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Procession Planned For 'America's Pastor,' Rev. Billy Graham
The Rev. Billy Graham, the Christian evangelist dubbed "America's Pastor" who died this week at 99, will lie in repose for two days next week with a funeral to be held March 2.
Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the public relations firm handling the arrangements for Graham, says the body will be taken Saturday from Asheville to Charlotte. The procession is expected to take 3 ½ hours, ending at the Billy Graham Library.
Graham died Wednesday at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.
DeMoss says invitations will be extended to President Donald Trump and former presidents. He says Graham's son Franklin Graham will perform the eulogy.
Chemours Chemical Penalties Delayed To Stick
North Carolina environmental regulators are delaying penalties against a chemical company for discharging compounds with little-researched health effects until they're confident a case will stand up in court.
State assistant environment secretary Sheila Holman said Wednesday that regulators are being methodical with the prospect of a court challenge by Chemours in mind.
Holman was responding to questions from legislators investigating why products from the chemical plant near Fayetteville has been found in nearby water wells and public drinking water in Wilmington, nearly 100 miles downriver.
New Task Force To Test, Monitor North Carolina River
Environmentalists are using a new task force in western North Carolina to test and monitor for E. coli and sewage leaks draining into the French Broad Watershed.
The Times-News of Hendersonville reports MountainTrue has collected data showing increased levels of E. coli in the watershed. It points to aging infrastructure and leaking private treatment systems as the culprits.
By taking regular water samples, officials hope to identify hot spots and track down the sources of leaks — where human waste is entering local rivers and streams — and end the pollution.
State Gets Failing Grade In Child Health Report Card
The North Carolina Child Health Report Card is out. The state received an F in the housing and economic security category.
Census data show that nearly half of North Carolina children live in low-income or poor households, those with incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Dr. Adam Zolotor with the North Carolina Institute of Medicine says poverty impacts almost every aspect of health and well-being.
Zolotor says the report card also highlights racial and ethnic disparities when it comes to health outcomes, with black, Hispanic and Latinx children being more than twice as likely to live in poor or low-income homes.
Rebuffed Elsewhere, Advocacy Groups Sue To Alter House Lines
Several election advocacy groups have sued to try again to block legislative districts in one North Carolina county from being used in this year's elections.
Democracy North Carolina, the state NAACP and the League of Women Voters are among plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit Wednesday in a Wake County court.
At issue are four state House districts in Wake County redrawn by the Republican-controlled General Assembly last August after a previous federal court order threw out other districts elsewhere.
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