Voting for justice: Barber, locals: Poor must vote Nov. 8

Advocates say schools increasingly are removing children with disabilities from the classroom because of behavior issues related to their disability but not recording the actions as suspension. The practice is known as informal removal, which advocates say amounts to a form of off-the-books, de facto denial of education that evades accountability. Because the removals aren’t recorded, there’s no way to quantify how often they happen. But the assistant secretary for the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, Catherine E. Lhamon, says the practice has "taken hold in a way that is dangerous for students and needs to be addressed.”

A Delaware judge says cigarette manufacturer ITG Brands assumed liability for tobacco settlement payments to the state of Florida when it acquired four brands from Reynolds American in 2015. Vice Chancellor Lori Will also said in Friday's ruling that ITG must compensate Reynolds American for losses due to that assumed liability. Reynolds sold the Kool, Winston, Salem and Maverick brands to ITG in 2014 to gain federal regulators' approval of Reynolds’ acquisition of Lorillard Inc. Before the sale closed, Reynolds American affiliate R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was making payments under a preexisting settlement agreement with Florida for reimbursement of smoking-related health care costs.

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections is directing county election officials not to engage in signature matching when reviewing absentee ballot envelopes this fall after a judge rejected the GOP appeal of a state board ruling prohibiting the practice. According to a directive sent to county election directors from the board’s legal counsel Paul Cox, the judge’s ruling maintains the status quo outlined in state law. Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell ruled from the bench Monday afternoon, denying the party’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preventing the use of signature matching in the 2022 general election, state board spokesperson Pat Gannon said.

Emergency responders are seeking to evacuate residents from the largest barrier island off Florida's Gulf Coast, and survivors there spoke of the terror of riding out Hurricane Ian in flooded homes and howling winds. A volunteer group, Medic Corps, was flying residents off Pine island by helicopter on Saturday. The bridge to Pine Island was heavily damaged by the hurricane, leaving it reachable only by boat or air. Some residents said they hadn’t seen anyone from outside the island for days and spoke of being trapped in flooded homes as boats and other debris crashed around their houses in the storm surge. Some feared they wouldn't make it.

Police say a baby girl, her parents and uncle have been found dead in a central California orchard two days after they were kidnapped at gunpoint from their business. Sheriff Vern Warnke announced Wednesday that the bodies were found in a Merced County orchard and told reporters: “Our worst fears have been confirmed.” Warnke did not release any information about how and when police believe they were killed. He said the victims were close to each other when found by a farm worker in a remote area. The announcement came after authorities released surveillance video of a man kidnapping the 8-month-old, her parents and uncle on Monday. Authorities say they were taken by a convicted robber who tried to kill himself a day after the kidnappings.

Rochester officials have agreed to pay $12 million to the children of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died after police held him down until he stopped breathing on a snowy street in the upstate New York city. A federal judge approved the settlement in a court document filed Thursday. Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans said in a statement that the agreement was “the best decision” for the city. Attorneys said the settlement money, minus lawyers’ fees and costs, will go to Prude’s five children.

A federal judge has halted key provisions of New York’s gun rules that restrict where people can carry weapons and require permit applicants to hand over social media information. Judge Glenn Suddaby ordered a temporary hold Thursday on multiple provisions of New York’s sweeping new gun law. He also gave the state three business days to seek “emergency relief” before a federal appeals court. The rules were part of a sweeping gun law that went into effect Sept. 1 designed to protect public safety while adhering to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated New York’s old system for granting concealed carry permits.

Stocks fell on Wall Street as the broader market continued pulling back from a surge earlier in the week. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% in afternoon trading on Thursday. The benchmark index is still on track for a solid weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq also fell. Investors reviewed more employment data and considered how it might influence the Federal Reserve's effort to fight inflation with higher interest rates. The U.S. government reported that applications for unemployment benefits rose last week. It will release its monthly report on the job market on Friday.