Free Republic

Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown told reporters Thursday morning she won't resign after being federally indicted with her daughters. "Why would I resign," Brown said. "I haven't been convicted of anything." Why it matters: Brown, who represents District 3 in west Charlotte, plans to run again later this year. Catch up quick: Federal prosecutors indicted Brown on wire fraud charges, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In a release Thursday morning, prosecutors described Brown and her daughters' alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain federal money during the pandemic. The intrigue: In the indictment, prosecutors...

The federal authorities want to know who decapitated a dolphin that had been stranded on an island off the coast of North Carolina last month, and they are offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that could help them find out. The 8-foot long bottlenose dolphin was found dead on Lea-Hutaff Island, N.C., on April 15, according to a statement from the Office of Law Enforcement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The reward notice included a photo of the dolphin, which was missing its head, as it lay on the shore of the remote, undeveloped barrier...

PORTLAND, Me. — Miss Congeniality, Jordon Hudson is not. Bill Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend fell short yet again in the Miss Maine beauty pageant, placing third Sunday — and she couldn’t hide her disappointment. Hudson — who came in second in the contest last year — once again didn’t have quite the stuff to strut all the way to the crown.

In defending the Biden DOJ's lawfare against his own constituents, Sen. Thom Tillis not only could sink interim DC US Attorney Ed Martin's confirmation but end ongoing investigations at the office. At the heart of the systemically corrupt Department of Justice beats the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Nearly every politically-driven prosecution in Washington starts and ends there: for example, the first official act of Matthew Graves, the Biden appointed DC US Attorney, was to hand up a criminal indictment against Trump confidant Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress in November 2021. The office is...

A leftwing school board member in North Carolina exploded in rage when a fellow member made a motion to start meetings with an invocation. “How much prayer do you need,” said Pam Escobar, a member of the Cabarrus County School Board. “How much God do you need?” Melanie Freeman, a newcomer to the school board, told me that it’s important to start meetings by seeking God’s wisdom. She ran for office by declaring her faith in God and she was determined to reinstate the pre-meeting prayer. “I knew there would be resistance, because any time you put back something that...

Three illegal immigrants have been arrested and charged in connection with the kidnapping of a young North Carolina mother and her baby. Two suspects were arrested on Tuesday, while a third was arrested on Friday. Per WRAL, siblings Paola Duran Duran, 25, and Miguel Angel Duran Duran, 23, were taken into custody by authorities on Tuesday and have been charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count of second-degree kidnapping each. 35-year-old Eleodoro "Leo" Estrada-Hernandez was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday morning and has been charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count of...

One person was killed and six injured during an overnight shooting at Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black university in North Carolina. The shooting took place in the early hours of Sunday morning at the center of campus following events for “Viking Fest,” a week of school spirit events, according to a statement from the university. A 24-year-old man, who was not an Elizabeth City State University student, was killed, according to the statement. His identity is being withheld until his next of kin can be notified. Additionally, six people were injured, four of them with gunshot wounds, the...

The Camping World CEO claims he was forced to close down one of his North Carolina stores as he defied local politicians over the massive American flags flying over the locations. Marcus Lemonis made the shocking revelation that one of the national RV dealerships in Greenville, NC, was shuttered on April 18. Lemonis says he was forced to shut down operations at the smaller of the two locations after the city council sued him and the company for violating city ordinance with the larger-than-life flags, and continues to impose fines. “We think the ordinance is wrong,” Lemonis told local radio...

Recovery and rebuilding efforts from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene on towns like Chimney Rock, North Carolina has largely faded from the headlines and the public’s awareness. Over the past 6 months, however, a team of 2,000 volunteers from the Great Needs Trust, a Pennsylvania Amish community, have been quietly and steadily rebuilding the town’s homes, businesses and bridges. Chimney Rock Mayor Peter O’Leary told WCNC, “When we look around, we still see tremendous damage and realize it will take a long time to build back. But at the same time, we have made tremendous progress, and that is...

The North Carolina Supreme Court race is the only uncalled statewide race remaining in the U.S. after the November 2024 elections. The reason for that, as we've reported, is that challenges have been working their way through the courts (at times concurrently) after the GOP candidate, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, questioned the validity of some 65,000 ballots after the initial count and recount showed him behind by 734 votes. Among the reasons for the challenges are voters who Griffin's legal team have said had incorrect/incomplete voter registration information or didn't include a photo ID (the latter of which...

Lawsuits can move forward against schools and medical clinics over Covid-19 vaccines given to children without their parents' permission, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning past rulings that had blocked the lawsuits. The ruling was 5-2 along party lines, with all the Republicans in the majority and all the Democrats dissenting. [snip] The case in question deals with a then-14-year-old Guilford County high schooler named Tanner Smith. He was given a vaccine even though he and his mother later said they were against it. Smith played football at Western Guilford High. After a 2021 outbreak of Covid-19 cases...

Five months after Hurricane Helene severed a critical Appalachian freight corridor, a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 40 through North Carolina’s Pigeon River Gorge reopened Saturday. Though still a construction zone, the highway is mostly operational. Its four lanes have been reduced to two, with the roadway held together by nails drilled deep into the mountainside. Tractor-trailers now thread between 9-inch concrete barriers as engineers continue their work. Reopening that stretch of I-40 restores a vital freight corridor that supports both regional industries and national supply chains. Before Hurricane Helene washed out a 4-mile stretch of I-40 connecting North Carolina and...

BURNSVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- When you walk into the construction training facility at Mountain Heritage High School in Burnsville, it looks and sounds like any other carpentry class -- until you realize what the students there are actually working on. "It makes me feel very proud knowing that I am able to help and change someone's life that is in need through not only school but building and just helping out those that can't really help themselves," said Croix Silver, a senior at the high school. Silver and classmate Hensley England are both seniors in Jeremy Dotts' honors carpentry class...

Washington -- President-elect Donald Trump wants to travel to China after he takes office as part of his effort to deepen relations with Beijing, and also has talked to advisors about visit to India, a media report said Saturday. Trump, who arrived at the Dulles International Airport aboard a special plane along with First Lady Melania and son Barron, had during his election campaign threatened to impose additional tariffs on China. “President-elect Donald Trump has told advisors he wants to travel to China after he takes office, according to people familiar with the discussions, seeking to deepen a relationship with...

Decisions on an unsettled election for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court are ongoing in federal and state courts, with more dates in the process set late Friday afternoon. Combined there are five dates for filings and responses in an 11-day span, with appearances in front of a federal bench three days later. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., on Friday said it will hear oral arguments on Jan. 27. Opening briefs are to be filed Wednesday and responsive briefs on Jan. 22. In the case of Jefferson Griffin v North Carolina State Board...

Matt Van Swol @matt_vanswol 🚨 #BREAKING: FEMA has confirmed that 3,500 households in #WNC will lose their Transitional Sheltering Assistance, just days before the worst winter storm rolls in. Videos from the non-profit, Beloved Asheville, show a car line "1 mile-long" for portable heaters and propane

The North Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday in a 5-1 vote blocked the state from certifying Democrat incumbent justice Allison Riggs as the winner of the race as her GOP opponent, Jefferson Griffin, challenges the election. As previously reported, North Carolina’s Supreme Court race headed for a recount due to a close final tally as the Democrat pulled ahead two weeks after Election Day. Democrat incumbent Sarah Riggs closed the race with 2,770,818 votes to GOP challenger Jefferson Griffin’s 2,770,193 votes. The race went to a recount since the vote difference is fewer than 10,000 votes.

A young North Carolina woman was doused in gasoline and set on fire by a sick suspect who then fled — leaving her heartbroken mother wondering, “How could they do this to my baby?” Ashanti Downey, 20, was rushed to the emergency room the night of Dec. 16 with second-and third-degree burns down the right side of her body, according to WRAL News in Raleigh-Durham. Staffers at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford called the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office at about 7 p.m. to report the horrific act, which happened as Downey walked along Highway 27 toward a Dollar General in...

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A woman has been charged after a fight escalated into a shooting at McDonald’s, according to officials with the Greensboro Police Department. On Tuesday, around 8:30 p.m., police said they responded to McDonald’s, located at 3601 W. Gate City Blvd after reports of a shooting. When they arrived, officers found a 29-year-old who had been shot. Investigators said the shooting victim, identified as Aaquan Butler, tried to rob someone in the bathroom of the McDonald’s. This caused a struggle, which moved into the dining area, where Butler pulled a handgun and it went off. Officials said Butler...

The very close election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat heads next to a hand recount even as election officials announced a machine recount of over 5.5 million ballots resulted in no margin change between the candidates. The statewide machine recount — in which ballots were run again through tabulators — that wrapped up this week showed Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs with a 734-vote lead over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin, who is a Court of Appeals judge. Most county election boards reported minor vote changes from the machine recount requested by Griffin. But State Board of Elections data...