AP-NC Newswatch

Latest North Carolina News:

REDISTRICTING-NORTH CAROLINA
NC Republicans ask US Supreme Court to block Congress map
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina Republican legislators have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a congressional redistricting plan that state judges drew this week. Friday’s appeal initiates a last-ditch effort to derail a map that likely would give state Democrats another seat on Capitol Hill in 2023. A three-judge judicial panel adopted its own plan for U.S. House districts on Wednesday after deciding a map approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly failed to meet the standards the state Supreme Court set for partisan fairness. The GOP legislators’ attorney says the judges overstepped their authority because the U.S. Constitution gives legislatures the job of setting the manner of holding congressional elections.

DOWNED AIRCRAFT-SEARCH
NTSB: Plane that crashed off NC coast made no distress calls
The National Transportation Safety Board says a plane that crashed off the North Carolina coast had issued no distress calls and made no declarations of an emergency. The federal agency released its preliminary report on the crash Friday. The single-engine Pilatus PC-12 went down in the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 13 near the southern edge of the Outer Banks. Everyone onboard died, including four teenagers. The six passengers were from Carteret County and were returning from a charity hunting event. The plane had taken off from the Hyde County Airport on the mainland and was headed south to Beaufort.

ELECTION 2022-SENATE-MCCRORY
Ex-N. Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory files as US Senate candidate
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has officially filed as a U.S. Senate candidate. He came to Raleigh on Friday to turn in his paperwork. McCrory called himself best-suited to represent the state during “serious times” at home and abroad. He was elected governor in 2012 and served one term. He was previously Charlotte mayor for 14 years. McCory is expected to face U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, former Rep. Mark Walker, combat veteran Marjorie Eastman and others in the GOP primary. Candidates have until noon March 4 to file. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley filed Thursday for the Democratic nomination.

ELECTION 2022-NORTH CAROLINA-CONGRESS
Former US Senate candidate Jackson now running for House
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Former U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Jackson will run for Congress this year in a newly created district in the Charlotte area. The Democrat announced his decision to seek the open 14th District on Friday. Jackson dropped out of the Senate race in December and endorsed Cheri Beasley for the nomination. The district leans Democratic and covers about half of the population of Mecklenburg County, where Jackson lives, and most of the population of Gaston County, where he was once an assistant prosecutor. His decision means three former Democratic U.S. Senate candidates this cycle have now dropped out to run for Congress.

POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS-INDICTMENT
Ex-NC police chief arrested in SC after disappearance
CHADBOURN, N.C. (AP) – A former North Carolina police chief who resigned amid a misconduct investigation has been arrested in South Carolina after authorities say he failed to appear in court and a couple accused of helping stage his suicide is facing charges. áThe Columbus County Sheriff’s Office says former Chadbourn Police Chief William Anthony Spivey was reported missing Monday after failing to return from a fishing trip. News outlets report Spivey was located at his aunt’s apartment in Loris, South Carolina, and was captured after a chase. Two others are charged with obstructing justice after reporting that Spivey failed to return from a fishing trip.

KAYAKER DROWNS
Ohio woman drowns while kayaking in North Carolina river
CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) – Officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park say an Ohio woman drowned while kayaking in the Oconaluftee River along North Carolina’s western border. News outlets report that park officials said companions of the kayaker notified park rangers around 2:15 p.m. Thusday that she disappeared underwater and didn’t resurface. Officials identified the kayaker as 34-year-old Megan Thompson of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Witnesses said Thompson floated over swift rapids before being pinned between a fallen tree and the river bank. It took emergency responders about 40 minutes to free Thompson and bring her to shore, where park officials say she was pronounced dead.

AP-US-ELECTION-2022-NORTH-CAROLINA-CAWTHORN
Cawthorn candidacy challenge ends, but another may be ahead
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A review of whether North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn is disqualified to run for Congress based on the U.S. Constitution won’t happen because of redistricting changes finalized this week. The State Board of Elections on Thursday told lawyers for a dozen or so voters who asked that Cawthorn’s candidacy be scrutinized they no longer live in the 13th District that Cawthorn filed for in December. The 13th District has been moved. The voters say his involvement with a January 2021 rally that preceded the U.S. Capitol riot disqualifies him. Cawthorn rejects that argument. It’s possible another challenge surface in whatever district he competes in.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCHOOLS
NC governor vetoes bill with student opt-out for masks
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed legislation that would allow K-12 students to opt out of indoor mask-wearing mandates set by local school boards, with their parents’ permission. The bill was approved last week by the Republican-controlled General Assembly with some Democratic support, but it’s unclear if an override attempt is ahead. The Democratic governor has encouraged boards of education to end broad mask requirements at school, as COVID-19 transmission rates fall. He said Thursday he prefers sticking to a 2021 law that left mask-mandate decisions with local school boards. The overwhelming majority of school districts have passed mask-optional policies now.