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Severe Weather Slams Carolinas, Many Without Power
The Carolinas have some cleaning up to do after being slammed by severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and flooding. Possible tornadoes flipped tractor-trailers and small planes, broke storefront windows and pushed one house off its foundation.
Crews from the National Weather Service plan to cover western North Carolina and South Carolina, looking to confirm possible tornadoes after a line of storms moved across the area.
As many as nine tornadoes were reported Monday afternoon and evening. The most serious problems seemed to be in Hickory, North Carolina and Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
Duke Energy reported about 66,000 customers in North Carolina without service Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service reported rainfall records in Asheville and Charlotte.
Totals ranged from about 2 inches in Charlotte to more than 3.5 inches in Asheville.
Republican Legislators Opposing LGBT Deal Want Lawsuit Over
North Carolina's Republican legislative leaders say a federal judge should dismiss a lawsuit involving the replacement for the state's "bathroom bill" before considering a deal pushed by the Democratic governor that would affirm gender identity as the basis for restroom access.
House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger filed a brief Monday arguing the judge lacks authority to consider the case in part because LGBT people who sued haven't shown they've been injured by House Bill 2's successor law.
In Wake Of Fatal Attack, NC Prison Official To Retire
One of the people who oversees North Carolina's prisons is stepping down at the end of October, more than a week after prisoners killed two employees during an attempted escape.
The state Department of Public Safety said in a news release Monday that David Guice is retiring, effective Nov. 1. Guice is chief deputy secretary for adult correction and juvenile justice within DPS.
Guice's retirement follows a violent attack Oct. 12 in the sewing plant at Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City.
Guice is a former Republican legislator who represented Transylvania County.
North Carolina Sheriff Indicted For Obstruction Of Justice
A North Carolina sheriff has been indicted on charges stemming from a request by a television station for public records related to his appointment to the job.
WBTV in Charlotte reports the grand jury indicted Ashe County Sheriff Terry Buchanan on three counts of felony obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor charge of willful failure to discharge duties.
The television station has been investigating Buchanan and the Ashe County Commissioners' vote to appoint him to sheriff this past January. The station submitted a request for communication records in April, and then submitted a second request in July.
NC Revenues Slightly Behind Target Through September
North Carolina tax collections are trailing slightly what legislators anticipated when forming the state budget last summer.
A General Assembly staff report says taxes, fees and other revenues are $62 million short of the revenue target though the first quarter of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, or roughly 1 percent. Lower-than-expected sales and corporate income taxes are among the reasons.
The first quarter is usually the least important when projecting annual revenues. Staff economist Barry Boardman writes that stable growth that outpaces the national rate is still expected for the state's economy.