Three people hurt in N.C. mall shooting
DURHAM, N.C. — Three people, including a 10-year-old, were shot and wounded Friday during an apparent fight between two groups at a North Carolina mall crowded with shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving, the police chief said.
Authorities said in the late afternoon that one person was detained, and there was no further threat to the public. Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews said those involved in the fight that led to the shooting fled, but she vowed more arrests.
Andrews told reporters that the shooting happened around 3:20 p.m. inside The Streets at Southpoint mall during a fight between two groups of acquaintances. She said those involved in the fight that led to the shooting fled.
She said an additional three people were injured as shoppers rushed for the exits.
S.C. abortion law arguments delayed
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Appellate arguments over a lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s abortion law have been pushed into the new year.
Oral arguments in the case had been planned for next month, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rescheduled them for the last week of January, according to an order from the court.
Planned Parenthood is suing South Carolina over the measure, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster this year and requires doctors to perform an ultrasound to check for a “fetal heartbeat.” If cardiac activity — which can typically be detected about six weeks into pregnancy — is detected, an abortion can be performed only if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger.
Opponents have argued that many women do not know they are pregnant at six weeks. And they argue that with such an early deadline, the law gives women little time to consider whether to have an abortion.
Medical experts say the cardiac activity is not an actual heartbeat but rather an initial flutter of electric activity within cells in an embryo. They say the heart doesn’t begin to form until a fetus is at least 9 weeks old, and many decry efforts to promote abortion bans by relying on medical inaccuracies.
The 4th Circuit had originally planned to hear the case the week of Dec. 6. That’s a week after the U.S. Supreme Court hears a challenge to Mississippi’s new abortion law. South Carolina’s law has been blocked pending the outcome of that challenge.
Mississippi wants the high court to uphold its ban on most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, telling the court it should overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion, and the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that prevents states from banning abortion before viability.
Flood watches issued for Washington
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Flood watches were issued for much of western Washington state as storms associated with multiple “atmospheric rivers” threaten parts of the Northwest that saw heavy damage from extreme weather earlier this month.
The National Weather Service warned that flooding was possible through Monday afternoon in places such as Bellingham and the greater Seattle area. Heavy rains and rising rivers were expected over the weekend in the Cascade and Olympic mountains.
The moisture is from atmospheric rivers — huge plumes of moisture extending over the Pacific and into the Northwest — and could bring up to 3 inches of rain in some areas hit by the recent flooding, forecasters said.
The state is still assessing millions of dollars in damage from the last atmospheric rivers. The U.S.-Canada border closed in the small city of Sumas, three bridges in Belling-ham were closed and landslides blocked Interstate 5 south of Bellingham.
50,000 California customers lose power
Almost 50,000 Southern California homes and businesses remained in the dark Friday after utilities cut power during the Thanksgiving holiday to avert wildfires.
Edison International’s Southern California Edison had halted electricity to more than 42,000 customers and warned that another 128,000 might lose power. Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric switched off more than 4,400 customers. Utilities started cutting power Wednesday to prevent live wires from triggering fires as high winds sweep through the drought-scorched region.
“Today might be the last of the worst days,” though some gusts may persist into Saturday, said Brandon Fox, a meteorologist with Maxar Technologies.
More than 63,000 Southern California customers were without power Thursday, marking the second-straight year that utilities in the region proactively shut off power during Thanksgiving to reduce wildfire risks.
Across California, 8,367 fires have charred nearly 3.1 million acres of state and federal land this year, burning more than 3,600 buildings and killing three people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire risk is made worse because the entire state is gripped by drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.