Free Republic

Emerald Isle, N.C. — One person drowned Wednesday afternoon after swimming near Emerald Isle, despite red flag conditions. Authorities said a 41-year-old man was pulled from the ocean near the 9000 block of Emerald Isle at about 2:30 p.m., but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Emergency personnel were called to four water rescues within less than one hour Wednesday afternoon as a result of people ignoring the red flag warnings, authorities said. Video from Emerald Isle showed beach-goers on Wednesday forming a human chain to rescue swimmers from the rough surf. It is unclear if the video was taken...

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The deadly season along North Carolina's coast continues as three people died after pulled from waters along the southeastern coast. Media outlets report the drownings occurred Saturday off Wrightsville Beach, Holden Beach and Sunset Beach. Coastline Rescue Chief David Robinson says a surfer pulled a 20-year-old man from the waters off Holden Beach. Robinson says officials believe the man got caught in a rip current.

Hillsborough, N.C. — Under the threat of rain, dozens of people gathered Saturday morning in Orange County to express their support for the Second Amendment and their right to carry guns. Over 200 people had expressed interest in the event, which was publicized by organizers via a Facebook.post. The event was held at the Old Orange County Courthouse and several speakers said they were strong advocates of the Second Amendment, which is enshrined in America's Bill of Rights. "Only the misuse of a gun is wrong," one of the speakers said. "I believe the majority of Americans do not want...

Powells Point, N.C. — Beach-goers in the Outer Banks got a powerful reminder of the dangers of the ocean after a man drowned Thursday. According to police, the drowning victim, Kenny Ray Gooch, 32, was from Powells Point and sacrificed himself to save his girlfriend’s son. “We heard screams of help in the water and we looked out and there were multiple people in the water, somewhat scattered,” one witness said. Southern Shores police said three teenage boys were swimming north of the Kitty Hawk Pier at about 8 p.m. Thursday when they got pulled too far out. Gooch jumped...

AUSTIN, Texas - Charlotte City Council Member-at-Large James Mitchell raised his fist in the air, and then hugged Councilman Ed Driggs. The crowd rose to its feet. The Republican National Committee, on Friday, officially named Charlotte as the host city for the 2020 Republican National Convention.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A white man who challenged a black family's use of a private community's pool has not only resigned from the homeowner's association board — he's also lost his job. Sonoco announced Friday that Adam Bloom is no longer employed by the packaging and industrial products company, saying it doesn't condone discrimination of any kind, even if it happens outside its workplace.

The accident happened on Highway 176 in Polk County while they were covering the impact of heavy rain in that area. Video: Polk County authorities give update on accident Tryon Fire Chief Geoffrey Tennant said the engine of the SUV was running and the transmission was in drive when authorities arrived at the scene about 2:30 p.m. He said the tree that fell on the SUV was about 3 feet in diameter and had stood back off the road. Tennant said the ground was saturated and the tree's root system failed.

Katelyn Self, a deputy with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, was killed at the Surf and Turf Lodge in Bessemer City, officials announced at a news conference Sunday afternoon. The second woman who died was identified by Fox 46 as Amanda Self. Investigators said that 62-year-old Roger Self, Katelyn Self's father, and reportedly Amanda Self's father-in-law, drove right into the restaurant -- apparently on purpose. The Gaston Gazette reported that restaurant staff claimed Roger Self went with his family to the restaurant and had them seated. The father then allegedly went outside and purposely drove his Jeep into the building.

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) -- A Raleigh family was terrorized by three masked and gloved gunmen who forced their way into an East Raleigh home, tied the family up, and robbed them. The victims are owners of three Chinese restaurants in Wake County. The home invasion robbery is the latest in a rash of robberies targeting Asian business owners in the Triangle. Jun Wang, 22, arrived at his home in Edgewater at Rogers Farm just before 11 p.m. Monday night to the surprise of his lifetime. He told ABC11, "My key was still in the door as I opened and they...

Raleigh When closing time nears, local Chinese restaurant owners say they must quickly decide whether to greet people approaching the entrance doors with a welcoming smile or a drawn gun. Their fears continue after they lock up for the night, checking their rear-view mirrors for headlights as they drive home. They want to make sure robbers aren't following them. Dozens of Chinese business owners in the Triangle say they have felt targeted by thieves for so long that they have turned to firearms, including AR-15 assault-style rifles, to defend their livelihoods and their families. About 100 small-business owners have banned...

*Primary elections will take place Tuesday in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and North Carolina. *Voters will choose challengers to vulnerable Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly in West Virginia and Indiana, respectively. *Parties will set their nominees for multiple competitive House races in Ohio and North Carolina. *In Ohio, both Republican and Democratic primaries for governor are competitive. A string of 2018 primary elections take place Tuesday, shaping elections that will help to determine which party holds the House and Senate after November's midterms. Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia will hold primaries Tuesday. Both West Virginia and...

A North Carolina jury awarded $50 million to neighbors of a 15,000-hog farm in Eastern North Carolina in a case being closely watched across the country by environmentalists and the hog farm industry. The verdict, revealed late Thursday after a jury deliberated less than two days, is the first to come in a series of federal lawsuits filed against Murphy-Brown/Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer. In this case decided in a federal courtroom in Raleigh, 10 neighbors contended that industrial-scale hog operations have known for decades that the open-air sewage pits on their properties were the source of noxious,...

A rare form of eye cancer has struck a group of people in two locations in North Carolina and Alabama, confounding medical experts who are trying to determine whether the cases are linked. Ocular melanoma typically affects 6 out of every 1 million people, but doctors have found dozens of cases where those affected have ties to either Huntersville, N.C., or Auburn, Ala. Many of those diagnosed attended Auburn University between 1983 and 2001 — at least three of them were friends. At least 38 people who went to Auburn have reported being diagnosed with the disease, according to a...

CHARLOTTE — Congressman Robert Pittenger said Friday that he wants U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to look into reports that schools are indoctrinating students with an anti-gun political agenda. His prime example: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ reaction to a principal’s videotaped remarks about gun culture, delivered during a student “walkout” at Collinswood Language Academy to demand safer schools. Student organizers and several parents said the comments, which interrupted a guest speaker, were inappropriate. In response to a Charlotte Observer query, CMS said that “appropriate actions have and will be taken to address concerns regarding this incident.” “Incident? An educator shared a different...

Durham The Durham Police Department arrested a 28-year-old man Friday in the fatal shooting of Durham restaurant owner Hong Zheng. Police charged Maurice Owen Wiley Jr. in the 600 block of East Ellerbee Street on Friday morning. He is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, attempted first-degree-burglary, and six counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle/residence. In addition, Wiley was charged with five offenses from a domestic-violence case in Durham last year and assault by strangulation in connection with a domestic-violence case in Wake County. He was also charged with two...

The fatal shooting of Chinese restaurant owner Hong Zheng in Durham last weekend resonated with Lawrence Yoo, the son of first-generation Korean immigrants, whose parents were robbed numerous times in Philadelphia. “This hits home for me,” he said. Yoo, pastor of Durham County's Waypoint Church, says many Asian immigrants keep a low profile in America and don't want to be seen as stirring up or getting mixed up in trouble. But trouble seeks them out, Yoo said. “I can walk into any largely Asian church … and easily find businessmen and women who have robbed before, in minutes.” After Zheng,...

The shooting, the family said, was an attempted robbery that unfolded as Shirley Chan and Hong Zheng returned home from work. It was the fifth time that someone had tried to rob or break into their home since 2015. The family believes they are among a group of Asians who are being targeted because they own restaurants and people think they have money, they said. ... It was pouring rain on Sunday night when Chan and Zheng pulled into their driveway. There two children, Jade and Eastern, 16, were watching in the house for them to return, a routine they...

Harry Anderson, best known for his leading role in the “Night Court” sitcom in the ‘80s, died Monday morning at his home in Asheville, police officials said. Police were called to Anderson’s home before 8 a.m., according to Christina Hallingse, Asheville police public information officer.

A white North Carolina Democratic candidate brushed aside questions earlier this week about ensuring diversity in his state by saying he is a member of the black community. House of Representatives candidate Gary Shipman said he doesn’t need to worry about diversity because he has already experienced it as a member of the African-American community, reported The News & Observer Wednesday.

**SNIP** At the same time, the fourth generation law enforcement officer with 23 years experience carries a badge and a gun. "My mindset is first and foremost the safety of these children," he said. Dare County is one of just four districts among North Carolina's 115 to have a resource officer in every school, said Michael Anderson, community development and training manager for the N.C. Center for Safer Schools, part of the state's Department of Public Instruction. Expense, district size and lack of resources often prevent placing officers in elementary schools, he said.