Shelby

A Cleveland County jury on Thursday failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Dwight Stacy Justice, who is charged in the beating death of his 2-year-old stepson, Jeremiah Swafford.

The panel of nine women and three men will resume deliberations Monday at 9:30 a.m. Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin couldn't be in court today because of a prior commitment

On Thursday afternoon, after deliberating since 9:45 a.m., the foreman told the judge the jury was divided 8-4. Throughout the afternoon, the jury came back asking for more instruction, clarifications on points of law and transcripts of interviews with Justice that had been introduced into evidence.

Justice, 45, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. His wife, Kathy Lynn Swafford, faces similar charges and will be tried in March. Joe DePriest

North Carolina

Sen. Hagan begins N.C. job tour in Scotland County

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will kick off a jobs tour today in Scotland County, which has the highest unemployment rate in the state.

The tour will include more than a dozen stops this year as part of an effort by the Greensboro Democrat to raise awareness of job programs for the unemployed and connect businesses with jobs to community colleges that can offer specialized training.

More than 44,000 North Carolinians are out of work, but Hagan said there are many available jobs where companies are struggling to find workers with the right training.

Franco Ordoñez

Health

Officials: No problems at eatery linked to illnesses

Catawba County health officials said this week that they found no problems at a Conover seafood restaurant where about 40 people said they got sick after eating.

Officials at Harbor Inn Restaurant told county health investigators they served about 1,500 meals Jan. 13, the day that was linked to the illnesses.

Health officials said they checked equipment and cooking processes at Harbor Inn and found nothing that could have caused the problem. There have been no additional reports of sickness since mid-January.

Staff reports

Colleges

UNC Charlotte wins spot in 2013 Solar Decathlon

UNC Charlotte was named Thursday to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2013, in which student teams build solar-powered, highly efficient homes to gain real-world experience.

The UNCC team will begin a two-year process to design, build and test its home before reassembling it at the competition site in Irvine, Calif. Bruce Henderson

Upcoming

Mecklenburg GOP hosts 'Mix and Mingle' Feb. 7

The Mecklenburg County Republican Party will hold a "Mix and Mingle" with party leaders on Feb. 7. It's 7-8:30 p.m. at party headquarters, 1515 Mockingbird Lane, Suite 111, Charlotte.

Info: MeckGOP .com . Jim Morrill