Morning News Briefs: Monday, December 5, 2016

Supreme Court Takes Up Cases About Race In Redistricting

The Supreme Court is taking up a pair of cases in which African-American voters maintain that Southern states discriminated against them in drawing electoral districts.

The justices are hearing arguments Monday in redistricting disputes from North Carolina and Virginia.

The claim made by black voters in both states is that Republicans created districts with more reliably Democratic black voters than necessary to elect their preferred candidates, making neighboring districts whiter and more Republican.

A federal court struck down two North Carolina districts as unconstitutional because they relied too heavily on race. In Virginia, a court rejected a constitutional challenge to 12 state legislative districts.

North Carolina Governor's Race Could Reach Conclusion

The undecided election for North Carolina governor could reach a conclusion Monday as a recount of thousands of votes wraps up.

Democrat Roy Cooper currently leads Republican incumbent Pat McCrory by about 10,250 votes. McCrory, who could not capitalize on the wave of support that delivered statewide victories for Republicans Donald Trump and Sen. Richard Burr, can demand a statewide recount if the margin is 10,000 or less.

A review of more than 94,000 votes cast in heavily Democratic Durham County during the early-voting period and on election day is expected to finish Monday. McCrory has said he won't ask for a statewide recount if that recount shows the same results.

Elections Board Dismisses Protest In NC County

The State Board of Elections has dismissed a formal protest filed in an eastern North Carolina county alleging workers for a political committee fraudulently filled out absentee ballots on behalf of voters for the Nov. 8 elections.

The 3-2 decision late Saturday means several dozen to perhaps hundreds of ballots in Bladen County still will be counted for many races, including the close race for North Carolina governor. Members rejecting the protest say people who lawfully signed and cast those mail-in ballots shouldn't be punished.

Despite Uproar, NC Governor Rivals Use Private Email

Republican incumbent Pat McCrory and his Democratic opponent in the undecided North Carolina governor's race have together sent or received hundreds of messages from private email accounts.

It's a practice scorned by transparency advocates. McCrory's re-election team described Attorney General Roy Cooper's scant use of state-provided email as "questionable" when it sought to compare his Democratic rival to Hillary Clinton's email problems.

The Associated Press learned from documents provided under North Carolina's public records law that both McCrory and Cooper have conducted state business via private emails accounts.

Neither McCrory nor Cooper responded when the AP emailed their personal accounts asking why they communicated outside official channels or what advantage they gained from the practice.

Trump 'Thank You' Tour Heads To Fayetteville

President-elect Donald Trump is coming to North Carolina this week to say "thank you" to supporters.

Trump's campaign announced Friday that Trump would speak Tuesday evening at Fayetteville's Crown Coliseum.

It's part of Trump's unconventional "USA Thank You Tour 2016" — essentially a victory lap covering battleground states where he defeated Hillary Clinton on the way to the presidency. The first stop was Thursday night in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thomas Rawls Leads Seahawks To 40-7 Pummeling Of Panthers

Thomas Rawls ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, Tyler Lockett took a reverse 75 yards for a score to open the second half and the Seattle Seahawks routed the Carolina Panthers 40-7 on Sunday night.

Another prime-time game in Seattle was clouded with odd story lines right from the outset when Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was benched for the first play, only to watch backup Derek Anderson throw an interception. It was the start of miserable night for Carolina (4-8) and a laugher that moved Seattle (8-3-1) one step closer to the NFC West title.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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