News

Federal judge denies Earls’ request for emergency injunction in First Amendment lawsuit

Nine days after denying state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls’ initial request for an injunction against the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, a federal judge has denied Earls’ second request for an injunction. US District Judge William Osteen issued his latest order Thursday afternoon. He denied Earls’ request to block a commission investigation into Earls’ published comments while she appeals to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

CJ Staff
News

Judicial standards group still opposes Earls’ injunction, interview could take place Monday

The North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission continues to oppose an injunction blocking its investigation into published comments from state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. Meanwhile, a court filing Thursday suggests Earls might consent to an interview with commission staff next Monday.

CJ Staff
News

Unanimous three-judge panel blocks new bipartisan NC elections board

A three-judge panel agreed unanimously Thursday to block a new state law that would replace the current Democrat-majority state elections board with a  new bipartisan body. Judges reached that decision after roughly 90 minutes of arguments in Wake County Superior Court. The new elections board had been scheduled to take effect on Jan.1.

CJ Staff
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Opinion

Opinion

School choice can help solve the student behavior crisis in NC schools

On Monday, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death and another was hospitalized after a brawl at Southeast Raleigh High School. The situation was complicated, with the family of the 14-year-old boy charged with the crimes saying that he had been targeted for violence by those he stabbed. A video of the incident circulated widely...

David Larson
Opinion

‘The Holdovers’ review: An early Christmas gift

One scene in director Alexander Payne’s latest movie, “The Holdovers,” epitomizes the entire film. On Christmas morning, Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), the usually cantankerous classics teacher at a New England boarding school in the early 1970s, summons rebellious student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and grieving cafeteria lady Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) to the mess...

Grant Lefelar
Opinion

Key consultant says NC Dems lost by winning on redistricting

North Carolina Democrats have already lost the first skirmish in the next round of redistricting wars, as a federal judge rejected an urgent call to block new state Senate districts from going into place before the start of candidate filing in early December.  US District Judge James Dever labeled the proposed timeline “meritless,” in a scathing...

Dallas Woodhouse
Opinion

Political bullying or ‘procedural issues’? You make the call.

In recent times, the North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) has displayed a troubling pattern of using the claim of “procedural issues” to stifle certain views and groups in a way that looks an awful lot like bullying from behind an administrative cloud.   One such instance from recent days was the rejection of a Jewish...

Joshua Peters
Opinion

Now will Wake County Schools prioritize violence prevention?

This time of year, most people are getting ready to celebrate the Christmas holiday season. All the joys and happiness of family gatherings and celebrating a hopefully-better new year. Unfortunately, the Wake County family of a Southeast Raleigh High School student, Devin Ferrell, will not be celebrating this holiday season; they will instead be celebrating...

William Allen
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Elections

News

AFP Action’s endorsement of Nikki Haley highlights the race for second place

Nikki Haley got a boost in her bid for the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday in an endorsement from Americans for Prosperity Action. The Koch group pushed out a campaign to promote the former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador.

News

RNC pushes Republicans to vote early and by mail

Republicans are pushing to get more party faithful to vote early and mail in their ballots, while also trying to assure them of ballot security. An initiative from the Republican National Committee, Bank Your Vote, is aimed at tapping into turnout tactics that Democrats have been nurturing for years.

Donna King
News

Election staff will hand count some ballots Wednesday in accuracy checks of municipal contests

On Tuesday, voters cast ballots in the last of three municipal contests in the state's first elections with Voter ID requirements in place. On Wednesday, state elections staff will conduct statutorily required random accuracy checks.

Donna King
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Videos

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Locke’s Mitch Kokai assesses Gov. Roy Cooper’s approach to the national political stage

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses Gov. Roy Cooper’s work with national Democrats ahead of the 2024 election season. Kokai offered these comments during the Dec. 1, 2024, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai
Video

The Debrief: Voter ID, Gen Z Shifting the Polls, and Rising Crime in our Schools

This week on “The Debrief”: *A new Civitas Poll is out this week – Voter ID retains strong approval among voters. *As 2024 looms, Gen Z could really start shifting electoral outcomes. *The State Board of Elections is preparing for a high stakes election year. *A stabbing at a local high school takes a young...

Video

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes lawsuit challenging NC state Senate election map

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s state Senate election map. Kokai offered these comments during the Nov. 24, 2023, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai
Video

Thanksgiving costs, crowded primaries, and education achievements

This week on “The Debrief”: *The cost of your Thanksgiving meal should be lower this year than last, but it’s still much higher than in the recent past. *Candidate filing starts Dec. 4, but we already have some crowded primaries for the 2024 elections in North Carolina. *Now that the General Assembly has finished its...

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Culture

News

Student stabbed to death at Wake County high school

On Monday, the Raleigh Police Department reported that two students were stabbed at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School and transported to the hospital, where one of the students died of injuries. The second victim remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a press conference delivered by Raleigh Chief of Police Estella Patterson.

CJ Staff
News

Turkey prices are down, but food prices still soaring

While consumers may see a slight dip in food costs for this Thanksgiving, prices are still up compared to pre-pandemic 2019. The American Farm Bureau says this year’s classic feast for 10 family and friends should cost, on average, $61.17. However, in 2022 the nation saw a dramatic 9.9% increase in food prices.

Donna King
News

The Old North State celebrates its 234th birthday today!

Today marks North Carolina’s 234th birthday! U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, was among those remembering the Old North State’s special day on social media.  On Nov. 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution and the only state with two ratification conventions. In 1729, the state started as a...

Theresa Opeka
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Civil Society

Video

Locke’s Mitch Kokai discusses New York Times’ warning about free speech

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the New York Times’ column warning about America’s “free-speech problem.” Kokai offered these comments during the March 25, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”

Mitch Kokai
News

Jordan Peterson returns to Durham 4 years after city moves to ‘cancel’ him

Canadian professor, author, and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson on Thursday offered a non-political and largely academic lecture on the psychology of beauty, dreams, and purpose. The reaction from city officials and activists to the address at the Durham Performing Arts Center was night-and-day from the one leading up to his appearance four years earlier.  It...

David Larson
News

Ukrainian people in NC rally to support homeland 

As the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine continues to escalate, North Carolina’s local Ukrainian population is rallying to bring attention to the suffering of people in their homeland and to gather supplies to help them. Donna Goldstein, co-president of the Ukrainian Association of North Carolina, finds herself at the forefront of these efforts.  Goldstein has...

David Larson
Opinion

Why the Fourth Estate is in receivership

The fourth estate, journalism, is racing to receivership unless we can rescue it from its rapacious self. The hubris hasn’t always been this bad, this blatant, or this biased, yet it worsens daily. In the town I grew up in, Nashville, Tennessee, there were two newspapers in the 1950s and 1960s, one for the morning,...

Mark Herring
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