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Court OKs eviction after squatters refuse to leave North Carolina Airbnb, post no trespassing sign

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Court OKs eviction after squatters refuse to leave North Carolina Airbnb, post no trespassing sign


DURHAM, N.C. — A court magistrate has ordered squatters at a Durham, North Carolina Airbnb to leave. But it’s not over yet – they have over a week to appeal the decision.

The Airbnb host, Farzana Rahman, had to take the guests to court to try and get them out.

“I want them out. I don’t know if they have vandalized the place or not, no idea. We will only find out when they leave,” she said.

Thursday, a Durham County magistrate heard Rahman’s case for a summary ejectment. The Airbnb guests did not show up in court. The magistrate did grant Rahman a summary ejectment, but that doesn’t mean the guests will be evicted right away. They still have 10 days to appeal.

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“Good that I was granted the eviction, but the fact that I have to wait 10 more days to get them out is a little frustrating,” Rahman said.

Earlier this month, Rahman reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson with our sister station, ABC11 in Raleigh when her Airbnb guests did not check out of her rental on May 24.

The reservation details show the guests booked a stay at Rahman’s rental starting Oct. 25. The guests paid through Airbnb monthly and were scheduled to checkout May 24 the following year.

When Rahman’s cleaning lady went to clean the rental property, she found a shocking discovery.

“They answered the door and they said, ‘No, we haven’t moved out.’ She said, ‘Should I come tomorrow?’ And they said, ‘No, don’t come back,’” Rahman said.

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After the May 24 deadline came and went, Rahman called the police. In a video Rahman recorded, you can hear a person staying at the rental tell police they will leave. The man inside the rental said: “I assure you we will be gone in the morning. If they can just give us until the morning, that’s all I’m asking for, so we can get our stuff and we can go.”

The next morning, the guests weren’t gone. Instead, they put up a handwritten “no trespassing” sign on the front door.

A months-long Airbnb rental has become a nightmare for the host, because the renters refuse to leave.

“We will vacate the property when you file the proper paperwork with the civil magistrate for an eviction, for we are legal residents of this home,” the sign read.

Wilson tried to talk to the Airbnb guests, but they did not answer the door or return her calls. Wilson eventually got an email from them stating they were the tenant and had all communications records and receipts.

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The email said they only asked that the homeowner communicated with them to give them keys. They claim they were overcharged, had no cleaning and messaged Rahman more than 100 times without receiving a response. They also claimed their checkout date was June 24 not May 24.

Rahman said none of that is true.

“Nothing that they have said they’ve done, so I have no grounds to believe they will leave,” she said.

Rahman said before ABC11’s investigation, Airbnb was not offering any help. But following ABC11’s involvement, Rahman shared with Wilson new messages from Airbnb.

The company stated it was working with the AirCover team regarding damages, additional cleaning and payment for the additional nights the guests stayed past their checkout date.

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Rahman reiterated that none of this happened from Airbnb until ABC11 got involved. After ABC11 contacted Airbnb several times over the past couple days, the company finally provided the station with a statement Thursday afternoon.

“Issues like this are very rare on Airbnb and our team is continuing to work with our host to provide support,” the statement read.

As for Rahman, she must wait until June 25 to see if the guests file an appeal with the court. If they don’t, she can file a writ of possession to have authorities remove the Airbnb guests from her property.

But again, the guests have texted Wilson that they will be out by June 24. They also claimed they would email Wilson proof of their issues and the agreement they have to stay at the property, but they have not done that.

Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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North Carolina

2026 primary turnout report released for eastern NC counties; see your county’s numbers

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2026 primary turnout report released for eastern NC counties; see your county’s numbers


Here are the voter turnout numbers for the 2026 primary election, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Hyde County had the highest voter turnout, while Onslow County had the lowest turnout. Check out what the voter turnout in your county was below:

BERTIE COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

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31.85% (3,911 out of 12,280)

CARTERET COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

29.06% (16,543 out of 56,931)

CRAVEN COUNTY

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Ballots Cast:

18.63% (14,119 out of 75,778)

DUPLIN COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

21.93% (6,981 out of 31,832)

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EDGECOMBE COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

18.16% (6,428 out of 35,396)

GREENE COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

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19.70% (2,147 out of 10,900)

HYDE COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

37.27% (1,123 out of 3,013)

JONES COUNTY

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Ballots Cast:

25.91% (1,805 out of 6,966)

LENOIR COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

16.73% (6,251 out of 37,371)

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MARTIN COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

17.61% (2,858 out of 16,228)

ONSLOW COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

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11.44% (14,816 out of 129,537)

PAMLICO COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

24.03% (2,446 out of 10,180)

PITT COUNTY

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Ballots Cast:

15.71% (19,429 out of 123,705)

TYRRELL COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

30.49% (723 out of 2,371)

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WASHINGTON COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

28.66% (2,312 out of 8,067)

WAYNE COUNTY

Ballots Cast:

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21.49% (16,408 out of 76,358)



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North Carolina

Statewide tornado drill has NC schools and workplaces practicing safety

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Statewide tornado drill has NC schools and workplaces practicing safety


Wednesday, March 4, 2026 6:41PM

NC schools and businesses encouraged to practice tornado safety

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina schools and businesses took part in a statewide tornado drill Wednesday morning as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week.

The National Weather Service led the drill at 9:30 a.m., broadcasting it on NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System. Schools, workplaces and households across the state were encouraged to join in.

The National Weather Service didn’t issue a follow up alert to mark the end of the drill. Instead, each school or business wrapped up once they felt they had practiced the procedures thoroughly.

Wednesday’s drill also replaced the regular weekly NOAA Weather Radio test.

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SEE | New warning for parents amid new ‘fire-breathing’ social media trend

Make sure to download the ABC 11 Mobile App ABC11 North Carolina Apps for Connected TV, Mobile News, Echo

Copyright © 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee holds narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam

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North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee holds narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam


Nida Allam in 2022; Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in 2025.

Jonathan Drake/Reuters; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images


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Jonathan Drake/Reuters; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee holds a narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional district as ballots continue to be counted.

In a race seen as an early test of whether Democratic voters desire generational change within the party, Foushee holds a lead of just over 1,000 votes with 99% of results in so far, according to the Associated Press.

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Under state law, provisional votes will be counted in the coming days in a district that includes Durham and Chapel Hill. If the election results end up within a 1% margin, Allam could request a recount.

Successfully ousting an incumbent lawmaker is often extremely difficult and rare. However, there have been recent upsets in races as some voters are calling for new leaders and several sitting members of Congress face primary challengers this cycle.

Allam, a 32-year-old Durham County Commissioner, is running to the left of Foushee, 69, framing her candidacy as part of a broader rejection of longtime Democratic norms.

On the campaign trail, Allam ran on an anti-establishment message, pledging to be a stronger fighter than Foushee in Congress, both in standing up against President Trump’s agenda and when pushing for more ambitious policy.

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“North Carolina is a purple state that often gets labeled red, but we’re not a red state,” she told NPR in an interview last month, emphasizing the need to address affordability concerns. “We are a state of working-class folks who just want their elected officials to champion the issues that are impacting them.”

She drew a contrast with the congresswoman on immigration, voicing support for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Foushee has declined to go that far, advocating instead for ICE to be defunded and for broader reforms to the federal immigration system.

Allam also clashed with Foushee over U.S. policy towards Israel. As a vocal opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza, Allam swore off campaign donations from pro-Israel lobbying groups, such as AIPAC, and repeatedly criticized Foushee for previously accepting such funds.

Though Foushee announced last year that she would not accept AIPAC donations this cycle, she and Allam continued to spar over the broader role of outside spending in the race.

Their matchup comes four years after the candidates first squared off in 2022, when Allam lost to Foushee in what became the most expensive primary in the state’s history, with outside groups spending more than $3.8 million.

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However, this year is poised to break that record. Outside groups have reported spending more than $4.4 million on the primary matchup, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

WUNC’s Colin Campbell contributed to this report.



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