AP-NC Newswatch

Latest North Carolina News:

PROTEST-PRISON
Thrown brick at N. Carolina protest results in 1-year term
NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina man who threw a brick through a courthouse window during a protest related to George Floyd’s death has been sentenced to more than a year in prison. Alexander Pridgen of Greenville was sentenced to 15 months at a hearing Monday in federal court in New Bern. He pleaded guilty to destruction of government property and possessing a firearm while under indictment. Prosecutors say Pridgen participated in a May 2020 protest in Greenville related to the death of Floyd, a Black man whose killing at the hands of a Minnesota police officer prompted nationwide protests over racial injustice.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Worker advocates seek more NC aid as federal benefits expire
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Advocates for North Carolina workers say the unemployed need higher and longer jobless benefits from the state more than ever now that additional federal benefits created for the COVID-19 pandemic have expired. Well over 100,000 displaced workers in the state can no longer receive federal benefits that ended this month, including an additional $300 per week. On Monday, Democratic Sen. Wiley Nickel urged Republican colleagues to pass legislation to raise maximum state benefits from $350 to $500 a week. GOP lawmakers have been cool to similar proposals in the past. Other speakers at a news conference say child care and job training are issues.

SPEEDWAY-TWO SHOT
Sheriff’s office: 2 men shot during fight at Speedway
ELKIN, N.C. (AP) – Authorities say a North Carolina man has been charged with shooting two men during a fight at Friendship Motor Speedway. News outlets report that the Surry County Sheriff’s Office said two off-duty deputies working security at the speedway in Elkin on Saturday night were alerted about the shooting and found two men shot. Deputies believe Yosef Handy of Jonesville shot the men during an altercation. The sheriff’s office says two wounded men were taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. Handy was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and other offenses and given a secured bond of $350,000.

PROFESSOR DEATH
University professor falls to death through rusted staircase
A Boston University professor died over the weekend when he fell about 20 feet through a rusted out staircase near a train station. University and law enforcement officials say David K. Jones, an associate professor in the university’s School of Public Health, died Saturday. State police said in a statement that the death of the 40-year-old Milton man is under investigation. Troopers responded to the area near the JFK MBTA station in Boston at about 1:30 p.m. after a passerby spotted a body. The staircase has been closed for about 20 months and was blocked at both ends. Jones’ wife said he had gone out for a run.

PLANT EMPLOYEES DEAD
Authorities: 2 workers at eastern North Carolina plant die
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Authorities say two employees at an eastern North Carolina industrial operation have died at the site. It happened Sunday at the Valley Proteins Inc. plant in Fayetteville. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office says deputies came to the operation Sunday afternoon after the employees were found unresponsive. Their names haven’t been released pending family notification. Sheriff’s detectives are investigating what caused the deaths. Valley Proteins is based in Virginia and collects, renders and recycles fat and bone trimmings, meat waste and used cooking oil.

FELONS-VOTING-NORTH CAROLINA
NC’s highest court: Felons who registered recently can vote
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina’s highest court has ruled that felony offenders who are out of prison and registered to vote in North Carolina during a roughly 10-day period thanks to a recent order by trial judges will remain on voting rolls for now. The state Supreme Court declined on Friday to reinstate an order last month that declared any offender no longer behind bars could register. But the court declared that a felony offender who registered to vote because the order was enforceable at the time “are legally registered voters” until told otherwise. Those offenders can vote in this fall’s municipal elections.

AP-US-GEORGE-FLOYD-MEMORIAL-FUND
George Floyd fund has awarded over $50,000 in scholarships
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A fund set up to honor George Floyd says it has awarded more than $50,000 in scholarships since it was created. The George Floyd Memorial Foundation says Monday that it has recently given scholarships to 15 law school students, scholarships to interns and undergraduate students, and $25,000 to Fayetteville State University. Foundation executive director Jacari Harris says these scholarships keep Floyd’s memory alive and provide needed support to students. The George Floyd Memorial Foundation was set up in August 2020 and focuses on promoting the awareness of racial injustices, police brutality and ensuring that everyone’s civil rights are protected. Floyd died in May of last year when a former Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck as he said he couldn’t breathe.

MOTORISTS-CHILD SHOT
NC sheriff: 9-year-old in critical condition after shooting
PEMBROKE, N.C. (AP) – Authorities in southeastern North Carolina say a 9-year-old girl was critically injured after being shot along with her mother. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said that deputies responding Saturday night to a report of two people being shot while traveling in a vehicle in Pembroke found the mother and child with gunshot wounds. A sheriff’s news release says the child’s medical condition was listed as critical after being taken to a medical center, while the mother was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The sheriff’s office said Sunday the investigation was ongoing.