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NBA Says Charlotte Is Eligible To Host 2019 All-Star Game
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says Charlotte will be eligible to host the 2019 All-Star Game after a recent change to a North Carolina law that limited anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people.
Silver said Friday the league's Board of Governors discussed it during their meetings this week and made what was "not an easy decision." He says it's "not a done deal" that Charlotte will get the game, because the league would need assurances of anti-discriminatory policies for venues that would host its events and hotels they would use.
But Silver says it is his "expectation" that Charlotte would get the game if those assurances were met. He says those requirements would need to be met within about the next month.
Stop The Stench? NC Lawmakers Seek To Stifle Hog Lawsuits
North Carolina lawmakers are taking steps to protect the world's largest pork producer from lawsuits accusing its subsidiaries of creating unbearable odor and animal waste.
The 2014 lawsuits by about 500 rural neighbors of massive hog farms allege that clouds of flies and intense odors remain a problem nearly a quarter-century since industrial-scale hog farming took off.
With the cases advancing toward a possible trial as early as this summer, legislators are working to sharply limit penalties that courts could impose.
Cooper Rounds Out Cabinet With Revenue, IT Secretaries
Gov. Roy Cooper has rounded out his Cabinet by elevating two state government executives to oversee tax collections and information technology.
The governor on Friday introduced Ron Penny as Department of Revenue secretary and Eric Boyette as the state chief information officer and IT department secretary.
Penny has been acting revenue secretary since January and previously was state personnel director for eight years. Boyette has worked at the Department of Transportation, most recently as the agency's chief information officer and the acting Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner.
Judge Rejects Guilty Plea From Man Accused In Fatal Stabbing
A Forsyth County judge has rejected the guilty plea of a man accused of stabbing his girlfriend nearly 40 times, saying he's concerned about the man's mental competency.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports Superior Court Judge David Hall stopped Friday's hearing for 55-year-old Ferjus Bernard Moore, saying he couldn't accept Moore's guilty plea to second-degree murder in the death of 43-year-old Cheryl Annise Bethea.
During questioning from Hall, Moore consulted with either a psychiatrist or one of his attorneys to get clarification of what Hall was asking. When the judge asked Moore to describe the crime he was accused of committing on Aug. 25, 2014, Moore responded, "I forgot."
Hall ordered Moore to get a mental competency evaluation at Central Regional Hospital. That could take up to two months.
Police: Man Dies After Striking Police Car, Fleeing
Greensboro police say a man has died after striking a police cruiser then fleeing the scene.
A police department news release says the driver struck a police cruiser Saturday afternoon in a red Ford Focus, which then fled the scene.
The news release says the Ford Focus struck another vehicle and a pole. The driver of the other vehicle had minor injuries.
Police said the driver of the Ford Focus was ejected from the vehicle and died. He was identified as 24-year-old Luther Shaheed Davis by authorities and family.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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