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No Serious Injuries As Storms Move Across North Carolina
No serious injuries have been reported as storms moved across North Carolina.
The National Weather Service had a tornado watch in effect for 43 counties in central and eastern North Carolina until late Friday morning.
The storms prompted school officials in Wilson County to delay the start of classes by two hours.
Duke Energy reported more than 17,000 customers without service Friday morning. The biggest problems were reported in Guilford, Rockingham, Durham and Johnston counties.
Conditions were expected to improve by midday Friday.
Flood warnings continue in effect in several counties with problems still reported along the Roanoke, Neuse and Tar rivers. Heavy rains last week brought serious flooding problems to Goldsboro, Greenville and Kinston.
Search For Winston-Salem Girl Continues
The FBI has been called in to assist in the search for a missing 15-year-old Winston-Salem girl.
Cassidy Ann Bottoms was last seen getting into a car with two men on Old Hollow Road.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports Bottoms was acquainted with the two men, identified as 24-year-old Deshawn Dante Townes and 20-year-old Joffey Lee Cutler.
Townes has turned himself in to police in Sanford, but is not currently facing charges.
He told police he last saw Cutler and Bottoms in the Sanford area.
Bottoms is the subject of an active AMBER alert.
A Sheriff's Department spokesman says the girl has a history of running away.
Police Report 2nd Shooting Death In 3 Months At Mall
Police in Greensboro are reporting the second fatal shooting at a mall in three months.
A news release from the Greensboro Police Department on Thursday said security officials at Four Seasons Town Centre alerted authorities of the shooting.
According to police, witnesses reported hearing multiple shots fired from a gold-colored sedan, with one round hitting a man walking outside the mall at an entrance to a store.
Spokeswoman Susan Danielsen said the shooting victim was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The News & Record of Greensboro reports the shooting occurred near where 33-year-old Westley Tyler Tugman of Lenoir was shot to death on Feb. 18 as he walked out of the mall.
Police Say Appalachian State Football Player Stabbed
Authorities in Boone say a football player at Appalachian State University was stabbed in a parking lot during a fight.
A news release from the Boone Police Department said officers responding to a call regarding a fight at an off-campus apartment complex on Thursday found 21-year-old Teh'Ron Fuller, who told the officers he had been stabbed.
According to police, the incident appears to have begun as an altercation outside a local bar, and turned into a fight involving several people at the apartment complex.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports Fuller was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. A spokeswoman said Thursday he's in good condition.
Probe Of North Carolina Congressman Ends Without Charges
Federal investigators have closed a two-year investigation into U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger's dealings with his family's business without filing charges.
Lia Bantavani, a spokeswoman for western North Carolina's top federal prosecutor, said in an email Thursday that the Justice Department's investigation has ended.
The third-term Republican congressman from Charlotte released a statement saying he was grateful the probe was over.
Wicked Weed Beer Sale Marks Flashpoint In Brewery Turf Wars
The sale of North Carolina's beloved Wicked Weed beer to the company that makes Budweiser is coming at a cost for the Asheville craft brewer.
Wicked Weed has lost its voting rights in a craft beer guild and was booted from collaborations with two independent breweries. A handful of stores and restaurants also say they will no longer sell the beer because it has been sold to the macro-brewer Anheuser-Busch Inbev.
NCHSAA To Have Fewer Teams In 1-A, 4-A Playoff Brackets
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association will have fewer teams in many of its higher- and lower-classification playoff events.
The NCHSAA announced Thursday that its board of directors has approved changes to playoffs for the 1-A and 4-A classifications in football, baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. It will reduce the number of teams in those brackets from 64 to 48.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.