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North Carolina Elections Board Weighs Re-Doing Marred Election
North Carolina elections officials say the country's last undecided congressional election was marred by falsified signatures, blank ballots that consultants could complete and disappearing documents.
The state elections board could decide as early as Tuesday whether that was unfortunate but tolerable, or whether to order a new election in the 9th congressional district.
Investigators are expected to seek testimony from dozens of other voters in rural Bladen and Robeson counties and people who worked with political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless.
The consultant hired by Republican Mark Harris' campaign was accused by the state elections director of running an illegal and well-funded ballot-harvesting operation for the GOP candidate.
Group Takes On Death Penalty In North Carolina Court Brief
A former Superior Court judge is among those asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to find the death penalty unconstitutional because its rare use means it serves no purpose.
In a friend-of-the-court brief, the group also argues that the death penalty is "cruel or unusual" under the state constitution. The Promise of Justice Initiative filed the brief Friday.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a news release that former Superior Court Judge Leon Stanback signed the brief, as did former District Attorney Rob Corbett and former Wake County Chief Homicide Detective Steve Hale.
The group filed its brief in the case of Rayford Burke, a North Carolina death row prisoner who's challenging his sentence under the state's Racial Justice Act. Legislators repealed the act in 2013.
Pfeiffer University President Takes Job At Delaware School
The first female president of Pfeiffer University in North Carolina will leave effective May 31 to become the first female president of a Delaware college.
Dr. Colleen Perry Keith will leave Pfeiffer to become president of Goldey-Beacom College, a private school in Wilmington, Delaware.
She came to Pfeiffer in July 2015. The school said in a news release that Pfeiffer took several steps toward a secure financial future under her leadership, including moving athletics from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division III and the sale and move of the Charlotte campus.
Pfeiffer is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the United Methodist Church with its main campus in Misenheimer.
North Carolina's Flu-Related Deaths Down From Last Year
The number of flu-related deaths in North Carolina is down from last year.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports 52 flu-related deaths for this season. At this point last year, there were 165.
Influenza season runs from October to May each year, and the peak for flu activity usually comes during the winter months.
Anita Valiani with NC DHHS says the flu shot is working fairly well for the most common strain in the Southeast this year.
She adds that while it's recommended people get the flu shot in the fall, it is never too late to get vaccinated.
Asheville Hopes To Renovate Cabin Used By Author Thomas Wolfe
Asheville officials hope to work with the public to determine the best way to renovate the cabin that author Thomas Wolfe used as a rural sanctuary.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports the city has begun a process to determine strategies for rehabilitation and reuse of Wolfe's former cabin property, which the city has owned since 2001.
The city will gather advice from the community at two meetings scheduled this month in Asheville.
No funding has yet been allocated for the project. Asheville City Council designated the site as a local historic landmark in 1982.
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