Associated Press – Moore County Edition

Nov

29

2023

University of North Carolina shooting suspect found unfit for trial, sent to mental health facility

NewsUNC shooting

RALEIGH — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate student charged with fatally shooting his faculty adviser has been found unfit for trial after two mental evaluations, a judge ruled Monday. Tailei Qi, 34, is accused of killing associate professor Zijie Yan in a science building at the state's flagship public university on Aug. 28. He is being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and misdemeanor possession of a firearm on educational property. Orange County Superior Court Judge Alyson Grine said Monday that two separate mental evaluations found Qi likely suffers from untreated schizophrenia. "Qi demonstrated…

Jul

12

2023

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By Associated Press

NC megachurch exits Southern Baptist Convention

Businesselevation church, megachurch, nc church

CHARLOTTE — Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another large congregation. Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music — sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was withdrawing its affiliation. Elevation’s letter didn’t state a reason. Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly Furtick, preaches at Elevation to men and women, and has links to her sermons on her website.…

Jul

05

2023

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By Associated Press

Outgoing NC Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan considering gubernatorial bid

Governmentnc supreme court, Outgoing NC Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan considering gubernatorial bid

RALEIGH — North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Mike Morgan, who announced last month he won’t seek reelection to the court next year, says he’s weighing a 2024 bid for governor. Morgan, one of two registered Democrats on the state’s highest court, said this week that many within the party are asking him to look at a gubernatorial candidacy. Attorney General Josh Stein has been the only high-profile Democrat to get into the race, announcing his plans in January. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is barred by term limits from running again now. “I’ve been asked, quite frankly, to look at…

Mar

08

2023

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By Associated Press

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

NewsGOP, legislature, medicaid expansion, republican

RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act. The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently. North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January. “This is something that we can all be very proud of,”…

Jan

25

2023

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By Associated Press

State lawmakers propose power grid protections after attacks

Newsattack, electricity, power grid, substation, vandalism

RALEIGH — When gunshots at two electrical substations cut power to thousands of central North Carolina homes for several days in early December, Republican state Rep. Ben Moss watched his vibrant district full of family farms, small businesses and sprawling golf courses become “a ghost town.” After the latest attack last week on a substation in Randolph County, northeast of Charlotte, Moss is urging fellow lawmakers to prioritize new legislation that would secure the state’s critical infrastructure when the legislative session begins in earnest this week. He’s among the first state legislators to propose power grid protections this year amid…

Dec

14

2022

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By Associated Press

Moore County power restored as combined reward announced

Newsmoore county power outage, Power, power grid, reward, vandalism

RALEIGH— Duke Energy and Randolph Electric Membership Cooperative completed repairs on Wednesday, Dec. 7 on electric substation equipment damaged in shootings that made international news in Moore County. Authorities have said the outages began shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 after one or more people drove up to two substations, breached the gates and opened fire on them. Police have not released a motive or said what kind of gun was used in the attack. But Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields told reporters Monday that whoever was responsible “knew exactly what they were doing to ... cause the…

Nov

22

2022

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By Associated Press

N. Carolina Rep. Hudson named to lead House campaign arm

Newscongress, Richard Hudson, us house of representatives

RALEIGH — Veteran U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina was elected Tuesday by fellow House Republicans as leader of their campaign and fundraising arm to help get GOP candidates elected to the chamber. Hudson was unopposed in running to become the next National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, picked by new and returning colleagues meeting in Washington. He succeeds Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who on Tuesday was elected the House GOP caucus whip. Hudson joined the House in 2013 and got reelected last week, winning the state’s new 9th Congressional District seat. With Republicans on the cusp of majority control…

Nov

16

2022

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By Associated Press

Army probes whether troops wrongly targeted in bonus scandal

Government, Newspentagon, united states army, us military

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Years after about 1,900 National Guard and Reserve soldiers were swept up in a recruiting bonus scandal, U.S. Army investigators are reviewing the cases and correcting records because some individuals were wrongly blamed and punished, Army officials said Thursday. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division said it will complete a review of the bulk of the 1,900 soldiers by the end of this year to identify and begin to fix the mistakes. CID said agents during the initial investigation may have misunderstood facts or failed to follow proper procedures and erroneously added soldiers’ names to an FBI crime…

Sep

07

2022

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By Associated Press

NC board says Democratic legislative candidate can still run

Governmentcandidate, government, legislation, NC Legislative seat

RALEIGH — The Democratic nominee for a key North Carolina legislative seat this fall remains a candidate, the State Board of Elections ruled on Friday, rejecting a local decision that found evidence she didn’t live in the district where she’s running. Along party lines, the Democrat-majority board voted 3-2 to reverse the findings of the Currituck County Board of Elections, which last week declared there was “substantial evidence” that Valerie Jordan didn’t meet the residency requirement to run for the 3rd Senate District seat. Jordan’s Republican rival, current Sen. Bobby Hanig, had filed the candidate protest against Jordan, contending that…

Aug

24

2022

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By Associated Press

New space telescope shows Jupiter’s auroras, tiny moons

Featuresjupiter, moons, NASA, telescope

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world’s newest and biggest space telescope is showing Jupiter as never before, auroras and all. Scientists released the shots Monday of the solar system’s biggest planet. The James Webb Space Telescope took the photos in July, capturing unprecedented views of Jupiter’s northern and southern lights, and swirling polar haze. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, a storm big enough to swallow Earth, stands out brightly alongside countless smaller storms. One wide-field picture is particularly dramatic, showing the faint rings around the planet, as well as two tiny moons against a glittering background of galaxies. “We’ve never seen…