North Carolina
North Carolina election board faces GOP-led federal investigation over parties’ ballot access
(The Center Square) – Actions of the state Board of Elections in North Carolina are being investigated by the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
This is after the board denied ballot access to three political parties, even though each exceeded the number of signatures required to qualify.
In a letter from the Judiciary Committee and the House Administration Committee, which is also investigating the decision, the lawmakers stated they are seeking more “documents and information” about the decision.
“The Committee on House Administration and the Committee on the Judiciary are concerned that the NCSBE’s decision was politically motivated and may have been done to influence the 2024 presidential election by limiting the candidates for which voters may cast their ballots,” wrote Jordan and Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin.
Steil is chairman of the House Administration Committee.
The three parties support Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Randall Terry for the 2024 presidential race.
The parties each submitted more than the 13,865 votes required to appear on the ballot, according to records from the state’s Board of Elections.
While they were first denied access to the ballot last week, the committee said before the federal investigation was even open that they would reconsider the issue again in July.
The letter from the federal committees says the decision was made based on the “political motivations” of the members of the board, pointing out that the three Democrats on the board all voted against the petition requests.
“For example,” the letter says. “In its denial of one petition, the Democrat members voted to block the petition simply because the address of the party’s chairman was not up to date on the petition sheets.”
Both Republicans on the board voted in favor of approving the petition.
The federal committees were not the first to react negatively to the board’s decision, which faced widespread backlash.
The Libertarian Party of North Carolina released a statement supporting the petitions from the other three underdog parties, calling the decision “election interference.”
“The Libertarian Party of North Carolina (@LPNC) is deeply disappointed, though hardly surprised, with the North Carolina State Board of Elections (@NCSBE) decision yesterday to limit the choices of the people of North Carolina in keeping the We the People Party, the Constitution Party, and the Justice for All Party off the ballot in North Carolina,” it posted on X. “We resoundingly reject this partisan and anti-American decision that mocks the concept of democracy and destroys any pretense of representative government.”
If the decision is not reversed soon, the candidates will miss the deadline to appear on the ballot in November.
Because of this, the federal committees requested the board respond to their request by Monday so they can “conduct oversight” and avoid any undue “influence” or “sway” the board is attempting to have over the election in North Carolina.
North Carolina
8 now arrested in North Carolina house party shootings and more attempted-murder charges are filed
North Carolina
400-pound monster alligator named Pepe ‘detained’ for ‘being a dinosaur without proper papers’ in NC
The scales of justice came for Pepe.
Cops detained – and rescued – a monster 10-foot alligator they nicknamed Pepe the Gator sunbathing on a busy road in North Carolina and “charged” him on suspicion of being a “dinosaur.”
“Witnesses say he was just chilling and snapping, clearly ignoring the ‘no loitering or lounging on roadways’ sign,” the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a playful press release last week. “Pepe has been cited for Suspicion of Being a Dinosaur Without Proper Papers, Public Loitering with Intent to Sunbathe, and Obstructing Traffic.”
The responding deputies and officers from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission who got the call on May 25 managed to safely remove Pepe, but not before posing for pictures where they straddle him like rodeo riders.
“He was 10 feet long, 400 pounds. He was an absolute monster,” Trevor Dunnell, spokesman for the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office told the Post Thursday.
“They did a fantastic job of wrangling him.”
To indicate the scale of the gator, Dunnell pointed out how, in the picture, even with three grown men on top of him, Pepe’s still not covered.
“The picture really doesn’t do it justice, I mean 10 feet … 10 feet is a basketball goal, that is a massive creature,” he said.
Although 10 feet seems big, it’s nothing compared to the largest gator on record – 14 feet and 3 and a half inches.
Deputies and wildlife officials used a towel to cover Pepe’s eyes — eye contact is what triggers the animal’s notorious death roll, Dunnell explained — and electrical tape to seal his mouth shut.
“It was definitely some MacGyver stuff they had to use,” he said. “He may not have a good time during the removal, but he was playfully enough about it later to understand that, ‘Hey, man, you gotta do what you gotta do.’”
Dunnell said the office received blowback from people online wishing the cops had just left Pepe alone. but Dunnell was quick to point out that leaving the reptile on the side of the road could have posed a hazard not only to residents but also to the gator.
“You never know what can happen when kids are running around,” he said. “And the gator could wind up in the middle of the road. It could hurt drivers but it could hurt him, too.”
Dunnell said he hopes to see body camera footage of Pepe’s apprehension. The two deputies and the wildlife official in the picture are happy to be riding him, Dunnell said, adding that if authorities encounter another Pepe, they’ll know who to call.
“But some deputies were absolutely not fine,” he said. “When they got back, they were saying, ‘You’re not going to catch me on that thing. I’m not going to go anywhere near it!’”
Pepe was far from home, and Dunnell suspects that it was a hot day and he was looking for a good spot to bask.
“How far he wandered is anybody’s guess,” he said. “It must’ve been several miles at least.”
After further investigation, Dunnell said, they declined to charge Pepe. Instead, they drove him to a boat ramp at nearby Camp Geiger, a satellite facility of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
“I think we’ve touched base with the gator and let him know we dropped the charges,” he joked.
“Pepe’s back to his normal routine, he’s hanging out near the beach and lounging in his natural habitat, hunting for his food and looking for a girlfriend.”
Tech giant Amazon has announced a $10bn investment in the US state of North Carolina to expand its data centre infrastructure.
The project aims to support advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing technologies.
The investment, according to the company, will create at least 500 “high-skilled” jobs.
It will also support thousands of additional jobs within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre supply chain.
According to Amazon’s press release, the rising demand for generative AI is increasing the need for advanced cloud infrastructure and compute power.
This expansion will strengthen AWS data centres in the state.
Commenting on the move, Amazon chief global affairs and legal officer David Zapolsky said: “Amazon’s $10bn investment in North Carolina underscores our commitment to driving innovation and advancing the future of cloud computing and AI technologies.”
“We look forward to partnering with state and local leaders, local suppliers, and educational institutions to nurture the next generation of talent.”
In a separate development, Amazon is reportedly developing software for humanoid robots.
These robots could potentially replace delivery workers, Reuters reported citing a report published by The Information, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The company is building a “humanoid park,” an indoor obstacle course, at one of its San Francisco offices to test these robots. Amazon is focusing on developing the AI software for these robots while using hardware from other firms for testing.
Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
Recently, Amazon started testing a new feature that uses generative AI (genAI) to create short-form audio summaries on select product detail pages.
The feature provides concise overviews of products by analysing product details, customer reviews, and other relevant online information.
The initial test feature targets products that often require careful consideration before buying, offering clear insights through in-depth discussion to help Amazon customers shop more efficiently, the company said in a post.
Sign up for our daily news round-up!
Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.
Club World Cup team guide – Inter Miami: Messi’s star power, slow start for Mascherano
Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston – The Boston Globe
Drag, brunch, and community: Denver's Champagne Tiger serves Pride all year long
Julio robs HR, but Seattle Mariners losing streak hits 4
Gloria, Jewish groups back away from San Diego Pride over headliner Kehlani’s Gaza stance
-
News1 week agoVideo: Faizan Zaki Wins Spelling Bee
-
Politics6 days agoMichelle Obama facing backlash over claim about women's reproductive health
-
News1 week agoVideo: Harvard Commencement Speaker Congratulates and Thanks Graduates
-
Politics1 week agoMusk officially steps down from DOGE after wrapping work streamlining government
-
News1 week agoPresident Trump pardons rapper NBA YoungBoy in flurry of clemency actions
-
Technology1 week agoAI could consume more power than Bitcoin by the end of 2025
-
Technology1 week agoSEC drops Binance lawsuit in yet another gift to crypto
-
Technology1 week agoOpenAI wants ChatGPT to be a ‘super assistant’ for every part of your life