North Carolina
The Supreme Court leaves in place a court victory for PETA over North Carolina’s undercover gag law
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected North Carolina’s appeal in a dispute with animal rights groups over a law aimed at preventing undercover employees at farms and other workplaces from taking documents or recording video.
The justices left in place a legal victory for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in its challenge to the state law, which was enacted in 2015. PETA has said it had wanted to conduct an undercover investigation at testing laboratories at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but feared prosecution under the “Property Protection Act.”
In a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in February that the law could not be enforced against PETA — and likely others in similar situations — when its undercover work is being performed to conduct newsgathering activities.
“People have a right to know about illegal and unethical conduct. Exposing unsafe or inhumane practices and working conditions is essential to holding powerful bad actors accountable for the harm they cause,” David Muraskin, a lawyer with FarmSTAND — representing PETA and other groups that challenged the law, said while praising Monday’s decision.
The law is similar to so-called state ag-gag laws — aimed at gagging undercover activists who record footage of the animal agriculture industry — that have been struck down by several courts around the country over free speech concerns. The Supreme Court has so far refused to weigh in.
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The majority opinion at the 4th Circuit had narrowed a 2020 ruling by a trial court judge who had struck down four provisions in the law related to the potentially secretive activities.
State lawyers for Attorney General Josh Stein, a defendant in the case along with UNC-Chapel Hill’s chancellor, had asked the Supreme Court to take up the matter. So did the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, which also defended the law in court.
Stein’s office had told the justices there were conflicting decisions among circuits “about whether audio-visual recording always constitutes protected speech or whether recording may be unprotected when it takes place on nonpublic property without the property owner’s consent.”
And the federation’s lawyers wrote the results of 4th Circuit’s ruling would now potentially leave private property owners “without any civil remedy against invasions by individuals so long as the invaders claim they were attempting to gather news.”
Muraskin said Monday that reversing that decision would have had a chilling effect on whistleblowers and undercover investigations of many kinds, including those of sexual harassment.
Stein, the state’s top law enforcement officer, had no comment beyond sayng his office was reviewing Monday’s decision, according to a spokesperson.
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.
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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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