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North Carolinians Cleaning Up After Storms In 5 Counties
Clean-up activities are under way in central North Carolina after tornadoes hit the state for a second day.
At least four people were hurt in the storms in Iredell, Davie, Yadkin, Stokes and Union counties Wednesday.
More than 700 people were without electricity Thursday.
Dozens of homes were damaged as the storms knocked over trees and power lines.
The gym at Courtney Elementary School in Yadkin County lost its roof and two walls. Emergency Management Director Keith Vestal said about two dozen students and teachers took cover in the school next to that gym. None were hurt.
The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes in Yadkin and Stokes counties. Officials are checking on reports of tornadoes in Iredell and Union counties.
A tornado hurt several people in Sampson County on Tuesday.
NBA All-Star Game Will Return To Charlotte In 2019
The NBA All-Star game is headed back to Charlotte in 2019, a couple of years later than anticipated.
The NBA announced that the All-Star weekend will be held Feb. 15-17 in Charlotte and the game will be played at the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets.
The league had selected Charlotte to host the 2017 All-Star game, but later moved the game to New Orleans because of the state law restricting the rights of LGBT people. However, a compromise was struck in March to partially erase the impact of the House Bill 2 law limiting anti-discrimination protections for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people.
With Senate Done, House Ready To Debate Budget Ideas
North Carolina House Republicans are ready to debate portions of their state government spending proposal.
The House scheduled several appropriations subcommittee meetings Thursday to unveil how GOP budget-writers would like to use taxpayer money for the next two years. The price tag for the first year of spending is expected to be $23 billion.
The full House budget — with salary increases and tax changes — won't get released until after Memorial Day, with floor votes anticipated by the end of next week.
Lawsuit: NC Doing Too Little For Developmentally Disabled
Advocates for people with disabilities are suing to force North Carolina officials to do more to keep thousands of people out of institutions.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday by Disability Rights North Carolina says 10,000 people are waiting for services needed to let them live outside institutions.
The group says taxpayers now house disabled people in state-operated or privately run centers costing about $150,000 a year per resident, while providing needed services outside the institutions would be less than $60,000 per year.
North Carolina State Employee Health Plan Chief Resigns
The top administrator of North Carolina's health insurance plan for state employees and teachers has abruptly left the job.
Mona Moon had been executive administrator of the State Health Plan for four years and previously served as the plan's chief financial officer. She submitted her resignation Tuesday.
The resignation comes days after the state Senate's budget proposal included a provision giving State Treasurer Dale Folwell the sole authority to dismiss the executive administrator. Current law requires consultation with the plan's trustee board.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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