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Morning News Briefs: Tuesday, February 20th, 2018

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North Carolina Attorney General Asks Federal Government For Election Tampering Information

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is asking the federal government for information about election tampering in North Carolina.

The request came in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday.

Specifically, he wants to know how safe North Carolina's digital voting system is, along with the broader spectrum of election hardware and software. He's also asking for an update to a federal report suggesting Russia attempted to hack the state's election systems.

Stein also wants to know how to counter possible tampering if it happens in 2018.

Stein's request comes on the heels of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's indictment ­– filed Friday – accusing multiple people and agencies of interfering with the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Russian interests.

3rd Person Avoids Conviction In Statue Toppling

A North Carolina judge has found one protester not guilty of toppling a Confederate statue, and dismissed charges against two others.

Judge Fred Battaglia found Raul Jimenez not guilty on Monday of three misdemeanor counts including damaging a public monument and conspiracy. He then wrapped up the day's hearings.

Two other defendants had their cases dismissed by Battaglia after defense attorneys successfully argued that authorities hadn't properly identified them as taking part in tearing down the monument. It was pulled down days after deadly violence at a Charlottesville, Virginia, rally by white nationalists.

Navy Holds Public Meeting In NC On Water Testing Plans

The Navy is holding a public meeting this week on its cautionary water testing procedure in a town where two contaminated drinking wells have been discovered.

The Daily News of Jacksonville reports the meeting will be held Wednesday at Atlantic Elementary School, where the Navy will explain the water testing and take questions from the public.

The Navy found two contaminated drinking wells in the town of Atlantic during testing in November. It's continuing to test water in the area because of its proximity to Marine Corps landing fields.

Teen Survives 50-Foot Fall Off Ledge At Pilot Mountain

A teenager who tumbled 50 feet off a ledge at Pilot Mountain State Park is recovering.

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Creed was hiking near the Three Bears gully on Sunday evening when she slipped. Surry County Emergency Services Director John Shelton told the Mt. Airy News rescuers used a basket to pull her to safety, which took about 90 minutes.

Family members say Creed suffered a broken collarbone, a fractured foot and cuts requiring stitches. She was released from the hospital Monday evening.

NC To Honor Coast Guard Captain Who Was Born A Slave

The state Transportation Department will dedicate a bridge along the Outer Banks to a U.S. Coast Guard captain who went from being a slave to the first African-American to command a life-saving station.

The state will dedicate the Pea Island Interim Bridge as the Captain Richard Etheridge Bridge in a ceremony Tuesday.

The bridge was completed last year. It replaced the temporary metal bridge that spanned a breach opened during Hurricane Irene in 2011 along N.C. Highway 12.

Etheridge became the leader of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station, an all African-American unit credited with saving many lives. The Coast Guard awarded Etheridge and his crew a medal for the rescue of those aboard the E.S. Newman during a hurricane in 1896.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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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