Receive the morning news briefs delivered to your email inbox every morning. Click here to sign-up.
About 10,000 Without Power In North Carolina After Storms
About 10,000 customers are without electricity in North Carolina after storms associated with Tropical Storm Nate moved across the state.
Duke Energy reported the outages were worst on Monday in Macon and Polk counties in the western part of the state.
Schools were opening about two hours later than usual Monday in nearby Jackson County because of the storm damage. Caldwell County schools were also opening late Monday.
A possible tornado was reported Sunday near Lenoir in Caldwell County.
More than 100 people evacuated a mobile home park in the county ahead of the storms. The steeple was blown from Refugee Missionary Baptist Church in Hudson.
22-Year-Old North Carolina Man Fatally Shot At Party
A 22-year-old North Carolina man has died after being shot at a party during his college's homecoming weekend.
Police say John Cook of Charlotte was shot during a fight at a Greensboro apartment building and pronounced dead about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at a hospital. Cook was a student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, which won its homecoming football game Saturday 44-3 over Delaware State.
Police are seeking information from people at the party.
The apartment building is several miles from NC A&T's campus.
'Trump,' Racial Slur Painted On Muslim Candidate's Sign
A North Carolina city council candidate said someone spray-painted "Trump" and a racial slur over her face on a campaign sign.
Zainab Baloch, who is Muslim, is one of seven candidates running for two at-large seats on the Raleigh City Council. Her campaign posted a video on her Facebook page Friday showing the sign.
Baloch said while she's not necessarily surprised at negative reaction, it doesn't make the incident any less "hurtful and traumatizing."
Mayor Nancy McFarlane called the vandalism "absolutely reprehensible."
NC High Court Reviews Death Penalty Of Man Who Beheaded Wife
North Carolina's highest court is reviewing whether justice means the death penalty for a survivor of El Salvador's blood-soaked civil war of the 1980s who strangled and then decapitated his estranged wife.
The state's Supreme Court hears oral arguments Monday on whether the state can execute 41-year-old Juan Carlos Rodriguez for the 2010 murder of his wife, Maria.
The hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this spring that states needed to use current medical standards in deciding whether a killer is so mentally disabled he can't be executed. Rodriguez's IQ was estimated several times at below 70, a threshold for significantly impaired intellectual functioning.
Fatal Shooting Is Charlotte's 70th Homicide
The fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man marks the 70th homicide this year in North Carolina's largest city.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says officers responding to a call about 6:45 a.m. Sunday found Larry Doral Watson Jr. suffering from a gunshot wound. He was declared dead at the scene in the north Charlotte neighborhood.
The police department says there were 69 homicides last year.
Police have released no details. No suspect has been identified.
The Dill Is Over: Mt. Olive Pickle Ends Run At NC State Fair
Patrons of the North Carolina State Fair may find themselves in a pickle now that a long-running dill has reached the end.
Mt. Olive Pickle Co. has announced it will not be involved with the annual fair this year, ending an association that dates back to the 1950s.
Company spokeswoman Lynn Williams said it was time for Mt. Olive Pickle to make the change. Williams said production demands have grown, and in recent years it's been difficult to juggle the needs of the plant with 11 straight days at the fair.