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A campaign billboard for a Raleigh city council candidate was spray painted with racist graffiti sometime Thursday night or Friday morning. A billboard for Zainab Baloch had the words “SAND N*****” and “TRUMP” with what also appeared to an attempt at a swastika painted on one side. The billboard is located in front of land being cleared for mosque on Louisburg Road just south of Interstate 540. Baloch said she is hurt by the incident but going to use this as a platform for discussion. “It was just emotional. It was disheartening. It hurt, especially because we’ve been working so...

Last Thursday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan unveiled a $9 billion project to widen three of the state’s most heavily trafficked highways: I-270, I-495—also known as the Capital Beltway—and MD-295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. What the governor’s office dubbed the Traffic Relief Plan involves constructing two express toll lanes each way—or four total toll lanes—to all three highways. Widening the Capital Beltway and the section of I-270 connecting the growing commuter-city of Frederick to Washington, D.C., would cost an estimated $7.6 billion, which the state expects to be financed via public-private partnerships: Private companies would build and maintain the new toll lanes,...

ASHEVILLE, NC (FOX Carolina) - Asheville Police said they detained a person of interest after an explosive device was found at the Asheville Regional Airport. Michael Christopher Estes, 46, was detained Saturday morning along Airport Road after federal authorities said a tipster recognized him. Authorities told FOX Carolina that a suspicious device was found on a curb outside the airport's baggage claim area Friday morning. Police later confirmed the package was, in fact, explosive and had been rendered safe by the bomb squad. The airport was briefly evacuated, but the terminal reopened just before 9 a.m. The FBI released a statement about...

LINCOLNTON, N.C. - Members of VFW Post 1706 in Lincolnton burned the jerseys of players they think disrespect the U.S. flag. "I'm not sorry. I done it and I'll do it again," Burnell Tipton said. Tipton was a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers until this year. On Saturday, he burned his Ben Roethlisberger jersey because the quarterback previously refused to come out on the field during the national anthem. Julius Peppers protested the same way. Another VFW member joined Tipton by burning the Carolina Panthers defensive end's jersey. "It's fine if you want to protest," Tipton said. "But there's...

The N.C. Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has suggested the recent desecration of a grave in Bladen County might have been a protest against Confederate heritage, and is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the vandalism. Maj. Larry Guyton of the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office said that a man cutting the grass at Mount Horeb Presbyterian Church, near Elizabethtown in Bladen County, discovered the damage to the grave of a Confederate Army soldier on Monday and called police.“Someone had dug down into a grave,” Guyton said, creating a hole 2 to 3 feet...

Like an offensive coordinator attempting to find the right way to break through a defensive line, the NFL has called for a number of plays in its efforts to accommodate both their players who feel compelled to protest during the national anthem and their increasingly angry fans. These efforts have ranged from having the players stand together with locked arms during the anthem, to keeping players in the locker room until the anthem is over, and even to having the team kneel before – rather than during – the anthem’s playing. However, none of these tactics have been completely successful,...

In his remarks at the Henderson County public library, Mike Faulkenberry, state director of the N.C. Convention of States Project, asked a crowd of about 80 people whether they felt the federal government is “doing just a bang-up job.” None raised their hand to answer yes. He asked whether they felt the federal government gets carried away sometimes, but for the most part does pretty well in areas such as taxes and regulations, and again none answered yes. But when he asked who felt the federal government “is completely out of control,” hands went up across the room. The Convention...

The University of North Carolina, Charlotte, offers a staggering 345 courses on the topic of diversity and social justice. The University of North Carolina, Charlotte released a list of their “Diversity Courses” that spans 21 pages and covers academic disciplines such as Religious Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Languages and Culture Studies, and Africana Studies. Although it’s unclear why UNC Charlotte needs so many “Diversity Courses,” Associate Dean Shawn Long says that the topics discussed in such courses are beneficial to all of the members of the school’s community. “When we consider the concept of diversity, broadly speaking, we mean...

Four years ago, one of China’s largest agricultural importers sent representatives to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., hoping that meetings with elite party officials might yield business opportunities. The company, the Dandong Port Group, was particularly focused on the governors in attendance, according to an interview with Dandong’s general counsel broadcast by Chinese state television. But now, the company’s widening influence is coming under scrutiny by federal prosecutors, who are examining the relationship between Dandong’s wealthy and connected chairman, Wang Wenliang, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, a Democrat who was elected in 2013. A federal law enforcement...

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is hosting a discussion group to help men “shift the culture of masculinity toward more non-violent norms.” The UNC Men’s Project, which launched in 2013, will host a 10-week discussion group this semester to “increase men’s involvement in gender equity and violence prevention,” and examine how masculinity has "contributed to the perpetration of violence in our society.”

Let’s start with a caveat from one of the authors of The Intercept’s story, just so we’re clear on what *isn’t* being alleged. very very important: there’s nothing in the NSA report indicating the actual voting machines or vote tabulations were compromised— Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) June 5, 2017 Was that the goal, though? The piece is long and difficult to excerpt so I’ll try to summarize. According to the NSA (CBS has confirmed that this is indeed a real NSA report), last August Russia’s military intelligence unit — the GRU — hacked into a software company, likely VR Systems...

My identity is complex. I am not American. I am not Mexican...I am stuck in the middle somewhere. ... I remember asking my teachers in elementary school if they could help me get a Social Security number. ...As I grew older, there were things that my parents cautioned me against “porque no eres Americana” – because you’re not American...Be wary of who you trust, porque no eres Americana. You never know who could turn you in. Be wary on the road, porque no eres Americana. A routine traffic stop could change your life completely. Be wary of your surroundings, porque...

Students are threatening to sue the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it does not remove a Confederate statue from campus. According to The Daily Tar Heel, an attorney from the New York law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner—known for representing Vice President Al Gore in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case—made the threat Wednesday in a letter sent to Chancellor Carol Folt, the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, UNC President Margaret Spellings, and the UNC Board of Governors on behalf of the UNC Black Law Students Association (BLSA), its faculty advisor...

Vi Lyles pulled off an upset Tuesday in the Democratic primary for mayor with 46% of the vote, putting incumbent Jennifer Roberts out of a job. By surpassing 40%, Lyles avoided a runoff and will face City Council colleague Kenny Smith in the November general election.

Duke University is recruiting male students for a nine-week program that pledges to “destabilize masculine privilege” and “interrogate masculinity.” The program, known as the Duke University Men’s Project, seeks to help men examine how their masculinities exist “often in toxic ways” while beginning “the work of unlearning violence.”

Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System's Life Flight helicopter crashed Friday in North Carolina, killing four people, according to UPI. Authorities told WTVD the helicopter was headed back to Durham-based Duke Medical Center from Elizabeth City-based Sentara Albemarle Medical Center. The helicopter was transporting a patient in need of critical care. "With deep sorrow we can confirm that a Duke Life Flight helicopter crashed early this afternoon near Belvedere, N.C. We are in the process of directly confirming information related to this incident and will share more information as it becomes available," said Duke Health Officials, according to UPI. The...

Traditionally Free Republic has tried to keep truly important topics to one or two threads. I am creating a prayer and comment thread to parallel the Irma threads and keep down the childlike quips that are slowing down the other threads. Have a religious comment? Have a relative in need of prayer? Please post it here. The other threads are slow enough with all the graphics, which becomes more important as people try to evacuate, moving to cell and tablet communication. So please play nice and move discussions here.

Dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Irma had a devastating impact on islands in the Caribbean. Hurricane and Storm surge watches were issued Thursday morning for South Florida. The Florida Keys began evacuating visitors and residents, followed by flood zones in Miami and Miami Beach. Sarasota FL declared a local state of emergency Thursday morning. Polk County FL Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday that law enforcement authorities would check the identities of people who turn up at shelters--and take to jail anyone found to have an active arrest warrant. “If you go to a shelter for Irma and you have a warrant,...

While thoughts and prayers are with our Texas FRiends and neighbors, we are at the peak of the Atlantic Tropical Storm season. Hurricane Irma continues its trek from Cape Verde across the pond and toward the Hebert Box (see below). People with interests in the Southeastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico should be alert to the forecast path updates for this powerful storm. It is important to note that the average NHC track errors are about 175 and 225 statute miles at days 4 and 5, respectively. Hurricane Irma originally had a small wind field. In the past 24 hours,...

Big Upstate manufacturers stand ready to challenge Duke Energy if the Charlotte-based power company asks South Carolina regulators for permission to raise rates on its Upstate customers. Duke announced Aug. 25 that it planned to cancel decade-old plans to build the two-reactor Gaffney plant. Scott Elliott, a Columbia lawyer who specializes in utility regulation, has already picked out arguments he intends to make on behalf of manufacturing clients in opposition to the expected rate hike request. Elliott represents the S.C. Energy Users Committee, a group of manufacturers that buy a lot of electricity. The group includes big Upstate employers such...