Morning Headlines: Tuesday, November 26, 2016

Overnight Lockdown At WSSU

Winston-Salem State University was placed on lockdown Monday night.

Campus police were notified shortly after 9:30 of an incident in the Reaves Student Activity Center which led to an individual displaying a gun.

The campus was placed on lockdown about ten minutes later.

According to a statement from the university, there was no indication of shots fired, and no injuries were reported.

The lockdown remained in place while police continued sweeps campus-wide, but was lifted early this morning.

Expert At Voter ID Trial: Exceptions Still Leave Voting Obstacles

A professor called as an expert witness in the federal trial over North Carolina's new voter identification requirement says changes made last summer could make the law less harsh.

But Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison testified Monday that black and Latino residents would still face more obstacles compared to whites to comply with the law even with the exceptions to vote without a qualifying ID.

The state NAACP, U.S. Justice Department and voters contend the photo ID demands are discriminatory and violate the Constitution and federal law.

Tom Farr is a lawyer representing the state. He questioned Burden on his conclusions and what poll workers could do to determine a voter's identity before the upcoming mandate.

The trial resumes Tuesday morning.

Absentee Ballots Now Available

North Carolina voters can now request absentee ballots for the March 15th primary. More voters are expected to take advantage of the process this year.

In the 2012 general election, more than 200,000 North Carolinians voted by absentee ballot.  Jackie Hyland with the state board of elections says that number could much be higher this year because of changes to state's voting laws.

Anyone can vote by mail using an absentee ballot but you have to follow several steps. First, you complete a request form. Once you receive your ballot, you'll also have to make sure it's delivered to the appropriate county election's office by 5 p.m on Election Day.

And it's important to make sure it's postmarked on or before Election Day if you want your vote to count.

50,000 Remain Without Power In NC

Gov. Pat McCrory says about 50,000 customers remain without power in North Carolina from last week's snow and ice storm.

McCrory said Monday that most of the outages remain in Wake, Johnston and Harnett counties. At the height of the storm Friday and Saturday, utilities reported nearly 475,000 outages.

Troopers say the sunshine and warmer temperatures are allowing ice to melt from untreated roads, but warn any water that remains will refreeze when the sun goes down and temperatures drop into the 20s.

McCrory also asked for the public's help to find two all-terrain vehicle drivers who he says attacked a state trooper who told them to get off the road Saturday morning near China Grove. The governor says the trooper's injuries were not life threatening.

Rivera: LB Davis Has Surgery, Expected To Play In Super Bowl

Panthers coach Ron Rivera says All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis had surgery Monday morning on his broken right forearm, but is expected to play in the Super Bowl.

Rivera says the 11-year NFL veteran may need to wear a brace on his arm similar to the one New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski wears.

Davis broke his arm in the second quarter of Carolina's 49-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in the NFC championship. Davis said after the game he fully expected to play in the Feb. 7 Super Bowl because, "I believe in me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.