AP-NC Newswatch

Latest North Carolina News:

ELECTION 2022-FILING OPENS
North Carolina court delays, then restores candidate filing
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The start of North Carolina candidate filing for U.S. House and legislative seats was blocked by an appeals court panel. But it was restored hours later. A three-judge panel of the intermediate level appeals court issued a ruling on Monday morning telling officials not to begin accepting candidates for those seats due to pending redistricting litigation that alleges the maps are illegal partisan gerrymanders. But lawyers for the GOP legislators who helped draw the maps asked the entire 15-judge Court of Appeals to get involved. A majority of those judges agreed late Monday. For now, it means filing will begin for the General Assembly and U.S. House seats on Tuesday morning.

AP-US-NORTH-CAROLINA-TOYOTA
Toyota to build $1.3B battery plant near Greensboro, NC
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Toyota says it plans to build a $1.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Greensboro, North Carolina, that will employ at least 1,750 people. The Japanese auto giant joined Gov. Roy Cooper and other officials in making the announcement Monday at a site in Randolph County. Toyota says the U.S. factory will make batteries for hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The plant would start making batteries in 2025. Initially Toyota will or could receive well over $430 million in government incentives if it meets job creation and investment goals. Toyota plans to sell up to 1.8 million vehicles in the U.S. by 2030 that are at least partially electrified. 

HARRINGTON-NOT RUNNING
NC’s 1st female Senate majority leader to retire in 2022
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina Senate Majority Leader Kathy Harrington says she won’t seek reelection to her legislative seat next year. She’s the first woman to hold the job since it was created over 40 years ago. The Gaston County Republican is now in her sixth two-year Senate term. While the chamber’s most powerful position belongs to Sen. Phil Berger as president pro tempore, Harrington’s elevation to majority leader still marked a historic moment. Harrington said on Monday she felt like it was the right time to retire after looking at her Senate accomplishments. Berger called Harrington “the epitome of a public servant.”

NEIGHBOR’S DEATH-MAN CHARGED
North Carolina man charged in neighbor’s death after dispute
WILSON, N.C. (AP) – Police say a North Carolina man is charged with murder following a dispute with his neighbor. The Wilson Times reports Wilson Police Department spokesman Sgt. Eric Kearney said police charged 28-year-old Marco Antonio Jaimes with murder after finding his neighbor dead on a local street on Sunday. Officers and Wilson County emergency personnel were sent to a location for a medical call at around 11 a.m. Kearney says first responders found an unresponsive man later identified as 40-year-old Gonzalo Garcia, who was pronounced dead. Jaimes is being held in the Wilson County jail without bond.

CHRISTMAS PARADE-BOY HURT
Police: Boy run over after fall during NC Christmas parade
BATH, N.C. (AP) – Police in North Carolina say a 9-year-old boy participating in a Christmas parade was hurt when he fell out of a truck and was run over by an attached trailer. News outlets report that the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the boy was riding in the back of a moving pickup truck during the parade in Bath in Beaufort County on Sunday when he fell. The boy was flown to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. The Highway Patrol is investigating, but hasn’t released any information about the boy’s condition.

BC-NC-CAMPUS-CARJACKING ATTEMPT
Shots fired in carjacking attempt at NC State University
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A man attempting to rob North Carolina State University students fired multiple shots as they fled the scene. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports it happened just after 3:20 a.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the Avent Ferry Complex. Police say a man approached multiple students in a car and attempted to steal their vehicle at gunpoint. When the students drove away, the man fired multiple shots at their car and then ran away. No one was injured during the incident and no items were stolen, police said. The man was last spotted running toward Greek Village and Varsity Drive, officials said.

BC-NC-SMALL EARTHQUAKE-NORTH CAROLINA
Small earthquake reported in western North Carolina
LAUREL PARK, N.C. (AP) – Geologists say a small earthquake struck a county in western North Carolina on Sunday morning. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that the 2.3-magnitude earthquake was reported right before 8 a.m. in Laurel Park in Henderson County, about 26 miles south of Asheville, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake was too small for most people to feel it. Only two people reported the tremor to the USGS. Henderson County isn’t known for earthquakes, but there have been six earthquakes in the past year in the county, according to Earthquake Track. The largest was a 2.5-magnitude earthquake in Marshall on Sept. 25, Earthquake Track reported.

BC-NC-INSURANCE FRAUD-WOMAN CHARGED
North Carolina Insurance Department accuses woman of fraud
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina woman involved in an automobile accident has been charged by the state Department of Insurance of trying to get payment from an insurance company even though her coverage had lapsed. According to a news release, the Greensboro woman’s vehicle was damaged in a crash on Aug. 9. Officials say the woman then called to reinstate the policy and filed the insurance claim. The department says the offenses occurred between Aug. 9 and Oct. 11. The woman is scheduled to appear in a Guilford County court on Dec. 29.