Triangle/Local Archives - Page 16 of 17

All qualifying North Carolina hospitals are joining debt-reduction effort, governor says

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says nearly 100 hospitals have agreed to participate in a first-of-its-kind initiative that could help low- and middle-income patients get rid of billions of dollars in debt. Cooper said Monday that all qualifying hospitals have committed to the voluntary debt-elimination effort. Those include the largest hospital systems. These hospitals will get even higher Medicaid payments if medical debt on their books get cleared and they carry out ways for future patients to avoid liabilities. Cooper and state Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley unveiled the plan six weeks ago. Federal Medicaid regulators also have signed off on the idea.… Continue Reading

Lee Roberts named permanent UNC chancellor after serving as interim leader

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has voted to approve the nomination of Lee Roberts as the next chancellor of UNC at Chapel Hill. Roberts has served as the interim chancellor at UNC since the start of the year when former Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz left to become president of Michigan State University. Roberts was also previously a UNC Board of Governors member and the state budget director for former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. His approval Friday means the university system has filled its fifth chancellor vacancy in the last year.… Continue Reading

Debby’s aftermath leaves thousands in the dark; threatens more flooding in the Carolinas

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The weather system dubbed Debby isn’t quite done affecting parts of the U.S. After arriving in Florida as a hurricane Aug. 5, the storm spent nearly a week unleashing tornadoes and flooding, damaging homes and taking lives along the East Coast before moving into Canada on Saturday. While many rivers had receded by Sunday, flood warnings remained in effect in several areas across central and eastern North Carolina, where more thunderstorms were possible over the next few days. The National Weather Service says localized downpours could result in additional flash flooding throughout the coastal Carolinas. More than 48,000 homes and businesses in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont still had no electricity Sunday.… Continue Reading

Debby bringing heavy rain, flooding and possible tornadoes northeast into the weekend

LUCAMA, N.C. (AP) — Debby’s final chapter involves moving north and northeast from the Carolinas at a faster clip with soaking rains, flash flooding and the threat of tornadoes into the weekend. Accuweather’s chief meteorologist Jon Porter said the mid-Atlantic states and parts of New York and New England will see significant rainfall that could cause dangerous flooding into the weekend. The South Carolina town of Moncks Corner was hit early Friday by flash flooding. From eastern Virginia up to Vermont, an active stretch of tornadoes was also possible on Friday. Tornadoes spawned by Debby have leveled homes and damaged a school. The death toll has risen to 8.… Continue Reading

Tornado death raises Tropical Storm Debby toll to 7 as heavy rains keep falling

LUCAMA, N.C. (AP) — Tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Debby have leveled homes, damaged a school and killed one person. At least three tornadoes were reported overnight in North Carolina. Perhaps the worst has been in Lucama, a small town about 40 miles east of Raleigh. A person was found dead in a home damaged by the tornado. Other residents recounted hunkering down in their homes as the tornado ripped through overnight. Businesses about 100 miles away in the small town of Bladenboro flooded from heavy rains from Debby. The tropical storm made landfall in South Carolina early Thursday morning.… Continue Reading

Tropical Storm Debby churns up the East Coast, and affects weather as far away as the Great Lakes

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby pushed bad weather up the East Coast and brought no respite to residents as far away as the Great Lakes and New Jersey, where heavy rain flooded highways and streets and stranded motorists. Officials in New York told people in basement apartments to prepare to flee as forecasters warned of flash flooding. The center of Debby was over the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, at midday Wednesday. The storm has brought heavy rain to Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina since coming ashore on the Gulf Coast of Florida early Monday. Debby was expected to make a second landfall in either North Carolina or South Carolina late Wednesday or early Thursday.… Continue Reading

Federal infrastructure funding is fueling a push to remove dams and restore Watauga River habitat

BOONE, N.C. (AP) — An infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal infrastructure law is helping expedite efforts to remove dams around the country. Advocates expect the law will provide more than $2 billion for the repair and removal of dams and other barriers. Many groups are already using that money to remove mostly small dams from North Carolina to California. Advocates argue removing these structures, many that have outlived their usefulness and are in desperate need of repair, can return rivers to their natural state and bolster biodiversity. Others are being removed to reduce the risk of floods and revive river economies.… Continue Reading

Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast with rain, high water as it drifts along the Atlantic coast

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby has drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina and is not finished bringing heavy rain to region. Debby was centered just south of Savannah on Tuesday afternoon. The system has already stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets in waist-high floodwaters. The storm was forecast to move relatively slowly across southern states, with staggering totals of rain possible in some areas. The latest forecast says Debby could restrengthen over the Atlantic Ocean and then move inland again near Charleston, South Carolina, by Thursday. Debby made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast early Monday as a hurricane. At least five people have died.… Continue Reading

The Latest: A downgraded Debby still threatens with heavy rain and flooding

Debby has been downgraded from a tropical storm but continues to lash the coasts of the Carolinas with rain. Into the weekend, forecasters say parts of the East Coast can expect heavy downpours, flash flooding and possible tornadoes. The mid-Atlantic states and parts of New York and New England will see significant rainfall that could cause dangerous flooding. Interstate 95 near bigger cities could be affected.… Continue Reading

Tropical Storm Debby hits Florida with floods, threat of record rain in Georgia and the Carolinas

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby is slamming Florida with catastrophic flooding and could bring potentially record-setting rain to Georgia and South Carolina. The storm made landfall on the gulf coast of Florida early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane. It is now a tropical storm, with top wind speeds around 65 mph. More than 300,000 customers were without power in Florida and Georgia. At least four storm-related deaths have been reported. Local leaders in coastal Georgia were preparing for high water in case Debby stalls out over cities like Savannah. An official in South Carolina says Debby could be a “historic and potentially unprecedented event.”… Continue Reading