Since their advent in 1960, modern televised presidential debates have always taken place in the latter days of the campaign — usually in October.

This year, things will be very different. The first of two debates between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will take place this Thursday, June 27 in Atlanta — in the heat of summer and prior even to the formal party nominations that each man will receive in July (Trump) and August (Biden). A second earlier-than-usual debate is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 10.

And in keeping with what has clearly been an all-out effort by the Biden-Harris campaign to capitalize on the momentum it senses it has gathered in the aftermath of Trump’s conviction in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payoff to a porn star, North Carolina — a state that Trump won handily in 2016 and narrowly in 2020 — has risen to become priority for the Democratic ticket in 2024.

It’s already been widely reported that President and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to the Raleigh area on Friday as one of their first stops after the debate, but Newsline has learned that the Friday appearance will actually serve as the culmination of a week of intense campaign activity in the state — one that commenced last Friday with an event highlighting the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling that ended the constitutional right to abortion and continued on Sunday with the opening of a Raleigh campaign office.

Among the events scheduled in the coming days, according to a campaign representative:

• Monday, June 24: Dobbs Anniversary Press Conference with U.S. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Congresswoman Alma Adams, and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles: On the day of the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, U.S. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Congresswoman Alma Adams, and State Representative Diamond Staton-Williams will join local leaders, health care providers and storytellers to campaign for President Biden and Vice President Harris and underscore the threat a second Donald Trump term poses to North Carolinians’ reproductive freedoms.

• Tuesday, June 25: Dobbs Anniversary Roundtable with State Representative Lindsay Prather, former State Senator Terry Van Duyn, storytellers, advocates and providers: North Carolina elected officials, providers, and advocates will hold a roundtable discussion to underscore the importance of this election in determining our reproductive freedoms.

• Tuesday, June 25: Campaign Reception in Charlotte with First Lady Jill Biden: Ahead of the debate and a rally in Raleigh with President Joe Biden, the First Lady will attend a campaign reception in Charlotte.

• Wednesday, June 26: Pre-debate press call with economists and business leaders about Trump’s threat to our economy: Economists and business leaders from across the state will hold a press call focused on the contrast between President Biden’s delivering for working and middle class families across North Carolina, ushering in the strongest economy in the world and bringing unemployment to historic lows, with Donald Trump’s push to slash taxes for his billionaire friends and large corporations.

• Thursday, June 27: Debate Watch Parties across North Carolina: The campaign will host 24 watch parties across the state with over 1000 attendees – with countless other North Carolinians hosting watch parties in their homes. Watch parties will serve as a way to fire up volunteers and demonstrate to voters the stark contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

• Friday, June 28: Immediately following the debate, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to North Carolina for a rally in the Raleigh area.

The representative told Newsline the campaign will also host more than 150 events across the state next weekend — canvass launches, phonebanks, volunteer trainings, and other events — leading up to Friday’s presidential visit.

CBS reports that Donald Trump, who has not campaigned in North Carolina since severe weather scuttled a planned Wilmington rally in April, has announced that his first post-debate campaign event will take place somewhere in the Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads region of Virginia — an area that is accessible to many residents of northeastern North Carolina.

Rivals four-star Je’rel Bolder is off the board.

After official visits to Virginia, Georgia and N.C. State, the Pack sealed the deal with one of the nation’s top pass-catchers out of their backyard.

Bolder, ranked as a four-star by Rivals and the No. 47 WR in the country from Marshville (N.C.) Forest Hills High, committed to NC State over the Dawgs on Sunday.

“It was definitely an easy choice,” Bolder told Rivals. “It felt like if I was walking on my front doorstep and being at home.”

The Wolfpack have been a mainstay in Bolder’s recruitment dating back to last season.

National programs like Ohio State and Georgia kicked the tires with the 6-foot-1, 190-pound playmaker from North Carolina. The Dawgs hosted Bolder for G-Day and moved the needle during his recent official visit to Athens.

Returning to Raleigh, however, reaffirmed a theme of Bolder’s recruitment — the longevity of his connections to the Wolfpack coaches.

“The coaching staff over there has been recruiting me for a long time and they’ve always made me feel like I’m a top priority,” Bolder explained. “From just talking to Coach (Joker) Philips and hearing him talk ball, I loved his philosophy.”

Ahead of official visits this summer, Bolder identified N.C. State as the team pursuing him the hardest.

“They have been recruiting me since my freshman year and I’m a top guy on their board,” he told Rivals this spring.

Bolder is the No. 8 overall player in the state of North Carolina for the 2025 cycle. He’s the No. 47 wideout in America heading into his senior season.

SUNSET BEACH, N.C. (WNCN) — Just as the first week of summer gets underway, things have been busy at the North Carolina coast — with a reported shark bite, an alligator scare and more than 150 water rescues amid dangerous rip currents.

Summer began on Thursday and since then much of the coast has been under a red flag warning for a high risk of rip currents. There were 152 rip current rescues along New Hanover County and Carteret County beaches starting Wednesday and continuing through Saturday — with more than 80 at Carolina Beach, the National Weather Service said.

But the activity at the coast wasn’t limited to rip current water rescues. On Tuesday a man was sent to an area hospital after a “shark bite” at an island beach in Brunswick County, near the South Carolina border.

The incident, which was initially reported as a shark bite, happened just before 11:25 a.m. Tuesday in the surf at Sunset Beach.

A 20-year-old man was swimming on the eastern side of the island near 11th Street when he was bitten on the lower leg and was “immediately” taken by Brunswick County Emergency Medical Services to a hospital, according to Sunset Beach Police Department.

Police later said a cut on the man’s leg was caused by “some sort of sea life” but could not confirm it was a shark bite.

On Wednesday — nearly a half mile off the coast of Oak Island — crews had to rescue two youths on a paddle board who had drifted out to sea, officials said.

Oak Island Water Rescue and the U.S Coast Guard were involved in the rescue around 3:35 p.m. which involved getting the pair back to the Brunswick County island. East to West longshore currents and offshore winds forced the pair about 2,000 feet off the beach, according to the Oak Island Fire Department.

A drone flew out to the pair who were far off Barbee Boulevard. The youths communicated with the device using the camera and a speaker on the drone, the Oak Island Fire Department said.

On Thursday — also at Sunset Beach — an alligator lurking under a car frightened folks at a Mexican restaurant, police said.

The alligator was only 5 feet long but the animal’s head looked menacing sticking out under a car, according to the Sunset Beach Police Department.

Wildlife crews and police were called Thursday afternoon to Las Palmeras Mexican Restaurant on Chandlers Lane, near the Food Lion in Sunset Beach.

“When the officers arrived, the alligator was tucked under the vehicle with his head peering out from the driver’s side door, blocking access to the vehicle,” police said.

Crews and police managed to get control of the gator “out of concern for the safety of the vehicle owner” and move it to a nearby pond, according to police.

“Never approach an alligator or allow children near them. Alligators can move very quickly over short distances,” Sunset Beach Police said.

As the weekend was underway, red flag and high rip current warnings continued along many North Carolina beaches on Saturday. There were 152 rip current rescues from Thursday through Saturday in New Hanover and Carteret counties, the National Weather Service reported.

The total water rescues for Wednesday and Thursday in New Hanover County was 20 at Kure Beach, 14 at Wrightsville Beach and 35 at Carolina Beach, the National Weather Service reported. Four total rip current rescues were reported at Atlantic Beach in Carteret County on Thursday and Saturday.

On Friday and Saturday, there were 38 water rescues at Carolina Beach, 21 at Kure Beach and 10 at Wrightsville Beach, the National Weather Service told CBS 17 Saturday.

Dangerous rip currents were reported Saturday from Cape Hatteras to Surf City. The National Weather Service also reported rip currents in Pender and New Hanover counties.

Saturday, the National Weather Service in Wilmington told CBS 17 that the forecast for dangerous rip currents in New Hanover County and Brunswick County was likely to diminish for the rest of the weekend.