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NCAA picks up major legal victories in multiple key eligibility lawsuits

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NCAA picks up major legal victories in multiple key eligibility lawsuits


In legal victories for the NCAA, a judge denied an injunction for Duke and North Carolina athletes in two eligibility lawsuits. The cases were both filed in North Carolina Business Court in Durham County, N.C.

Judge Matthew T. Houston declined to grant a preliminary injunction in Jones v. NCAA and Smith v. NCAA. Four athletes – UNC football player JJ Jones and Duke football players Ryan Smith, Cam Bergeron and Tre’Shon Devones – filed the suits and challenged the NCAA’s “five-year rule,” which gives most athletes four seasons on a roster over five years, barring injury exemptions or waivers.

The NCAA denied Smith, Bergeron and Devones’ waiver requests, but Jones is still waiting on an answer. They brought the suits on the same day, April 3, in Durham County and are being heard together – Jones and Bergeron are listed as plaintiffs in the Jones suit, while Smith and Devones are plaintiffs in the Smith case. The players argued they should receive an extra year due to factors such as mental and physical struggles, a lack of playing time or struggling to adjust to academic standards.

However, during Tuesday’s hearing, Houston cited a lack of sufficient evidence to support granting a preliminary injunction. That means the NCAA’s rules will still be enforced as written. Because the players are all NFL Draft-eligible, they can either wait for the case to proceed out or head to the NFL.

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“That plaintiffs have ultimately presented a possibility, certainly sufficient evidence of a possibility of prevailing on the merits,” Houston said from the bench, via WRAL News’ Brian Murphy. “I think the evidence and record at this point is not sufficient to support a finding that there is a likelihood of prevailing on the merits and it’s largely an issue of what the record supports.”

Devones played six years of college football entering 2025, starting his career at Rice in 2019 and transferring to Duke in 2024. During that time, he has played in 45 games, although he missed the 2021 season due to an injury. By redshirting that year, he had one more season on top of the COVID-19 waiver from the impacted 2020 campaign.

Smith was teammates with Devones and Bergeron in 2019 at Duke as part of his five-year career, which also included the 2020 season. He appeared in 56 games during that time, including three starts. Bergeron, meanwhile, played in 46 games over five years and put together an impressive 2024 season with 83 tackles.

Jones just completed his fourth season at UNC and has nearly 1,800 career yards. However, according to WRAL, there’s “disagreement” about how many games he played as a true freshman in 2021.

The Jones and Smith cases are the latest in a line of eligibility lawsuits the NCAA is facing. A notable one is ongoing in New Jersey as Rutgers player Jett Elad filed suit challenging the five-year rule, claiming he was offered $500,000 to play for the Scarlet Knights this year and the NCAA’s inconsistent approach to waivers is keeping him from earning those NIL dollars.

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As the suits continue to go through the process, a group of college basketball players without eligibility were proactive and entered the transfer portal before the window closed Tuesday. If the NCAA’s eligibility rules shift after a judge’s ruling, those athletes could get another year.



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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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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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