Cooper Reduces Number Of People Attending Indoor Gatherings
(Raleigh, NC) -- Governor Roy Cooper is once again cracking down on the number of people who be allowed to attend indoor gatherings in North Carolina. Citing the recent surge in new cases of the coronavirus, along with the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday period, the Governor announced that he would be reducing the number from 25-to-10. The new executive order takes effect Friday and will run through December 4th.
Cunningham Concedes To Tillis In Senate Race
(Raleigh, NC) -- Thom Tillis is returning as a U.S. Senator. Democrat Cal Cunningham conceded the race to the North Carolina Republican yesterday, nearly a week after Election Day. The vote count is still not complete across the state, but Tillis is still more than 94-thousand votes ahead. Tillis says his priorities remain with COVID-19 and the economy.
Fire Breaks Out In Asheville Warehouse
(Asheville, NC) -- Investigators are searching for the cause of a warehouse fire in Asheville. Smoke filled the sky Tuesday afternoon when flames tore through a building behind the Metropolitan Sewerage District on Riverside Drive. The district's general manager told WLOS-TV no one should have been inside the building at the time. It's used as storage for equipment.
Flood Watch Issued For WNC
(Asheville, NC) -- Rain may cause problems over the next couple of days in the mountains. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch in western North Carolina through Thursday. Some of the rain may drop off today, but it's expected to be heavy overnight. Some areas near the South Carolina border could see up to four inches.
Pedestrian Dies In Hit-And-Run
(Barnardsville, NC) -- The state highway patrol is looking for the driver in a deadly Buncombe County hit-and-run. Investigators say a man was struck by a car and killed while walking along Highway 197 last Friday. There has been no description of the vehicle, which never stopped.
Washed Out Road Re-Opens In Madison County
(Madison County, NC) -- A Madison County road is finally open again after a washout in February. Drivers in surrounding communities have been forced to take a 35-mile detour ever since rain caused a 450-foot section of Walnut Creek Mountain Road to collapse. The three-and-a-half-million-dollar project had an original completion date of December 1st.
Nine Deaths Now Linked To COVID-19 Church Outbreak
(Charlotte, SC) -- The deadly COVID-19 outbreak linked to a Charlotte church is getting even worse. Mecklenburg County health officials reported yesterday that nine people have died and at least 108 tested positive after the United House of Prayer for All People held convocation events last month. There hasn't been a larger outbreak in Charlotte.
Protesters Gather At BLM Mural
(Charlotte, NC) -- Protesters are back out at Charlotte's Black Lives Matter mural. The city council voted earlier this week to re-open a section of Tryon Street where the mural was painted because surrounding businesses cited revenue losses. WBTV reports dozens of people gathered peacefully to block the road once barricades were taken away. The city never intended to permanently shut down the section.
Medical Group Seeks Hundreds In COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
(Charlotte, NC) -- A Charlotte medical group is looking for participants in a coronavirus vaccine study. Tryon Medical Partners is taking part in a trial with a company called Jensen. Around 900 people are needed, with a focus on those 65-and-older, adults with high-risk jobs and people of color.
Plan to Bring Back CMS Middle Schoolers Altered
(Charlotte, NC) -- The return to the classroom is being delayed for CMS middle school students. The school board voted yesterday to push back the start one week to November 30th for those sixth through eighth grade kids in K-through-eight schools. Remaining middle and high schoolers come back on January 5th. School officials cited an unexpected shortage of bus drivers last month that was enough to affect the original back-to-school plan.
No Active Shooter Found After Uptown Lockdown
(Charlotte, NC) -- There's no trouble to report after a call for an active shooter went out in uptown yesterday. Duke Energy locked down one of its office buildings while the CMPD combed the area. A third-party allegedly told a security guard about an armed individual on South Church Street. The office opened back up when police confirmed no threat was found.
NC Health Officials Report Second Largest Single-Day COVID-19 Increase
(Raleigh, NC) -- Data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services showed there were two-thousand-582 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, an increase of 11-hundred-61 over the day before. North Carolina's positivity rate remained at over seven-percent. The Department also reported there were one-thousand-230 people in the hospital yesterday, the second highest single-day total since the beginning of the pandemic. There were 45 additional deaths Tuesday, which brought the total to 46-hundred-60.
Last Day To Apply For State Assistance For Rent
(Raleigh, NC) -- Today is the last day for people who've had difficulty paying their rent because of COVID-19 to apply for assistance from the state. The 117-million dollars in funding for the Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions program has almost been depleted. Those needing assistance can apply online at nc211.org or by dialing 211 before 6 p.m.
Vote Counting Continues Across North Carolina
(Raleigh, NC) -- While voters in North Carolina continue to wait for six statewide elections to be called, incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis was declared as the projected winner of the race between he and Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham Tuesday. With 97-percent of the ballots counted and Tillis leading by as much as 100-thousand votes, Cunningham called Tillis to concede the race. The North Carolina Board of Elections reports it still has about 93-thousand mail-in absentee ballots to count. Those with a November 3rd postmark will continue to be counted through Thursday at 5 p.m.
Consulting Firm Offers Raleigh Number Of Recommendations On Police Reform
(Raleigh, NC) -- An independent consulting firm says Raleigh Police could have come up with better ways of controlling crowds during mass demonstrations this summer in response to the death of George Floyd. Especially when it came to the use of force and tear gas. At a meeting of the City Council Tuesday, Chicago-based '21CP' presented members with a 53-page assessment of police procedures. It also offered 38 recommendations on how to reform the Department.
Victim Killed Outside Church ID'd
(High Point, NC) -- High Point police are identifying the man who was shot and killed outside a local church. Eighteen-year-old Frederick Cox Junior was attending a funeral service at Living Water Baptist Church Sunday when he was shot. Several other people were injured when shots were fired from vehicles toward the crowd. Police say 60-to-70 shell casings were found at the scene.
Guilford Co. Schools Votes On ReEntry Plan
(Greensboro, NC) -- Guilford County Schools' Board of Education is moving forward with a phased-in re-entry plan. Starting tomorrow, students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades can return for in-person instruction. Students in grades three-through-five will return on January 5th, sixth-graders will return part-time on January 7th, middle-schoolers will return part-time on January 11th, and high-school students will be back in the classroom part-time on January 20th. The Board approved the re-entry plan last night.
Man Killed In Greensboro Shooting
(Greensboro, NC) -- Greensboro police are investigating a deadly shooting. It happened Monday night in the 12-hundred block of Curtis Street. The victim is identified as 56-year-old Michael Melvin. Police are investigating the death as a homicide. They have not released any details about a possible suspect.