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Flooding Should Ease In North Carolina On Tuesday
Rain should be moving out of North Carolina soon.
The National Weather Service had flash flood watches and warnings in effect in the eastern half of the state Tuesday morning after storms dumped 5 inches of rain in the Raleigh area.
Flood warnings were posted for many rivers in the eastern part of the state. A high surf advisory remained in effect along the Outer Banks.
Some people had to be rescued from their vehicles by firefighters in the Raleigh area.
Durham Public Schools said some buses would be running late Tuesday because of the weather.
Duke Energy said it had about 5,000 customers still without electric service Tuesday morning. About half of those were in and around Raleigh. About 1,000 customers were still without service in the Winston-Salem area.
Senate Completes Its Part In Overriding Elections Board Veto
North Carolina Senate Republicans have quickly completed their part in overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a measure trying a second time to combine the state elections board and ethics commission.
The Senate voted Monday night with no debate by a margin exceeding the three-fifths majority necessary to cancel a veto. The measure now goes to the House. The bill would become law with a similar House vote.
Cooper successfully sued to strike down a law approved before he took office combining the two panels. So, Republicans tried again with a retooled measure.
North Carolina Class-Size Proposal Phases In Lower Caps
Republicans have unveiled legislation depicted as a compromise that prevents North Carolina school districts from having to cut supplemental programs to reduce average class sizes in early grades.
A bill approved by a Senate committee Monday evening would phase-in the reductions for the maximum class sizes in kindergarten through third grades currently scheduled for next fall. Now, those caps won't have to be met until fall 2018.
Education groups, teachers and parents were worried that without change districts would have to locate money elsewhere to meet lower class sizes by eliminating art, music and physical education instructors or increasing class sizes in other grades.
Bill Addressing UNC School Records On Athletic Groups OK'd
A measure affirming documents held by University of North Carolina system schools about their member athletic organizations — like the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference — are public records has cleared its first legislative hurdle.
A Senate judiciary committee recommended the measure Monday. It has one more panel to pass before reaching the chamber floor.
Bill sponsor Sen. Michael Lee of Wilmington told the committee the measure was designed to eliminate any confusion that materials held by public colleges about these affiliations were accessible.
Litigation Between Cooper, Legislative Leaders Costing $760K
Outside legal costs in the fight between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and North Carolina legislative leaders over laws approved before Cooper took office reducing his powers have mounted quickly.
The Insider news service reported Monday that lawmakers and Cooper's office have paid or been billed more than $760,000 in attorneys' fees since January related to litigation about those laws. General Assembly records show $405,000 in expenses from a law firm representing its leaders and data from Cooper showing $362,000 in expenses from a firm aiding Cooper.
Duke Gets $20 Million For First-Time Student Scholarships
Duke University has received $20 million for a scholarship program for first-generation, minority students.
The school announced Monday that Board of Trustees Chairman David Rubenstein is giving the school the money to endow the scholarship program that started this year as the Washington Duke Scholars Program.
It will now be known as David M. Rubenstein Scholars Program.
The program now has 30 undergraduates who receive loan-free scholarships for four years. Those students also receive a four-week summer orientation program, mentorship opportunities, computers and seminars to support them at the private Durham school.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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