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North Carolina To Hold Hearing On Undecided US House Race

The North Carolina State Board of Elections is holding a hearing on ballot fraud allegations in the nation's last undecided congressional election.

The multiday hearing starting Monday will include the results of a monthslong investigation into allegations that a political operative tampered with mail-in ballots in a rural county.

Republican Mark Harris holds a slim lead over Democrat Dan McCready in unofficial results, but the state has refused to certify the election.

At the end of the process, the board is expected to either certify a winner in the race or order a new election.

EPA Hits Chemical Maker For Not Notifying On New Compounds

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says a chemical maker's North Carolina plant may have broken federal law by failing to notify the agency before it started manufacturing and repurposing new industrial compounds.

The EPA said in a violation notice letter that The Chemours Co. also failed to provide information showing when the company learned the chemical GenX contaminated water wells and properties around its factories near Fayetteville and Parkersburg, West Virginia. The agency says the violations were found after the two plants were inspected in 2017.

Chemours spokeswoman Lisa Randall says the company has since made changes to address some of the issues.

Bennett College Makes Final Case For Saving Accreditation

Bennett College is appealing the loss of its accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Last December, the commission said that the school would lose its accreditation after two years on probation due to lack of financial resources.

After the news, the college kicked off a massive fundraising effort called "Stand with Bennett" to support an appeal of the decision.

The school exceeded its goal and announced earlier this month that it had raised $8.2 million.

A final decision will be announced in the coming days.

School Drops Case Of Student Who Bloodied Silent Sam Statue

A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill hearings panel has dismissed an honor court case against a graduate student who colored a Confederate statue on campus with ink and blood.

The News and Observer reports a letter sent to student Maya Little said the panel voted to dismiss the case Thursday. It says the panel ruled her rights were violated during a previous hearing.

Little has said she coated the statue, known as Silent Sam, in red ink and her blood in April to visibly convey the statue's representation of violence against blacks. Protesters later tore down the statue.

Jaki Shelton Green To Be Inducted As NC Poet Laureate

North Carolina's first African-American poet laureate will be inducted at a ceremony led by Gov. Roy Cooper.

Cooper will induct Jaki Shelton Green on Monday at the state Capitol in Raleigh. The previous state poet laureate, Shelby Stephenson, also will attend.

Green has been active in the state's literary and teaching community for more than 40 years. She has written eight books of poetry, co-edited two poetry anthologies and written one play.

She is a 2014 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee and was the recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2003.

Beloved Rhinoceros Dies At Age 49 In North Carolina Zoo

The North Carolina Zoo says that a beloved rhinoceros named Stanley has died.

The zoo said in a news release that the 49-year-old southern white rhinoceros died Friday after suffering neurological symptoms and a suspected stroke in recent weeks. A sudden decline in his health this week prompted zookeepers' decision to humanely euthanize him.

Stan was born in South Africa in 1970 and had lived at a zoo in Asheboro since 1987.

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