Briefly, Nov. 5

Woman in viral rant faces charges CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a white woman in North Carolina whose racist rant against two black women having car trouble in an affluent area is facing charges she communicated threats and misused the 911 network. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police told news outlets that 51-year-old Susan Westwood was served with outstanding warrants Saturday after contacting police in coastal Sunset Beach. Westwood disappeared after the Oct. 19 incident in a parking lot of her Charlotte apartment complex. It wasn't immediately known if she had a lawyer who could comment for her. Video went viral of her berating black neighbors she didn't recognize while they waited for AAA. Leisa and Mary Garris called police twice to report Westwood was harassing them. Westwood also called 911, telling the dispatcher she would pay $2,500 "to get them out of here," according to authorities. $12.8M suit filed by estate of man killed in WWII tank blast BEND, Ore. (AP) — The family of an Oregon man killed when a cannon shell exploded in his World War II-era tank has filed a $12.8 million lawsuit. Steve Preston's family is suing Chuck Hegele, the contractor who supplied powder for the shell, The Bulletin reported. Preston, 51, and his assistant Austin Lee, 22, were killed inside Preston's 1944 M-18 Hellcat, a tank destroyer, at a gun range outside of Bend in 2015. They were attempting to fire a round when it exploded. Lee died instantly and Preston survived for 27 minutes. Tim Williams, the attorney representing Preston's family said one of the reasons for the high amount the lawsuit seeks is because Preston knew he was going to die during the nearly half-hour he lived after the explosion. Preston contracted with Hegele to supply and supervise use of ammunition for a firing demonstration being filmed for the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington.