North Carolina

To commemorate Memorial Day veterans demand Trump and NC Republicans stop threatening violence • NC Newsline

Published

2 years ago

May 24, 2024

To commemorate Memorial Day veterans demand Trump and NC Republicans stop threatening violence • NC Newsline

On Memorial Day I reflect on two deaths from the 9/11 wars, and what, from the comfort of my home as the chirping of the spring birds greets the dawn, I owe them. One was a Marine I only knew for an hour or so, and the other was a close friend of years and deployments.

The Marine died because he took a few seconds to push his men off of a rooftop first and didn’t jump down the stairwell to safety when he could have. He waited his turn, which as a leader, was to go last.

A bullet hit him in the back, just above the plate in his body armor, traveled through his chest, and exited the front. When I removed his body armor, the ugly little piece of metal fell into the hands of another Marine helping me work on him.

We tried the best we could, with what we had, but he died quickly and silently, in the shadows of a rooftop staircase in Iraq. He was from Georgia, and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

My close friend died as a member of a special mission unit. At the time, the terrorist network run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who commanded al-Qaida in Iraq, was strapping bombs on special needs children and adults and walking them into crowded marketplaces, and a raid targeting those jihadists resulted in his death.

My friend and another SEAL were clearing a room that held a hidden bunker and a machine gun, awaiting their entry. Both men were killed instantly. I learned of his death from a mutual friend on a snowy day in northern Vermont, working as a lab technician while I applied to medical school. My friend was from New Hampshire and is also buried in Arlington.

Both of these men are with me now and will always be. Their sacrifice, of all they were and would ever be, took away from them all the fruits our nation have enjoyed. T-ball games on warm spring days, hot cocoa fireside in a snowstorm, and love, community, and family were all sacrificed in dank little buildings in Iraq.

Making sense of their deaths, for me, was only possible if I viewed their sacrifice as a gift. It makes sense that my friend gave his life for me. It made sense that the young Marine gave his life, quite literally, in my stead.

Or at least that’s how I try to see it.

And while I can never repay what these men gave me, I can try to earn it by accepting the Sisyphean task of living a “good life.” Their gift was not free of obligation, or duty, and while it can never be repaid, it can be earned.

As I think through the meaning of Memorial Day, to honor all those who lost their lives in defense of America, I wonder what would these two men who live inside me feel about our democracy today?

On Friday, I am joining a coalition of veterans, including past leaders of the North Carolina National Guard, concerned about this issue. We are gathering at Greensboro’s Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

Across the city, the state Republican Party is holding its annual gathering, which will include members of the Republican National Committee, like new co-chair former president Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump. In attendance at the GOP event are multiple individuals, who echo Trump’s doubts about the legitimacy of U.S. elections and his refusal to commit to accepting this year’s results.

The former president, who has displayed an unprecedented disrespect for military service over the years, has also repeatedly threatened violence if the election does not go his way.

We are demanding that Republican leaders now in Greensboro use all their influence to force Donald Trump to renounce these awful and dangerous threats of violence, which have no place in a democracy. Trump must commit to a peaceful and non-violent election season.

We have a duty to our fallen brothers and sisters, whom we honor this weekend. They fought battles abroad so we can live in a country free of such threats. Who among us will not honor their sacrifice?

Source link

Click to comment

North Carolina

North Carolina vs. NC State football betting line, odds, spread | Week 14 2025

Published

5 hours ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

North Carolina vs. NC State football betting line, odds, spread | Week 14 2025

A pair of ACC teams meet when the NC State Wolfpack (6-5) face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels (4-7) on Saturday, November 29, 2025 at Wayne Day Family Field at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack are favored by 7 points. The over/under for the contest is 47.5 points.

Against the Duke Blue Devils in their most recent contest, the Tar Heels lost 32-25.

The Heels’ Gio Lopez went 21-for-27 for 204 yards against Duke, with one TD and no INTs.

Last time around, the Wolfpack defeated the Florida State Seminoles, with 21-11 being the final score.

In the article below, we’ll give you all the details you need to watch this matchup on ACC Network.

Check out: US LBM Coaches Poll powered by USA Today sports

North Carolina vs NC State line, odds, spread, over/under

College football odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 10:15 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Spread favorite: NC State (-7)
Moneyline: NC State (-275), North Carolina (+220)
Total: 47.5 points

North Carolina vs NC State game info

Game day: Saturday, November 29, 2025
Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Stadium: Wayne Day Family Field at Carter-Finley Stadium
Live stream: Watch on Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)

Watch NC State vs. North Carolina on Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)

North Carolina betting info

North Carolina has won two games against the spread in conference action this season.
The Tar Heels have covered the spread five times over 11 games with a set spread.
North Carolina has been an underdog by 7 points or more three times this season in ACC action, and covered the spread in one of those games.
In games they have played as 7-point underdogs or more, the Tar Heels have an ATS record of 2-2-1.
North Carolina and its opponents have combined to hit the over three out of five times this year in ACC play.
This year, four Tar Heels games have gone over the point total.

2025 North Carolina leaders

Lopez: 1,629 PASS YDS / 162.9 YPG / 64.9% / 9 TD / 5 INT / 78 CAR / 141 RUSH YDS / 3 TD
Demon June: 82 CAR / 461 YDS / 46.1 YPG / 2 TD / 17 REC / 159 YDS / 19.9 YPG / 1 TD
Davion Gause: 60 CAR / 253 YDS / 28.1 YPG / 3 TD / 14 REC / 123 YDS / 15.4 YPG / 2 TD
Jordan Shipp: 52 REC / 581 YDS / 52.8 YPG / 5 TD
Kobe Paysour: 30 REC / 388 YDS / 38.8 YPG / 1 TD

Source link

North Carolina

Judges approve North Carolina’s use of GOP-friendly district map – UPI.com

Published

23 hours ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

Judges approve North Carolina’s use of GOP-friendly district map – UPI.com

Nov. 26 (UPI) — A three-judge panel on Wednesday permitted North Carolina to adopt a redrawn congressional map that is expected to favor the Republican Party.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina unanimously ruled against the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction against legislation approved in October by the state’s General Assembly that critics say threaten one federal congressional district, specifically Congressional District 1, which represented by Democrat Don Davis.

In their 57-page ruling on Wednesday, the three Republican-appointed judges said the plaintiffs failed to prove that the state’s General Assembly enacted the legislation, Senate Bill 249, with the intent to “minimize or cancel out the voting potential” of Black North Carolinians as they had claimed.

The ruling comes in protracted litigation that began in 2023, when the Republican-led state sought to redraw some of the districts for electing representatives to the state Senate and federal Congress.

The plaintiffs, who include the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, sued that December. In October, amid litigation on the maps, the state’s General Assembly passed legislation to swap counties between Congressional District 1 and Congressional District 3.

The plaintiffs again sued the state, alleging the legislation was unconstitutional and asking the court to enjoin S.B. 249.

Earlier this month, the same three-judge panel issued a ruling approving the changes to the map put forward in 2023.

A hearing on S.B. 249 was held Nov. 19, during which the plaintiffs argued that the speed with which the General Assembly passed the 2025 plan was evidence of discriminatory intent.

But the panel of judges disagreed, stating “they have offered no reason to believe that the speed of the 2025 process indicates an intent to discriminate on the basis of race. Nor do they explain what weight we are supposed to assign to what they call ‘the near uniform outcry among North Carolina voters against the map and the process.’”

The ruling comes amid something of a gerrymandering race in the United States that began in earnest when Texas this summer — under pressure of President Donald Trump — sought a mid-decade redraw of its maps to make them more favorable to the Republican Party.

California is in the process of redrawing its maps in retaliation and other states under control of both parties have followed with similar plans.

Source link

North Carolina

North Carolina calls on Shopify to stop illegal e-cigarette sales on its platform

Published

2 days ago

November 26, 2025

Press Room

North Carolina calls on Shopify to stop illegal e-cigarette sales on its platform

RALEIGH, N.C. (WLOS) — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has joined a coalition of 25 other attorneys general calling on Shopify, a popular e-commerce platform, to take stronger action against merchants who use its services to sell illegal tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

In a Nov. 24 news release, the AG’s office said there are more than two dozen illegal e-cigarette websites that utilize Shopify’s platform and another 200 websites that are selling illegal tobacco products.

“If states and the federal government create laws to protect our residents, companies can’t sidestep those for their own profit,” Jackson said in the news release. “We have protections against selling e-cigarettes to children because we know how harmful it is for them, and we need Shopify to step up and keep those products off of its platforms.”

VAPING IMPACTS BLOOD VESSELS & OXYGEN, NEW STUDY SAYS

The AG’s office said that due to their highly addictive nature and potential health risks, especially for young people, e-cigarettes are strictly regulated by federal law, as well as by many state laws across the country. E-cigarettes also cannot be sold to people under the age of 21.

Jackson’s office said Shopify has removed merchants for using its services for unlawful activities in recent years, but merchants continue using it to sell e-cigarettes.

The bipartisan attorneys general are asking Shopify to work together to find a solution that keeps unlawful products off their platforms and out of the market, according to the release.

NORTH CAROLINA LAWSUIT DOCUMENTS AGAINST JUUL NOW PUBLIC

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

In 2019, North Carolina sued electronic cigarette company JUUL for unlawfully designing, marketing, and selling e-cigarettes to teenagers. It won a $47.8 million judgment against Juul in 2021.

Source link