Receive the morning news briefs delivered to your email inbox every morning. Click here to sign up.

Confidentiality Over NC Mapmaker's Files Extended 1 Month

A North Carolina judge has given himself more time to decide whether more computer files from a Republican mapmaker can be made public.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier agreed on Tuesday to extend until Oct. 27 a temporary confidentiality order that a three-judge panel previously issued covering nearly all of Thomas Hofeller's documents. The documents were subpoenaed in a redistricting lawsuit and the order was to expire Friday.

Rozier was named to handle confidentiality questions because the three judges are now scrutinizing state House and Senate districts approved last week.

UNC Governing Board Chairman Resigns, Citing Job Demands

The chair of the governing panel for the University of North Carolina system says he's stepping down early from his position but will remain on the board.

UNC said in a news release Tuesday that Board of Governors Chair Harry Smith of Greenville is resigning effective Oct. 1. Smith plans to remain as a board member through the end of his term in 2021.

Smith says he's resigning because of the overwhelming demands of being the chair while running businesses.

Judge OKs Duke University Paying $54M In Hiring Lawsuit

A federal judge is closing a lawsuit that Duke University is settling over claims that it and nearby University of North Carolina conspired to hold down salaries of thousands of medical workers by not hiring staff away from each other.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles on Tuesday finalized the deal in which the Durham university will divide more than $50 million among current and former employees. Their payouts will average around $6,000 depending on salary and how long they worked at Duke or UNC's Chapel Hill campus.

Lawyers for the former Duke radiology professor who filed the class-action lawsuit are projected to be paid more than $3 million.

Wake Forest Baptist Gets Large Grant To Increase Cancer Research

Wake Forest Baptist Health has received a multi-million dollar grant to expand its cancer research. It will focus on how cancer treatments can affect the heart and the brain, among other things.

The six-year, $25 million award from the National Cancer Institute's Community Oncology Research Program will build on work from a previous grant received in 2014.

Wake Forest Baptist says it will look at how different therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, can affect the quality of life for patients and their caregivers dealing with the disease.

North Carolina Temporarily Suspends Operations At 3 Prisons

A North Carolina agency says it will temporarily suspend operations at three minimum custody facilities and move correctional officers and other staff to neighboring prisons to address what it calls staffing challenges.

The N.C. Department of Public Safety says in a news release on Tuesday that it's making the move with the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice to better utilize available staff and make state prisons and communities safer.

Operations will be suspended at Hoke Correctional Institution, Tyrrell Prison Work Farm and Odom Correctional Institution to deploy staff to prisons with high officer vacancy rates.

2 Health Departments Investigate Legionnaires' Disease

Health departments in two North Carolina counties are looking into multiple cases of Legionnaires' disease at the N.C. Mountain State Fair.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release on Tuesday that it's working with the Buncombe and Henderson County health departments to track down additional information.

Legionella bacteria can become a health concern when they grow and spread in human-made water systems like hot water tanks, air conditioning systems and other sources that are not properly maintained.

300x250 Ad

300x250 Ad

Support quality journalism, like the story above, with your gift right now.

Donate