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Ocracoke Island Under Mandatory Evacuation Order
Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina has been issued a mandatory evacuation order.
Hyde County tweeted Sunday evening that the order would go into effect 5 a.m. Monday in advance of Hurricane Maria.
A tropical storm watch was issued Sunday for the North Carolina coast from Surf City northward to the state's Virginia border including the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.
The National Hurricane Center said Sunday evening that the tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area beginning Tuesday.
There is also a storm surge watch from Cape Lookout to Duck including the sound side of the Outer Banks.
Legislators: New Districts Should Be OK'd For 2018 Elections
Republican lawmakers who drew new North Carolina House and Senate maps last month say they complied with a court ruling that struck down earlier boundaries as racial gerrymanders and the maps shouldn't have to be redone again.
Lawyers for the GOP leaders filed a brief Friday with federal judges that disputes arguments from voters who successfully sued in overturning maps approved in 2011.
The voters' attorneys wrote last week that 12 districts still are illegal and unconstitutional and must be corrected before the 2018 elections.
It's now up to a three-judge panel to accept the new maps, make changes or get a third-party expert to redraw them.
NC Elections Officials: State Not Targeted In Russian Hack
Elections officials say Russian hackers targeting election systems across the United States last year skipped North Carolina with their cyberattacks.
The State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement said Friday North Carolina wasn't among the 21 states whose election systems were targeted by Russians during last November's election. State officials say they received word from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier Friday.
Church Stoked Tithing With Unemployment Scam, Ex-Members Say
Former members of an evangelical North Carolina church say their leader coerced congregants into filing false unemployment claims after the faltering economy threatened weekly tithes from church-affiliated companies.
The members say company owners who were leaders in the Word of Faith Fellowship church would file unemployment claims on employees' behalf, but that the employees would continue working.
Eleven former followers told The Associated Press that they participated in the plan. They estimated that the fraudulent claims would have drawn payments totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2008 and 2013.
The unemployment allegations were uncovered as part of the AP's lengthy, ongoing investigation into the church, based in Spindale, North Carolina.
Police: Driver Faces Charges After Killing A Pedestrian
Police in North Carolina say a driver is facing charges after hitting and killing a pedestrian.
A police news release says that Greensboro officers responded to the crash around 7:20 p.m. Friday.
Police say the driver struck a guard rail and the woman. The woman, whose name wasn't immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Investigators say the driver tried to flee the scene but was caught.
The news release says that 35-year-old Greensboro resident Kamero Bradshaw has been charged with DWI, felony death by vehicle, and felony hit and run, among other charges.
7 Hurt When Man Drives Into Crowd Outside N. Carolina Club
A man is facing charges after authorities say he drove into a crowd outside a North Carolina nightclub.
Police say the incident happened early Sunday outside La Luna nightclub in Durham.
Authorities say seven people waiting in line for a food truck were injured when a car drove into the crowd, then drove away. Two people were listed in critical condition.
23-year-old Hugo Romero-Robles has been charged with driving while intoxicated and felony hit and run.
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