N.C. Senator Bob Rucho announced this morning that he will not seek re-election in 2016. He plans to retire following his seventh non-consecutive term. Rucho, a Republican from Matthews, was first elected in 1996. He played a major part in redistricting — and some have said gerrymandering — North Carolina into consistently seeing a large Republican majority in the state legislature. He also led a push for major tax changes in the state over his 17 years in office. 

Big deal for NC politics: State Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, won't seek re-election. #ncga #ncpol pic.twitter.com/AyWHBXhlgo

— Tyler Dukes (@mtdukes) November 5, 2015

A former Cornelius high school student has blown the lid off a "sextortion" case in which at least 16 local girls, most of which minors, were being blackmailed with nude photos of themselves. A warrant states the girl, who now attends a college in Pittsburgh, received photos she took of herself in various states of undress while she was a student at Hough High School. The suspect threatened to release the photos if the girl didn't send more similar photos. After she went to police, the resulting investigation found 15 other female students at Hough high School, ages 14 to 18, going through similar situations. Some girls complied with the suspect and most girls did not go to authorities for fear that their parents would find out. Police investigated a similar case at Hough High School in January after a Dropbox file containing 75 photos of nude female students, including many of 14-year-old freshmen, was brought to the attention of police. 

Union County officials announced this morning that popular fishing spot Cane Creek Park is reopened to boaters, after an unsafe rise in water levels due to recent rains caused them to shut it down. Officials said levels at the 350-acre lake have reportedly decreased to a safe level and floating debris has been removed. Trails remain closed to bikers and horse-riders. The tweet below shows how the lake looked following heavy rains over the weekend and on Monday. 

Heavy Rain closes Cane Creek Park Lake. https://t.co/8M6de6SFoJ pic.twitter.com/3ma6HyLpZm

— Union County NC (@UnionCountyNC) November 2, 2015

The husband of Semantha Bunce, the woman shot in her home while caring for her newborn baby on Tuesday, told reporters yesterday that she exchanged gunfire with the two suspects inside the home before being shot. Bunce is in the National Guard Reserve and is a stay-at-home mother. The couple's other daughter was at school at the time of the home invasion. Her husband, Paul Bunce, said she is still in and out of consciousness but is "making progress." No arrests have been made in the case. 

Construction crews broke ground on a new, $90-million facility to add to its Indian Land campus yesterday. The facility, titled RV4, is expected to bring 1,500 new jobs to the Lancaster, South Carolina campus, just over the border from Ballantyne in Charlotte. RV4 will reportedly consist of three buildings totaling 300,000 square feet. The company expects to finish the facility in mid-2017 and will be hiring employees to fill it over the next seven years. 

Thanks to Governor @nikkihaley and Lancaster County Council Chairman Bob Bundy for helping us break ground on #RV4! pic.twitter.com/rCkQFixDna

— Red Ventures (@RedVentures) November 4, 2015