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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Predictions of a baby boom during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown have gone bust in North Carolina, according to a team of researchers. Data compiled by Carolina Demography showed that birth rates in North Carolina fell by 3.1% from 2019 to 2020, in line with a national decline of 3.8% over the same period, the News & Observer reports. Carolina Demography is located within the Carolina Population Center

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling a vaccination “the most patriotic thing you can do,” President Joe Biden on Sunday mixed the nation’s birthday party with a celebration of freedom from the worst of the pandemic. He tempered the strides against COVID-19 with a warning that the fight against the virus wasn’t over. “Today, all across this nation, we can say with confidence: America is coming back together,” Biden declared as he

 The South Carolina-based Catawba Indian Nation has opened a preliminary, temporary version of its proposed casino just across the border in North Carolina.  Tribal leaders were joined by local and state government officials Thursday for a ribbon-cutting at the modular facility containing 500 slot machines just off Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Charlotte. It’s a key step in ultimately creating the $273 million

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as “America’s Dad,” ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby. Cosby, 83, had served nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging

By BRYAN ANDERSON Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC, poses for a photo in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, June 11, 2021. North Carolina state lawmakers recently advanced a bill that would prevent 6- to 9-year-olds from having to appear before a judge for juvenile justice proceedings. This would end the state's status as being the only one left that subjects such young children to these courtroom appearances. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

By MEG KINNARD South Carolina prison officials said Monday they have reached the initial approval phase of a $6 million settlement to resolve dozens of lawsuits the Department of Corrections is facing following a deadly prison riot that killed seven inmates. “We will appear in front of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority tomorrow asking for permission to move forward with a settlement in the Lee riot cases,” Department of Corrections

DURHAM N.C. (AP) — Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. will pay $40 million to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales, according to a landmark legal settlement announced Monday after years of accusations that the company had fueled an explosion in teen vaping. A state judge accepted the first-of-its-kind agreement with a state. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein had sued Juul, accusing it

By Tyria McCray President Joseph R. Biden traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina for the first time since taking office in 2021. During his national month of action, President Biden's main priority was to strongly encourage the people of North Carolina to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Biden’s top priority is to have 70% of adults fully vaccinated by July 4, 2021. Biden visited Green Road Community Center in north Raleigh on

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. The punishment — which fell short of the 30 years that prosecutors had requested — came after Chauvin broke his more than

The North Carolina legislature neared final approval on Thursday of its annual farm bill, which includes the creation of a streamlined method for hog farms to receive environment permits to convert liquid waste into consumer natural gas. The House voted 75-32 in favor of the measure, which makes changes in more than a dozen categories related to agriculture. It now returns to the Senate, which approved a similar version last month.  “This bill