North Carolina
North Carolina man to serve 15 years after having sex with Cumberland County 12-year-old
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — A North Carolina man learned his fate after recording himself having sex with a minor in 2023, according to the Department of Justice.
Brayan Garcia-Vazquez, 25, was sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment on April 1 after he knowingly had sex with a 12-year-old girl in her home and recorded it, the DOJ announced.
During his indictment hearing in 2024, it was found that he and the victim had sex on April 5, 2023, in Cumberland County. She told authorities she and Garcia-Vazquez had met on Instagram in 2022.
The Department of Justice said he came to her home on two separate days to have sex and, on the second day, he brought her a gold bracelet before recording them having sex.
During court proceedings, it was revealed that he shared the video with the victim, whose mother eventually found the video and shared it with authorities.
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After his sentence is completed, Garcia-Vazquez faces deportation after the Department of Homeland Security assisted with the investigation.
North Carolina
NC A&T State University researchers testing new ‘smart intersection’ technology
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — At the corner of East Market Street and Dudley Street in Greensboro, there is a steady stream of activity.
Situated just off North Carolina A&T State University’s campus, it’s one of the busier intersections in the city.
“The intersection is complex,” said Ali Karimoddini, Ph.D.
Living Lab
There is a consistent flow of vehicles, buses, scooters, emergency responders and pedestrians moving through the intersection in all different directions, and that makes it an ideal intersection to study.
As director of NC A&T’s Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities, Karimoddini oversees the research. It involves students and faculty from multiple departments.
“It’s a living lab, meaning it’s real,” Karimoddini said. “Traffic is going on. We can observe information and see what is going on in real time.”
His team, in cooperation with the City of Greensboro and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, placed three types of technology at the intersection: LiDAR, radar and cameras.
“Each of these technologies provide unique features,” Karimoddini said. “And when we put them together, they provide reliable information about the intersection that can be used for our analysis.”
‘Real Applications’
The research could impact the way both cars and intersections are designed in the future.
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“That information can be used for integration into automated vehicles, so improving the safety on the beacon side,” Karimoddini said. “But also for city planners and police departments and others … They can learn what is the big picture about the intersection, what are the steps that can be done or interventions that can happen to improve the safety.”
That includes prioritizing traffic signals for first responders or extending the crosswalk signal for a pedestrian with a disability.
“The nice thing about this one is the real-life application. It’s not necessarily inside a lab. It’s real traffic, and it does have real applications,” Karimoddini said. “It’s inspired the students that the problems they are solving are not going to stay in a lab. It’s going to be applied to … real-world problems.”
North Carolina
Man dies from I-40 crash in Benson
A man is dead from a crash on Friday on
Interstate 40 in Johnston County.
According to the North Carolina State
Highway Patrol, the crash happened just before 4:30 p.m. on I-40 at the I-95 ramp. The collision involved an SUV and
a pickup truck.
Troopers said the pickup truck
appeared to have been sideswiped and overturned. The driver of the pickup truck
died at the scene.
The ramp from I-95 southbound to I-40 eastbound was closed for about 90 minutes. It has since reopened.
Troopers have not released the
names of anyone involved, nor the condition of the other driver.
WRAL News is working to learn more.
North Carolina
This is the best grocery store in North Carolina, online food site says
Do you have a favorite grocery store? According to an online food magazine, one grocery store reigns supreme as the best in North Carolina. With almost a century’s worth of history in the state, this store has since become a household name.
The Wilmington area is home to dozens and dozens of grocery stores, including several major brands, and opinions can certainly widely on which is the best place to do your weekly shopping
Online food publication loveFOOD.com recently published a list of the best grocery store in each U.S. state, with stores ranging from big chain superstores to local markets. When it came to North Carolina, LoveFOOD said Harris Teeter was the best grocery store in the state.
Hot food and good rewards
While some states had specific locations on the list, loveFOOD put the entire Harris Teeter chain for North Carolina.
LoveFOOD cited a handful of qualities that put Harris Teeter over the top. For one, the article highlighted the selection of prepared foods offered at Harris Teeter. Alongside the traditional hot bar, Harris Teeter also has pizza, sushi, sandwiches and more. LoveFOOD also gave kudos to what the article called a “thoughtfully curated wine selection.”
Finally, Harris Teeter’s reward system got special attention. Alongside access to weekly sales on groceries, the reward system lets customers earn Fuel Points that can be used to get up to $1 off per gallon at Harris Teeter gas stations.
How to save money on groceries
Save money on groceries with these smart hacks.
Problem Solved
A North Carolina store
According to Harris Teeter’s website, W.T. Harris originally founded Harris Food Store in Charlotte in 1936. A few years later, Willis and Paul Teeter opened Teeter’s Food Mart in Mooresville. In 1960, the two stores merged into Harris Teeter.
Today, Harris Teeter has over 250 stores across seven southern states and Washington, D.C, though the store is still based in North Carolina. Headquarters are located in the town of Matthews, and Harris Teeter operates distribution centers out of Greensboro and Indian Trail. The chain employees 35,000 employees across the country.
Charlie Kingree is the trending topics and Pender County reporter for the StarNews. He can be reached at ckingree@usatodayco.com.
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