Free Republic

Voters in the Coastal Plains of North Carolina are on track for new congressional maps in the 2026 midterms. The 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts are changed from the 2024 presidential cycle in the map redrawn this fall by the Legislature. On Wednesday, Justices Allison Jones Rushing, Richard Myers and Thomas Schroeder in a 57-page opinion concluded plaintiffs did not make a “clear showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of any of the claims advanced in their preliminary injunction motions” and denied the request for a preliminary injunction. Filing for the 2026 midterms begins Monday. Rushing...

The upbeat, Spanish music still floats through the aisles of Sav/Way Foods, the Latino supermarket in the heart of the bustling and boisterous Plaza Midwood neighborhood. But at 8:30 on a chilly morning this week, the songs on the loudspeakers are about all the Spanish you hear. “It’s been really, really slow,” says employee Bella Duran as a half-dozen shoppers silently mill about the store. “A lot of our customers have been scared to come out.” Some patrons now afraid to leave their homes are taking Sav/Way up on its offer of free home delivery. Inside the store, rows of...

A southern city, Charlotte N.C., is emerging as a human trafficking hotspot due to its convergence of highways, demand for cheap agricultural labor and gang activity. Data found 106 minors were trafficked in Charlotte last year, about half of whom were aged 15 or younger. This was nearly double the 45 to 60 children identified annually between 2018 and 2022, figures from the city's Metro Human Trafficking Task Force showed. Statewide, the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NCTH) recorded 301 human‑trafficking cases in North Carolina in 2024, involving 580 victims. The vast majority of last year’s cases were sex trafficking, but...

Federal law enforcement officials were sent to North Carolina’s largest city, while many National Guard members deployed to Chicago and Portland are being sent home.The Department of Homeland Security has begun law enforcement operations in Charlotte, federal officials said Saturday, the latest Democratic-run city to brace for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.“We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in an email. “There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens, and President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect...

When the show’s over, what federal agents will leave behind is predictable. All the president’s men are coming to Charlotte. After several days of rumors, federal officials confirmed to local leaders in North Carolina that, indeed, Border Patrol agents will be conducting operations in the state’s largest city. I used to live in Charlotte. I still have a lot of friends and family there. I’m told Donald Trump is coming to save them, but from what? We don’t know. If Charlotte residents are living in terror — other than the terror President Trump has created by frightening the city’s...

Scout Motors, an emerging automotive manufacturer, is bringing its headquarters to Charlotte, employing 1,200 workers by 2030. The headquarters, which will be located in the Commonwealth development in Plaza Midwood, will serve as the central hub for leadership and innovation. The move announced Wednesday represents a capital investment of nearly $207 million. The Charlotte headquarters will serve as the home base for executive leadership, research and development, finance, IT, sales, marketing and other key corporate functions. The average salary is $172,878, well above the market average.

The New North Carolina plant is aimed at selling more hybrid cars and trucks to AmericansLIBERTY, N.C.—Toyota, a longtime hybrid car and truck promoter, is making one of the industry’s biggest bets on green transportation and opening a $14 billion battery plant here. For years, Toyota held out against electric vehicles while rivals retrofitted factories and launched models in preparation for an all-electric future. Now that the EV market in the U.S. is vanishing as tax credits expire and sales disappoint, Toyota is doubling down on its hybrid strategy. The Japanese automaker’s gamble: that American consumers—many of whom won’t touch...

The US Coast Guard dramatically pulled five sailors to safety after their boat went down in choppy waters hundreds of miles off the coast of North Carolina. The five men, who were aboard the sailboat 'Magic Bus', issued a mayday call on Thursday after their boat began sinking. The North Carolina Command Center scrambled an immediate response to the group some 260 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras as the sailors abandoned their boat. The cutter Angela McShan (WPC 1135), along with an HC-130 Hercules aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter were deployed from Air Station Elizabeth City as part of...

A North Carolina kart racing national champion was murdered in front of his fiancée during a violent home invasion by two suspected career criminals who were captured 10 days after the “targeted” attack. Tyler Weaver, 25, was found dead on the floor of his Forest City home on Oct. 24, when police responded to the rural house following reports of a break-in just before 10 a.m., officials said. Weaver and his fiancée, Nevaeh Quintero, were inside when the suspects allegedly broke in and opened fire, according to WLOS. Weaver, who twice won the 2018 Maxxis Kart Racing National Championship, was...

A North Carolina home invasion left a national kart racing champion dead — gunned down in front of his fiancée in a late-morning break-in last month, according to authorities. Tyler Weaver, 25, suffered fatal gunshot wounds in what the local police chief called a "targeted" robbery that took place around 10 a.m. on Oct. 24, according to the Forest City Police Department. Weaver's fiancée, Nevaeh Quintero, was held at gunpoint but managed to escape and call 911, according to court documents. The suspects are both repeat offenders who avoided capture for 10 days before authorities caught up with them. They...

Citing frustrations with persistent crime, a trio of North Carolina lawmakers is urging Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to deploy the National Guard in Charlotte, saying the state of the city has become "increasingly dire." "Recently, the city faced eight homicides in seven days. The murder rate in uptown Charlotte is now 200% higher than it was a year ago," the letter states. "According to the Fraternal Order of Police, aggravated assaults involving knives or guns have risen from 86 in 2024 to 111 in 2025, and personal strong-arm robberies have increased from 26 to 31 in the same period." Rep....

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, cruised to reelection Tuesday, capturing more than 70% of the vote over Republican challenger Terrie Donovan, with nearly all ballots counted, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The result extends Democrats’ long dominance in North Carolina’s largest city, which hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since former Gov. Pat McCrory left office in 2009, according to WFAE.

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are prepared to bolt from the Big Apple if socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins Tuesday’s mayoral race — potentially setting the stage for the largest population flight in US history, an alarming new poll warned early Monday. Around 765,000 people of the 8.4 million residents who call New York City home are preparing to leave, with about 9% of New Yorkers sharing that they would “definitely” leave the city if Mamdani is elected the 111th mayor, the Daily Mail reported, citing a survey conducted by J.L. Partners. If those residents were to leave, it...

A suspected homicide near a Charlotte light-rail station rekindled crime fears that have plagued officials since the August gruesome caught-on-video murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Zephaniah Adewale Little Rivers, 23, was found at about 6:30 p.m. Monday near the Norfolk Southern train tracks with a gunshot wound. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Preliminary reports indicated the shooting followed an altercation at a nearby business and that the victim did not know the suspect. Authorities have not named a suspect. The crime scene is near the Archdale light-rail station...

New congressional district boundaries in eastern North Carolina counties received final legislative approval Wednesday, a week after the public first saw the new map. State Republicans drew the plan at the behest of President Donald Trump. It seeks to make what is now the state’s only toss-up district unwinnable for a Democrat, bringing the state’s 14-member congressional delegation from 10 Republicans and four Democrats to 11 Republicans and three Democrats. The remaining Democratic districts are in the Triangle and in Charlotte. Trump has asked states under Republican control to change district boundaries to help elect more members of their party...

As Republicans across the country pursue new congressional maps to boost their party ahead of next year's midterm elections, Democrats are ramping up pressure on states where they can respond. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has held discussions with members of the Maryland delegation and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in recent weeks about possible mid-decade redistricting efforts, according to a source with knowledge of the conversations. The source also said Jeffries spoke with members of the Illinois delegation about drawing new district lines, as Politico first reported. Maryland has just one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, in its eight-member House...

A Charlotte, North Carolina, teenager with 111 arrests in just two years has once again been released, as the blue city wrestles with repeat offenders. During a Wednesday news conference, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) discussed the city’s latest crime stats. The city, according to the CMPD, experienced a 20% reduction in violent crime, which includes homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults, which encompass shootings. But amid the positivity, there is reason for alarm, with more than half of those arrested for violent crimes having prior arrests — including teens. One example is an unnamed 15-year-old with an astounding 111...

North Carolina Republican lawmakers announced plans Monday to redraw their state's congressional map, part of a nationwide redistricting effort aimed at shoring up the party's narrow majority in the U.S. House ahead of next year's midterm elections. “President Trump earned a clear mandate from the voters of North Carolina and the rest of the country, and we intend to defend it by drawing an additional Republican Congressional seat,” North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said in a statement. Under North Carolina's current map, Republicans control 10 House seats to Democrats' four. To give Republicans another seat, the GOP-controlled Legislature could...

When one thinks of the Democratic Party in 2025, most don’t think of compassion or relatability. Instead, anger is the first word that usually comes to mind. Here are ten examples of anger on display during Trump’s second term: “This dude [Ted Cruz] has to be knocked over the head, like, hard, right? Like, there is no niceties with him, like, at all!” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). “[Trump senior advisor] Stephen Miller needs to be THUMPED! That guy’s a freaking worm. I would be willing to go to jail for – I mean, how much [time] would I get...

A Democrat North Carolina state representative was arrested and charged on Wednesday in the statutory rape of a teen. Rep. Cecil Brockman who represents Guilford County is charged with two counts of indecent liberties with a child and two counts of statutory rape of a person 13 to 15 years of age, Fox 8 reported Thursday. The outlet said: Warrants allege that in August of this year, Brockman “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did commit and attempt to commit lewd and lascivious act” with a 15-year-old victim. … He was issued no bond upon arrest, and the magistrates order alleges that...