AP-NC Newswatch

Latest North Carolina News:

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina schools see major virus spread as year begins
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina K-12 public school districts are seeing high levels of COVID-19 transmission as the new academic years gets underway. Spread is particularly bad in places where mask wearing is optional. Dozens of districts entering the school year without a mask mandate have reversed course, but a few holdouts still remain. Roughly 1 in 8 pupils at Union County Public Schools were under quarantine last week after the district decided not to require masks. The state’s largest school system, Wake County, forces pupils to wear a face covering. Less than 1% of its students are currently under quarantine. About 95% of K-12 public school students in the state are currently covered by a mask mandate.

FATAL BOAT CRASH
Woman dies after boat hits hidden sand shoal
HATTERAS, N.C. (AP) – Officials in North Carolina say a Virginia woman was killed when she was thrown from a boat and run over after it hit a hidden sand shoal off the Outer Banks. News outlets report that the rented 21-foot Carolina skiff was traveling southwest across Hatteras Inlet when it ran aground on a sand shoal near the Ocracoke ferry terminal on Ocracoke Island. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says the woman, who was ejected from the boat and then run over, died from her injuries. Officials identified the woman killed as 29-year-old Brandi Lash, 29, of Round Hill, Virginia. The crash is still under investigation but authorities believe inexperience and hazardous waters were contributing factors.

TROPICAL WEATHER-RIP CURRENTS
Hurricane Larry brings threat of dangerous rip currents
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (AP) – The National Weather Service is warning that swells from Hurricane Larry will create dangerous rip current conditions. News outlets report that the storm isn’t expected to make landfall in the United States, but it will be powerful enough to be felt along the East Coast. The weather service says Outer Banks beaches from Pea Island down to Cape Lookout will experience a high rip current risk. That means powerful and numerous rip currents are expected and everyone should stay out of the water. Moderate rip currents are expected from Duck through Nags Head and from Shackleford Banks through North Topsail Beach. That means only experienced swimmers who know how to escape a rip current should enter the water.

DEADLY COLLISION
Head-on collision in North Carolina kills woman in van
JEFFERSON, N.C. (AP) – The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says a woman was killed in a head-on collision involving a Jeep and a kayak rental company van. WSOC reports troopers were called to the scene of an accident on N.C. Highway 16 on Monday. According to the patrol, the Jeep was headed north when the driver crossed the center line and hit the van from a canoe rental company in Jefferson. The driver of the Jeep was taken to a nearby hospital. The patrol said 49-year-old Lori Richelle Myers of Terrell died at the scene. Troopers said she was wearing her seatbelt.

FATAL SHOOTING-WOMAN CHARGED
North Carolina woman accused in husband’s fatal shooting
CONOVER, N.C. (AP) – Police in North Carolina have charged a woman in the shooting death of her husband. News outlets report a news release from Conover police said they received a call just after midnight on Monday from 31-year-old Brittney Lyfae McCleave, who said she had shot her husband. Officers found 36-year-old Danta Broome at a residence with a gunshot wound. Broome died at a nearby hospital. McCleave requested and was assigned a court-appointed provisional attorney on Monday until another attorney is appointed. The attorney couldn’t be reached for comment. Police say the investigation into the shooting is continuing.

BEER LABEL-LAWSUIT
Maryland brewery sues North Carolina commission over label
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A Maryland-based brewery is suing North Carolina regulators after one of its beer labels was rejected after it was deemed inappropriate. WRAL reports the owners of Flying Dog Brewery say in the lawsuit filed last month that the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission has violated its First Amendment rights by rejecting the label for its Freezin’ Season Winter Ale. The artwork consists of the silhouette of a naked man standing next to a campfire. The brewery says the label has been approved in every other state within its 24-state distribution network. The commission didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

POLICE SHOOTING-NORTH CAROLINA
Two North Carolina police officers on leave after shooting
CONOVER, N.C. (AP) – Two North Carolina police officers shot and wounded a man who was accused of ramming a police car and trying to hit his father. News outlets report that a news release from the Conover Police Department says the two officers responded to a call on Sunday regarding an altercation between 50-year-old Clegg Johnson and his 80-year-old father. Police say Johnson drove his SUV into a patrol car, then drove toward his father and some officers. Two officers shot at the vehicle and hit Johnson, whose condition was stable on Tuesday. The two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave.

INMATE DEATH
Authorities: Prison inmate in NC dies of apparent suicide
LAURINBURG, Va. (AP) – Authorities in North Carolina are investigating after they say that a prison inmate died from an apparent suicide. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety said in a news release that the man died Sunday at Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg. The man who died was identified as Tyler Lanier, 26. Authorities said he was found unresponsive in his cell around 9:30 p.m. First responders from the prison and local paramedics performed lifesaving measures, the news release said. But Lanier was pronounced dead at about 10:00 p.m. NCDPS said that it’s conducting an investigation and that local law enforcement is investigating as well. The department said that Lanier was serving a 12-year sentence for robbery with a dangerous weapon.