North Carolina
Biden adds stop to North Carolina trip to visit with families of fallen law enforcement officers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, who heads to Wilmington, North Carolina Thursday to talk about the economy, is detouring to Charlotte to meet with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job — just a week after he sat down with the grieving relatives of two cops killed in Upstate New York.
The visit is expected to take place with little fanfare behind closed doors, as the White House aims to respect the privacy of grieving families and avoid the appearance of using their grief for political purposes. The meeting was expected at the airport, an option meant to be the least taxing for local law enforcement still reeling from the deaths but who would have a hand in securing the president’s trip.
Once again, Biden will seek to be an empathetic leader for a community reeling from gun violence, while also calling for stricter rules around firearms and better funding for law enforcement on the front lines.
Four officers were killed earlier this week in North Carolina, when a wanted man opened fire on a joint agency task force that had come to arrest him on a warrant for possession of a firearm as an ex-felon, and fleeing to elude capture. They were: Sam Poloche and William Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Eyer; and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks.
Four other officers were wounded in the gunfire; the suspect was killed. An AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 40-caliber handgun and ammunition were found at the scene.
An AR-15 is among the weapons most often used in mass shootings, and it’s the type of gun Biden is talking about when he says the U.S. should ban “ assault weapons.” Congress passed the most comprehensive gun safety legislation in decades in 2022, after a horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But it didn’t go far enough, Biden often says.
And as he campaigns for the 2024 election, Biden has made curbing gun violence a major campaign platform, elusive to Democrats even during the Obama era, as he fends off attacks from Republican challenger Donald Trump that he is soft on crime and anti-police.
Biden said this week in a statement after the North Carolina killings that the U.S. must “do more to protect our law enforcement officers. That means funding them — so they have the resources they need to do their jobs and keep us safe.”
The violence came just about two weeks after another fatal shooting of law enforcement officers in Syracuse, New York; Lieutenant Michael Hoosock and Officer Michael Jensen were killed while looking for a driver who fled a traffic stop. After his speech, Biden met with relatives of both of the officers’ families.
Biden had already been scheduled to come to Syracuse to celebrate Micron Technology’s plans to build a campus of computer chip factories, but the local police union said officers were still coming to terms with the deaths and weren’t happy with the president’s trip and had hoped he would delay.
On Thursday, Biden will also travel on to Wilmington, where he’s announcing his administration is providing states an additional $3 billion to replace lead pipes across the country, building on $5.8 billion in federal funds for water infrastructure projects around the country announced in February.
Money for the pipe replacement comes from one of the administration’s key legislative victories, the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed in 2021. The infrastructure law includes over $50 billion to upgrade America’s water infrastructure.
“It’s far past time to get the lead out once and for all,″ Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said Wednesday. “This is a matter of public health, a matter of environmental justice, and a matter of basic human rights.”
Biden and his administration are committed to using all tools available “to achieve a 100% lead-free future for all Americans,” Regan told reporters at a White House briefing. “Every single day we are one step closer to a future where no child has to suffer from the lasting effects of lead exposure.″
The new round of funding will help pay for projects nationwide as Biden seeks to replace all lead pipes in the country.
EPA estimates that North Carolina has 370,000 lead pipes, and $76 million will go to replace them statewide. Biden also will meet with faculty and students at a Wilmington school that replaced a water fountain with high levels of lead with funding from the law.
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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Matthew Daly and Josh Boak contributed to this story.
HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — An animal more commonly found in the South-Central U.S. is making its way into western North Carolina.
Armadillos are beginning to show up more frequently, according to the N.C. Cooperative Extension Office in Henderson County.
IF YOU SEE AN ARMADILLO IN NORTH CAROLINA, WILDLIFE OFFICIALS WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
They’re considered an exotic invasive species and can cause damage to yards, buildings, and even forest ecosystems.
AS TICK BITES SURGE NATIONWIDE, VETERINARIANS SAY MOST CASES START WITH PETS
Trapping is considered the simplest way to remove armadillos; they can also be hunted with a permit.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (5)
Officials advise people to keep their distance if they encounter an armadillo in the wild.
JetZero will make the Z4 in Greensboro. Designed for the unserved commercial middle market, with 250 passenger capacity on a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles, the Z4 will be up to 50 percent more fuel efficient with an elevated passenger experience and will readily fit into today’s airport infrastructure.
“Today, a great new chapter in North Carolina’s storied history of flight is taking off,” said Governor Josh Stein. “JetZero’s decision to build here is a vote of confidence in North Carolina’s workforce, our universities and community colleges, and our long aerospace tradition. These 14,500 jobs and $4.7 billion in investment will transform the triad region for generations. North Carolina is not only First in Flight, we are the future of flight, too.”
“It should come as no surprise that JetZero is breaking ground here in North Carolina – the first in flight state,” said Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero. “North Carolina has a vision for its future as a global aerospace hub, and JetZero shares that vision. We believe the time has come for an all-wing airplane, to support the industry’s need for more efficient airplanes that also deliver an incredible experience. We intend to reshape aviation, from right here in North Carolina.”
JetZero is also designing military variants of the Z4, including an aerial refueler and transport aircraft. As a refueler, the all-wing design allows for twice the range or twice the payload to support U.S. air power.
With America’s 250th birthday just three weeks away, the timing of today’s groundbreaking carries special meaning. As the nation celebrates a quarter millennium of innovation and independence, JetZero’s commitment to reinventing how aircraft are designed and built stands as a testament to that same pioneering spirit, carrying American aviation boldly into the next century.
Digital-First, AI-Native Smart Factory
JetZero’s Greensboro plant will be designed using advanced digital and AI native platforms developed in collaboration with Siemens and Deloitte. These platforms and tools allow engineers to build a complete digital twin of the factory before any concrete is poured — testing how machines, people, and materials will move through the building, and making changes on a screen rather than on a job site. That flexibility is rare in aerospace manufacturing and will make the Greensboro facility the most efficient and adaptable plant of its kind anywhere in the world.
“Our partnership with JetZero demonstrates how cutting-edge industrial technology can help reindustrialize America,” said Ann Fairchild, President and CEO, Siemens USA. “Our digital twins help bring the next generation of manufacturing facilities to life faster and with greater confidence. We’re proud to help JetZero build a world-class aerospace facility that will create thousands of jobs and strengthen North Carolina’s position as the next great U.S. aerospace hub.”
“By pairing advanced AI and digital tools with our deep operational and industry experience, we’re helping JetZero set a new standard for manufacturing speed, quality, and scale,” Kelly Herod, chief client officer, Deloitte. “Our work with JetZero brings automation and AI together with data strategies informed by our experience at The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita—connecting design, the shop floor, and the workforce.”
Construction in Greensboro begins immediately, with hiring expected to ramp in phases over the next decade as the facility comes online.
About JetZero
JetZero is an American aerospace company developing a new generation of more efficient commercial and defense aircraft. The company partners with leading manufacturers and technology providers to advance the future of flight through innovation and American manufacturing excellence.
Media Contact
[email protected]
SOURCE JetZero
North Carolina
North Carolina gains inside track to College World Series finals with 5-2 win over West Virginia
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gavin Gallaher’s two-run triple gave North Carolina the lead in the seventh inning to help send the Tar Heels to a 5-2 win over West Virginia in the College World Series on Sunday night.
The Tar Heels (52-12-1) opened a CWS with two straight wins for the first time in eight appearances since 2006 and need one more victory to reach the best-of-three finals next weekend. They’re off until Wednesday, when they’ll meet the winner of a Tuesday elimination game between the Mountaineers (46-16) and Troy.
“Our goal is to play really well on Wednesday,” Carolina coach Scott Forbes said, “but I think I’ll sleep pretty good tonight going 2-0.”
The Tar Heels scored three unearned runs against Big 12 pitcher of the year Maxx Yehl (9-3) to break a 2-all tie in the seventh with country music star and North Carolina booster Eric Church cheering them on in a suite.
They had runners on first and second after West Virginia third baseman Tyrus Hall and second baseman Brodie Kresser couldn’t come up with grounders. Gallaher lined a ball deep into the gap in right center for a 4-2 lead and he came home when Owen Hull grounded a ball up the middle for a single.
“When you give a great team five outs, it’s hard to get through it,” Mountaineers coach Steve Sabins said, “and the groundball broke our back.”
An inning earlier, Forbes called a team meeting in the dugout and, according to ESPN, told his players they needed to play looser and have more fun. The Tar Heels went three-up, three-down in the sixth, but the next inning Gallaher and his teammates were having a jolly time on a clear and cool evening at Charles Schwab Field.
Forbes called Gallaher “Mr. Clutch” for his history of coming up with big hits in critical situations over his three years in the program.
“I just try to keep everything the same, stick to my routine and trust my preparation,” Gallaher said. “I keep grinding.”
Gallaher said he also finds comfort having Forbes coaching third base.
“Always has a smile on his face, and that takes weight off your shoulders,” he said.
The mood in the Tar Heels’ dugout changed in the ninth. Walker McDuffie (9-3), who relieved starter Ryan Lynch in the fifth, gave up a walk and single to bring Ben Lumsden to the plate as the potential tying run with one out.
Caden Glauber, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief in a 6-2 win over Mississippi on Friday, came on and struck out Lumsden and Hall to earn his fifth save.
Sabins said the task they face to reach the finals is difficult but not insurmountable. The Mountaineers won three elimination games in regionals.
“We were able to scratch back and claw back,” he said. “You get a little bit more rest in this event. So guys get rested, recover, come back and try to eliminate a team in a day.”
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