Authorities: Tourist dies after being pulled from water

EMERALD ISLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities on the North Carolina coast say a tourist has died after he was pulled from Bogue Sound.
Emerald Isle Town Manager Frank Rush told news outlets rescue personnel responding to a call near the high-rise bridge at Emerald Isle Friday found the unidentified 29-year-old man had already been pulled from the water, and people were administering CPR.
The man was taken to a U.S. Coast Guard station, from which the man was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The name of the victim has not been released.

North Carolina parents charged after teen shoots himself

MARION, N.C. (AP) — Sheriff’s investigators in North Carolina have charged two parents with involuntary manslaughter after a teenager in their home accidentally shot himself and died.
The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office told news outlets 50-year-old Kimberly Cable and 46-year-old Roger Dale Cable are also charged with failure to store a firearm to protect a minor.
Investigators said 16-year-old Kyle Storm Lee was visiting the couple’s son and playing around with a .44-caliber revolver on Friday when he shot himself in the head.
Detective Paul Alkire said there was a number of guns in the house to which the teenagers had access.
The Cables are free on $17,000 bond apiece. It’s not known if they have attorneys.

Elections board: Attorney general can defend it in lawsuit

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s State Board of Elections & Ethics Reinforcement says the attorney general can defend it against a lawsuit brought by the governor in any way he sees fit, even if it means backing the governor.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the 5-4 vote, divided along party lines, was taken Saturday during a special session by telephone and involves Attorney General Josh Stein supporting Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s position.
Cooper is suing the board and legislative leaders to keep two of six proposed constitutional amendments off the fall ballot.
The N.C. Republican Party pointed out that it’s unusual for a state agency’s attorney to take such action without support of the agency’s board. The attorney general’s office said it conferred with the elections board and has its support.

North Carolina woman killed after attack by 2 pit bulls

TROY, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a North Carolina woman is dead after she was attacked in her neighborhood by two pit bulls.
Montgomery County Sheriff Chris Watkins said in a news release the unidentified 66-year-old woman was walking in her Lake Tillery subdivision on Thursday when the attack occurred.
Watkins said when she didn’t return home, her husband called neighbors and friends who searched the area. Deputies and rescue personnel joined the search, and the woman’ body was discovered on the side of an unused road inside the neighborhood.
The sheriff said the woman’s name is being withheld until family members can be notified. Her body was sent to the N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office in Raleigh for an autopsy.

5 ex-North Carolina governors gather to oppose 2 amendments

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s five living former governors are meeting to oppose constitutional amendments on November ballots that would swing powers involving judicial vacancies and state boards from the executive branch to the legislature.
Democrats Jim Hunt, Mike Easley and Beverly Perdue and Republicans Jim Martin and Pat McCrory are holding a Monday afternoon news conference at the old Capitol building in Raleigh.
They are expected to speak out about two referendums submitted by the General Assembly that critics say amount to a legislative power grab. GOP lawmakers defend the amendments as bringing more transparency to filling judgeships and clarifying what appointment authority the legislature has held historically.
Current Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper won’t be participating but has sued to keep the questions off the ballot. A court hearing is Wednesday.

I-40 lanes to be closed as pedestrian bridge comes down

BERMUDA RUN, N.C. (AP) — There’s more delays and detours in store for a part of Interstate 40 in North Carolina.
The N.C. Department of Transportation says contractors will demolish a pedestrian bridge that crosses I-40 just west of the Yadkin River near Bermuda Run beginning Monday.
Work on the Berts Way bridge is taking place as part of ongoing construction to replace the I-40 bridges over the Yadkin River. It also is meant to widen and improve I-40 in the area
The contractor will close the left lane of eastbound I-40 for set-up work around 6 p.m. Monday. The contractor then will close the left lane of westbound I-40 for set-up work around 7 p.m. Thursday.
Eastbound and westbound traffic will use N.C. 801, U.S. 158, and Harper Road in opposite directions as detours.