that the city's department is purchasing about 300 cameras at a cost of $1.2 million.
Chief Harold Medlock says he expects all officers to be equipped with body cameras by the middle of January.
Medlock recently hosted three forums with community members on the cameras.
He said his department's policy will draw from the International Association of Chiefs of Police as well as departments in Greensboro and Charlotte that are already using such cameras.
Panthers Remain Perfect, Outlast Giants 38-35 In Nasty Game
The Giants threw a scare into the Panthers, but Carolina answered the challenge and remains unbeaten.
Cam Newton led the Panthers on a game-winning drive in the final minutes and Graham Gano booted a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give Carolina a 38-35 win over New York.
The Giants rallied from 28 points down to tie the game with 1:46 to go on and Eli Manning-to-Odell Beckham, Jr. fourth down pass.
But Newton marched the Panthers down field for Gano's game-winner to give Carolina a 14-0 record.
Newton threw five touchdown passes, while Manning tossed four.
There were some heated, physical moments between Beckham and cornerback Josh Norman throughout the game. Beckham threw Norman to the turf and later leveled a helmet-to-helmet hit on the unsuspecting defensive back.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.