North Carolina
North Carolina Senate passes reactionary anti-masking bill
The passage of the North Carolina House Bill 237, also known as the “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals” Bill, in the state Senate on Wednesday brings the state one step closer to making it illegal to wear face masks in public, regardless of the threat posed by the COVID pandemic.
The legislation was voted on by a margin of 30 to 15 along party lines, with five abstentions. Revisions to the bill will mean the state House will vote on it again. But even if North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoes the law, the Republican-majority state legislature will have sufficient votes to override him.
Although the bill leaves a number of exemptions in place, it specifically deleted the exemption, “Any person wearing a mask for the purpose of ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.” Meanwhile, masks can be worn as part of “traditional holiday costumes in season,” or if the person is “Engaged in trades and employment where a mask is worn for the purpose of ensuring the physical safety of the wearer, or because of the nature of the occupation, trade or profession.”
Public mask wearing has long been illegal in the state, but with many exemptions. The exemption for public health concerns was put into effect with the onset of the COVID pandemic. The measure to remove that exemption was introduced to the Senate Judiciary Committee by right-wing Republican Senator Buck Newton.
Newton told reporters that the action was being taken in part because of recent demonstrations by students on college campuses who were protesting the genocidal Israel onslaught against Palestinians, which has completely devastated the Gaza enclave and its more than 2 million inhabitants.
Newton’s claims that students are attempting to cover up their identities and that this represents some form of criminal enterprise are simply preposterous. “This isn’t just about protests,” Newton said. “I think it’s clear that people are seizing the opportunity to do things they’re not supposed to do, to break the law, or to intimidate people, and to keep their identities hidden, and it’s time for that to stop.”
Republican supporters of the legislation openly admit that the purpose of the measure is to help law enforcement crack down on protesters wearing masks, arguing that they were abusing pandemic practices to hide their identities.
In reality, students and protesters have, by all accounts, conducted themselves with considerable restraint. They have demonstrated exceptional courage in the face of attacks by the police and fascistic thugs. Police have carried out mass arrests of young people and faculty members who have come out in support. Many also take the ongoing pandemic as a serious reason to protect themselves and others from infection.
In that, they represent an important development of conscious social awakening in response to the actions of Biden and company in shutting down all public health measures in addition to the rampant US militarism. The students oppose the government’s and respective universities’ complicity and support for these war crimes, exercising their essential democratic rights laid down in the Constitution.
In fact, the assured passage of the law will only strengthen the hand of the state and will be seen as a landmark action that will be mirrored across the country. Challenges to the North Carolina bill will assuredly reach the Supreme Court and find legal expression for state repression while potentially placing the lives and well-being of people in danger. One can even assume that those wearing respirators or who cover their heads and faces for religious and cultural reasons will face hostility and repression from the local police and fascistic mobs.
Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost’s warnings made in a recent letter to the presidents of Ohio’s 14 universities underscores the gravity of these developments.
Yost wrote, “In our society, there are few more significant career-wreckers than a felony charge. I write to you today to inform your student bodies of an [1953] Ohio law that, in the context of some behavior during the recent pro-Palestinian protests, could have that effect.” That law states, “No person shall unite with two or more others to commit misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise.” The breaking of the “anti-disguise” carries a fourth-degree felony charge and up to $5,000 fine and five years on community control, Yost reminded them. That the law has never been applied until now means it amounts to a state-sanctioned threat.
These anti-mask laws Yost references were enacted in the 1940s and 1950s by states in response to the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, whose members hid their identities to perpetrate violence and terror on their victims. However, as historians have noted, these laws weren’t intended to protect the victims, but were rather employed to curb the public displays of the Klan which were discrediting Democratic Party efforts to defend Jim Crow segregation. They remain in place in 18 states including North Carolina.
The COVID pandemic remains an ongoing public health concern. Despite the dismantling of all metrics that provide real-time information on the state of the pandemic, nearly 22,000 people died of COVID in the first four months of 2024. For the 2023/2024 influenza season, hospitalized COVID patients had a 35 percent higher rate of death than those admitted for the flu.
Loading Tweet …
Meanwhile, the Economist update on the impact of Long COVID estimates a prevalence of 2 to 7 percent or upwards of half a billion people worldwide with some level of ongoing impact from their infection.
For the US, the magazine estimates a loss of $152.6 billion in GDP in 2024 alone from COVID. For those who have left the workforce, 953.6 million hours of work were lost. Those with reduced hours account for another 366.3 million hours and those who continue to work with their condition cost more than 177 million hours. One needs only to extrapolate these figures to the rest of the globe to understand the magnitude of the COVID pandemic atop the nearly 30 million that needlessly died because of the greed of the ruling elites that have placed profits over life every step of the way.
North Carolina
North Carolina is hot, dry, and about have fireworks everywhere. Why isn’t there a burn ban?
Right now, it’s unmissable. North Carolina, and especially the Triangle, is both very hot, and very dry. Fireworks stands are popping up, just in time for the Fourth of July. So why isn’t the state under a burn ban?
It’s a straightforward question, with a complex answer.
Both the state, through the North Carolina Forest Service, and individual counties can declare burn bans. The vast majority of the time, county fire marshals listen to the Forest Service. And right now, the Forest Service says the danger isn’t great enough – yet.
“We’re still dry, fire danger is still high, but we haven’t reached that hazardous category yet,” said Phil Jackson, a Forest Service spokesperson.
Jackson points out that the state has two fire seasons, spring and fall, and conditions right now are very different.
For one, humidity is much higher right now, and humidity “tends to bring relief to fire risk and any ongoing wildfire activity that might be happening at that moment,” said Jackson.
Leaves are also key. In spring, plants are trying to wake up from their long winter sleep. Doing that requires a lot of water, drying out the soil.
“Think of each individual root system as being a straw that is just pulling water out of the ground,” said Jackson.
In the fall, the ground is covered in lots of new dry leaves, increasing the danger again.
“When they’re in full green, like they are now, they tend to be more fire resistant,” said Jackson.
Jackson points out it’s not impossible to have a summer-time burn ban. The Forest Service is constantly monitoring conditions, and it’s possible those conditions could get worse in the coming weeks. For now, though, the fire danger, Jackson says, is “manageable.”
But while the fire risk might be manageable, that doesn’t mean people should be careless.
“We always encourage residents to avoid outdoor burning, unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said Johnston County Fire Marshal Travis Johnson.
Johnson says, especially with the Fourth of July right around the corner, anyone burning or lighting fireworks should always have a source of water nearby to douse any runaway flames. “We never want anything to happen, but want to make sure that you’re safe while using those,” said Johnson.
If a burn ban were to be implemented, it would impact Fourth of July fireworks shows. For now, though, those shows are allowed to go ahead, and remain the best option, Johnson says, for anyone who wants to see fireworks this year.
Johnson, and other fire marshals WRAL spoke with, also stressed official fireworks shows are put on by professionals, are strictly permitted and regulated, and there are always firefighters there, on standby, just in case.
“Just be safe, and enjoy the holidays,” said Johnson.
The video above is a live stream of WBTV and affiliated programming, and may not be directly related to the article below.
GRANITE FALLS, N.C. (WBTV) – A man was killed and a teenager was hurt after a head-on crash in Caldwell County on Sunday.
The deadly crash happened along Highway 321 near Glenn Ridge Drive in Granite Falls, just before 7:45 p.m. on June 28.
North Carolina state troopers said 65-year-old Marvin Wayne Anderson was driving the wrong way on Highway 321 when he crashed head-on into an 18-year-old.
Troopers said Anderson died on the highway, while the teenager was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
Highway Patrol said its initial investigation did not find speed or impairment to have been factors in the wreck. Troopers did not say why or how Anderson ended up on the wrong side of the road.
The crash reportedly shut Highway 321 down for several hours but it has since reopened.
Also Read: Mail worker killed in broad daylight in rural North Carolina, officials say
Copyright 2026 WBTV. All rights reserved.
The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Sunday, June 28, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 28 drawing
Day: 2-0-8, Fireball: 7
Evening: 4-1-9, Fireball: 1
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 28 drawing
Day: 7-7-6-5, Fireball: 4
Evening: 8-6-1-5, Fireball: 0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from June 28 drawing
06-08-11-16-37
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Double Play numbers from June 28 drawing
02-03-10-15-39
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 28 drawing
04-11-31-54-58, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:
- Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
- Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.
When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.
-
South Dakota3 minutes ago
SD Lottery Powerball, Lotto America winning numbers for June 29, 2026
-
Tennessee10 minutes agoPHOTOS: The Strawberry Moon lights up Middle Tennessee Monday night
-
Texas13 minutes agoHot, muggy and breezy conditions continue for North Texas ahead of Fourth of July
-
Utah18 minutes ago‘She gave of herself constantly’: Loved ones remember woman killed in Utah-Colorado wildfire
-
Vermont25 minutes agoCatch these concerts in Vermont outdoors in July
-
Virginia28 minutes agoVirginia has a new two-year budget. Here’s what lawmakers now require of data centers.
-
Washington33 minutes agoAmerica 250 could bring major tourism boost to Washington, DC
-
West Virginia38 minutes agoAcross West Virginia, public schools are closing. Communities are feeling the loss.
