The Department of Transportation said its crews will begin to demolish the N.C. Highway 73 bridge over I-85 Sunday night. They will closed lanes on the highway on exit and on ramps periodically as the work continues.

The work will take place from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. It is part of a project to widen I-85 to eight lanes in the area.

The DOT says the work to demolish the bridge should be finished by Wednesday morning.

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The North Carolina Department of Transportation reported that the accident happened around 2 p.m. today. The road was later reopened about an hour after the initial report was received.

It is not clear at this time how many cars were involved in the accident, whether or not there were any fatalities.

Drivers are being urged to avoid the area.

-Nichole Jaworski, CBS Charlotte

(This story is still developing. Stay with CBS Charlotte for updates as they become available.)

Officials say 1st Lt. Paul Demeo of Derry, N.H., died Tuesday at Womack Army Medical Center on base.

Army officials are investigating the circumstances of his death, and aren’t releasing any additional information.

Demeo was a platoon leader assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

His commander, Lt. Col. J.C. White, says Demeo was a charismatic leader who cared deeply for his fellow soldiers and left a lasting impression on them.

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Fisherman found Dorien Jackson’s body in Lake Townsend nearly two months after he was last seen leaving his Greensboro home on his bicycle after getting a message from a friend.

An autopsy report released this week said Jackson died from a gunshot to the back of his neck that injured his spine before exiting from his mouth.

Jackson’s body was so decomposed from being in the water that he had to be identified through fingerprints.

Greensboro police are looking for clues to determine who killed the teen.

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Witnesses told police that two men on scooters shot and killed 22-year-old Dantae Stokes on Thursday afternoon.

Officers arrested 22-year-old Byron Smyre on Friday. He is charged with murder. A murder warrant has also been issued for 18-year-old Dewayne Pickett. It wasn’t known if either man had an attorney.

Investigators have released little information on what led to the shooting or whether the victim and suspects knew each other.

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The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said 33-year-old Misty Michelle Mullins was shot after breaking into a second home around midday Friday. Deputies responded to a 911 call that a woman had broken into a previous home and threatened the resident with a garden rake.

Three officers say they entered the second house and tried to subdue Mullins with stun guns as she charged at them with a knife or a machete. Authorities say Deputy Gabriel Romero then shot and killed Mullins.

A standing protective order barred Mullins from one of the homes.

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The most passionate critics and supporters of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, often describe the process in extremes, suggesting it is either inherently dangerous for the environment or that it poses virtually no risk at all. But Avner Vengosh, a Duke University professor of geochemistry and water quality, said making generalizations about fracking in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Colorado doesn’t make scientific sense.

“Each basin will have its own dynamics and its own rules,” he said of the possibility of contamination, adding that differences in well construction and regulations play a role, too.

Members of the U.S. Geological Survey were also part of the study, which examined 127 drinking water wells for evidence of pollution from methane gas or chemicals.

The study published Wednesday looked at an area of heavy drilling in north-central Arkansas known as the Fayetteville Shale. More than 4,000 new wells have been drilled there since 2004. The researchers did multiple tests to looks for the presence of contamination from drilling, or from naturally occurring gas or ultra-salty liquids that seep up through pre-existing faults.

“Our results show no discernible impairment of groundwater quality in areas associated with natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in this region,” Vengosh said in a statement.

Arkansas homeowners “typically had good water quality, regardless of whether they were near shale gas development,” said Robert Jackson, a professor of environmental sciences at Duke.

Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Katherine Benenati declined to comment on the study.

In the contentious debate over fracking the Duke team has shown a willingness to report both positive and negative studies. In 2011 Duke researchers found higher concentrations of methane gas near drilling sites in Pennsylvania, and state regulators denounced the findings even as environmental groups cheered them.

During fracking, large volumes of water, along with sand and hazardous chemicals, are injected into the ground to break rock apart and free the oil and gas trapped inside. In some areas fracking has been blamed for air pollution and gas leaks that have ruined well water, but the Obama administration and many state regulators say the practice is safe when done properly.

Deb Nardone, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, agreed that there “are going to be geological differences” in different areas. But she said what that means is that research should be done in each area before drilling begins, to identify possible problems. Nardone also questioned whether over time the Arkansas water wells might start to show pollution from drilling. “It would be interesting to come back at this after five years,” she said of the study.

One representative from industry agreed with some aspects of the Arkansas study, but questioned others.

“It does clearly speak to the need to think about these things from a regional and local perspective,” said Andrew Place, the interim director of the Center for Sustainable Shale Development, a Pittsburgh-based partnership between industry, environmental groups, and philanthropies that is promoting higher standards for drilling in the Marcellus Shale, which covers Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York.

Place questioned the suggestion that the Marcellus Shale is uniquely different from the Fayetteville Shale, noting that Marcellus wells are typically two or three times the depth of those in Arkansas. Place said there are 6,000 feet or more of different rock layers between Marcellus gas wells and surface aquifers, and suggested that makes a “pretty compelling” case that pollution doesn’t migrate unless wells are improperly constructed.

“Well casing can be done right,” Place said.

Vengosh said the Arkansas findings don’t mean that contamination can’t happen, since faulty well construction or areas with different geology could cause different results.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The state’s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in March.

The state Commerce Department said Friday the number of people unemployed fell by 15,000 between March and April. On the downside, nearly 4,200 fewer people held jobs than in March.

Leisure and hospitality service was the industry with the largest monthly increase, adding 6,100 jobs. It was followed by financial activities with 2,000 jobs, and the government with 1,300.

January 2009 is the last time the state’s unemployment rate was at 8.9

The unemployment picture is improving on the national level. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in April from 7.6 percent the previous month.

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The new average age of retirement was revealed in Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey.

Several factors, such as a weakened economy, recovery from the recession, demanding jobs, previous unemployment, and a decrease in pension plans/benefits, all play a role in Americans remaining in the workforce past the “expected” age of retirement.

During the survey, more than 2,000 working adults in the United States were asked when they plan to retire or when they retired.

More than half of workers surveyed who were between the ages or 58 – 64, plan to retire after they turn 65 — a trend that may increase the average age of retirement in upcoming years.

-Nichole Jaworski, CBS Charlotte

The Department of Employment and Workforce said Friday that the state’s jobless rate fell to 8 percent in April.

That’s the lowest that unemployment in South Carolina has been since October 2008. The workforce agency says the drop from 8.4 percent in March represents the state’s largest month-to-month decrease since May 1987.

Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector grew by 8,700 as the state continued to prepare for its busy summer tourist season. The state agency said most of those new hires were in accommodation and food services.

Professional and business services and construction jobs went up by 4,000. Trade, transportation and utilities jobs grew by 2,300.

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Police found 22-year-old Dantae Laquan Stokes when they arrived Thursday afternoon. Stokes was taken to Iredell Memorial Hospital where he died.

Police have obtained a murder warrant against 22-year-old Byron Lee Smyre. No arrest had been reported Friday morning.

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The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to permit budget director Art Pope to use unspent funds, cost savings and surplus tax collections to cover a projected $283 million shortfall in Medicaid spending this fiscal year. Rep. Nelson Dollar says there’s also $118 million to pay off a rebate liability budget-writers shifted previously as a cost-saving measure.

Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration announced recently the Medicaid shortfall had more than doubled due to a forecasting error.

Thursday’s debate turned into a partisan discussion of who was to blame for repeated shortfalls. The bill now goes to the Senate.

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Autopsy details were released Thursday by the state chief medical examiner’s office.

The autopsy showed 62-year-old Carolyn Ann Watkins suffered blunt force injuries to the head and neck, and that injuries to her spinal cord likely would have impaired her ability to breathe and led to her rapid death.

Watkins was reported missing three days after her car was discovered in a ditch near Smithfield on March 29. At the time, a state Highway Patrol trooper wrote in a report that there was no driver at the scene of the collision.

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The two-time presidential candidate and former North Carolina senator is scheduled to appear June 6 at a private retreat in Orlando, Fla., for lawyer clients of the marketing firm PMP.

A records check with the N.C. State Bar shows Edwards has also reactivated his license to practice law, which had been inactive for more than a decade. The contact number listed for Edwards rings at his old Raleigh firm, where a receptionist said Edwards has not worked for many years.

Edwards has remained largely out of public view since his May 2012 acquittal on one charge of campaign finance fraud. A federal judge declared a mistrial on five other criminal counts after jurors couldn’t agree if Edwards illegally used campaign money to hide his pregnant mistress as he ran for president in 2008.

An itinerary for the Florida event says Edwards will speak for about 45 minutes as part of a program entitled, “Historic Trials of the Century.” Edwards earned millions as a personal injury lawyer before entering politics.

Messages left at PMP seeking comment about the firm’s booking of Edwards received no response. A woman who answered the phone said the June event would be closed to the media.

Efforts to reach Edwards on Thursday were also unsuccessful.

Edwards said after his trial last year that he hoped to someday open an advocacy law firm to serve indigent clients and find a way to positively contribute to society.

Wade Smith, a Raleigh defense lawyer who served as Edwards’ mentor early in his legal career, said he saw Edwards recently and that he looked “so much better, more relaxed.”

Smith said Edwards hadn’t told him he had reactivated his law license, but he was not surprised.

“He’s got so much ability and talent,” Smith said of Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee. “Lawyers who saw him in front of a jury will tell you they never saw anything like him, his ability to connect. That talent is still in there and I think he will find a space to use it.”

Since his highly publicized trial, Edwards has shunned public attention and lived quietly at his North Carolina home, a sprawling gated estate outside Chapel Hill that he shares with his two school-age children.

If he finds a way to successfully reenter public life, Edwards will follow other high-flying politicians whose careers were derailed by sex scandals only to make a comeback, including former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer and former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. Spitzer has worked as a political commentator, and Sanford was recently elected in a special election for a congressional seat in his home state.

After his trial ended last year, Edwards stood on the steps of the federal courthouse in Greensboro and made an emotional public apology.

“While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins,” Edwards said.

The six-week-long trial recounted the most intimate details of Edwards’ affair with former campaign videographer Rielle Hunter, with whom the then-married presidential candidate fathered a daughter. At the time, Edwards’ wife Elizabeth was batting cancer; she died in late 2010.

At issue in the criminal case was about $1 million in unreported funds secretly provided by two wealthy campaign donors used to care for Hunter during her pregnancy, moving her quietly across the country on private jets between a series of luxury resorts and homes.

Edwards, who turns 60 next month, said last year he looked forward to making a positive contribution again.

“I don’t think God’s through with me,” Edwards said. “I really believe he thinks there’s still some good things I can do.”

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The bill that passed Thursday prohibits employers and universities from demanding access to the private accounts of applicants, employees and students. The bill provides a number of exceptions, including cases of employer-held devices or accounts and criminal investigations.

The bill’s sponsors said a number of other states have enacted similar bills that help define privacy in the digital age.

Rep. Paul Stam of Apex said he’s worried about the implications for employers who may have good reasons for asking for access to personal accounts.

The bill passed the House 76-36 and will now head to the Senate.

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Cobb reported she had a trailer and its contents, valued at $279,000, taken from her shop Saturday.

Fellow NASCAR driver Mike Harmon says he turned himself into the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of felony larceny. He posted $10,000 bond. Harmon says he’s innocent of all charges, claiming he was in Darlington, S.C., when the trailer was taken.

He plans to race Friday.

There’s some discrepancy over who owns the trailer — Cobb or David Novak, her business partner until last December.

The trailer hasn’t been located.

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In one of the calls, 35-year-old Suzanna Simpson can be heard moaning as a neighbor tells her, “It’s OK. Don’t move, OK?” as he waits for the operator to pick up. He said she was briefly knocked unconscious and seemed incoherent.

The same man calls 911 again and asks for police because Simpson’s family did not come to the door of their Pickens County home.

“Something is not right. She can’t tell me, because she doesn’t know. She’s talking away, she doesn’t know what is going on,” the man said in the call released by deputies.

Officers would rush to the home and find Simpson’s 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son dead, shot multiple times in their beds. Simpson’s 34-year-old husband, Michael, was found shot in the head and was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital.

Suzanna Simpson is also in that same hospital, under armed guard after she was charged with two counts of murder and a count of attempted murder. She was in fair condition Thursday, while her husband was in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Sandy Dees said.

Pickens County deputies have refused to talk about Suzanna Simpson’s injuries or how she suffered them. A nurse who treated her at the hospital said Simpson said she wanted to kill herself after shooting her family, but couldn’t pull the trigger, according to arrest warrants.

A third 911 call from the neighbor’s daughter said Simpson’s pickup truck hit the tree near their yard so hard it was pulled partially out of the ground.

Simpson doesn’t appear to have any criminal record, deputies said. School officials in Pickens County said she was a helpful parent who volunteered at Dacusville Elementary School, where both her children attended.

Deputies plan to take Simpson to jail as soon as she is released from the hospital. It wasn’t known if she had an attorney.

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NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said Thursday the quarter-inch flaw found at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in southern Wake County did not penetrate the retaining wall and there is no evidence of radiation leakage. The NRC says operators are shutting down the 25-year-old reactor to make repairs.

Spokesmen for Charlotte-based Duke Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company last year bought Raleigh-based Progress Energy, which built the nuclear plant.

Hannah says the problem was discovered after Duke Energy workers looked again at ultrasound tests performed last spring.

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Sheriff David Mahoney said the child was in the van early Wednesday morning when the grandmother dropped other children off at school. Mahoney says family members discovered the child in the afternoon and called authorities to the home in Brevard.

He says it’s not clear why the grandmother did not realize the child was still in the van.

A meteorologist at the National Weather Service says it was 79 degrees at noon at Asheville Regional Airport and 81 degrees at 3 p.m.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the temperature inside a car can rise almost 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes.

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The “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign is about to start its third year of discouraging drunken driving and boating.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Maj. Patricia Pool says officers need help from the public to prevent injuries.

Officers plan sobriety checkpoints and special increased patrols during busy holiday periods. Officers also plan special messaging to boaters and drivers about the dangers of impaired driving.

Col. Dale Caveny of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says officers will be conducting checks to make sure boats have the proper equipment.

Caveny says 28 boaters died and 80 other people were seriously hurt on North Carolina waterways.

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Police say 22-year-old Emily Suzanne Uckele of Burlington turned herself in Tuesday.

Uckele is charged with breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and first-degree trespassing.

Police were called to investigate a break-in at the shelter May 7. Police found evidence they thought was used to break into the structure.

Police reviewed video at a nearby store and saw Uckele buying the item that was used in the break-in.

Investigators think other people were involved in the break-in. The cats are still missing.

It was not clear if Uckele has an attorney.

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The chamber voted by a wide margin for the final bill Wednesday night that applies to children age 23 and under and would limit behavioral health treatment to $36,000 annually. The 105-7 margin came after vigorous debate on several amendments.

The bill would exempt small-employer carriers from the requirement if the new mandate raises annual premiums by more than 1 percent. A bill sponsor has said premiums went up by a few dollars a year in other states. An amendment that would have exempted more small businesses was defeated.

The measure now heads to the Senate.

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The bill tentatively approved Wednesday outlaws health care plans that include abortion services from future online marketplaces of private plans offered under the federal Affordable Care Act.

It also allows any medical professional to refuse to participate in an abortion and allows any business to refuse to provide contraception coverage on religious or moral grounds. Current law only refers to doctors and nurses but would now extend to pharmacists and technicians.

A provision exempting private businesses from refusing to cover contraception was removed.

Opponents say the bill tramples women’s rights.

The bill needs another vote before Thursday night to move to the Senate.

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A majority in the House voted Wednesday night for legislation that would bar civil actions against food producers and marketers on claims long-term consumption led to weight gain and obesity-related health problems.

Bill sponsor Rep. Brian Brown of Greenville says the measure is a commonsense way to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. But Rep. Deborah Ross of Raleigh says the state’s negligence rules already prevent awards to people who are found to have contributed to their injury.

The bill now heading to the Senate also makes clear local governments can’t pass ordinances prohibiting soft drink sales above a particular size.

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The attendants have scheduled a news conference for Thursday at Charlotte Douglas International Airport to continue dialogue with the traveling public as they try to keep knives off planes.

Leaders for US Airways flight attendants are scheduled to speak.

Last month, federal officials announced a delay in the policy that would have allowed passengers to carry small knives, bats and other sports equipment onto airliners. At the time, the Transportation Security Administration said the delay was necessary to accommodate feedback from an advisory committee made up of aviation industry, consumer, and law enforcement officials.

Last week, nine organizations filed a petition with the TSA opposing the policy.

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HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Health officials in Henderson County say a fox that attacked and bit two residents earlier this week tested positive for rabies.

County officials received confirmation Wednesday from the N.C. State Laboratory of Public Health. It’s the first positive rabies case in Henderson County since 2011.

Officials with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Animal Enforcement Division and the Department of Public Health are urging residents to ensure their pet’s rabies vaccination is current. Residents should also contact a veterinarian immediately if their pet seems injured from an unknown cause, displays unusual behaviors, or appears sick, even if the animal is current on its rabies vaccination.

A man bitten by the rabid fox Monday killed it by beating it with a flashlight.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A bill broadening so-called conscience protections and the number of employers who can refuse to provide contraception services in health insurance coverage has been approved by a North Carolina House committee.

The bill approved Wednesday allows any medical professional to refuse to participate in an abortion and allows any business to refuse to provide contraception coverage on religious or moral grounds.

The bill expands so-called conscience protections beyond doctors and nurses to include people such as pharmacists and technicians.

The contraception provision expands existing law that exempts religious organizations to any private or nonprofit company.

The bill also outlaws health care plans that include abortion services from future online marketplaces of private plans offered under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Opponents say the bill tramples women’s rights.

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Many American home-school families and evangelical Christians have taken up the cause of Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, who faced fines and the threat of losing custody of their children because they refused to comply with Germany’s compulsory school attendance law.

In 2008, the Romeikes moved from Bissingen an der Teck in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg to Morristown in eastern Tennessee and applied for asylum. That request was initially granted by an immigration judge in 2010. But the Board of Immigration Appeals overturned that ruling and the Romeikes appealed to the 6th Circuit.

On Tuesday, a three-member panel of U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled from Cincinnati that the Romeikes do not meet the criteria for asylum.

“The question is not whether Germany’s policy violates the American Constitution, whether it violates the parameters of an international treaty or whether Germany’s law is a good idea. It is whether the Romeikes have established the prerequisites of an asylum claim — a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a protected ground,” the court wrote. In this case, that protected ground is religious freedom.

But the court found that the German government treats all truants the same, regardless of their reasons for not attending school.

The Home School Legal Defense Association, which represented the Romeikes in court, has made a short video posted to its website that shows the Romeikes’ six children studying together at a big table and chasing chickens in the yard.

Next to the video is a link to a White House petition on the Romeike’s behalf that has gathered more than 123,000 signatures.

Mike Donnelly, director of international relations for the association, said the Romeikes planned to appeal.

“The court ignored the evidence that Germany targets people for religious or philosophical reasons,” Donnelly said, referring to a 2003 German Supreme Court decision that found the compulsory attendance law served a legitimate government interest of counteracting the development of parallel societies.

The 6th Circuit considered this argument but dismissed it, stating, “Any compulsory-attendance law could be said to have this effect.”

The U.S. government said in court documents the Romeikes did not belong to any particular Christian denomination and described the parents’ objections to the government-approved schools as vague.

For instance, Uwe Romeike claimed a textbook “featured a story suggesting that ‘the devil can help you if you ask the devil, but God would not help you,’” the government said. But he could not recall the title of the story or its author.

Romeike also claimed the schools taught witchcraft based on a game played by classmates of his wife when she was in the seventh grade “that involved pushing chairs and glasses around, and dangling a pendulum.”

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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday the tritium leak isn’t an emergency, but says the leak could reach groundwater.

The NRC says the issue was discovered late Tuesday when workers found a leak in a fiberglass discharge pipe.

Duke Energy, which runs the plant, has started taking steps to fix the problem. The NRC says Duke is putting in a temporary sump pump to try to isolate the leak.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says drinking water that contains tritium can increase the risk of developing cancer.

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The bill approved unanimously Tuesday by the House would require those convicted of the misdemeanor charge to receive a minimum $500 fine. A driver who hits a child and faces a felony would receive a minimum $2,500 fine, while a death conviction would mean at least $5,000.

The measure also requires motorists convicted of repeat violations to have their driver’s licenses revoked for at least one year and possibly permanently in the most egregious circumstances. These drivers could get limited driving privileges.

Bill sponsor Rep. Ed Hanes of Winston-Salem says the measure shows legislators are serious about ending driver negligence. The bill now goes to the Senate.

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Erwin Antonio Rios, 19, admitted guilt Tuesday in U.S. District Court as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. The terms of the agreement have not been made public, but the felony charge to which Rios pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

In an affidavit filed with the court, FBI Special Agent Frank Brostrom said Rios holds extremist Islamic views and told a government informant he would like to kill Fort Bragg soldiers.

“Rios spoke of how Islam will rule the world soon, and that non-believers are guaranteed hell fire,” Brostrom said. “Rios stated that he would have loved to have been a soldier for Allah.”

Authorities said Rios, who is from Fayetteville, also plotted to travel overseas to commit violence against non-Muslims and devised a scheme to commit armed robberies to obtain money to buy weapons. The FBI set up a sting where Rios bought what he was told was a stolen handgun and was then immediately placed under arrest.

According to the affidavit, an FBI informant first met Rios in June 2012 at a mosque in Raeford. The young Muslim told the informant he wanted to fight non-believers oppressing the faithful.

Two month later, the informant and Rios were riding in a car past the gates of Fort Bragg, the sprawling home of the 82 Airborne Division. Rios told the informant they could easily gain access to the base and that he liked to observe the soldiers and watch their movements in case he ever had to make jihad against them, according to the affidavit.

When a military helicopter flew overhead, Rios “stated that he wished he had a ‘Stinger missile’ to take it out,” according to Brostrom.

In another conversation, Rios is reported to have told the FBI informant that the “most efficient way to kill them all would be to wear an explosive vest and blow yourself up for Allah,” according to the affidavit.

In September, Rios told the informant he had been talking to someone who could get him an AK-47 assault rifle and a .357 caliber handgun for about $500. When the informant suggested that the guns might be stolen at that price, Rios responded that he knew that but it was still a good deal, according to the affidavit.

The FBI said Rios feared arrest if he tried to buy guns from a licensed dealer. State court records shows he has prior convictions for breaking and entering and possession of a stolen firearm. In 2011, Rios had applied for a passport but was denied because he was on criminal probation, according to the affidavit.

After Rios expressed his desire to buy a gun, the informant offered to introduce him to a neighbor who broke into homes to steal weapons.

On February 7, Rios traveled with the informant to Lillington to meet with a second informant posing as an illegal gun salesman. According to the affidavit, the FBI informant offered Rios a 9mm handgun that had been stolen. Rios then paid a $100 for the gun, which had secretly had the firing pin removed, according to the FBI.

Rios then drove off with the first informant, but they were pulled over by FBI agents after traveling about a mile. Rios was taken into custody as he reached for a knife concealed in his pocket, according to the affidavit.

His guilty plea on Tuesday comes days after three Raleigh Muslims were sentenced in a plot to behead federal informants who helped the FBI foil another homegrown terror plot that involved plans to attack the U.S. Marine base at Quantico, Va., and targets overseas.

John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI, praised the work of the federal authorities who investigated Rios.

“Erwin Rios intended to commit violent acts against innocent people in furtherance of his extremist doctrine of hate,” Strong said. “As demonstrated in this case, the multi-agency partnerships which make up our local Joint Terrorism Task Force continue to play a critical role in the day-to-day protection of our communities and our national security.”

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Police on Tuesday identified the woman as 30-year-old Melissa Dawn Huggins-Jones.

The girl went for help and found workers who were building other apartments at the complex. A construction worker called 911 and said the body was cold and covered with blood.

Police have not said how Huggins-Jones died or why investigators are treating her death as a homicide.

A construction worker called 911 and said the body was covered with blood.

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Gov. Pat McCrory ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday. McCrory is also encouraging all citizens to display flags at half-staff at their homes and businesses that day as well.

McCrory said in a statement that the state recognizes and appreciates the critical contributions and sacrifices made by members of law enforcement at all levels, and honors their courage and dedication.

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The survey will be conducted through the end of this month at designated stops in Anson, Catawba, Cherokee, Cleveland, Davidson, Iredell, Lincoln, Rowan and Stanly counties in North Carolina. It’s also being conducted in Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster and York counties in South Carolina. Motorists will be chosen at random to participate.

The results of the survey will be collected with other data to plan long-range transportation improvements and identify transportation priorities for the region.

Surveys will be conducted between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. at strategic locations on non-highway facilities. Local law enforcement will be at each site to assist with traffic.

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FRANKLIN, N.C. (AP) — A Franklin man has been indicted on 56 child sex charges.

The Macon County grand jury has charged 50-year-old Christopher Lee Burk with 30 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, nine counts of indecent liberties with a child, six counts of sex offense against a child, and 11 other charges.

Sheriff Robert Holland says Burk is being held on a $1.5 million bond. Burk was arrested last month at the Asheville Regional Airport on six charges.

Holland says the investigation began in March. He says detective seized four computers as part of the investigation.

Burk is being held in the Macon County jail. It was not clear if he has an attorney.

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Deputies say 35-year-old Suzanna Simpson was found in a wrecked truck just outside her home around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Arrest warrants say she told paramedics that she had shot her whole family.

Officers entered the home and found Simpson’s 5-year-old son Sawyer and her 7-year-old daughter Carly dead. Her 34-year-old husband Michael was wounded and remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Suzanna Simpson also is at the hospital. Authorities say she told a nurse she tried to shoot herself several times, but couldn’t do it.

Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark refused to give Simpson’s condition or a motive for the killings. It isn’t known if she has a lawyer.

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The Dorchester County Sheriff’s office says that Carlton Freeman of Harleyville was driving his motorized wheelchair on May 8 when the dogs attacked him. Freeman, a double leg amputee, told authorities that he was pulled from the wheelchair in the attack.

Coroner Chris Nesbit says Freeman died Sunday night of his injuries.

A police report says officers were able to capture two of the dogs – a mother and a puppy. Officers set traps for a second puppy and the fourth dog in the attack. Reports also said there were traces of blood on all four dogs.

Authorities have made no arrests in the case.

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The Senate Environment Committee passed a bill Tuesday that prohibits local governments and community colleges from enacting smoking bans that are stricter than state law. Bill sponsor Sen. Buck Newton of Wilson said he appreciates public health progress made in the state since it passed restrictions in 2010, but he thinks a line should be set at outdoor settings.

Lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns about how the bill would overturn smoke-free campus laws and specially designated smoking areas. The North Carolina Health Alliance counts 249 local ordinances under threat by the law and most of the state’s community colleges.

The bill now heads to another committee for review.

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Lawyers for Pam and Mark Crawford said Tuesday they are suing the Department of Social Services for having irreversible surgery performed on a 16-month-old child they eventually adopted and raised as a girl. The child now wants to be identified as a boy.

According to WIS-TV, the lawsuit states that doctors “radically restructure[d] his reproductive organs in order to make his body appear to be female” after they found “ambiguous genitals” on the child.

“Children’s bodies should not be allowed to be mutilated,” Pam Crawford told The State. “It’s a practice that has to be stopped. Parents need to know that (the condition is) OK.”

The Crawfords knew their child had been born with ambiguous genitalia and raised the child as a girl.

About a year ago, the Crawfords say their 8-year-old child told them he wanted to be raised as a boy. The couple says they don’t want other families to have to endure the struggles they have.

“It’s too late for my son, but we want to put other doctors on notice,” Mark Crawford told WIS-TV.

Spokeswomen for DSS and the Medical University of South Carolina did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

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North Myrtle Beach police say the couple said they had gone skinny-dipping and returned to find their clothes missing.

Twenty-one-year-old Jasmine Kim Walton of Potomac Falls, Va., and 22-year-old Kyle Martin Schnoebelen of Fairfax, Va., were arrested shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday.

Walton has been charged with public disorderly conduct and public nudity.

Schnoebelen was charged with public nudity.

It was not clear if they have attorneys.

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