Teen surfer bitten twice by shark off NC coast

ATLANTIC BEACH (AP) — Officials say a teenage boy has been bitten by a shark along the North Carolina coast near Atlantic Beach.
Atlantic Beach Fire Chief Adam Snyder tells news outlets that the 14-year-old was surfing Sunday afternoon when he was bitten twice on the right calf. Snyder says the shark let go of the boy’s leg when it realized the leg wasn’t a fish.
Snyder says the teen then swam to shore with non-life-threatening injuries. He says the teen was treated at a hospital and received stitches.
News outlets report this is the first shark bite this season near Atlantic Beach.

North Carolina police charge man officers struck with baton

RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina authorities say a black man seen on video being struck by police faces charges of assaulting an officer and resisting arrest.
Media organizations report 44-year-old Frederick Hall of Raleigh was arrested Sunday. He did not have a listed phone number where he or relatives could be reached.
Video of Friday’s altercation with police was posted on Facebook and had more than 50,000 views by Sunday. Images show the shirtless, barefoot man swinging his fists at a half-dozen officers in the middle of a road before being taken to the pavement. One officer is shown striking the prone man repeatedly in the back with a baton as the struggle continues.
Members of the local NAACP chapter and other civil rights groups said they didn’t think Hall’s treatment was justified.

North Carolina deputy shot in face, leg returns home

SHELBY (AP) — A North Carolina deputy shot in the face and leg during a confrontation now is recovering at home.
Media organizations report Cleveland County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Sims was discharged Saturday from a Charlotte hospital. He was receiving emergency treatment after the Tuesday night shootout.
Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman said Sims was responding to a call about a man wanted on probation and other violations spotted at an auto dealership between Kings Mountain and Shelby.
Authorities say Sims confronted 23-year-old Dakota Greene, who Norman says shot the deputy. Sims shot at Greene’s fleeing car.
Greene is charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer; a phone listing for Greene is disconnected.

Coast Guard finds couple’s bodies in North Carolina river

BATH (AP) — Searchers have found the bodies of a North Carolina couple in their 70s missing from their abandoned boat.
The Coast Guard said crews recovered the bodies Sunday after the man and woman went missing Friday in the Pamlico River. They were last seen leaving a Beaufort County marina aboard their 20-foot boat. That vessel was found hours later unmanned and adrift.
The Coast Guard and Beaufort County Emergency Management Agency searched by land, air and sea.

UNC Asheville dorms declared safe, students can move in

ASHEVILLE (AP) — Hundreds of students at a North Carolina university are moving into new dorms after the state insurance commissioner previously called them too hazardous to occupy.
The University of North Carolina at Asheville reached a deal Saturday with insurance commissioner Mike Causey on how the five new buildings can open safely.
The State Construction Office last week declared The Woods residence halls ready for occupancy and nearly 300 students were expected to move in Friday. But they were told to stay out and were temporarily housed in area hotels.
Causey says Asheville local fire officials alerted his office of hazards last spring and his staff recommended remedies. Causey says he waited because the law didn’t allow him to step in until the buildings were ready for occupancy.

Man’s family suing Charlotte police over fatal shooting

CHARLOTTE (AP) — The widow of a man fatally shot by an undercover North Carolina police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city, accusing the officer involved of negligence in the death.
The family of Josue Javier Diaz filed a lawsuit Friday against the City of Charlotte and the officer involved, according to media outlets.
Josue Javier Diaz, 28, died in January 2017 after he was shot by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer. The officer said his unmarked vehicle was sideswiped by a truck driven by Diaz, so he followed and they eventually got out of their vehicles. The officer has said that Diaz raised a handgun, and witnesses said that Diaz fired.
Several months later, prosecutors said that the officer acted lawfully and that his use of force was justified.
The family’s attorney said the officer should have handled the situation differently. According to the suit, the officer was “negligent or grossly negligent” in that he “aggressively and recklessly pursued and rear-ended” Diaz’s vehicle in violation of “numerous” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department “guidelines, regulations and rules and N.C. vehicle laws.”
City officials declined to comment on the suit.

Officials place piano in downtown North Carolina plaza

RALEIGH (AP) — Raleigh officials are offering people passing by a downtown plaza an opportunity to stop and enjoy some music.
On Friday afternoon, the city placed a piano in a corner of City Plaza. Officials tell the News & Observer it’ll stay there for a few months, in hopes that people will stop for a moment, play or listen, and have fun.
Downtown coordinator Jen Baker says the piano offers a way for people to interact and just enjoy downtown.
Raleigh bought two pianos from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Officials say the other will be painted by the Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative and placed in that part of downtown.

Mild North Carolina winters could mean more armadillos

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Wildlife advocates say milder winters in North Carolina could be part of the reason an injured armadillo recently turned up in Charlotte.
The Charlotte Observer reports Carolina Waterfowl Rescue posted information Friday about the animal, which was at a shelter after being attacked by another animal.
State officials began asking the public for help documenting North Carolina armadillo sightings in 2013, noting there had been confirmed sightings in some counties along the southwestern border of the state.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says nine-banded armadillos are largely nocturnal and not considered dangerous.
Officials warn not to approach the animals in the wild. They are known to carry bacteria that can lead to leprosy, and officials say they can transmit it to humans.