Tag: north carolina

North Carolina Lawmakers Are Considering At Least Nine Bills To Regulate Intoxicating Hemp-Derived Products

North Carolina lawmakers have proposed at least nine bills this year that seek more regulation on the sale and purchase of gummies, drinks and vaping products containing compounds from hemp.

Most of the bills seek to make it illegal for youth to buy snacks, drinks and vape products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids or to keep them off school property. Legislators and sheriffs talked about one of the bills, House Bill 680, The Protect Children from Cannabis Act, at a Wednesday news conference.

The bill would make it illegal for shops to sell consumables containing hemp compounds without a permit, and would make it illegal for people under 21 to buy them. The Alcohol Beverage Control Commission and Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) would have investigative and enforcement powers.

“Currently, there’s no age restriction on purchasing these intoxicating cannabinoids, and children do use these and buy these every day,” said Rep. Timothy Reeder (R-Pitt), one of the bill’s primary sponsors.

Onslow County Sheriff Chris Thomas said vape shops have opened near schools in his county to take advantage of the young customer base.

It appears sellers are focusing on young customers, he said, “because the young clientele is a customer for a long time.”

An effort to regulate snacks containing hemp cannabinoids and banning the products from schools faltered last year when the state Senate attached medical marijuana legalization to a House bill. The House and Senate have been at an impasse over medical marijuana for several years.

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North Carolina Supreme Court Halts Previous Order Requiring Verification of 65,000 Ballots in Hotly Contested Judicial Race

The North Carolina Supreme Court halted a previous order from the state appeals court requiring the verification of 65,000 questionable ballots.

This case has been bouncing around between state and federal courts.

Last week the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that approximately 65,000 ballots — cast by voters with incomplete registration information, missing photo identification, or submitted by individuals who have never lived in North Carolina — may be invalid under state and federal election law.

The 2-1 decision was authored by Judges John Tyson and Fred Gore, both registered Republicans. Judge Tobias Hampson, a Democrat, dissented.

The court ordered election officials across the state’s 100 counties to notify affected voters, giving them 15 business days to prove they are legally eligible to vote, or their ballots could be tossed out, handing conservatives a chance to reclaim a critical seat on the state’s highest court.

In January, the North Carolina Supreme Court 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.

Republican Griffin was leading the race until all of a sudden Democrat Riggs overcame her opponent weeks after the election.

President Trump won North Carolina by more than 3 percent over Kamala Harris in the 2024 election but somehow the Democrats took many down ballot races.

The Democrat incumbent is now ahead by 600 votes after late votes came in for the North Carolina Supreme Court seat.

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North Carolina family can sue over COVID-19 vaccine administered without consent, court rules

A North Carolina mother and her son can sue a public school system and a doctors’ group for allegedly giving the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent, the state Supreme Court ruled.

The ruling handed down Friday reverses a lower-court decision that a federal health emergency law prevented Emily Happel and her son Tanner Smith from filing a lawsuit.

Both a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals had ruled against the two, who sought litigation after Smith received an unwanted vaccine during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Smith was vaccinated in August 2021 at age 14 despite his opposition at a testing and vaccination clinic at a Guilford County high school, according to the family’s lawsuit.

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BEAUTIFUL! Hundreds of College Students Are Spending Spring Break Helping Rebuild Homes in North Carolina

There may be hope for America’s future, after all.

While college students have become known for being woke and are often shown in the media doing nothing but leading protests, one group of students has given up spring break to help rebuild homes in North Carolina where many areas are still reeling from Hurricane Helene.

This is great experience for these students, too. Everyone should learn how to build things and some basic construction.

From WHII News:

Triad college students are spending spring break in western North Carolina helping those in need

Winston Salem State students are among the wave of volunteers helping communities in western North Carolina, spending their spring break hard at work to help people rebuild.

“I can’t imagine what these people went through with having everything they had just lost in the blink of an eye without any control of theirs,” said Cayla Parrott, a sophomore.

They’re part of a ministry called Chi Alpha that can be found on multiple college campuses. They’re working alongside nonprofits like Building Compassion, which has been organizing those efforts.

“We’ve got other teams that are down closer to the river bottoms, and they’re literally doing all kinds of different work,” said Frank Frankovsky of Building Compassion. “From standing up retaining walls that got undermined to rebuilding trailer homes and stuff, just whatever the community needs.

It’s been almost six months since Helene made landfall, and there’s plenty of work that still needs to be done.

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HUD Secretary Scott Turner Rejects Asheville’s $225M Disaster Relief Request After Shocking DEI Clause Exposed

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has decisively rejected Asheville, North Carolina’s outrageous $225 million disaster relief request.

The reason? A jaw-dropping Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) clause buried deep in the city’s draft action plan—a clause that prioritizes woke ideology over the urgent needs of everyday Americans still reeling from Hurricane Helene’s devastation six months ago.

In an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo, Secretary Turner condemned the city’s initial draft action plan for prioritizing assistance based on race and gender identity rather than need.

“This draft action plan that the city of Asheville presented at first has elements of DEI, and that is not acceptable to HUD,” Turner told Bartiromo.

“It’s not acceptable to the President, according to his executive order to get rid of all DEI. We’re working with the city of Asheville. They have been very responsive to make sure that their upcoming draft action plan is in compliance with HUD and how we give funds out according to HUD’s principles.”

“We’re happy to be here. They’re working with us, and we’re looking forward to helping the people of Asheville recover from this disaster.”

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‘Thank You Jesus’ signs creator arrested on felony child porn charge

Authorities in Randolph County arrested Lucas Timothy Hunt, 25, of Asheboro, known as the founder of the “Thank You Jesus” signs movement, on a felony child exploitation charge after a month-long investigation.

The Invictus Task Force took Hunt into custody on Tuesday and charged him with felony Second-Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. A representative with the organization confirmed to WFMY News 2 that Hunt started the initiative, which has placed thousands of signs across the country promoting the message.

The investigation started in January when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided a CyberTip to law enforcement, leading authorities to track down the suspect. Court documents state that Hunt received a video depicting two pubescent females engaged in sexual acts. 

After his arrest, officers transported Hunt to the Randolph County Detention Center, where a magistrate set his bond at $75,000. He will appear in Randolph County District Court on Wednesday.

Court records show that Hunt waived his right to an assigned legal counsel and hired his own attorney, Charles Browne. Hunt posted bond and was released. 

President of the Thank You Jesus mission, Connie Frazier, released a statement on the matter, saying, “We will not be commenting on the charges, but we can say that Lucas Hunt, through the Thank You Jesus signs, has helped thousands of people and has been a blessing.”

The parents of Lucas Hunt told WFMY News 2 he did not do what he is accused of but were unable to speak further on the situation. 

The investigation continues. Authorities have not determined whether they will file additional charges. The Invictus Task Force urges anyone with relevant information to report potential exploitation cases to law enforcement.

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Supreme Ct. Filing Exposes How Charlottesville Officials Enabled 2017 Violence to Suppress Speech

A new Supreme Court petition filed by political activist Warren Balogh sheds light on what he calls the ‘intentional dereliction of duty’ by Charlottesville officials during the infamous 2017 “Unite the Right” rally. The petition, appealing a lower court decision from the Fourth Circuit, raises serious constitutional questions about whether local governments can deliberately allow chaos and violence as a means of suppressing speech they dislike.

Balogh is a self-described ‘pro-white’ activist. Far-left groups use a variety of labels to describe him as a ‘white nationalist’ and other such defamatory terms. Balogh says he was at the Charlottesville rally for only one purpose: to oppose the destruction of a historical monument. The Lee monument was destroyed in 2023, despite promises by officials it would be relocated.

Balogh is appealing the Fourth Circuit’s dismissal of his claims, as part of Balogh v. Virginia, 120 F.4th 127. That appeal was decided by Chief Judge Albert Diaz, an Obama appointee. That court said that because the participants engaged in violence, they were not entitled to protection from the police, a ruling at odds with the evidence in the case.

You can read the request for Supreme Court review here.

Charlottesville’s supposed right-wing violence is the reason Joe Biden gave for running against Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

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Where’s the Outrage? Biden Gives SoCal a Blank Check While FEMA Leaves North Carolina Out In the Cold

The nation’s attention continues to be hyperfocused on Southern California as devastating wildfires continue to burn in and around Los Angeles. The fires have displaced thousands of people and destroyed entire towns. There is an overwhelming need for immediate aid, and the recovery from these disastrous fires will take years.

With less than two weeks left in office, President Joe Biden has informed California Governor Gavin Newsom that the federal government will be picking up the tab for California’s recovery for the next six months. Biden has told them to spare no expense.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the residents of Western North Carolina have been all but forgotten. Thousands remain displaced from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. Entire neighborhoods were washed away, and many of the buildings that survived the flooding are unlivable because of dangerous mold.

FEMA has been on the ground in North Carolina for months—not that you can tell. Many North Carolinians live in tents because assistance has been scarce, difficult to obtain, or unreachable.

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‘Pizzagate’ attacker dies on Jan. 6 after pointing handgun at police during traffic stop

The man who showed up at a popular Washington, D.C., pizzeria with an automatic weapon after falling for a debunked online conspiracy involving allegations of child sex trafficking has been shot to death in a traffic stop in North Carolina.

Edgar Maddison Welch, 36, died during a confrontation with police in Kannapolis on Jan. 4, according to a statement from the Kannapolis Police Department. It began at around 10 a.m. on North Cannon Boulevard in Kannapolis, a city around 30 miles northeast of Charlotte, when a police officer on patrol recognized a gray 2001 GMC Yukon “as one normally driven by an individual who he had previously arrested, and knew had an outstanding warrant for arrest.”

That individual, Welch, was wanted for “Felony Probation Violation,” the statement said. It is unclear whether that probation violation is in connection with the 4-year prison sentence he was ordered to serve for his Dec. 4, 2016, attack on Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington, D.C. On that day, Welch brought a loaded AR-15, a revolver, and a shotgun to the Comet Ping Pong restaurant — which had become a target in the so-called “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory — on Connecticut Avenue in the nation’s capital. After arriving at the restaurant, an armed Welch went inside while “carrying the AR-15 openly,” causing employees and customers, including children, to flee.

Although Welch was apparently not behind the wheel at the time of the traffic stop in North Carolina, the officer soon realized that he was in the front passenger seat. While the officer was talking to the driver, Kannapolis police say, two other officers arrived on the scene to assist.

“The officer who initiated the traffic stop approached the passenger side of the vehicle and opened the front passenger’s door to arrest the individual,” the statement says. “When he opened the door, the front seat passenger pulled a handgun from his jacket and pointed it in the direction of the officer.”

The officer and a second officer ordered Welch to drop the gun, but he didn’t follow those instructions.

“After the passenger failed to comply with their repeated requests, both officers fired their duty weapon at the passenger, striking him,” the statement says.

Although Welch initially survived and was taken first to an area hospital and later transferred to Charlotte, he ultimately died on Jan. 6.

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North Carolina counties demand full property tax payments — even for homes wiped out by Helene

Residents of several counties in North Carolina are still on the hook for the full payment of their property taxes, officials warn, even if their homes were destroyed by Hurricane Helene.

In late September, Helene battered the mountainous region of Western North Carolina and the surrounding states, causing massive floods that swept many structures away or left them in a pile of rubble. As a result, some residents remain in RVs or even tents, despite winter temperatures, as Blaze News previously reported.

Though the devastation in the area is unprecedented, state law requires property tax payments to be paid by midnight on January 6, no matter what. So county leaders say their hands are tied.

“Please be aware: North Carolina law does not allow property tax waivers or exceptions due to natural disasters,” read an online statement from Buncombe County, one of those hardest hit by Helene. “Regardless of circumstances stemming from Hurricane Helene, property taxes are still due by Jan. 6. The Tax Office is here to help you figure out a plan, so please contact us as soon as possible.”

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