VOLUME 9 ISSUE 32 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024
NSJONLINE.COM
MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO
Debris covers parts of Asheville in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Monday.
Search for survivors continues after Helene
the
BRIEF this week
Several dead after plane crash at Outer Banks airport Kill Devil Hills Multiple people died after a single-engine plane crashed Saturday afternoon in a wooded area at Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport, the National Park Service said. The crash occurred at 5 p.m. as, according to eyewitnesses, as the airplane was trying to land at the airport, the park service said in a news release. The airplane caught fire after the crash, the park service said. The Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments put out the fire. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration has also been notified.
Robinson treated for burns after touching exhaust pipe Mount Airy Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said Saturday that he was treated for burns he suffered when he accidentally touched an exhaust pipe at a truck show while campaigning for governor. Robinson, a Republican, was making an appearance Friday evening at the Mayberry Truck Show in Mount Airy when he was injured, campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan said in a statement. Robinson was treated at Northern Regional Hospital in Mount Airy for second-degree burns, Lonergan added. Lonergan later referred to a video posted on X in which Robinson, with a bandaged left hand, told supporters during a campaign event what happened. Robinson said he had been riding in a “big rig” in a show parade. Supporters approached him as he was getting out of the truck, he said, and while trying to avoid running into them, he put his hand on the truck’s extremely hot exhaust pipe. “It burned my hand, but I am fine,” Robinson said.
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The devastating hurricane ravaged western North Carolina
NCSBE removes nearly 750K from voter rolls Duplicate in-state registration and inactive status made up more than two-thirds of the removals
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The North Carolina State Board of Elections has removed close to 750,000 ineligible voters from its rolls, according to the agency’s Sept. 26 press release. The voter records remove fall between January 2023 and August 2024, according to the North Carolina State Board of
By Erik Verduzco and Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press
Elections (NCSBE). The largescale removal is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to maintain accurate voter registration lists. The eight reasons for removing a voter from the rolls are relocation, inactivity, death, felony conviction, duplicate registration, request by a voter, a successful voter challenge and noncitizenship. Federal voting laws dictate inactive voters are removed if they have spent two federal general elections in inactive status without responding to county board mailings. The NCSBE said the removals were conducted by county boards See NCSBE, page A2
SWANNANOA — Rescuers fanned out across the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday in search of anyone still unaccounted for since Hurricane Helene’s remnants caused catastrophic damage to the Southeast, with the death toll nearing 140 people. Many who lived through what was one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history were left without electricity or any way to reach out for help. Some cooked food on charcoal grills or hiked to high ground in the hopes of finding a signal to call loved ones. The devastation was especially bad in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where at least 40 people died in and around the city of Asheville, a tour- See HELENE, page A8
Court blocks digital ID previously approved by State Board of Election An affidavit filed in the lawsuit claimed easy manipulation of the UNC Chapel Hill Mobile One Card By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an order granting a temporary injunction and enjoining the State Board of Elections from allowing use of the UNC Chapel Hill Mobile One card, a digital ID, for use in voting. “The motion for temporary injunction is allowed,” the Sept. 27 order stated. “The
State Board of Elections is hereby enjoined from accepting the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Mobile One Card, or any other ‘image of a photo ID, either as a photocopy or a photo on a mobile device’ that is prohibited by the State Board of Election’s Numbered Memo 2023-03, for the purpose of casting a ballot in the November 2024 general election.” The order says the stay and injunction will “remain in effect until the disposition of petitioners’ appeal or until further order of this Court.” The order follows a Court of Appeals panel review on See DIGITAL ID, page A11
ism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities. Just outside the city, in the small community of Swannanoa, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of others and trailer homes that had floated away during the storm. Roads were pockmarked with sinkholes and caked with mud and debris. Exhausted emergency crews worked around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach those still stranded by the storm, which killed at least 139 people in six states. Nearly half of the deaths were in North Carolina, while dozens of others were in South Carolina and Georgia. Search and rescue crews from all levels of government were deployed throughout western North Carolina. Federal agencies, aid groups and volunteers worked to deliver supplies by air, truck and even mule train.
“Today’s Digital ID decision is a win for the people of North Carolina and for the rule of law.” Jason Simmons, NCGOP chairman