The Carolinas | Dentist catches a 380-pound shark

South Carolina

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

Dentist catches a 380-pound shark

An Illinois dentist has snagged a 380-pound lemon shark while fishing off the coast of South Carolina.

Stephen Liesen of Quincy, Ill., needed 30 minutes to reel in the fish thought to be the largest lemon shark ever caught in South Carolina waters.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head Island reported that the state Natural Resources Department will check and weigh the shark on a certified scale to verify the record. The agency's website lists the record at 370 pounds caught by R.L. Price of Ladson in 2002.

An avid sports fisherman, Liesen calls the weekend catch "the fish of a lifetime."

The Florida Museum of Natural History website says lemon sharks are named for their yellow-brown coloring and are among the larger species of sharks, at 8 to 10 feet long.

The Discovery Channel says lemon sharks' light, yellow-tinged skin offers camouflage as the sharks rest over the sandy ocean floor in shallow areas.

GREENVILLE

Man on mo-ped killed in hit-and-run

A Greenville man was killed Sunday in a hit-and-run collision on S.C. 81 in Anderson County, a state Highway Patrol spokesman said.

Willie Martin Jr., 51, of Burns Circle in Greenville, died of multiple blunt trauma injury after the mo-ped he was driving was hit from behind, said Anderson County Chief Deputy Coroner Charlie Boseman.

Martin was traveling south when a Jaguar going in the same direction hit him from behind, said Lance Cpl. Scot Edgeworth. The driver of the Jaguar then fled, Edgeworth said. Martin was not wearing a helmet, he said.

The wreck happened between 1:45 and 2 a.m. between Old Anderson and Bridges roads, 22 miles north of Anderson, Edgeworth said.

A 2000 Jaguar matching the description of the vehicle was recovered later Sunday near S.C. 81 in Anderson County, Edgeworth said.

However, authorities are still searching for the driver.

North Carolina

FAYETTEVILLE

Teenager charged in mother's death

A 19-year-old North Carolina man has been charged in the death of his mother and setting fire to the mobile home they shared.

Multiple media outlets reported that Johnathon Gray of Fayetteville was arrested Saturday morning and charged with murder and arson. He was being held in the Cumberland County jail. A jail officer said Sunday there was no information on whether Gray has an attorney.

Cumberland County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Tanna says firefighters discovered the body of 42-year-old Barbara Towery when they responded to a fire at the home. Tanna says Towery appears to have died from blows to the upper part of her body, but officials were awaiting autopsy results.

STATEWIDE

Temperatures set records in some cities

Several North Carolina cities have set new record high temperatures.

The National Weather Service said Raleigh broke a 61-year-old record with a reading of 102 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. The previous high for July 25 was 98 degrees in 1949.

In Charlotte, temperatures reached 101, eclipsing the previous record of 100 degrees set in 1987.

New Bern was a little cooler at 97 degrees, but that surpassed the record of 96 degrees set there in 1949.

Forecasters say the heat is the result of a high pressure system that has brought in warm, moist air from the Southwest.

But there is relief on the horizon. A cold front was forecast to move through central North Carolina Sunday night, bringing a welcome 10-degree drop in temperatures next week.

ASHEBORO

Seven charged in cockfighting bust

North Carolina officials have charged seven men with animal cruelty, seizing 400 chickens in cockfighting bust.

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office said the men also were charged Saturday with felony cockfighting after a raid of U.S. 64.

Officers found 24 gaming roosters, three of which were dead from injuries sustained while fighting. Investigators also seized 400 chickens that were found to be living in deplorable conditions.

Six of the men were being held by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible deportation.

ASHEVILLE

National park sees more visitors in 2010

The National Park Service says the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has seen a 3.3 percent increase in visitors this year compared with the same period last year.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Sunday that official numbers showed an additional 200,000 visitors passed through the park's 13 entrances. But, park spokesman Bob Miller told the newspaper that a good bit of that increase could be attributed to construction near the electronic counter at the Gatlinburg, Tenn., entrance.

Still, Miller said two of the three main entrances showed more people are coming to the park. Through June 2010, the park had 4.1 million visitors, up from 3.9 million for the same period in 2009.