Category Archives: Triangle/Local

North Carolina judge challenging outcome of race wore Confederate uniform in college photo

North Carolina judge challenging outcome of race wore Confederate uniform in college photo

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge challenging the outcome of his North Carolina Supreme Court race was photographed wearing Confederate military garb and posing before a Confederate battle flag when he was a member of a college fraternity that glorified the pre-Civil War South. The emergence of the photographs comes at a delicate time for Jefferson Griffin. The Republican appellate judge is seeking a spot on North Carolina’s highest court. Griffin is facing mounting criticism as he seeks to invalidate over 60,000 votes cast in last November’s election. He trails the Democratic incumbent by over 700 votes. The photographs obtained by The Associated Press were taken when he was a student at the University of North Carolina in the early 2000s. Griffin said he regrets wearing the Confederate uniform.… Continue Reading

North Carolina Senate majority leader to resign from chamber

North Carolina Senate majority leader to resign from chamber

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A top lieutenant to North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger is resigning from the chamber. A statement released Tuesday from Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton says he’s retiring effective Wednesday evening “to pursue an opportunity outside of state government.” His specific plans weren’t immediately released. The 64-year-old is a former Duke Energy state president in North Carolina from Cabarrus County who joined the Senate in 2017. He was elected majority leader after the 2022 elections. Republicans in his 34th Senate District will choose someone to fill his two-year term. Senate Republicans also will have to meet to pick a new majority leader.… Continue Reading

North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot

North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s highest court says a mother and son can sue a school system and a doctors’ group on allegations they gave the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent in 2021. The state Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower-court decision that declared a federal health emergency law blocked the litigation. The Supreme Court has ruled the law did not prevent lawsuits alleging violations under the state constitution. According to the litigation, Tanner Smith was 14 when he received the vaccination against his will at a Guilford County school clinic. Smith and his mother, Emily Happel, filed a lawsuit alleging claims of battery and that their constitutional rights were violated.… Continue Reading

North Carolina’s largest public university NC State names new chancellor

North Carolina’s largest public university NC State names new chancellor

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The University of North Carolina Board of Governors announced the next leader of North Carolina State University. Kevin Howell will be NC State’s next chancellor and will succeed Randy Woodson. Howell will become the first Black chancellor at NC State. He currently serves as chief external affairs officer for the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health. Woodson announced his retirement last year after serving as chancellor for nearly 15 years. There will be a lot on Howell’s plate when he assumes the chancellorship, including navigating a nationally turbulent time for universities’ research funding.… Continue Reading

North Carolina GOP town hall gets rowdy as attendees hurl scathing questions on Trump

North Carolina GOP town hall gets rowdy as attendees hurl scathing questions on Trump

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A town hall held by Rep. Chuck Edwards in Asheville, North Carolina, got rowdy as attendees asked a barrage of scathing questions about policies rolled out under President Donald Trump’s administration. House Speaker Mike Johnson has advised GOP representatives not to hold town halls, but Edwards told attendees he didn’t want to “shy away” from conversations. Many questions centered on sweeping cuts in the federal government at the hands of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Nearly every answer Edwards gave during the hour-and-a-half town hall was interrupted by jeers and enraged shouting.… Continue Reading

Tens of billions in Hurricane Helene aid to start by March 21

Tens of billions in Hurricane Helene aid to start by March 21

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has pledged to start paying out tens of billions in aid to victims of Hurricane Helene later this month. But delays are already making it hard this year for some farmers to plant crops. Congress set a deadline of March 21 to hand out the money when it passed a $100 billion disaster relief package. The September 2024 storm cut a swath from Florida into North Carolina, causing more than $10 billion in estimated damages to farmers. A Georgia farmer says farmers need aid to repay 2024 debts so they can borrow anew to plant crops this spring.… Continue Reading

Schools use AI to monitor kids, hoping to prevent violence. Our investigation found security risks

Schools use AI to monitor kids, hoping to prevent violence. Our investigation found security risks

Schools are turning to AI-powered surveillance technology to monitor students on school-issued devices like laptops and tablets. The goal is to keep children safe, especially amid a mental health crisis and the threat of school shootings. Machine-learning algorithms flag suspected problems like bullying, self-harm or suicide and then alert school officials. But these tools raise serious questions about privacy and security. When The Seattle Times and The Associated Press partnered to investigate school surveillance, reporters inadvertently received access to almost 3,500 unredacted student documents through a records request. The documents were stored without a password or firewall, and anyone with the link could read them.… Continue Reading

Bragg to Liberty and back again: Ceremony to rechristen Army post once named for a Confederate

Bragg to Liberty and back again: Ceremony to rechristen Army post once named for a Confederate

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — First it was Fort Bragg, named in honor of a Confederate general. Then it was Fort Liberty. Now, the North Carolina Army installation is officially Fort Bragg again, only this time in honor of a World War II paratrooper and Silver Star recipient from Maine. A ceremony Friday celebrated the post’s new namesake, Pfc. Roland L. Bragg. President Donald Trump made restoring Confederate names a part of his reelection campaign. While some call it a cynical dodge, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the rededication honors an American hero and restores a name that soldiers knew and revered for over a century.… Continue Reading

Lighter winds help crews fighting wildfires in South and North Carolina

Lighter winds help crews fighting wildfires in South and North Carolina

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Lighter winds in South Carolina and North Carolina are helping firefighters battle blazes that caused evacuations and threatened hundreds of homes over the weekend. Firefighters kept a large blaze near Myrtle Beach from destroying any homes despite social media videos of orange skies at night and flames engulfing pine trees just yards away. The danger wasn’t over Monday. South Carolina officials banned almost all outdoor fires, including burning yard debris and campfires. In western North Carolina, firefighters were setting blazes to burn fuel and contain a wildfire in Polk County.… Continue Reading

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