I-40 in Cocke County at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line is expected to be reopened to traffic by New Year’s Day, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced Tuesday.
Read the full storyTag: North Carolina
After the Deluge: On the Ground in North Carolina Three Weeks After Hurricane Helene
At 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, Chris Trusz was standing on one of the bridges spanning the Broad River in Chimney Rock. He wanted to get a photo. It had been raining steadily for 36 hours and the river was running 10 inches above normal. Trusz, who’d moved to the western North Carolina mountain town 18 months earlier, wasn’t worried; residents had been warned there might be a bit of flooding. He got his picture and walked up the hill to his home.
Read the full storyNorth Carolina Government Estimates Hurricane Helene Caused at Least $53 Billion in Damage
The North Carolina government on Wednesday released an estimate that Hurricane Helene caused at least $53 billion in damage, particularly in the western part of the state.
The state budget office calculated the preliminary amount which also includes potential investments to avoid similar expensive damages during hurricanes in the future.
Read the full storyOverseas Voting Sparks Litigation in These Battleground States
Two major battleground states allow overseas citizens that don’t live—and in some cases never lived—in their states to vote, the Republican National Committee says.
A group called Democrats Abroad, meanwhile, casts what it calls international voting as a “secret weapon” to win elections.
Read the full storyFEMA Doled Out Millions Pushing ‘Equity,’ Prioritizing ‘Underserved Communities’ Leading Up to Hurricane Season
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in May 2023 launched a $12 million grant program designed to increase “equity” in disaster responses by making greater investments in communities with high concentrations of racial and sexual minorities, documents show.
FEMA’s 2023 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program sought to disburse multi-million dollar grants designed to bolster disaster preparedness “equity” for what it called “underserved communities,” a label later defined in grant documents as “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, who have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social and civic life.” Examples of these groups cited in the FEMA documents include African Americans, Hispanics, Middle Easterners, LGBT people and people living in rural areas, among others.
Read the full storyMatt Boyle: ‘The Energy is Very Much on Trump’s Side’ Heading into General Election
Matt Boyle, the national political editor at Breitbart News, said former President Donald Trump is heading into the November 5 general election with more energy on his side compared to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Read the full storyFEMA Reportedly Turning Away Donations for Victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina: Report
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reportedly turning away donations for victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, according to a report from an on-the-ground volunteer who attempted to deliver a caravan of essential supplies to local residents on Saturday.
Read the full storyHarris Dodges One October Surprise, Faces Another in Tight Race
American voters are one month out from election day, and some new developments threaten to upset the close race.
According to Real Clear Politics’ polling average, the two candidates are nearly tied in several key swing states.
Read the full storyHurricane Helene’s Cost Could Be 600 Lives, $160 Billion in Damages
Six hundred people are unaccounted for, and one of North Carolina’s hardest-hit counties by the remnants of Hurricane Helene on Monday said at least 35 have died.
Read the full storySupplies Airlifted to Communities Devastated by Hurricane Helene with Death Toll Surpassing 100
Supplies are being airlifted to local communities devastated by Hurricane Helene with the death toll surpassing 100. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the death toll would rise as rescue crews and other emergency responders arrive in areas isolated from the storm.
Read the full storySince 2018, Dozens Have Died After FBI’s Repeated Failures in Threat Detection
The FBI has come under renewed heat after admitting it had been previously notified that the suspect in a second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump illegally had a gun due to his status as a convicted felon.
The missed opportunity involving Ryan Wesley Routh is not the first time the bureau was notified about an individual who went on to commit, or attempted to commit, a major crime.
Read the full storyRNC Sues North Carolina Election Officials for Allowing Digital Student IDs to Be Used as Voter ID
The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Thursday sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) for a fourth time in a month, citing its recent decision that digital student identification cards are adequate for voting in November.
The NCSBE voted on Aug. 20 to allow the use of digital student ID cards generated by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a sufficient form of identification, reversing its previous rule that only physical and plastic photo ID cards could be used. But the lawsuit argues that the new rule circumvents state election law.
Read the full storyState Lawmakers Expect Big Wins on Referendums on Citizen-Only Voting
State lawmakers expressed confidence that ballot initiatives to ensure that only citizens vote will win “overwhelming” support—including in two battleground states.
North Carolina and Wisconsin—where polls are tight in the presidential race and have been close in recent statewide contests—will be voting on the matter. Other states with citizen-only voting referendums are red states Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Read the full storyWalz Subpoenaed for Oversight of $250 Million Fraud Scheme
Reputation associated with his military record already shattered, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now faces a reckoning tied to a signature education accomplishment – feeding schoolchildren – from a congressional committee chaired by a North Carolina congresswoman.
Called the “largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation,” U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., on Wednesday sent a letter and subpoena to Walz and his state administration associated with the federal child nutrition programs and Feeding Our Future, and to the Biden administration’s U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Office of Inspector General.
Read the full storyAs Prices Soar, Americans Forced to Choose Between Food and Energy
With inflation remaining stubbornly high, many Americans have been forced to choose whether to pay for more groceries to feed their families, or to pay their energy bills to keep their families cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
According to CBS News, this new trend has been referred to as “energy poverty,” when Americans are unable to pay their energy bills or otherwise afford utilities. On average, households that spend 6 percent of their income or more on energy bills alone are considered to be in “energy poverty.” Currently, 1 in 7 American households spend approximately 14 percent of their income on energy.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Media’s Propaganda Polls Deceptively Favor Kamala Harris
Kamala’s “surging” poll numbers are a lot of hot air.
A close analysis of the data shows that Donald Trump continues to maintain a dominant position in this election. After factoring in the systematic pro-Democrat bias in polling data, Trump comes out decisively in the lead. As it stands now, Trump will likely win every swing state and the national popular vote.
Read the full storyAnalysis: Noncitizens Found on Voter Rolls Across Multiple States
More than a dozen jurisdictions run by Democrats – including Washington D.C., and several adjacent Maryland municipalities – allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections. San Francisco not only permits noncitizens to vote but appointed one to serve on its Elections Commission.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Economics of Early Voting
After the recent assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump, some think the race is Trump’s to lose. I tend to agree that the race is in some ways Trump’s to lose, while at the same time feel very strongly that the left is not going to simply roll over and give up on trying to keep Trump from a second term.
So it’s important to not be over-exuberant; Trump is absolutely riding high right now, from the debacle of a debate for Biden to Judge Cannon dismissing the Jack Smith documents case to surviving an assassination attempt. But the right needs to focus on what takes place between now and November 5th, specifically on how every Republican and conservative can help Trump win by doing one simple thing: casting your ballot early.
Read the full storyBiden Vows After Debate Debacle to Fight on: ‘When You Get Knocked Down, You Get Back Up’
President Joe Biden addressed his supporters at a campaign event in North Carolina on Friday after political analysts, Democratic commentators and political figures described his debate performance as a disaster that’s approaching a crisis.
“I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said at the podium.
Read the full storyDemocrat Lawfare Failed to Derail Trump Campaign So Far, While Triggering Financial Avalanche
Four indictments and one set of convictions later, a Democrat-led lawfare strategy has failed so far to derail Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House, but it has triggered an avalanche of financial support as the former president hold leads in most battleground states that will decide the 2024 election.
No where was Trump’s resilience more obvious than his travels across the West Coast this weekend, where he collected $12 million at a Silicon Valley fund-raiser at the home of a Big Tech executive who used to support Hillary Clinton, scored millions more at events in blue southern California and then jetted off to Las Vegas for a boisterous rally in Nevada where a post-conviction poll showed him leading that once-Biden-friendly state by five points.
Read the full storyReports: California Exodus Continues, Southeastern States as Primary Destinations
As the California exodus continues, a new migration trend is occurring, with southeastern and Appalachian states taking the top spots as inbound migration destinations, according to new reports.
According to a new Consumer Affairs 2024 Migration Trends report, “California’s mass exodus continues to ensue,” with the South and Southeast region of the country being the “hottest regions for people moving.”
Read the full storyCommentary: Abiding Child Abuse in Schools
The stories of pedophile teachers not being held accountable for their abominable crimes are endless. In an in-depth piece, reporter Matt Drange investigates the issue and what he finds is positively revolting.
A case in North Carolina is typical. In Durham County, a student at Neal Middle School said her chorus teacher, Troy Pickens, had groped her, only disclosing a few years later that he’d raped her. James Key, the school’s principal, didn’t open an investigation until the child’s mother got involved, and even then, according to a subsequent civil suit that settled out of court, the principal “failed to report the groping allegation to law enforcement or child protective services, as required by state law.” Instead, Key allowed Pickens to resign, paving the way for him to remain in the field.
Read the full storyCommentary: Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Police Officers
Four law enforcement officers were shot dead in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week. On hearing the news, I was reminded of my mother’s frequent warnings about police work. Her message? Steer clear. With her husband and her brother patrolling the mean streets of Newark, she didn’t need the added anxiety of having her sons do the same. Today, for the children and spouses of police officers, that anxiety must be unbearable — and not just because of the obvious danger.
You may not have heard of the Charlotte shooting. It vanished from the national news in a flash. Despite the magnitude of the offense, within two or three days the national media had dropped the story cold.
Read the full storyCongressional Republicans’ Bill Seeks to Crack Down on DEI in Med Schools
Bills that seeks to block med schools from receiving federal funds if they maintain diversity equity and inclusion mandates are winding their way through Congress.
“Embracing anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in Education,” or the EDUCATE Act, would limit the availability of funds for medical schools that “adopt certain policies and requirements relating to” DEI, it states.
Read the full storyCongressional Probe Opened on ‘Mealy-Mouthed, Spineless College Leaders’
For “mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders,” actions will have consequences, the North Carolina congresswoman leading a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said Tuesday amid ongoing college campus disruptions.
The war between Israel and Hamas has led to significant demonstrations or encampments on at least four dozen campuses nationwide, a national observer of such activity reports. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., with support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Committee on Education and the Workforce she chairs has opened a congressional probe and on May 23 will hear from presidents of Yale and Michigan and the chancellor of UCLA.
Read the full storyMichael Patrick Leahy Announces Launch of The Star News Electoral College Map
Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network, announced the launch of the Star News Electoral College Map for the 2024 presidential election.
Read the full storyElevated Inflation, Poor GDP Growth Raise Concerns
Federal data released Friday showed that inflation remains elevated. The figures came out on the heels of other data showing the U.S. Gross Domestic Product underperformed in the first quarter of this year.
Both the inflation and GDP data points raised concerns among economists and renewed criticism of President Joe Biden among Republicans.
Read the full storyNew Poll Shows Trump Getting Bump in Five Crucial Battleground States
Former President Donald Trump received polling bumps against President Joe Biden in the battleground states of Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in a survey released Wednesday.
Trump’s advantage grew in Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina since March, while he is now leading in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the latest Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll. The former president’s lead in Georgia remained the same, and his margin across all seven battleground states including Michigan also grew to six points in a head-to-head matchup with Biden.
Read the full storyDemocratic Governors Veto GOP Election Integrity Bills Despite Provable Election Fraud Issues
Democratic governors are vetoing election integrity legislation passed by Republican-led state legislatures, despite allegations, investigations, and convictions of election fraud occurring across the U.S. Those convictions require proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the crime, in fact, occurred.
Over the last few months, Democratic governors in Arizona, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have vetoed legislation that Republican-led state legislatures passed to help secure elections, arguing that their concerns are unfounded or their solutions unnecessary. However, there has been recent election fraud investigations and convictions in those states that led to the passing of the legislation.
Read the full storyMost Americans Don’t Think Trump Acted Illegally in Alvin Bragg Case: Poll
Only 35 perdent of Americans believe former President Donald Trump acted illegally in regard to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against him, which began on Monday, a Tuesday poll found.
Jury selection is underway in the first of Trump’s four criminal cases, where he faces 34 felony counts over allegations related to falsifying business records when reimbursing a hush money payment to former porn star actress Stormy Daniels leading up to the 2016 election. As Trump sits in the courtroom this week, 31 percent believe Trump’s alleged actions were “unethical, but not illegal,” 14 percent argue he did “nothing wrong” and 19 percent said they “don’t know enough to say,” according to an AP/NORC poll.
Read the full storyCommentary: North Carolina Could Be Ground Zero for the Gen Z Revolt Against Democrats
What began as imprecise theories among a handful of forward-looking political observers and youth organizers is materializing this election year, and poll after poll is now showing young voters deserting Democrats in droves.
Mainstream news outlets have little choice but to acknowledge the vast, double-digit declines in support for Biden among younger voters, a group which supported him by 25 percentage points in 2020. Now we are seeing tentative coverage of the youth shift and warnings to Democrats in Vox, NPR, CNN and other mainstream outlets.
Read the full storyBlack Men’s Support for Trump Doubles in Swing States: Poll
Former President Donald Trump’s support among black men has increased in battleground states ahead of the 2024 election by more than double his support among the same group in 2020’s election, according to a poll published on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has long sought to gain support among black voters, traditionally a Democratic-supporting demographic, by touting his record on the economy and criminal justice reform while in office, among other matters. A recent poll estimated that 30 percent of black men in seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — “definitely or probably” plan to vote for Trump in November’s election, an increase of 18 percent from his nationwide performance among that demographic in 2020, where he earned 12 percent of their votes, the Journal reported.
Read the full storyRedistricting Won’t Hurt GOP Chances at Keeping the House, Experts Say
Changes in congressional district boundary lines across several states do not appear to have damaged Republicans’ chances of maintaining a majority in the House of Representatives after 2024’s elections, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and New York have experienced redistricting processes ahead of the 2024 election. While experts had previously forecast adverse changes from redistricting in these states that could have cost GOP incumbents their seats, the processes have resulted, on balance, in races where likely losses of some GOP seats could be offset by the gains in other states, experts told the DCNF.
Read the full storyTrump Leads Biden in Six of Seven Critical Swing States: WSJ Poll
Former President Donald Trump has staked out a significant lead against President Joe Biden in several of the most pivotal states that could decide the 2020 election, a recent survey has revealed.
The Wall Street Journal survey questioned voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and found Trump leading his likely opponent in all of them except Wisconsin, where the pair tied.
Read the full storyProposal would Halt Taxpayer Money to Medical Schools Promoting Racial Bias
Educating from the podium and advocating for the inclusion of all, congressmen led by North Carolina’s Dr. Greg Murphy and Ohio’s Dr. Brad Wenstrup on Tuesday introduced legislation that would halt taxpayer money from going to medical schools promoting racial bias.
Multiple speakers, both Black and white and at least one saying she’s neither Republican nor Democrat, drove home the message directly and indirectly that health care is about the patients and their outcomes. Collectively, they explained how the best care comes from the best in education, that all can access it, and the promotion of “critical race theory-based woke philosophy based on DEI” will put Americans’ lives at risk.
Read the full storyDual Polls Find Trump Leading Biden in Two Key Southern Battleground States
Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in the battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina for a head-to-head general election rematch, according to dual Wednesday polls.
Trump is favored 51 percent to 47 percent against Biden among registered voters in Georgia, as well as 51 percent to 48 percent in North Carolina, the Marist surveys found. Both polls also found Trump making inroads among independents, black voters and those aged 18-to-29 compared to 2020 exit polling.
Read the full storyNorth Carolina College Forces Athletes to Watch ‘Only Whites are Racist’ Video
Davidson College alumni are calling for change after student athletes recently were required to watch the video “I’m Not Racist … Am I?” which labels all white people as racists.
The Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse, an alumni-run free speech organization, exposed and denounced the video after learning the North Carolina institution forced student athletes to watch it this semester.
Read the full storyTrump-Endorsed Candidate Throws Hat in the Ring to Succeed Ronna McDaniel as RNC Chair
Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina GOP, made his campaign to lead the Republican National Committee (RNC) official on Monday, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Read the full storyRare Earth Mineral Mines Shutter as Demand for Electric Vehicles Plummet
A slowdown in the growth of electric vehicle (EV) demand has led to entire mines being shut down as the supply of rare earth minerals essential for EV components exceeds demand, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Read the full storySouthern States Are Growing While The Northeast Shrinks
Over the past few years, states in the American South have come to economically surpass the Northeast, owing to policies like lower taxes and better business environments spurring prosperity and population growth, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The gross domestic product of Florida, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee surpassed the cumulative economy of the Northeast in 2020 for the first time since data has been tracked and has continued to exceed growth since, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis compiled by Bloomberg. The growth comes as businesses and people flock to the region seeking affordability, job opportunities, lighter tax and regulation laws and freedom from dense urban areas, according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.
Read the full storyTwo North Carolina Counties Withdraw from ‘Zuckerbucks’ Alliance as 2024 Election Cycle Begins
Two North Carolina counties left a Zuckerbucks nonprofit — where private money is injected into public election administration — as the 2024 election cycle began, citing time commitment as the reason for leaving.
Brunswick and Forsyth counties in North Carolina have left the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, a project of the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), after joining it last year.
Read the full storyNew Poll Shows Trump Ahead in Six Battleground States
Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in all six battleground states surveyed for a 2024 hypothetical matchup, according to a Monday poll.
Trump beat Biden in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida anywhere from 1 to 11 points, according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also on the ballot for the six swing states polled, receiving his largest margins in North Carolina and Arizona.
Read the full storyCritics: Proposal Would Harm Small Farms, Drive Up Consumer Prices
North Carolina’s small farmers will be challenged, and may need to sell their land to larger corporations, congressmen say.
Attorneys general, nearly two dozen of them, also are against a proposed Department of Labor rule for farm workers in the H-2A program they say gives “unionization protections” and places “the interests of foreign nationals over the interests of United States citizens.” Julie Su, the interim secretary of the department, says empowering the workers and ensuring fair treatment are the goals of the initiative, the third in less than a year.
Read the full storyChild Psychiatrist Sentenced to 40 Years for Using AI to Create Child Porn
A North Carolina child psychiatrist was sentenced to 40 years in prison followed by 30 years of supervised release after he was convicted of producing, transporting and possessing child pornography, at least some of which he generated through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
David Tatum, 41, of Charlotte, will also be forced to pay around $100,000 or more in fines, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said last week.
Read the full storyTrump Leads Biden in Arizona in Latest Swing States Poll
A new Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll shows former President Donald Trump up 4 percentage points on President Joe Biden with less than a year until the 2024 presidential election, the latest bit of bad news for Biden in a key battleground state.
The poll, conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7, finds Trump leading Biden 46 percent to 42 percent in a head-to-head matchup.
Read the full storyNorth Carolina May Upend Dems’ Dreams of Redistricting Their Way Back into Power
North Carolina’s recently redrawn congressional map could upend Democrats’ use of redistricting to gain back the House majority ahead of 2024.
The Supreme Court declined to allow Alabama to use its Republican-drawn congressional map in late September, a federal judge is requiring Georgia to redraw its maps to better represent black voters and another case in Louisiana could result in an additional majority-black district. Democrats could lose up to four congressional seats in North Carolina after the GOP-controlled state legislature’s new map was approved last week, which is expected to end up in court, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Read the full storyAnother Poll Shows Trump Beating Biden in Key Battleground States
It’s the economy, stupid.
Bill Clinton political strategist James Carville’s famous quip in the 1992 presidential election is truer than ever for 2024.
Read the full storyNew Poll Shows Trump Leads Biden in 5 of 6 Battleground States with RFK Jr. on the Ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s declaration of independence from the Democratic Party is bad news for President Joe Biden’s prospects for a second term, according to a new poll by United Kingdom-based pollster Redfield & Wilton Strategies.
The poll of swing state voters, in partnership with The Telegraph, finds former President Donald Trump leading Biden in five of the six swing states.
Read the full storyDeSantis’ Never Back Down PAC Suspends Door-Knocking in Four States to Focus on Early Primary States
The pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC is reportedly suspending its voter canvassing in four states to focus resources in early-voting states.
The PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign is pausing its door-knocking activities in Nevada, California, Texas and North Carolina, according to The Epoch Times on Saturday.
Read the full storyCommentary: There is a Good Reason Why Democrats are so Frightened of ‘Moms for Liberty’
For most Americans, “Mom” evokes images of kindness, courage, sympathy and love. Likewise, “liberty” calls up concepts like individual rights, freedom of expression, equality and justice. Yet, the perversity of the current political environment is such that a parental rights group whose name combines these two words has been demonized by Democrats, the corporate media and the reactionary left. Just recently, a New Hampshire Democrat denounced the group as “Assholes with casseroles,” the Hill ran a story titled, “Six reasons why Moms for Liberty is an extremist organization,” and the Southern Poverty Law Center added them to its Hate Map.
Read the full story