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Special task force working to prevent child gun deaths in North Carolina

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Special task force working to prevent child gun deaths in North Carolina


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A special task force in North Carolina is pushing for tougher laws when it comes to preventing child guns deaths.

In February, a 3-year-old in east Charlotte got ahold of a loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed himself.

“We have a 3-year-old toddler dead because he was able to gain access to a firearm,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Major Bret Balamucki said at the scene. “If you own firearms for your own safety in your home, you have to keep them secured and locked.”

So far, there have not been any charges filed in the case.

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The NC Child Fatality Task Force’s goal is simply to prevent child deaths and promote well-being. Members said such tragedies do not have to happen and called them “preventable.”

Over the past 10 years, there have been 680 child deaths in North Carolina due to firearm injuries. The NC Child Fatality Task Force stresses the importance of using gun locks and safely storing weapons.

Data shows that more than 75% of guns used in suicide attempts and in cases of unintentional injuries were stored in the home of the victim, a relative or a friend. Numbers also show that more than 40% of adults in NC have a gun in their home, half of which are stored either loaded or in unlocked spaces.

”Those guns can end up in school environment,” one member said. “Thirty percent of high school students say they could be ready to fire a gun in less than an hour without a parent or other adult’s permission.”

To prevent guns getting in the hands of children, the task force is supporting legislation which would change state laws addressing safe storage, with the hope that it could protect minors.

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The task force can make recommendations, but it is up to lawmakers to draft a bill and act on the advice. The NC General Assembly will be back in session later this month.

CMPD: Toddler killed in east Charlotte shooting

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Life-threatening injuries reported after shooting on I-73 South near Wendover Avenue, Greensboro police say

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Life-threatening injuries reported after shooting on I-73 South near Wendover Avenue, Greensboro police say


GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — One person was left with life-threatening injuries in an overnight shooting Sunday, according to the Greensboro Police Department.

At 12:52 a.m., officers responded to a man down call at Interstate 73 South just before the Wendover Avenue exit and found one shooting victim with life-threatening injuries. They were taken to a local hospital.

I-73 South at Wendover Avenue was closed following the shooting. As of 10:22 a.m. Sunday, the road is still closed.

No suspect information was available.

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The investigation is ongoing.



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Seth Trimble returns to lead No. 12 North Carolina past Ohio State 71-70

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Seth Trimble returns to lead No. 12 North Carolina past Ohio State 71-70


ATLANTA (AP) — Henri Veesaar scored the winning basket on a dunk with 7.2 seconds remaining off a pass from a stumbling Seth Trimble, and No. 12 North Carolina held off Ohio State 71-70 on Saturday.

Trimble, playing his first game since breaking his left forearm in a Nov. 9 training mishap, wanted to shoot but tripped as he spun into the lane. As the senior guard was falling, he dished the ball to Veesaar, who slipped past his defender for the emphatic slam.

Ohio State had two chances to pull off the upset.

John Mobley Jr. missed a 3-point try, only to have Devin Royal grab the offensive rebound under the basket. He went back up ahead of the horn, but Caleb Wilson blocked the shot to preserve the win for the Tar Heels.

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Trimble, who played with a wrap covering much of his left arm, and Veesaar both finished with 17 points. Wilson led North Carolina (11-1) with 20.

Trimble also did a stellar defensive job on Ohio State star Bruce Thornton, who was held to 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He came into the game hitting 60.2% from the field.

Royal led the Buckeyes (8-3) with 18 points.

Mobley put Ohio State ahead on a 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds to go, also drawing a foul that made it a four-point play for a 70-67 lead.

Trimble hit a drive in the lane to cut the margin, and Jarin Stevenson made a steal as Ohio State tried to get the ball into the frontcourt to set up the winning basket.

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It was the second game of the CBS Sports Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Kentucky defeated No. 22 St. John’s 78-66 in the opener.

Up next

Ohio State hosts Grambling State on Tuesday.

North Carolina is back in Chapel Hill to face East Carolina on Monday.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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It’s official, North Carolina professors will have to publicly post syllabi

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It’s official, North Carolina professors will have to publicly post syllabi


The UNC System has officially adopted a policy to force all state university professors to publicly post their syllabi.

System President Peter Hans approved the policy measure Friday evening, which didn’t require a vote from the UNC Board of Governors. The new regulation was posted on the System’s website without a public announcement and while all campuses are on winter break.

The decision puts North Carolina in league with other Southern states like Florida, Georgia, and Texas; two of which legislatively mandate syllabi to be public records.

The UNC System’s new syllabi policy not only requires the documents to be public records, but universities must also create a “readily searchable online platform” to display them.

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All syllabi must include learning outcomes, a grading scale, and all course materials students are required to buy. Professors must also include a statement saying their courses engage in “diverse scholarly perspectives” and that accompanying readings are not endorsements. They are, however, allowed to leave out when a class is scheduled and what building it will be held in.

This policy goes into effect on Jan. 15, but universities aren’t required to publicly post syllabi or offer the online platform until fall 2026.

Hans had already announced his decision to make syllabi public records a week in advance through an op-ed in the News & Observer. He said the move would provide greater transparency for students and the general public, as well as clear up any confusion among the 16-university System.

Before now, a spokesperson told WUNC that the syllabus regulations were a “campus level issue” that fell outside of its open records policy. That campus autonomy assessment began to shift after conservative groups started making syllabi requests – and universities reached opposing decisions on how to fulfill them.

Lynn Hey (left); Liz Schlemmer (right)

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Universities like UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro reached different conclusions about what course materials to turn over and what faculty can still control.

Earlier this year, UNC-Chapel Hill sided with faculty, deciding that course materials belong to them and are protected by intellectual property rights. UNC Greensboro, however, made faculty turn in all of their syllabi to fulfill any records requests.

“Having a consistent rule on syllabi transparency, instead of 16 campuses coming up with different rules, helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and similarly committed heading into each new semester,” Hans said in the op-ed.

Still, faculty members from across the UNC System tried to convince Hans to change his mind before his decision was finalized.

About a dozen attempted to deliver a petition to his office days after the op-ed. More than 2,800 faculty, staff, students, and other campus community members signed the document – demanding Hans protect academic freedom.

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NC AAUP President Belle Boggs holds a 2,700-signature petition and "academic freedom" jelly at the UNC System Office on Dec 12, 2025. Boggs and several other faculty members attempted to deliver the petition to Hans, asking him to reconsider a plan to make all university syllabi public records.
NC AAUP President Belle Boggs holds a 2,700-signature petition and “academic freedom” jelly at the UNC System Office on Dec 12, 2025. Boggs and several other faculty members attempted to deliver the petition to Hans, asking him to reconsider a plan to make all university syllabi public records.

One of those signatories is Michael Palm, the president of UNC-Chapel Hill’s AAUP Chapter. He spoke to WUNC shortly before the petition drop-off.

“Transparency, accountability accessibility – these are important aspects of a public university system, but that’s not what this is about,” Palm said. “This is about capitulating to pressure at the state level and at the federal level to scrutinize faculty and intimidate faculty who are teaching unpopular subjects right now.”

A public records request from The Oversight Project put UNC-Chapel Hill at the epicenter of the syllabi public records debate in North Carolina this summer.

The organization, which is a spin-off of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, requested course materials from 74 UNC-Chapel Hill classes. This included syllabi, lecture slides, and presentation materials that contained words like diversity, equity, and inclusion; LGBTQ+; and systems of oppression.

Mike Howell, The Oversight Project’s president, told WUNC in September that his goal is to ultimately get DEI teachings or what he calls “garbage out of colleges and universities.”

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“One of the ends will be the public can scrutinize whether their taxpayer dollars are going toward promulgating hard-left, Marxists, racist teachings at public universities,” Howell said. “I think there’s a lot of people in North Carolina and across the country that would take issue to that.”

Faculty say pressure from outside forces is why they petitioned Hans to protect their rights to choose how and when to disseminate syllabi.

“There are people who do not have good intentions or do not have productive or scholarly or educational desires when looking at syllabi,” said Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, a history professor at NC State. “They’re more interested in attacking faculty and more so attacking ideas that maybe they have not fully engaged with themselves.”

Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, Michael Palm, and several other professors stand awaiting to hand the AAUP petition to Hans on Dec 12, 2025. Hans never showed and instead sent a System Office representative.
Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, Michael Palm, and several other professors stand awaiting to hand the AAUP petition to Hans on Dec 12, 2025. Hans never showed and instead sent a System Office representative.

In his op-ed, Hans said the UNC System will do everything it can to “safeguard faculty and staff who may be subject to threats or intimidation simply for doing their jobs.”

Hans has yet to share details about what those measures will look like, and turned down a request from WUNC for an interview to explain what safety measures the UNC System may enact.

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WUNC partners with Open Campus and NC Local on higher education coverage.





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