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Morning News Briefs: Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

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Hundreds Attend Greensboro March In Support Of DACA

About 300 people gathered in Greensboro Monday to protest President Donald Trump's plan to end a program that blocks the deportation of children of undocumented immigrants who were brought here as minors.

The News and Record of Greensboro reports some of those attending the march were recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, also known as DACA.

Attendees also included parents with children in grade school who worry about what could happen next.

The protestors swarmed downtown Greensboro, taking part in a march that ended at LeBauer Park.

Court Order Preserves Jobs For Firm Employing Blind Workers

A federal judge is keeping in place contracts that allowed a North Carolina company to employ dozens of blind workers.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the judge ruled Friday that it's in the public interest to allow IFB Solutions to continue to employ nearly four dozen blind and severely handicapped workers until the case is resolved.

At stake is $15 million in annual revenue for the nonprofit group formerly known as Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind Inc.

The group's Winston-Salem optical lab is in the middle of a dispute between the U.S. Veterans Administration and the New Jersey company that has a contract to manufacture eyeglasses for the agency.

Joining Attorney General, Gov. Cooper Forced To Cut, Too

Attorney General Josh Stein wasn't the only Democrat to face surprising cuts in the North Carolina state budget approved by Republicans.

The final spending plan ordered Gov. Roy Cooper to locate nearly $1 million in administrative reductions, which equaled 17 percent of the funds estimated to keep the office running at recent levels.

Stein faced a $10 million reduction, which to-date required him to lay off more than 40 lawyers and staff. Cooper avoided handing out pink slips by shifting several positions to other Cabinet-level agencies.

Critics of the GOP say Cooper's cuts were designed to punish him politically, but Senate leader Phil Berger says that's not so.

UNC-Chapel Hill Confirms 3 Cases Of Contagious Norovirus

Health officials at North Carolina's flagship public university say there are at least three cases of a contagious intestinal virus on campus.

Officials say that test results confirm three cases of Norovirus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The school said Friday that a female student belonging to a sorority had contracted the virus and that about 30 other students also showed symptoms. The first few days of sororities finding and welcoming new members were postponed as a precaution.

UNC Charlotte Professor Killed, Suspect Arrested

The possible domestic violence death of a college professor in North Carolina has led to an arrest.

Arrest records show 45-year-old Donny Lewis Franklin is in police custody for the killing of 35-year-old Jeannine Shante Skinner. The victim has been identified as an assistant professor of gerontology and psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Maj. Freda Lester says officers responded to a welfare check on Friday around 11:30 a.m. at a southwest Charlotte apartment and found Skinner dead.

Police say Franklin was Skinner's boyfriend and believe her death was an act of domestic violence.

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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