Thought of the Day
Being of value is greater than any other form of success.
August 22nd 2025
Steelers beat Panthers 19-10 in preseason finale, but lose 1st-round pick Harmon to knee injury
By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Skylar Thompson completed 11 of 13 passes for 152 yards including a 24-yard touchdown strike to Lance McCutcheon, rookie Ben Sauls kicked four field goals and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Carolina Panthers 19-10 on Thursday night in the preseason finale.
The Steelers played a handful of starters on both sides of the ball, while the Panthers rested all of theirs and several top reserves.
Getting some players extra preseason reps may have backfired on Steelers coach Mike Tomlin as defensive end Derrick Harmon, the team’s first-round draft pick, was carted to the locker room with a knee injury in the first half. Harmon, the 21st pick in the draft, did not return.
The Steelers had no immediate update on the seriousness of the injury, but Harmon left the field with tears in his eyes and a towel draped over his head.
Thompson entered the game in the second quarter in relief of Mason Rudolph, who started with Aaron Rodgers sitting out. Thompson, who started one game last season for the Miami Dolphins, completed his first five passes for 72 yards, including a perfectly-placed over-the-shoulder pass to McCutcheon in the left corner of the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
Thompson also connected on a 53-yard strike to Scotty Miller, who finished with 82 yards on three receptions.
Rudolph finished 6 of 8 for 36 yards, including an interception on an overthrow.
Jack Plummer, playing in place of Bryce Young and the injured Andy Dalton, started slow for the Panthers with a red-zone interception on Carolina’s third possession after escaping pressure in the pocket. But he battled back to complete 7 of 14 passes for 48 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown toss to a wide-open James Mitchell in the corner of the end zone to tie it at 10 before halftime.
Carolina struggled in the second half under recently signed quarterback Bryce Perkins, who turned the ball over on a sack-fumble by Yahya Black and failed to lead a scoring drive.
Warren makes debut
Running back Jaylen Warren made his preseason debut for the Steelers and had 3 yards rushing on two carries and 12 yards receiving on two catches. Warren is expected to start for the Steelers this season, although rookie Kaleb Johnson will push him for playing time.
Johnson had 24 yards on five carries.
Kicking battle
Ryan Fitzgerald made a 43-yard field goal and an extra point for the Panthers.
The rookie from Florida State is battling for a roster spot with journeyman Matthew Wright. The Panthers elected not to re-sign unrestricted free agent Eddy Pineiro. Despite being the NFL’s third-most accurate kicker ever at 88.1%, Pineiro has yet to land a spot with an NFL team.
Sauls made field goals of 38, 50, 49 and 28 yards.
Injuries
Steelers: Aside from Harmon, WR Brandon Johnson left in the first half with a foot injury.
Panthers: OLB Princely Umanmielen (shoulder), OT Ja’Tyre Carter (ankle) and RB Raheem Blackshear (ankle) sustained injuries.
Up next
Both teams open the season on the road Sept. 7, with the Steelers facing the Jets, and Panthers playing the Jaguars.
Hurricane Erin still stirring up dangerous waves while it moves away from the East Coast
By ALLEN G. BREED and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press
RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin kicked up big waves Thursday along the mid-Atlantic coast and began a slow march out to sea after pelting North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and swells that flooded a few places on the barrier islands.
The storm will continue to bring the threat of dangerous rip currents and coastal flooding into the weekend from the Carolinas to New England even as forecasters predict it will gradually weaken while moving farther away from the East Coast.
Damage assessments were still underway on the Outer Banks and more flooding could come during high tide Thursday evening, but it appeared the low-lying islands dodged widespread destruction during its initial brush with Erin on Wednesday.
Tropical storm warnings remained active along the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia and the island of Bermuda, where residents and tourists were told to stay out of the water through Friday.
New York and New England feel Erin’s impact
Coastal communities along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast may see tropical-storm-force wind gusts through early Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Beaches were closed to swimming Thursday in New York City, but that didn’t stop more than a dozen surfers from taking on the waves at Rockaway Beach in Queens. Scott Klossner, who lives nearby, said conditions were great for experienced surfers.
“You wait all year round for these kinds of waves. It’s challenging, really hard to stay in one place because there’s a heavy, heavy, heavy rip,” he said. “But this is what surfers want — a hurricane that comes but doesn’t destroy my house? I’ll take that.”
Off Massachusetts, Nantucket Island could see waves of more than 10 feet (3 meters) this week.
Authorities up and down the coast have been warning all week that rip currents from the storm could be deadly. Dozens were rescued from North Carolina’s Wrightsville Beach earlier this week.
Erin brings new threat of coastal erosion
Coastal erosion was a big worry in many beachfront communities. In North Carolina, waves were estimated as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters) Thursday morning, according to local weather reports.
The Outer Banks — essentially sand dunes sticking out of the ocean a few feet above sea level — are especially vulnerable. Storm surges can cut through the dunes, washing tons of sand and debris onto the road and sometimes breaking up pavement and creating new inlets.
But Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said one of their worst fears — new inlets — had not happened so far with Erin and there was no significant structural damage to any homes or businesses.
“All in all, it’s not as bad as it could have been,” Outten said. “Hopefully the worst of it is behind us.”
The Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, a volunteer group based in Buxton, said it received no calls for rescues Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Waves did break through dunes on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, closing parts of Highway 12, the area’s main route. Ocracoke’s connection to its ferry terminal was cut off.
Fishing and sight-seeing after the storm
On Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, where sustained winds reached 45 mph (72 kph) early Thursday, dozens who rode out the storm were taking photos of the huge waves crashing into the structure amid the driving rain.
“This is nature at her best,” David Alan Harvey of Nags Head said Thursday morning. “I love this. I love these storms.”
A few feet away, Sebastian Kettner was casting a line for red fish.
“Where there’s water, there’s fish,” he said as the wind howled. “And there’s a lot of water here.”
Erin remains a large hurricane as it heads out to sea
The storm has fluctuated in intensity since first forming nearly a week ago, but it’s still unusually large, stretching across more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) — twice as big as the average hurricane.
It remained a Category 2 storm late Thursday morning with maximum sustained winds around 100 mph (160 kph), the hurricane center said. Erin was about 285 miles (455 kilometers) east of Cape Hatteras.
The hurricane center was also watching two tropical disturbances far out in the Atlantic. With thousands of miles of warm ocean water, hurricanes known as Cape Verde storms are some of the most dangerous to North America.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press journalists Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.
NC State’s Dave Doeren enters Year 13 driven by milestones yet reached for the Wolfpack
By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — No one has won more games at N.C. State than Dave Doeren and only five coaches in the Bowl Subdivision ranks have been at their programs longer.
Yet Doeren enters his 13th season driven by milestones still unmet. After all, his teams have flirted reaching 10 wins or reaching the ACC title game in recent years.
“I had a lot of goals when I got here, and I’ve accomplished a lot of them,” Doeren said. “But there’s still … meat on the bone.”
N.C. State (6-7) is coming off a fifth straight bowl bid and 10th in the past 11 years under Doeren, a run that includes four nine-win seasons and three of those with 6-2 league records.
Yet securing only the second 10-win season has proven elusive, down to the Wolfpack’s 2021 shot ending when UCLA backed out of a matchup in the Holiday Bowl due to COVID-19 issues. So too with the first-ever bid to the ACC championship game, with the Wolfpack coming closest that same season.
This year, N.C. State is picked to finish 10th in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
Staff changes
Doeren has adjusted his coaching staff, hiring DJ Eliot as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after Tony Gibson left to become Marshall’s head coach. Doeren also fired Robert Anae as offensive coordinator after two uneven seasons and promoted Kurt Roper to that role in addition to keeping his duties overseeing quarterbacks. Roper has been on Doeren’s staff in Raleigh since 2019.
QB growth
Quarterback CJ Bailey was pressed into duty as a true freshman last year with transfer arrival Grayson McCall facing injuries that ultimately ended his career. He started nine games and threw for 2,413 yards with 17 touchdowns amid learning-on-the-job stress.
“When I first got in (against Louisiana Tech), I struggled, I threw an interception on my second drive,” Bailey said. “I was frustrated on the sideline because I know how good I am. I can’t make mistakes like that.”
Doeren said Bailey has improved his mentality as a returning starter.
“You’ve got to know how to bounce back from it,” Bailey said.
Returning threats
N.C. State returns its leading rusher in redshirt sophomore Hollywood Smothers, who ran for 571 yards and six touchdowns in a split backfield.
Top receiver KC Concepcion is gone, but tight end Justin Joly is a big target (43 catches, 661 yards, four TDs) while receiver Noah Rogers (35 catches, 478 yards, one TD) is a returning starter.
Defensive trouble
The Wolfpack ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense (20.0) and 20th in total defense (329.5 yards) over linebacker Payton Wilson’s last two seasons, according to Sportradar. N.C. State fell dramatically in both categories (30.2, 390.8) without him last year.
“It’s always hard to replace a player like him,” linebacker Caden Fordham said, adding: “I just think a couple of times last year when we faced a little bit of adversity, sometimes we kind of let it roll on longer than it should in situations.”
The schedule
The Wolfpack’s first six games are in North Carolina, first with a Thursday night visit from East Carolina (Aug. 28) in a testy instate series — including last year’s Military Bowl won by the Pirates in a meeting featuring a late brawl. There’s also an unusual nonconference game against ACC member Virginia (Sept. 6) that won’t count in the league standings as it was added outside the conference’s scheduling model.
The official ACC opener comes at Wake Forest (Sept. 11), while a trip to sixth-ranked Notre Dame (Oct. 11) tops a schedule capped by a visit from rival North Carolina (Nov. 29).
North Carolina begins its journey under Bill Belichick with a spotlight – and plenty of uncertainty
By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bill Belichick brings a résumé with six Super Bowl titles as an NFL head coach to his first foray into college coaching at North Carolina.
His arrival was something of a spectacle, one teeming with pressure for a team that will play under a spotlight tied to Belichick’s mere presence on the sideline.
“For all of us, it’s control what we can control,” Belichick said as the Tar Heels opened preseason camp. “Whoever’s here or isn’t here, that’s out of our control. We have a job to do. We have a lot of work to accomplish.”
Change is afoot, from Belichick’s staff featuring sons Steve and Brian as assistants along with former NFL executive Michael Lombardi as general manager, to 70 new players since the school parted ways with longtime coach Mack Brown last year. It is all part of UNC’s bet on elevating its football program, including signing the 73-year-old Belichick to a five-year deal — with the first three years guaranteed at $10 million in base and supplemental salary.
“He’s coached at the highest level,” receiver Jordan Shipp said. “He’s coached the greatest players of all time. So it’s just like, you want to do what he’s telling you to do. … It’s worked for so people, so why wouldn’t it work for me?”
The first payoffs have come with off-field attention, such as his debut being a Labor Day game in a college version of Monday night football, or having a 2026 game in Ireland. Those types of benefits, along with selling out all season and single-game tickets, were expected.
On the field? Things are more unclear. The Tar Heels (6-7 last year) are picked to finish eighth in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out there and play football,” said defensive back Thaddeus Dixon, a transfer who played under Steve Belichick at Washington. “He can’t make no plays.”
QB focus
South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez entered camp as the expected front-runner to become the starting quarterback after committing in the spring. The 6-foot redshirt sophomore threw for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns while also running for 463 yards and seven scores last year.
“All I can prove is if we put a W in the column, then I’m fine with that,” Lopez said, “That’s all that matters to me.”
The Tar Heels also have senior Max Johnson, who has battled back from a serious leg injury in last year’s opener against Minnesota, along with freshmen Bryce Baker and Au’Tori Newkirk.
Following Hampton
Omarion Hampton was UNC’s engine last year, running for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns to become a second-team Associated Press All-American and the 22nd overall pick in the NFL draft.
There’s no obvious successor, either.
Fifth-year senior Caleb Hood is back with 471 career yards rushing, while Davion Gause ran for 326 yards last year as a freshman backup to Hampton. The Tar Heels also have a returnee in Charleston French (84 yards last year), Michigan transfer Benjamin Hall (141 career yards) and four freshmen.
Improvement needed
Belichick’s defensive background would in theory help reverse long-running defensive problems in Chapel Hill going back to Larry Fedora’s final two coaching seasons. From 2017-24, UNC ranks 96th nationally among Bowl Subdivision teams in scoring defense (29.5) and 102nd in total defense (411.0), according to Sportradar.
UNC defensive coordinator Steve Belichick oversaw a defense at Washington that allowed 23.8 points and 328.4 yards per game last year.
The schedule
Belichick’s debut comes against TCU on Labor Day, while the ACC opener is a visit from the preseason league favorite in fourth-ranked Clemson (Oct. 4).
The Tar Heels have their first cross-country league trip with a Friday night visit to California (Oct. 17), then close the schedule with instate opponents: at Wake Forest (Nov. 15), home against Duke (Nov. 22) and at N.C. State (Nov. 29).
Tariffs aren’t keeping Walmart from attracting shoppers and outpacing Target
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. powered through an uncertain economic environment and tariff concerns to deliver solid second-quarter financial results Thursday, showing it keeps pulling in shoppers and outpacing peers like Target.
The nation’s largest retailer reported a 4.6% quarterly increase in comparable sales — those coming from established stores and online channels. Company executives said Walmart was attracting customers, particularly higher-income shoppers who may have avoided its stores in the past, with fast deliveries, grocery discounts and trendier clothes.
The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, also raised its annual profit and sales outlook.
Walmart’s results differed notably from those of rival Target, which on Wednesday reported another quarter of comparable sales declines. The Minneapolis-based company has struggled to find its footing as customers defect to Walmart and other stores where they think they will find greater bargains and increasingly, the same or better merchandise.
Target’s board of directors named a 20-year company veteran on Wednesday to succeed CEO Brian Cornell when he steps down after 11 years in early 2026.
Walmart said its profitable e-commerce operations, advertising revenue and selection of products with high profit margins have given it flexibility to absorb extra costs from the range of tariffs President Donald Trump has put on foreign products.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors Thursday that the impact of tariffs also has been gradual enough to mute changes in consumer spending behavior. When the discounter raised prices on certain items, it’s observed lower- and middle-income customers trading down to lower-priced options or foregoing purchases, he said.
The company will continue to see its costs increase as it replenishes inventory at post-tariff price levels, McMillion said.
“We’re doing what we said we would do,” he said. “We’re keeping our prices as low as we can for as long as we can. Our merchants have been creative and acted with urgency to avoid what would have been additional pressure for our customers and members.”
A growing list of companies, including Procter & Gamble, E.lf. Cosmetics, Black & Decker and Ralph Lauren, told investors in recent weeks that they planned to or already had raised prices because of tariffs, though modestly.
None of that has derailed consumer spending. Shoppers spent at a healthy pace in July, particularly at the nation’s auto dealerships, as signs emerged that President Donald Trump’s trade policies were taking a toll on jobs.
Some of that spending may have been shoppers buying furniture and other imported items to get ahead of expected price increases, analysts said.
On Tuesday, Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, reported improved sales during its latest quarter as consumers remained focused on smaller projects. Like Walmart, Home Depot’s performance missed Wall Street’s expectations.
The Atlanta-based company also said shoppers should expect modest price increases in some categories as a result of additional costs from tariffs, which are taxes on imports. Home Depot reported comparable sales increase of 1.4% in line with what home improvement rival Lowe’s reported on Wednesday.
But it’s Walmart that serves as a barometer of spending given its outsized power in American retailing. The company maintains that 90% of U.S. households rely on Walmart for a range of products, and more than 150 million customers shop on its website or in its stores every week.
Walmart said in May that prices had started to increase in late April and got higher in May. But it said Thursday that it had introduced 7,400 price rollbacks, or temporary discounts, across the aisles in the latest quarter.
The company said it earned $7.03 billion, or 88 cents per share, for the three-month period that ended July 31. That compares with $4.50 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.
Sales rose nearly 5% to $177.4 billion. Walmart’s 4.6% growth in U.S. comparable sales during the second quarter was slightly higher than its first-quarter gain of 4.5%. Groceries and health and wellness items fueled the growth, the company said.
Global e-commerce sales rose 25%, above the 22% growth in the first quarter.
The retailer said roughly one-third of deliveries from its U.S. stores in recent weeks were orders requesting delivery in three hours or less, and 20% of those orders made it to customers in a half-hour or under.
Despite Walmart’s solid quarter, its stock price was down 5% in early afternoon trading as its earnings per share came in below what analysts had expected. Analysts were expecting 73 cents per share on sales of $175.93 billion for the quarter, according to FactSet.
Per share results, excluding effects of charges related to certain legal matters and from business restructuring, was 68 cents, Walmart said.
One $450 million expense was tied to settlements over worker and shopper injury claims, Walmart said. A company spokesperson said the cost per claim was increasing but not the total number.
For the year, Walmart raised its per-share estimates to a range of $2.52 to $2.62, up from a previous estimate of $2.50 to $2.60. It said 2025 sales are anticipated to increase 3.75% to 4.75%, more than it projected in May.
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump
By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Thursday threw out the massive financial penalty a state judge imposed on President Donald Trump, while narrowly upholding a finding he engaged in fraud by exaggerating his wealth for decades. The ruling spares Trump from a potential half-billion-dollar fine but bans him and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years.
Trump, in a social media post, claimed “total victory.”
“I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State,” he wrote.
The decision came seven months after the Republican returned to the White House. A sharply divided panel of five judges in New York’s mid-level Appellate Division couldn’t agree on many issues raised in Trump’s appeal, but a majority said the monetary penalty was “excessive.”
After finding Trump flagrantly padded financial statements that went to lenders and insurers, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum has topped $515 million. Additional penalties levied on some other Trump Organization executives, including Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. — bring the total to $527 million, with interest.
An ‘excessive’ fine
“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of three opinions shaping the appeals court’s ruling.
Engoron’s other punishments, upheld by the appeals court, have been on pause during Trump’s appeal, and the president was able to hold off collection of the money by posting a $175 million bond.
The court, which split on the merits of the lawsuit and Engoron’s fraud finding, dismissed the penalty in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for an appeal to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. Trump and his co-defendants, the judges wrote, can seek to extend the pause on any punishments taking effect.
The panel was sharply divided, issuing 323 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions with no majority. Rather, some judges endorsed parts of their colleagues’ findings while denouncing others, enabling the court to rule.
Two judges wrote that they felt New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump and his companies was justifiable and that she had proven her case but the penalty was too severe. One wrote that James exceeded her legal authority in bringing the suit, saying that if any of Trump’s lenders felt cheated, they could have sued him themselves, and none did. One judge wrote that Engoron erred by ruling before the trial began that the attorney general had proved Trump engaged in fraud.
In his portion of the ruling, Judge David Friedman, who was appointed to the court by Republican Gov. George Pataki, was scathing in his criticism of James for bringing the lawsuit.
“Plainly, her ultimate goal was not ‘market hygiene’ … but political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business,” Friedman wrote. “The voters have obviously rendered a verdict on his political career. This bench today unanimously derails the effort to destroy his business.”
In a statement, James focused on the part of the case that went her way, saying the court had “affirmed the well-supported finding of the trial court: Donald Trump, his company, and two of his children are liable for fraud.”
“It should not be lost to history: yet another court has ruled that the president violated the law, and that our case has merit,” James said.
The appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, took an unusually long time to rule, weighing Trump’s appeal for nearly 11 months after oral arguments last fall. Normally, appeals are decided in a matter of weeks or a few months.
Claims of politics at play
Trump and his co-defendants denied wrongdoing. At the conclusion of the civil trial in January 2024, Trump said he was “an innocent man” and the case was a “fraud on me.” The Republican has repeatedly maintained the case and the verdict were political moves by James and Engoron, both Democrats.
Trump’s Justice Department has subpoenaed James for records related to the lawsuit, among other documents, as part of an investigation into whether she violated the president’s civil rights. James’ personal attorney Abbe D. Lowell has said investigating the fraud case is “the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”
Trump and his lawyers said his financial statements weren’t deceptive, since they came with disclaimers noting they weren’t audited. The defense also noted bankers and insurers independently evaluated the numbers, and the loans were repaid.
Despite such discrepancies as tripling the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, he said the financial statements were, if anything, lowball estimates of his fortune.
During an appellate court hearing last September, Trump’s lawyers argued that many of the case’s allegations were too old and that James had misused a consumer protection law to sue Trump over private business transactions that were satisfactory to those involved.
State attorneys said that while Trump insists no one was harmed by the financial statements, his exaggerations led lenders to make riskier loans and that honest borrowers lose out when others game their net worth numbers.
Legal obstacles
The civil fraud case was just one of several legal obstacles for Trump as he campaigned, won and segued to a second term as president.
On Jan. 10, he was sentenced in his criminal hush money case to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, leaving his conviction on the books but sparing him jail, probation, a fine or other punishment. He is appealing the conviction.
And in December, a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s finding that Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, affirming a $5 million judgment against him. The appeals court declined in June to reconsider. Trump still can try to get the Supreme Court to hear his appeal.
Trump also is appealing a subsequent verdict that requires him to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamation claims.
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North Carolina updates more than 20,000 voter records, seeks more ID numbers
By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Voter registration records for more than 20,000 people in North Carolina have been successfully amended thus far in an effort by election officials to add missing identification numbers.
In mid-July, the State Board of Elections began formally an effort that seeks to resolve a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department that focused on voter registration records that lacked either a voter’s driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Federal and state laws have directed that election officials must request this ID information since 2004 of new registrants, but for about a decade the state’s registration form failed to make clear that voters were supposed to provide it if they had it.
A ” Registration Repair Project” supported by the now Republican-controlled state board — flipped from a Democratic majority in the spring — created a public online database with the names of 103,270 registrants the lacking the numerical identifiers. They were asked to provide an ID number through the Division of Motor Vehicles website or by visiting their county election board offices. County election officials also have conducted research to update records.
As of Monday, the registrants on the list had fallen 20% to 82,540, an election board news release said.
As planned, the board is now sending letters to those who haven’t already acted and offered a numerical ID, or have yet to indicate that they have neither a driver’s license nor a Social Security number. The letter recipients are being told they can mail in their ID number with postage-paid return envelopes provided, in addition to the DMV and in-person options.
“It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s free,” board Executive Director Sam Hayes said, adding that taking action now will “avoid any issues the next time they show up to vote.”
People on the list who don’t provide the information will have to vote provisionally the next time they cast a ballot — meaning their ballots may not count in some state and local races without correct ID information. Municipal elections will be held starting next month. The board release said that paper and electronic voter rolls will flag these voters so they vote with a provisional ballot and provide missing information for their ballot to count.
The missing numerical IDs led to other complaints and litigation leading to the 2024 elections and played a prominent part in a very close judicial race. U.S. attorneys have contended that accurate registration rolls help ensure fair and reliable election results. Many Democrats said these voters are already being scrutinized because they already have to show a photo ID to vote like everyone else.
North Carolina has 7.57 million registered voters and is considered a perpetual battleground state. Close elections could be affected if registrants cast ballots that ultimately aren’t counted.
Another mailing will go out at a later date to close to 100,000 additional voters whose records also lack the identifiers but will be allowed to continue casting regular ballots because there’s evidence, for example, that they supplied a number or an alternate ID as allowed under the law.
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This story has been updated to clarify that laws have directed that election officials must request ID information since 2004 of new registrants.
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
In need of a sweet treat? This super easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies hits the spot every time!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips of your choice
Instructions
1. Preheat oven and heat butter
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. Then, microwave the butter for about 30 seconds, just until melted.
2. Make the dough
Mix the granulated sugar and the brown sugar into the butter. Then, add the egg and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Then, add the flour, baking soda and salt to the mixture and combine. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips to complete the dough.
3. Shape cookies
Scoop between 1 and 2 tbsp. of dough per cookie and spread them out about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Try to make the scoops as evenly as possible.
4.Bake the cookies
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees f for about 8-10 minutes.
5. Enjoy!
Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes, then get cozy to enjoy the delicious treat and amazing smell.
August 21st 2025
Thought of the Day
An apology is the best way to hae the last word in an argument.