ROY A. COOPER

The University of Wisconsin System has joined a number of universities across the country in banning the popular social media app TikTok on school devicies.

Tens of thousands of people are bracing for days without electricity in a North Carolina county where authorities say two power substations were shot up by one or more people with apparent criminal intent.

Democrats celebrated winning North Carolina's lone toss-up race for the U.S. House this month as Wiley Nickel won the 13th District seat.

Mitch Landrieu is the man entrusted with promoting President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure plan to the nation.

Abortion access in several states could hinge on the outcome of November elections of lawmakers, governors, supreme court justices and attorneys general.

The stakes in elections for a pair of North Carolina Supreme Court seats this fall are high.

The Agriculture Department has announced $759 million in grants and loans to enable rural communities to access high-speed internet.

Police in North Carolina say that the suspect who killed five people in a shooting was a juvenile male.

Police say a 15-year-old boy fatally shot five people in an attack that stretched from the streets of a Raleigh neighborhood to a nearby walking trail.

A revived Hurricane Ian has pounded coastal South Carolina after causing catastrophic damage in Florida.

States are spending billions of dollars of federal pandemic relief funds on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and public buildings.

North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Ted Budd is leaning into his support for abortion restrictions and his allegiance to former President Donald Trump as Democrats fight for an elusive victory in the Southern swing state.

Governors races often are overshadowed by the fight for control of Congress during midterm elections.

The cancellation of a major music festival in Atlanta has ignited a new fight over Georgia gun laws.

A deal on Medicaid expansion in North Carolina is within reach after both legislative chambers passed competing measures before ending their annual session.

When the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion, it sparked legal changes and court challenges in states nationwide.

The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark abortion ruling overturning Roe v. Wade is prompting efforts in liberal states to protect providers and patients who have traveled for a legal procedure.

The Supreme Court is giving Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina a win in an ongoing fight over the state’s latest photo identification voting law.

Upcoming primary elections for state supreme court seats in North Carolina and Arkansas are putting the spotlight on how such races across the U.S. have grown in importance in recent years and led to high-dollar, partisan battles for control.

The Supreme Court’s apparent intention to abolish a nationwide right to abortion, spelled out in a draft opinion leaked this week, will not be the final chapter in the nation’s most pitched culture battle.

Wisconsin is one of four states emerging as top priorities for Democrats in an election year when the party is facing fierce political headwinds.

An uncontrolled fire at a fertilizer plant has continued to burn in North Carolina.

A Colorado-based aviation company has chosen North Carolina as the location for a new plant that will manufacture next-generation supersonic passenger jets.

Freezing rain, sleet and snow blew into coastal areas stretching from South Carolina to Virginia.

Forecasts of snow and ice as far south as Georgia have put much of the Southeast on an emergency preparedness footing as shoppers strip store shelves of supplies and road crews treat highways ahead of an approaching weekend storm.

Forecasters' predictions of debilitating snow and ice as far south as Georgia have shoppers scouring store shelves for storm supplies and road crews trying to prevent a repeat of past wintertime debacles.

Governors across the U.S. took sweeping action during earlier surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, but are taking a much different approach during the record-setting caseloads caused by the omicron variant.

Democratic lawmakers in California, Maryland and Washington passed far-reaching policing reforms this year in response to the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

In politically divided North Carolina, hostilities between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and majority-Republican lawmakers have eased somewhat as 2021 nears its end.

The NHL will withdraw from the Winter Olympics after the regular-season schedule was disrupted by coronavirus outbreaks.

Toyota says it plans to build a $1.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Greensboro, North Carolina, that will employ at least 1,750 people.

Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is among three top Republicans engaged in a hotly contested 2022 U.S. Senate primary.

A milestone energy bill that targets sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions from North Carolina power plants has become law.

North Carolina House Republicans have given final legislative approval to a bill to limit how teachers can discuss certain racial concepts inside the classroom.

A North Carolina Senate committee has advanced a measure that would limit how teachers can discuss racial concepts inside the classroom.

The Kentucky high court cleared the way for laws reining in Gov. Andy Beshear's emergency powers.

Authorities in North Carolina have found two people dead and about 20 remain missing in Haywood County in floods caused by Tropical Storm Fred.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged that 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be supplied to the world through this year, increasing China’s commitment as the largest exporter of the shots.

Australia’s most populous state is reporting the worst day of its outbreak of the coronavirus delta variant, with a record 262 new local infections and five deaths from COVID-19.

North Carolina Republicans are moving forward with a bill that defines what teachers can and can't say about race and racism in classrooms.

A rental crisis spurred by the pandemic prompted many states to make bold promises to help renters, but most failed to deliver on them after Congress passed the sweeping CARES Act in March 2020.

Republican-controlled legislatures across the country are advancing measures to limit how students can be taught about race and racism.

Jordan Staal scored twice and Nino Niederreiter beat Juuse Saros for the go-ahead goal early in the third period, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators in the first game of the teams' first-round playoff series.

The Carolina Hurricanes and the Nashville Predators begin their Stanley Cup playoff series Monday.

Thousands of social media posts have misleadingly painted President Joe Biden and his administration as catalysts of chaos who not only mishandled the temporary shutdown of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline last Friday, but engineered it.

A judge has denied requests to release body camera video in the case of a Black man who was killed by North Carolina deputies.

George Floyd’s killing last year and the protests that followed led to a wave of police reforms in dozens of states.

A top North Carolina GOP lawmaker will not advance a proposal seeking to limit medical treatments for transgender people under 21.

The race is on to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against COVID-19, but a significant number of people in the U.S. are still reluctant to get the shots, even in places where they are plentiful.

– Not waiting for more federal help, states have been approving their own coronavirus aid packages, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help residents and business owners devastated by the the pandemic's economic fallout. North Carolina's governor wants additional state aid for such things as bonus pay for teachers and boosting rural internet speeds. The spending also provides fuel for critics who say states don’t need another massive infusion of cash from Congress. “The cascading effect, it’s actually a problem that most states are grappling with ... waiting for the relief money out of the feds,” she said. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, unveiled a $695 million emergency budget proposal that would use state money to address needs related to the coronavirus.

Owner Richard Dobkin, right, photographs the damage at Ocean Ridge Storage Solutions in Brunswick County, N.C. near the town of Sunset Beach, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Roy Cooper said Wednesday that the state must learn from the surprise tornado that struck Ocean Isle Beach with little or no warning, leaving three people dead and 10 injured. The governor surveyed the brunt of the damage, at Ocean Ridge Plantation, a neighborhood where residents recounted near-death experiences from the powerful EF3 tornado that approached swiftly. Some said they received a warning alert on their phone two minutes after the tornado had already passed. AdBefore the tornado hit his Ocean Ridge Storage Solutions business about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Ocean Ridge Plantation, he said he was already struggling financially from the governor's pandemic-related business restrictions.

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)The Latest on winter weather across the U.S. (all times local):WASHINGTON— President Joe Biden offered his administration’s assistance Tuesday in a call with at least seven governors of states impacted by severe winter weather this week. Among those on the call were Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. Biden, who was heading to Milwaukee to participate in a CNN town hall, declared the weather there “cold as the devil up there.”___KENSINGTON, Md. The events show how vulnerable America is to extreme weather —both hot and cold— which increases with climate change, scientists said. J.B. Pritzker has declared a disaster proclamation after a winter storm blanketed the state with snow and caused power outages.

The school has had some students in classrooms for in-person learning since September of 2020, but other students who attend the school are still learning remotely. In Cincinnati, some students returned to classrooms Tuesday after a judge threw out a teachers union lawsuit over safety concerns. In California, with 6 million public school students, teachers unions say they won’t send their members into an unsafe situation. In several states, lawmakers are advancing legislation to require more in-person learning. Roy Cooper faces pressure from GOP lawmakers to reopen more schools.

Military leaders spent chunks of Thursday evening and Friday calling states in an unprecedented appeal for more National Guard troops to help lock down much of the city in the days before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. Kate Brown said she turned down the federal request to send at least 100 more National Guard troops to D.C. “I didn’t think that we could safely fill that commitment,” Brown said. Oregon has already agreed to send 30 to Washington, but state leaders are worried about violence at the state capitol in Salem. At that point, the new round of calls to the state governors and military leaders began. Roy Cooper initially agreed to send 200 Guard, and on Friday spokesman Ford Porter said the state will send 100 more.

FILE - In a May 2006 file photo, Senate leader Marc Basnight speaks on the Senate floor at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C. Basnight died Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, at age 73. Despite humble beginnings and little formal education, Basnight rose through state politics to serve in the Senate for 26 years. His nine two-year terms as Senate president pro tempore made him the longest-serving head of a legislative body in North Carolina history. While Senate leader, GOP senators complained Basnight had consolidated too much power. Bob Jordan died in February, while Sen. Tony Rand, who was majority leader and rules committee chairman under Basnight, died in May.

Scott Applewhite, File)President-elect Joe Biden says he had chosen North Carolina regulator Michael S. Regan as his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as his pick for interior secretary. Biden will introduce Regan, Haaland and other newly named nominees at an event Saturday. North Carolina Gov. In North Carolina, Regan led the negotiations that resulted in the cleanup of the Cape Fear River, which has been dangerously contaminated by PFAS industrial compounds from a chemical plant. With Duke Energy, he negotiated what North Carolina says was the largest cleanup agreement for toxic coal ash.

Scott Applewhite, File)President-elect Joe Biden announced Thursday that he had chosen North Carolina regulator Michael S. Regan as his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as his pick for interior secretary. Biden will introduce Regan, Haaland and other newly named nominees at an event Saturday. North Carolina Gov. In North Carolina, Regan led the negotiations that resulted in the cleanup of the Cape Fear River, which has been dangerously contaminated by PFAS industrial compounds from a chemical plant. With Duke Energy, he negotiated what North Carolina says was the largest cleanup agreement for toxic coal ash.

Pete Ricketts warned that he could impose tighter social-distancing restrictions before Thanksgiving if hospitalizations continue to rise. In Washington state, elective procedures such as joint and heart valve replacements and some cancer surgeries could be postponed to make room for coronavirus patients, said Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer. Even so, health officials are trying everything they can to slow the spread and address an even worse surge that many say is inevitable. New York Gov. New York state has averaged nearly 5,500 new cases per day over the past seven days.

“This was a status quo election.”Heading into Tuesday, Republicans had full control of 29 state legislatures compared to 19 for Democrats. “The reality is we are still running on very gerrymandered maps,” said Christina Polizzi, national press secretary for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. They were countered by the Republican state leadership committee, which had a target of about $70 million. But Republican redistricting power will be diminished in some states because of changes that occurred in recent years. Instead, Republicans added to their House ranks with more conservatives, increasing the potential to override vetoes by Democratic Gov.

Mike Parson, and State Auditor Nicole Galloway are seen onstage before the Missouri gubernatorial debate at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia, Missouri. Democrats are hoping to gain control of more state legislative chambers after Republicans scored huge wins in 2010. The only governor's job to change parties is in Montana, where Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte defeated Democratic Lt. Gov. The national Democratic and Republican governors associations and the campaigns themselves have contributed more than $24 million to the race. In Missouri, incumbent Mike Parson, a Republican, defeated Nicole Galloway, the state auditor who was the Democrats' best chance to pick up a seat.

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 file photo, Missouri Republican Gov. Its the most hotly contested of the nations 11 governors races this fall. Which party holds the governor's office could be especially consequential over the next few years. In governor’s races, many of the attack ads are funded by each party’s governors association. In the governor’s race, he said Gianforte’s financial support of a Montana museum dedicated to creationist beliefs was a big problem.

This year alone, state supreme courts have been thrust into the spotlight to decide politically charged cases over voting rights, race and governors' coronavirus orders. State supreme court races have become similarly partisan and often attract millions of dollars in campaign spending, much of it from groups outside the state. Among other hot button issues, the coming year could see state high courts decide matters on eviction moratoriums, private school vouchers, abortion and redistricting. In Ohio, a 5-2 Republican majority is at stake on the state high court in two races that are attracting outside money. Millions of dollars are being spent in Texas, where all nine state supreme court justices are Republicans and the high court has not had a Democratic justice since 1998.

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2020, file photo, Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham talks during during a televised debate with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in Raleigh, N.C. Cunningham inched back into the public sphere on Wednesday, Oct. 7, a day after The Associated Press reported the he had an intimate encounter this summer with a public relations consultant. Within hours of the military disclosing that it is investigating Cunningham, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, he rejected the idea that the race with Tillis had turned into a referendum on his character, even while expressing remorse for extramarital activity. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham is bypassing uncomfortable questions about his extramarital activities in the final days of his closely contested race with GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis' campaign also says he's given more than two dozen interviews since Cunningham's lone news conference. Groups from the Human Rights Campaign to the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters to unions are coming to Cunningham's side. Cunningham’s campaign didn’t make him available for an AP interview. “It's troubling for sure, but I don’t think that those actions will change what he can do for North Carolina,” Hall said.

North Carolina running back Javonte Williams (25) scores a touchdown against Virginia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

19 Virginia Tech. 19 Virginia Tech 56-45 on Saturday. Khalil Herbert ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns for Virginia Tech (2-1, 2-1), which again played shorthanded due to coronavirus and injury issues. “North Carolina’s explosive on offense,” Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. Things got closer, but the Tar Heels rolled with an offense that looked equally as prolific whether throwing or running.

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham inched back into the public sphere on Wednesday, a day after The Associated Press reported the Democratic contender had an intimate encounter this summer with a public relations consultant. “The Army Reserve is investigating the matters involving (Lt. Col.) James Cunningham,” Lt. Col. Simon Flake said in an emailed statement Wednesday morning that cited Cunningham by his official first name. “He owes North Carolinians a full explanation,” Tillis’ campaign account tweeted Wednesday. “The truth still matters in North Carolina, Cal.”Cunningham also made his first quasi-public appearance Wednesday night — speaking briefly at an environmental awards ceremony. The Tillis-Cunningham race is closely contested and the most expensive Senate race in the country in terms of campaign spending.

You'd never know it watching Bridgewater break the pocket, juke two defenders and race 18 yards to the end zone on Sunday, helping the Carolina Panthers defeat the Arizona Cardinals 31-21 for their second straight win. Bridgewater also threw for 276 yards and two scores as the Panthers solved their red-zone issues from a week ago by scoring TDs on their first four trips inside the Arizona 20-yard line. It was tough to catch up all day.”Said Panthers DE Brian Burns: “We put emphasis on keeping eyes on (Murray). After the game, Bridgewater gave his offensive line the game ball. “We didn’t play well enough or coach well enough in any phase,” Kingsbury said.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate. But they have largely not tried to block the gatherings of thousands of people, which Trump and his team deem “peaceful protests” protected by the First Amendment. An indoor rally that Trump held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June was blamed for a surge of virus infections there. Trump held an indoor rally at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility in Henderson, Nevada, on Sunday night. The state restricts gatherings to 50 people — based on White House reopening guidelines —- but thousands of supporters packed into the warehouse space nonetheless.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate. But they have largely not tried to block the gatherings of thousands of people, which Trump and his team deem “peaceful protests” protected by the First Amendment. An indoor rally that Trump held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June was blamed for a surge of virus infections there. Trump held an indoor rally at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility in Henderson, Nevada, on Sunday night. The state restricts gatherings to 50 people — based on White House reopening guidelines —- but thousands of supporters packed into the warehouse space nonetheless.

He basked in a largely maskless crowd of several thousand supporters during a Tuesday rally in this critical battleground state. I really miss being able to, you know, grab hands and shake hands," Biden recently told supporters. "You cant do that now.With less than eight weeks until Election Day, Trump and Biden are taking diametrically opposite approaches to campaigning during a pandemic and the differences amount to more than political theater. By the way, your state should be open, Trump said in North Carolina a state where he has feuded with Gov. Later that day, Biden waved at a crowd of about 100 from the window of the AFL-CIO Pennsylvania headquarters, but declined to come any nearer after leaving the building.

Some are finding ways to expand access to voter registration and ballot request forms. Benjamin Hovland, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, said 40 states have online voter registration, a particular benefit during the pandemic. Anheuser-Busch, the beer maker, is distributing 8 million ounces of hand sanitizer in coordination with the National Association of State Election Directors and others. If you simply have no choice, election officials say to show up at your polling place, and you will be accommodated. What if you, or a fellow voter, choose not to wear a mask, as election and health officials are pretty much universally recommending?

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall's audience of about 40 people packed a banquet room in a Kansas City-area bistro. They stood in a socially distanced circle outside an elementary school empty of students in Manhattan in northeast Kansas. Bollier has Democrats hoping they can win a Kansas Senate seat for the first time since 1932. She's run a largely virtual campaign, a caution she says is guided by both her background and personal experience. Schools in Kansas City and Wichita, the state's largest city, have suspended fall sports and moved classes for many students online.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference Tuesday with the top elected officials of 10 states that together account for about 80% of Indias total cases, urging them to rigorously apply the strategies of containment, surveillance and contact tracing to drive the fatality rate below 1%. Those measures appear to have been successful in bringing numbers down from the more than 100 new daily cases reported at the end of last month. ___MEXICO CITY Mexico reported a near-record 926 newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing the countrys accumulated total to 53,929. The Health Department reported 6,686 new coronavirus infections, bringing the countrys total confirmed cases so far to 492,522. At that rate Mexico will reach a half million confirmed cases soon, but given the extremely low rate of testing less than 1.1 million tests in a country of almost 130 million inhabitants the number would like be a vast undercount.

FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles as he addresses delegates during the final day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. North Carolina public health officials told the Republican National Committee the party can have more than 10 people in a room to conduct official convention business while in Charlotte. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)RALEIGH, N.C. North Carolina will ease gathering restrictions for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte this month after a push by the national party for the state to be more accommodating. The RNC has estimated it would have no more than 500 delegates per day at the Charlotte Convention Center and the Westin hotel. The back-and-forth between the state and RNC comes amid a months-long battle between Trump and North Carolina's Democratic governor.

Ill probably do mine live from the White House, Trump said, but he also said it was not locked in. If I use the White House, we save tremendous amounts of money for the government in terms of security, traveling," he said. Biden has been on the convention stage twice as the vice presidential nominee for Barack Obama. Those kinds of effects and approaches could be repeated even without a traditional convention stage in an arena or stadium. Four years later, he walked out to a full outdoor stadium a remarkable scene in the annals of presidential conventions in Denver.

Roy Cooper, a Democrat, who wouldnt guarantee the state would lift restrictions on large crowds like the scenes inside a presidential convention arena. Ill probably do mine live from the White House, Trump said, but he also said it was not locked in. Biden has been on the convention stage twice as the vice presidential nominee for Barack Obama. Those kinds of effects and approaches could be repeated even without a traditional convention stage in an arena or stadium. Four years later, he walked out to a full outdoor stadium a remarkable scene in the annals of presidential conventions in Denver.

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. Hurricane Isaias has made landfall near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. The Hurricane Center said it expected the storm to make landfall early Tuesday near southern North Carolina. Still, on this part of the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts that has been affected to varying degrees by seven tropical storms or hurricanes since 2014, residents weren't panicking. Up the coast in southern North Carolina, high winds from Isaias inner core knocked down trees and power lines, blocking roads. Farther up the coast into North Carolina, the hurricane center predicted storm surges of 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 meters) when Isaias moves onshore.

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. Tropical Storm Isaias brought dangerous winds and heavy rain over eastern Virginia early Tuesday after making landfall as a hurricane near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. A tropical storm warning extended all the way up to Maine, where flash flooding was possible in some areas on Wednesday. Isaias (pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs) was upgraded again from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane Monday evening. Early Tuesday the storm, downgraded again, was centered about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Greenville, North Carolina. Whether its labeled a tropical storm or a hurricane, you should take this storm seriously, and make sure your family is ready, Cooper said.

Vice President Mike Pence, center, gestures as he speaks during a news conference with Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, left, and Florida Gov. Pence was in Florida to mark the beginning of Phase III trials for a coronavirus vaccine. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)RALEIGH, N.C. Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Raleigh on Wednesday morning in a push to encourage more K-12 schools to reopen with entirely in-person instruction. According to an announcement from his office, Pence will join a roundtable discussion highlighting how a private school has worked to safely resume classes. After his visit to Thales Academy, Pence will remain in the Raleigh area to tour NCBiotech, which is conducting Phase 3 clinical trails for a coronavirus vaccine.

Across the U.S., state and local officials are trying to balance the competing priorities of protecting their citizens from the coronavirus while keeping the economy running. President Donald Trump also visited Atlanta on Wednesday, arriving at the airport without a face mask. Edwards' initially had resisted a statewide mask order, but changed his mind as case numbers began rising rapidly in Louisiana. Yale University law professor David Schleicher says in cases like Georgias, where it is the state versus local government, the state almost always wins. Thats not to say it is absolute.Schleicher pointed to Wisconsin where the state Supreme Court voted in May to strike down Democratic Gov.

Several Indian states imposed weekend curfews and locked down high-risk areas as the number of coronavirus cases surged past 900,000 on Tuesday. The latest figures released Tuesday show Bernalillo County, which includes the states most populous metro area, added another 65 confirmed cases. Utah has now recorded 226 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 and nearly 30,500 confirmed cases. ___JOHANNESBURG South Africa has surpassed the UK in its number of confirmed coronavirus cases. ___ATHENS, Greece The Greece government has ruled out a new lockdown after a rise in reported coronavirus infections since opening its borders.

With reported coronavirus cases rising rapidly in many states, governors are getting lots of advice on what they should do. Dr. Brian Labus, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Public Health and a member of the medical team advising Sisolak, said he knows the governor has to weigh public health advice against political and economic considerations. The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the U.S. hit an all-time high of 40,000 Friday. In Utah, coronavirus cases have been surging since most businesses were allowed to reopen in May. As West Virginia has seen a spike in reported virus cases, Gov.

Indonesia was expected to pass the 50,000 mark for confirmed infections on Thursday. India reported a record high 16,922 cases on Thursday, taking the national total to 473,105, with nearly 15,000 deaths. China reporting 19 newly confirmed cases nationwide amid mass testing in the capital. The virus has been blamed for over 120,000 U.S. deaths the highest toll in the world and more than 2.3 million confirmed infections nationwide. ___Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Democrats will hold an almost entirely virtual presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-20 in Milwaukee using live broadcasts and online streaming, party officials said Wednesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi will serve as convention chair, party officials said. Unlike this president, Joe Biden and Democrats are committed to protecting the health and safety of the American people, Perez said. Besides events in Wisconsin, Democrats plan other events in satellite locations around the country to broadcast as part of the convention. Veteran producer Ricky Kirshner, who has worked on every Democratic National Convention since 1992, will lead production of the convention, including the satellite broadcasts.

Sundays work follows the removal of two other Confederate statues on the state Capitol grounds in Raleigh on Saturday. Cooper ordered the statues removed after protesters toppled two other Confederate statues Friday night, stringing one up by the neck and hanging it from a light pole. Cooper has advocated the statues removal for years. In another case in California, symbols of the Black Lives Matter movement have been targeted in recent weeks with vandalism. The Ventura County Sheriffs Office said late Saturday that a tarp painted with the letters BLM has been repeatedly damaged in Thousand Oaks.

FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo, confetti and balloons fall during celebrations after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's acceptance speech on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Jacksonville, Florida, has been selected to host the celebration marking President Donald Trumps acceptance of his partys nomination for reelection, the Republican National Committee chairwoman said Thursday. The governor of North Carolina, the official host of this summers Republican National Convention, had balked at promising Trump a full-blown convention in Charlotte free from social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic. We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous occasion in the great city of Jacksonville, McDaniel said. Not only does Florida hold a special place in President Trumps heart as his home state, but it is crucial in the path to victory in 2020.

The new cases rose after India reopened shops, shopping malls, manufacturing and religious places. Among the numerous rural areas across the U.S. that have recently experienced coronavirus outbreaks are migrant farmworker communities in Florida. Surgeons in Chicago have given a new set of lungs to a young woman with severe lung damage from the coronavirus. Earlier this week, the state health secretary called the track an imminent hazard, ordered it closed and told the operators to announce the closure publicly. ___SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Puerto Ricos governor says she will lift nearly all restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus cases, which means beaches, churches and businesses across the U.S. territory will reopen after a three-month shutdown.

President Donald Trump said Friday he wants a new and updated Republican Party platform after the Republican National Committee voted this week to carry over the 2016 document. Roy Cooper over coronavirus restrictions in Charlotte, the host city for the Republican National Convention. That means the 2016 platform, which includes plenty of cutting jabs meant for another president, might have to stand. There is nothing in the world stopping President Trump from very publicly leaving his imprint on the partys direction, Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said. From record turnout to his 73-0 endorsement record, our party fully backs @realDonaldTrump.But some conservatives applauded the RNC for carrying forward the 2016 platform.

Coronavirus cases are rising in nearly half the U.S. states, as states are rolling back lockdowns. In some cases, more testing has revealed more cases. The analysis found that in 21 states as of Monday, the rolling seven-day average of new cases per capita was higher than the average seven days earlier. ARKANSASArkansas has also seen increases in cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of tests that come back positive. The protests were outdoors, which reduces the likelihood of virus spread, and many participants have worn masks and taken other precautions.

Roy Coopers administration has ordered closed a small stock-car track thats allowed large crowds to gather repeatedly for weekend races well above COVID-19 limits for mass gatherings. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)GRAHAM, N.C. A North Carolina judge on Thursday ordered a small stock-car track to halt racing after state health officials declared large weekend crowds at recent races violated an executive order by Gov. Media reports indicated many gathered at three weekend races since late May sat and stood near each other, and few wore masks. Kitchen also argued that the Turners constitutional rights were being violated and that they were subject to selective enforcement of Coopers order. If its wrong to have races, than all races have to be shut down, Kitchen said.

But she made clear that Jacksonville is the favorite now that Charlotte, North Carolina, the official host of this summer's Republican National Convention, has balked on promising Trump a full-blown convention free from social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic. Shame on him, because he put politics over the people of his state and revenues coming into his state, McDaniel said in the radio interview. Mayor Len Curry is a former chair of the state Republican Party and the area is the home base of GOP Gov. We are going to keep our convention of, the business of the convention in Charlotte. Charlotte officials on Wednesday said that despite public comments from Trump and GOP officials, they had not been officially informed of any intent to move any part of the convention.

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump participates in a briefing about Hurricane Dorian with North Carolina Gov. Trump's tweets Monday about the RNC, planned for Charlotte, come just two days after the North Carolina recorded its largest daily increase in positive cases yet. A draft of the bill, authored by Republican State Rep. John Torbett of Gaston and circulated last week by North Carolina Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley, calls for convention events in Charlotte to be held at full capacity, just as Trump had demanded from Cooper. The bill would require attendees to complete both pre-attendance and daily health surveys and have their temperatures taken prior to entry. Torbett's bill is unlikely to garner support among Democratic state lawmakers, who are concerned about reopening the state too soon and holding mass gatherings.

Trump and the RNC had demanded that the August convention be allowed to move forward with a full crowd and that participants not have to wear face coverings. Protecting public health and safety during this pandemic is a priority.A traditional GOP convention brings together roughly 2,500 delegates, the same number of alternate delegates and many times more guests, journalists and security personnel. They agreed to continue talking about ways to have a safe convention in Charlotte.But Cooper made clear to Trump that those conditions would likely be impossible to accommodate. The RNC's leader, Ronna McDaniel accused Cooper of dragging his feet on giving them guidance for proceeding with convention plans. Tennessee's Bill Lee said GOP officials were coming to scout Nashville on Thursday.

We have been committed to a safe RNC convention in North Carolina and its unfortunate they never agreed to scale down and make changes to keep people safe, Cooper tweeted in response to the decision. Protecting public health and safety during this pandemic is a priority.A traditional GOP convention brings together roughly 2,500 delegates, the same number of alternate delegates and many times more guests, journalists and security personnel. The Republican governors of states including Tennessee, Florida and Georgia had said they would be interested in hosting if North Carolina fell through. Changing sites had been seen as difficult for reasons including the contract between GOP officials and Charlotte leaders to hold the convention there. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tenn.; Jonathan Drew in Durham, North Carolina; and Tom Foreman Jr. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

The presence of Confederate monuments across the South and elsewhere in the United States has been challenged for years, and some of the monuments targeted were already under consideration for removal. In Charleston, South Carolina, protesters defaced a Confederate statue near The Battery, a historic area on the coastal citys southern tip. The question of Confederate monuments has been especially contentious in North Carolina, where such monuments are generally protected by law. Norfolk is among the Virginia cities that have signaled intent to remove their Confederate monuments. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, protesters spray-painted a statue Saturday of Confederate Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart on Saturday, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.