NC DEMOCRATIC ELECTED OFFICIALS CALL FOR REMOVAL OF TRUMP: After pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol and forced Congress to evacuate and lock down during the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory, several North Carolina lawmakers, including Gov. Roy Cooper, have called for Trump to be removed from office, either through the 25th Amendment process or through impeachment. “President Trump invited violent rioters to the U.S. Capitol and encouraged the mob to breach the Capitol building and attempt a coup. This seditious act comes just days after he was caught on tape soliciting election fraud in the state of Georgia. He must be removed from office immediately,” said first-term Rep. Kathy Manning, a Greensboro Democrat, in a statement. Democratic Reps. Alma Adams of Charlotte and David Price of Chapel Hill both said Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet should take that step.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article248341210.html

WARNOCK DEFEATS LOEFFLER IN GEORGIA U.S. SENATE RUNOFF: A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Raphael Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue. The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. The candidates were locked in a tight race and it was too early to call a winner. Under Georgia law, a trailing candidate may request a recount when the margin of an election is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points. If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening President-elect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.
https://www.wral.com/warnock-makes-history-with-senate-win-as-dems-near-majority/19459309/

NC'S NEW CASE COUNTS TOP 9,000, OVER 3,500 HOSPITALIZED: At least 564,924 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 6,910 have died, according to state health officials. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday reported 6,487 new COVID-19 cases, down from 9,365 reported the day before and the record 9,527 reported Friday. A record 3,576 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Sunday. As of Friday, the latest day for which data are available, 13.6% of COVID-19 tests were positive. A national projection model from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts 1,100 more people may die from the coronavirus in North Carolina during the first three weeks of January.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article248248540.html

CHARLOTTE CHURCH PLANNING ANOTHER SUPERSPREADER EVENT: A large number of people are expected to gather over the weekend at a Charlotte church that was the source of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak in October, according to local media reports. Bishop C.M. Bailey, the national leader of the United House of Prayer for All People, is planning a visit to the United House of Prayer on Beatties Ford Road Jan. 2 and 3, Fox 46 reported, citing a member of the church. His visit could draw a crowd of hundreds, WCNC reported. At least 213 COVID-19 cases have been linked to convocation events the church held in October, and 12 people have died. Health officials allowed the church to reopen just before Halloween after it agreed to certain restrictions, including capacity limits, the Observer reported.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article248224225.html

REP. DARREN JACKSON IS HEADED TO THE COURT OF APPEALS: Jackson will resign his seat at the legislature and has been appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday. “Darren Jackson has spent his legal career fighting for a more fair and just North Carolina,” Cooper said in a press release announcing the news. “His decades of experience as a lawyer and elected public servant have prepared him for the bench, and I’m grateful for his willingness to continue serving our state with honor.” Cooper is appointing Jackson to fill the empty Court of Appeals seat vacated by Phil Berger Jr., the son of Republican Senate leader Phil Berger Sr. The younger Berger won a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in November’s election.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article248169200.html