WPTF News

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gov. Roy Cooper has named a veteran North Carolina Labor Department administrator to lead the state agency until the next labor commissioner takes office. Cooper announced Friday that Kevin O’Barr will serve as commissioner until Luke Farley is sworn in early next year. O’Barr succeeds Commissioner Josh Dobson, who decided not to seek reelection this fall. Dobson announced his resignation on Wednesday, the day after Farley, a Republican, defeated Democrat Braxton Winston in the election for a four-year term. The North Carolina Constitution gives the Democratic governor the authority to fill the vacancy. A commissioner otherwise is elected to lead a department separate from a governor’s administration.

Federal health officials are calling for more testing and treatment of workers on farms with bird flu. The new guidance comes after a study showed that some dairy workers had signs of infection, even when they didn’t report feeling sick. Blood tests of 115 workers on farms in Michigan and Colorado showed that eight workers had antibodies that indicated previous infection. The finding suggests the virus may be spreading more widely. Four of the workers reported feeling sick and four reported no symptoms. Officials said the risk to the public remains low.

Sunday is the time to move clocks back in the U.S. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time, which means setting your clock back an hour. Standard time will last until March 9 when we will again “spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time. That spring time change can be tough on your body but the fall change should be easier to adjust to. Most countries don’t make time changes. It’s mostly North America and Europe. In the U.S., there are two exceptions. Arizona and Hawaii stick to standard time year-round.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s state government is diverting $100 million to spend on loans to farmers and cleanup after Hurricane Helene. The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission voted unanimously Friday to spend the money. It had been set aside for construction projects or paying off existing debt. Of the money, $75 million will be used to provide disaster relief loans to farmers and associated businesses in the agricultural industry. The other $25 million will be spent to clean up timber losses and other debris. A state agency that lends money to farmers will begin working on a plan to spend the $100 million on Monday.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Autonomous tech is coming to farming. From self-driving tractors to fruit-picking robots, a growing number of technology companies are bringing automation to agriculture. Advocates of the technology say it will ease the sector’s labor shortage, help farmers manage rising costs, and provide workers with respite from extreme weather — issues that are closely related to climate change. But despite a hot automation market, many small farmers and producers across the country aren’t sold on whether a slate of often-costly technologies could shape the future of farming.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state legislators have approved over $600 million more toward Hurricane Helene recovery and relief. The Republican-dominated General Assembly held a one-day session Thursday to consider additional funding and legislation. Four weeks ago, Helene tore across the Southeast and wreaked havoc in western North Carolina. Lawmakers had approved a $273 million package earlier this month. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has calculated overall storm damages and needs at over $53 billion and is requesting $3.9 billion in state funds. Republican leaders said they would consider Cooper’s proposal in the weeks ahead. The legislature also enacted another measure to direct two storm-affected counties to open more early-voting sites.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) — North Carolina legislators returned to work Thursday to address further relief efforts following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, but Senate president Phil Berger doesn’t expect any action on Governor Cooper’s $3.9 billion request for disaster relief. State lawmakers approved an initial $270 million relief package last month, but Berger said he expects lawmakers will approve additional funding for Helene recovery efforts. However, he cautioned against rushing to spend all the state’s reserves so soon. Berger criticized Gov. Cooper’s administration for failing to get aid to Hurricane Matthew and Florence victims, including some people who lost their homes in 2016.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials say the catastrophic flooding and destruction from Hurricane Helene likely caused at least $53 billion in damages and recovery needs in the state. Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration generated the preliminary figure in a report released Wednesday that also includes Cooper’s request to the General Assembly for $3.9 billion. The request was disclosed the day before the legislature planned to meet for a one-day session to advance additional Helene recovery legislation. Cooper says the previous record for storm damage in North Carolina was $17 billion after Hurricane Florence in 2018.

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — Elections officials, poll workers and voters in western North Carolina have been adapting in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s destruction. The storm destroyed roads, bridges and homes, and left communities without power and water. Despite the widespread destruction, election workers have rallied to set up polling sites and help voters cast ballots during the early voting period in the crucial presidential battleground. Turnout during last week’s first day of early in-person voting set a record, and more than 1.3 million people have cast ballots since then. Many election workers and voters in a hard-hit Democratic-leaning county and others in a Republican-leaning one expressed a gritty determination to make sure voters’ voices are heard.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A sheriff’s office statement and data from the state show that the North Carolina county that is home to Asheville overcounted deaths caused by Helene by as many as 30. The information in the statement on Tuesday significantly reduces the death toll from the historic storm. Buncombe County officials had previously reported 72 deaths and are now deferring to a state tally of 42 deaths for the county. The county’s number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release and briefing by Sheriff Quentin Miller. But state officials, relying on reviews by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, have consistently reported a number lower than that for the county.