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Morning News Briefs: Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Creative Commons Lickr user Donkey Hotey, http://bit.ly/2ftup7j

GOP Sweeps North Carolina, But Governor Too Close To Call

North Carolina voters have given Republicans a ringing endorsement, with one lone exception: Gov. Pat McCrory, who couldn't shake criticism of the state law limiting protections for LGBT people.

McCrory remained locked in a race with Democrat Roy Cooper that remained too close to call early Wednesday.

With more than 4.6 million votes cast, only a few thousand votes separated the two rivals with Cooper holding a narrow lead that will be subject to a recount.

Burr Wins Senate Race

Republican Senator Richard Burr defeated Democrat Deborah Ross in the North Carolina Senate race.

The conservative Republican was in a tight re-election fight with Democrat Deborah Ross, a former state legislator from Raleigh. The race attracted tens of millions of dollars in ad spending from outside groups.

Burr says this election will be his last. The 60 year old says he plans on retiring and returning to the private sector after serving his term. 

Republicans Win Congressional Seats, Edmunds Defeated In Supreme Court Race

In the U.S. Fifth District, incumbent Representative Virginia Foxx defeated Democratic challenger Josh Brannon. It was the second time the two candidates faced off against one another.

Incumbent Representative Mark Walker defeated Democrat Pete Glidewell. Walker was first elected in 2014, taking over the seat long held by the late Howard Coble.

Republican Ted Budd won the U.S. 13th Congressional seat, defeating Democrat Bruce Davis. This was Budd's first run for public office. 

Mike Morgan won a seat on the State Supreme Court Tuesday, defeating incumbent Justice Bob Edmunds.

Triad Bond Measures Pass

Forsyth County voters overwhelmingly approved three bond measures on Tuesday's ballot. The bonds authorize $350 million for schools, $65 million for community colleges and $15 million for parks and recreational facilities.

Guilford County voters approved more than $125 million in bond measures Tuesday. The money will be used to support housing, transportation, parks and community and economic development projects.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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