North Carolina
Mark Robinson attempts to quash GOP dissent as neighboring states' governors abandon his campaign • NC Newsline
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is attempting to rally Republican support in the final stretch of the North Carolina governor’s race — but it won’t include the GOP governors in all four neighboring states.
In the days since CNN published an investigation connecting Robinson to a series of explicit racial and sexual posts online, the governors of South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia — all Republicans — have distanced themselves from Robinson’s candidacy.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, head of the group for GOP governors, has withdrawn his endorsement. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he “will not be offering further support,” while Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office similarly said he had “no plans” for future support. And South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster plans to direct his attention elsewhere.
“I don’t think I’ll be going back to North Carolina,” McMaster told South Carolina reporters. “They haven’t asked me to come. I have been there before. I campaign for a lot of Republicans, and I will continue to do that. But I think there are others that may need help as well.”
The comments come as the Republican Governors Association, the campaign group dedicating to electing GOP governors, halted spending in the state despite it being one of the only competitive races this cycle. RGA’s most recent spending expired on Tuesday; they have not made any new investments.
Robinson, meanwhile, has sought to rally what remaining support he has left among Republicans, while stamping out criticism within the party. In a short video posted to social media Wednesday, he appears to be speaking on a video call on a computer.
“This morning I spoke with Republican leaders across the state and made it clear: This is an election about policies, not personalities,” Robinson wrote. “Now is not the time for intra-party squabbling and nonsense.”
“A surefire way to destroy this country is to start attacking each other rather than enemies at hand,” Robinson wrote in another post. “As Republicans, we should have one mission, and that is VICTORY in November.”
His campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the four governors distancing themselves from Robinson.
NC GOP candidates want answers — but those in top races stop short of calls to step aside
The reception from North Carolina Republicans down the ticket have been slightly less chilly.
GOP candidates for statewide office have urged Robinson to get to the bottom of the online comments. He has hired an attorney to investigate CNN’s reporting, and today pledged “complete cooperation.”
Hal Weatherman, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, said if Robinson can prove the allegations are false, “he will win in a landslide.” If not, “he will lose, because the comments being attributed to him are highly disturbing.”
Weatherman said Republicans in the state “need to stay focused on winning our own races.” He did not call for Robinson to step aside as nominee if he cannot find evidence that proves he did not make the online comments.
U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop said he was “focused on winning the attorney general’s race.”
“As a matter of law, any decisions about how to proceed in the governor’s race rest solely with Mark and are between him and the people of North Carolina,” Bishop wrote on social media.
One Republican candidate has explicitly called for Robinson to step aside if he’s unable to refute the allegations made in the CNN story — Brad Briner, the nominee for state treasurer.
“If Mark Robinson cannot put these allegations to rest in the coming days, he should step aside for a candidate that can turn the focus of the campaign back to issues like inflation, healthcare costs and taxes that voters tell me they are concerned about,” Briner wrote.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis did not explicitly call for Robinson to step aside, but did write on social media that if the reporting is true, Robinson should “take accountability for his actions and put the future of NC & our party before himself.” He gave Robinson a deadline of Friday. U.S. Sen. Ted Budd called the allegations “disturbing,” and said Robinson should prove they’re not true.
Robinson has not listed any public events on his campaign website since Monday.
Several media outlets reported Wednesday that top staffers in the lieutenant governor’s state office have issued resignations this week. Robinson announced Thursday afternoon that Krishana Polite would serve as his new chief of staff. She previously served as the deputy chief of staff.
North Carolina
People gather for NC Museum of History's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — November is Native American Heritage Month, and it’s a time to celebrate the traditions and cultures of the many Native American communities across North Carolina.
On Friday and Saturday, the North Carolina Museum of History held its annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. People learned about Native American history through live performances, food, art, storytelling and more.
Since the history museum is closed for renovation, the celebration was held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
“Our songs, our dances, our stories, our language–it’s all medicine to us,” Community Programs Coordinator of NC Museum of History Kaya Littleturtle said at last year’s celebration. “Medicine is anything that makes you well be it physical, spiritual, emotional, all those things are medicine. We hope is that people come out here and they learn about those things, to help uplift us as a people. We hope that it inspires them to go get engaged with things to help uplift them as a people.
This was the 29th year of the celebration.
Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
North Carolina
Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team
Duke hasn’t played pretty football at times, but the Blue Devils have consistently proven to be the top team in North Carolina.
After beating UNC (6-5, 3-4) and N.C. State (5-6, 2-5) earlier this year, Duke (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will go for the Tobacco Road sweep in the regular-season finale at Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) on Nov. 30 (Noon, ACC Network).
Because of their consistently dominant defense and the ability to handle in-game adversity, the Blue Devils are in position to win double-digit games for just the second time in program history.
That’s quite a debut for first-year coach Manny Diaz, who has helped the Blue Devils win five of their six one-score games this season, including a 31-28 victory against Virginia Tech on Saturday in the home finale at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Duke report card vs Virginia Tech
Here’s what and who stood out on senior night in Duke’s eighth win of the 2024 college football season.
Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol caps comeback with special finale at Wallace Wade Stadium
Eli Pancol, Duke’s sixth-year wide receiver who missed the 2023 season with an injury, capped his comeback with an incredible performance in the final home game of his career.
Eli Pancol’s incredible comeback story
Finishing with five catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, Pancol did most of that damage on two of the first four plays when he had an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by a 77-yard catch-and-run TD. In his final two games at Wallace Wade Stadium, Pancol combined for 16 catches for 326 yards and four touchdowns.
Ozzie Nicholas, Cam Bergeron, Kendy Charles shine for Duke football defense
Pancol wasn’t the only senior to shine Saturday night against the Hokies. Duke’s top three tacklers were seniors, combining for 31 tackles, including three for loss. Princeton graduate transfer Ozzie Nicholas, Duke’s leading tackler, led the way again with 11 tackles. Fellow linebacker Cam Bergeron and defensive tackle Kendy Charles each had 10 tackles.
Overall, Duke had 14 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. The Blue Devils have consistently been among the top five teams in the nation at creating havoc for offenses as a steady presence in the backfield. It’s the main reason Duke is in position to reach 10 wins this season.
Manny Diaz keeps proving he was right hire for Blue Devils
Duke has won 10 games once since 1922, getting it done in 2013 under former coach David Cutcliffe, who helped resurrect a struggling program. Following Cutcliffe’s departure, Mike Elko won nine games in his first season and eight in his second before bolting to Texas A&M.
After a successful stint as a defensive coordinator at Penn State, Diaz got a second head-coaching opportunity when Duke hired him in December 2023. In three seasons as the head coach at Miami, Diaz had one year with eight wins. He accomplished that in his debut year at Duke, putting the program in position to join an exclusive club if the Devils can win their final two games.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
North Carolina
Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops
No. 16 North Carolina and MAC favorite Ball State face-off in the Bahamas for a special one to kick off two weeks full of holiday college basketball tournaments coming live to FloHoops. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 23 and is the second of many in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s College Basketball tournament.
The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based tournament hosts eight teams including No. 18 Baylor, Indiana, and Texas A&M.
No. 16 North Carolina is 3-1, coming off of a close loss a week ago to No. 2 UConn, falling 58-69 to the Huskies. They hold wins this season against NC A&T, UNC-Wilmington, and Charleston Southern.
Currently undefeated, Ball State will be hoping to upset North Carolina to add an important win to their resume en route to a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. They have defeated Northern Iowa, IUPUI, Memphis, and Old Dominion so far this season.
Read the live updates, watch highlights and view scores after the game tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina Score At Battle 4 Atlantis
Refresh the page for live updates, highlights and scores from today’s game in the Bahamas. Tip off is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
While You Wait…LIVE NOW: Watch Columbia vs Indiana
Click here to tune in live to more women’s college basketball live on FloHoops.
we’ve got a 3️⃣ point game y’all 👏@CULionsWBB | #Battle4Atlantis | @B4AOfficial pic.twitter.com/9Rg0GzJtl6
— FloCollege | Basketball (@FloCollegeHoops) November 23, 2024
Earlier Today On FloHoops: Baylor Puts Up 15 Threes, Hits Triple Digits vs Southern Miss
After four great quarters of basketball between Southern Miss and Baylor—the Lady Bears come out on top of game one of the Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s tournament.
Five Baylor players had more than 14 points today against the Lady Eagles and were 44% (15-34) from behind the three-point line, making that the most threes for them this season. Fontleroy and Andrews both tallied four.
For Southern Miss, Grayson and Evans led the points with 12, despite Grayson fouling out.
Despite their quick start, the Eagles were unable to keep up with Baylor and will be looking for redemption against the loser of Columbia vs Indiana. Baylor will play the winner.
Read the full game recap.
Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Tournament Schedule
Saturday, November 23
Sunday, November 24
Monday, November 25
Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Bracket
Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Teams
How To Watch The Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Tournament
Every game except the championship of the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis will be streaming on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app.
Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.
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Basketball games are streaming all year long on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app. Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.
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The NCAA Women’s Basketball is streaming live on FloHoops and the FloSports app.
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