Hello! The Carolinas News Editor is Tim Rogers. The breaking news supervisor is Jack Jones.

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TOP STORIES:

EARLY VOTING-NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH — The swing state of North Carolina could be pushed in a Republican or Democratic direction when the GOP-led State Board of Elections meets Thursday to finalize early voting plans for a third of the state’s counties. Voting rights activists are watching closely and preparing to return to court if the board makes it harder for reliably Democratic voters to cast ballots. They say this would violate a federal appellate ruling that found Republican leaders intentionally discriminated against African-Americans with a 2013 law designed to keep the GOP in power despite being outnumbered. By Jonathan Drew and Gary D. Robertson. SENT: 980 words, AP Photos NCGRE202, NCGRE201.

DUKE ENERGY-INVESTMENT FUND

RALEIGH — One of the world’s largest investment funds is dumping its shares in Duke Energy Corp. because it sees too much risk in what it called the largest U.S. electric company’s history of environmental damage, the fund’s managers announced Wednesday. The arm of Norway’s central bank that manages the pension fund created by the Scandinavian country’s oil wealth said it has decided to bar investments in Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy. The fund has previously decided against investments in mining and coal-based energy companies, and makers of land mines, nuclear weapons and tobacco. By Business Writer Emery P. Dalesio. SENT: 590 words.

BERGDAHL

RALEIGH — Serious injuries to two soldiers who searched for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2009 show that he endangered his comrades by leaving his post in Afghanistan, prosecutors argue in a new filing. The Sept. 1 motion lays out how prosecutors plan to tie the injuries into arguments that Bergdahl is guilty of misbehavior before the enemy, a relatively rare charge that carries up to a life sentence. Bergdahl also faces a desertion charge in the case scheduled for a 2017 trial. By Jonathan Drew. SENT: 640 words.

MINISTER-SAME SEX MARRIAGE

CHARLOTTE — A United Methodist Church pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina, will keep her job after performing a same-sex wedding at her church earlier this year. The Charlotte Observer reported (http://bit.ly/2c5o1Qz ) that the Rev. Val Rosenquist won’t face a church trial for performing the ceremony, either. SENT: 230 words.

ASTEROID CHASE-FIVE FACTS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An asteroid that may hold the key to life is getting its first visitor in billions of years. Asteroid Bennu, a black roundish rock taller than the Empire State Building, is the intended target of a NASA spacecraft set to blast off Thursday night. Not only will the robotic probe named Osiris-Rex fly to this ancient asteroid, it will scout it out for two years before scooping up some gravel and dust, and deliver the samples back to Earth. By Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn. SENT: 610 words, AP Photos NY117, NY121. Please note N.C. angle.

IN BRIEF:

— APARTMENT COMPLEX FIRE, from CARY — Authorities in Cary say 14 people have been displaced following a fire at an apartment complex. SENT: 120 words.

— APARTMENT-SHOOTING DEATH, from CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say a woman has been shot to death while she was inside an apartment. SENT: 100 words.

— TWO SHOT-SUSPECT SOUGHT, from NORLINA — A North Carolina police chief says a man wanted for killing his son and wounding his ex-wife before using Facebook to admit to the attack might have been spotted in Richmond, Virginia. SENT: 140 words.

— TROPICAL WEATHER-HERMINE-DAMAGE, from MANTEO — A preliminary assessment shows Tropical Storm Hermine caused damages of at least $2.5 million to 657 buildings in Dare County, including a home that was destroyed. SENT: 130 words.

SPORTS:

FBN–PANTHERS-BRONCOS

DENVER — The 2016 NFL season starts the same way the last one ended, with Von Miller staring down Cam Newton. Denver’s star linebacker got the best of Newton in Super Bowl 50, stripping both the football (twice) and the Lombardi Trophy from the Carolina quarterback’s grasp in the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Panthers. By Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton. SENT: 790 words, AP Photos NYPS201, NY157, NY269, NY175, NY171.

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