North Carolina
North Carolina lawmakers condemn Hamas attacks, urge Congress to support Israel
State lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly acted Tuesday to condemn Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel by Hamas militants and to urge the U.S. Congress to provide support to the country.
The North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 897, while members of the North Carolina Senate signed a statement. A few members in each chamber did not vote for the resolution or sign the statement, including those that represent Duke and Durham.
HR 897 was filed by House Speaker Tim Moore, and urged Congress “to offer full and unequivocal support of Israel financially for as long as it takes for Israel to bring justice in light of the unprovoked attacks on innocent Israeli civilians.”
“That is senseless violence. That is terrorism,” Moore said on the House floor. “Just in the way that we as a nation were attacked on 9/11, so too Israel has been attacked, and we owe it to a freedom-loving democracy to stand with them in their time of need.”
The resolution was adopted unanimously 104-0, with broad bipartisan support. Four representatives had excused absences. Twelve representatives, all Democrats, did not vote for the resolution and walked out of the chamber when the vote was being held.
Among the 12 non-voting representatives was state Rep. Marcia Morey, whose district includes Duke and parts of Durham. In a Wednesday post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Morey wrote that she didn’t vote for the resolution “because it did not go far enough to condemn the violence and resulting suffering to civilians and children in Israel and Gaza.”
At around the same time that the resolution was being voted on, lawmakers in the state Senate signed a statement that condemned “the heinous acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas” and declared that they “stand with the people of Israel.”
The statement also urged North Carolina’s congressional delegation to “reaffirm that America stands with Israel against all who seek its destruction.”
The names of all Republican state senators and all but four Democratic state senators were included on the statement. State Sen. Mike Woodard, a Democrat, who represents Duke and parts of Durham and whose name was included on the statement, did not sign it due to an excused absence while running for Durham mayor in Tuesday’s primary election, which he won.
One of the four names that were not included was state Sen. Natalie Murdock, who represents parts of Durham.
The Republican chairmen of the North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee released a statement Wednesday, calling on the state’s top Democratic Party leaders, including Gov. Roy Cooper, to denounce the four state senators who did not sign the statement.
“You would think that every member of the Senate would support a Senatorial Statement standing against the beheading of babies, the murder and rape of women and the slaughtering of innocent teenagers attending a music festival, but that is not the case,” the statement read. “Why have these Democrats chosen to hide behind silence as the terrorist group Hamas commits crimes against humanity, including the execution of civilian hostages?”
Democratic state Sen. Lisa Grafstein blasted the statement in a post on X, asking that the statement be taken down.
“This is a bad faith use of the statement Sen. Alexander and I put forth yesterday — an unconscionable use of this tragic situation to take a cheap political shot,” she wrote.
Cooper indicated his support for Israel in a Sunday post on X. He wrote that he had directed the Department of Public Safety to bolster security at houses of worship to “remain vigilant against any potential threats” in the state.
“I stand with Israel and strongly condemn the horrific attacks being perpetrated by Hamas and others. This violence is unthinkable and must be stopped,” he wrote. “My heart is with the people of Israel and all North Carolinians with family and friends there.”
U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee, who represents Duke and Durham in Congress, wrote in a Saturday post on X, that her “heart is with Israel and the Israeli people” and condemned the “horrific attacks by Hamas on innocent civilians and communities.
“I stand with Israel and will always support their right to defend themselves during these extreme, orchestrated acts of terrorism,” she wrote.
On Wednesday, Foushee signed onto a proposed bipartisan resolution supporting Israel and condemning the Hamas attacks.
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| Managing Editor
Jazper Lu is a Trinity junior and managing editor of The Chronicle’s 119th volume.
ASHEBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — The North Carolina Zoo is celebrating 50 years.
Located in Asheboro, the zoo houses about 1,700 animals and over 250 species primarily from Africa and North America.
On social media, NC Zoo wrote Friday:
“Throughout our history, we’ve been home to a diverse array of remarkable animals, dedicated keepers, and passionate employees who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Join us in honoring this milestone by visiting the Zoo in 2024!”
The Zoo also mentioned the Zoo’s first animals, which were two Galapagos tortoises named Tort and Retort.
The post said in part: “These two tortoises symbolize the early days of the North Carolina Zoo and are cherished deeply in our hearts.”
The North Carolina Zoo is one of two state-supported zoos in the country. The other is the Minnesota Zoo.
Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
North Carolina
NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank
With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.
MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.
A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.
More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?
North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous
According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:
- Louisiana – 7.55/10
- California – 7.21/10
- New Mexico – 6.74/10
- Hawaii – 6.73/10
- Delaware – 6.67/10
- New Jersey – 6.53/10
- Mississippi – 6.47/10
- North Carolina – 6.39/10
- Massachusetts – 6.33/10
- Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10
According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.
For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.
The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.
More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?
Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.
Brunswick County
Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.
New Hanover County
Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.
Pender County
Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.
Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.
Tropical Storm Debby already has parts of Florida under tropical storm warnings. The Florida Big Bend is currently under a Hurricane Warning. Debby is forecast to briefly strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico where water temperatures are near 90 degrees.
As it continues its path over land it is expected to dial back to tropical storm strength as it reaches the Carolinas mid to late next week. Moderate rainfall is possible for northeast North Carolina and southern Virginia by the end of the week.
Higher amounts of rain are possible for southernmost portions of the Outer Banks but generally models show 2-4 inches for northeast North Carolina and 1-2 inches for southern Virginia through Thursday.
Stay with News 3’s First Warning Weather Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.
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