October 13, 2025 • 33 mins
All 20 surviving hostages have been freed by Hamas as part of the Trump-brokered peace deal, marking a major step toward stability after two years of conflict in Gaza. In North Carolina, Representative Cecil Brockman has been charged in a child sex case, with prosecutors alleging he lived with the victim for months. The NC Craft Brewers Guild is reflecting on one year of recovery since Hurricane Helene, highlighting resilience across the industry. Meanwhile, North Carolina pharmaceutical companies are bracing for the economic effects of new tariffs.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Monday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour News Stock eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT on Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
We start with breaking international news this morning, as the
Iranian backed terror group known as Hamas operating in the
Gaza Strip has officially released all twenty living Israeli hostages.
(00:32):
This happening just moments ago as part of the ongoing
Gaza peace steal that was broken by the Trump administration.
We talked about some of those details last week. Part
of the ceasefire and ongoing peace steal, which was announced
late last week, would require all of the Israeli hostages,
most of them civilians, that have been held in captivity
(00:56):
in Gaza now for more than two years, to finally
be released. That process did begin this morning, as it
is just after twelve noon in Israel. Right now, just
after five o'clock here on the East Coast, President Donald
Trump has landed in Israel and is set to address
their parliament. Coming up here momentarily. We are awaiting that
(01:19):
live feed. If that breaks here during the five o'clock out,
we'll bring those details to you. This is how the
process is unfolding again for the twenty living hostages. The
first group of seven hostages were released shortly before eight
am local time. The hostages are being transferred by hamas
they are being then handed over to the Red Cross.
(01:41):
The Red Cross is kind of the intermediary force there
who then is delivering them to IDF forces inside of
Goza where they are then taken via helicopter to Tel Aviv.
Seven released earlier this morning. Thirteen others have just hit
that Red Cross checkpoint, being transfer to IDF forces before
(02:02):
they are taken via helicopter again to Tel Aviv. So
a major international breaking news this morning. As the ceasefire
has been in effect now for a couple of days,
the living hostage transfer from all accounts and all live
feeds that we've got available this morning has taken place.
The President of the United States in Donald Trump, set
(02:22):
to address the Israeli Parliament coming up here in just
a couple of minutes. This will be the fourth time
that a US president has ever done that. He has
also expected to get the Israeli Medal of Honor, which
I do not believe has ever been given to a
US president. We will be awaiting those details We'll keep
a close eye on it right here this morning on
(02:43):
the Carolina Journal News Hour. Turning our attention to some
other news this morning. A major shocking story hitting the
General Assembly last week. Democrat Representative Cecil Brockman was arrested
on Wednesday in charge with a litany of issues, including
inappropriate activities with a minor and statutory rape, and we
(03:08):
are learning additional details after a Friday court appearance. It
was originally supposed to happen on Thursday. However, Brockman was
rushed to the hospital at some point in the day,
either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, before that
court appearance. It's not immediately clear why. However, he did
appear in court on Friday via video conference from the hospital.
(03:32):
Brockman was laying in a hospital bed when making that
In Guildford County, prosecutors said that the alleged victim, who
is fifteen years old, apparently lived with the forty one
year old and Cecil Brockman for a period of time
just outside the Atlanta, Georgia area, the city where prosecutors
say that the two had met on an online dating app.
(03:54):
The fifteen year old then moved with Brockman to high
Point sometime during this summer. According to a summary of
the allegations that were read out by Guildford County prosecutors
Friday afternoon, Brockman has represented high Point in the legislature
now for over a decade, so, living apparently for some
period of time just outside of Atlanta before moving him
(04:16):
and this alleged fifteen year old victim back to the
high Point area. Guildford County District Attorney in Avery Crump
said that Brockman called emergency dispatchers this is what really
got the whole ball rolling back on October the fifth,
to report a missing friend. Davidson County. Dispatchers realized that
(04:37):
Brockman was referring to a juvenile, and Brockman reported in
apparently told a nine to one one that he had
been tracking this person using an app called Life three sixty.
After sending a ride share vehicle to pick up the
juvenile in Davidson County, the driver apparently could not find
the alleged victim and canceled the ride, according to details
(04:59):
from prosecutors. At that point, high Point Police became involved,
and later the State Bureau of Investigation also was called
tagged into this investigation, they launched their own and that
was what led to the charges. Back last Wednesday, the
alleged victim's cell phone was searched in fourteen videos of
(05:19):
illicit acts. It's not immediately clear if these acts involved
Brockman or not were found. The State Bureau of Investigation
recognized a Brockman in some but maybe not all, of
the videos. That footage did show acts consistent with what
the victim described to them during an interview. According to
Guildford County prosecutors, Brockman tried to contact the victim, who
(05:42):
was being treated at a nearby hospital, and attempted to
push his way through a locked door at the facility.
According to the DA's office, authorities alleged in court documents
that he attempted to contact the victim in the hospital
and then use his status as a state lawmaker to
try and put through those lock doors and get access
to an area in which he was not authorized. Now,
(06:05):
as we brought you details on that late last week,
there has been cry out from both the parties here
in North Carolina for Brockman to resign, and it goes
all the way to the top, including Democrat Governor Josh Stein,
who described the charges as quote extremely serious and deeply troubling,
saying in a statement in part, while the legal process
(06:28):
has yet to play out, it is clear he referring
to Brockman, cannot effectively serve his constituents and should resign immediately.
His own party in the North Carolina Democrat Party, is
also calling for his resignation. The chair of the state
Democrat Party and Anderson Clayton, releasing a statement on Thursday saying, quote,
(06:49):
the North Carolina Democrat Party calls on Representative Brockman to
immediately resign. The profound seriousness of these criminal charges make
it impossible for him to effectively represent his community. That's
from the North Carolina Democrat Party and House Speaker Destin Hall,
who is the leader of the North Carolina House, the
(07:09):
Republican from Caldwell County, said that the situation when he
first found out about it, was shocking, writing a post
on x the charges against a Representative Brockman are shocking
and extremely serious. Given the evidence that's publicly known, he
should resign immediately so these charges do not distract from
the work of the North Carolina House. We did also
(07:33):
get some commentary as well from a former a governor
now a turned state senate US Senate candidate. I should
say in Roy Cooper saying, quote, the criminal charges brought
against Representative Brockman are disturbing and disqualifying. He should resign immediately.
I'll note that all of these calls for resignation against Brockman,
(07:55):
all of these were made on Thursday before a prosecutors
in Guilfi County and the Guildford County DA's office laid
out the case here, describing a situation in which Brockman
allegedly met this fifteen year old on a dating app,
was living with that individual outside of Atlanta, Georgia, before
moving at the time the fourteen and fifteen year old
(08:17):
to high Point, North Carolina, where some of these alleged
crimes took place. And while Brockman and his office have
not said anything in terms of request for comment and
have not, at least publicly as of this morning, resigned
from their office. A judge has set a bond of
one point five million dollars in the case. Originally no
(08:42):
bond was set, it is now set it a little
over a million dollars and part of that bond condition
is that Brockman would have no contact with the alleged victim.
The judge argued that Brockman was a flight risk because
the victim is out of state. However, authorities and the
judge ended up determining that a bail of just over
a million dollars would be sufficient in this case. It
(09:05):
is not immediately clear what the next steps are here. Brockman,
pleading not guilty to these charges, was again in a
hospital room in a hospital bed when making that first
appearance on Friday. A next court date in this case
is scheduled for November the thirteenth, shocking the North Carolina
(09:25):
General Assembly and from a pure numbers and political standpoint,
the North Carolina General Assembly is set to be back
in session one week from today with Brockman not being
in the General Assembly, not being able to attend whether
he is still in jail or not potentially still even
(09:46):
in the hospital, that would give Republicans a super majority
in the General Assembly. So we will watch this a
major North Carolina political story continue to unfold as we
kick off the new week here. Maybe to get some
ad calls for Brockman two resign. Still haven't heard anything
publicly from him or his office. We'll be keeping an
eye on this story over on our website, Carolina Journal
(10:09):
dot com. It's five twenty one. Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine, three WBT.
The weather in the eastern half of North Carolina less
than ideal over the weekend as a northeaster system caused
(10:32):
a massive flooding from the South Carolina line up to
the Virginia line, continuing to hammer the outer banks of
North Carolina. That even though we have not had a
major landfalling tropical event so far this Atlantic hurricane season,
as we begin to wind that season down here in
the over the next sixty days or so, the outer
(10:53):
banks has continued to get hammered. Portions of Highway twelve
was we're overwashed on Sunday with winds gusting between forty
five and fifty five sixty miles an hour in that area.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation providing updates on social media,
noting that Highway twelve was closed in parts on Hatteras
(11:14):
and Ocracoke over the weekend as crews were beginning the
work late in the night yesterday, and we'll rebegin the
process this morning verifying the structural integrity of Highway twelve
to make sure that it is safe for individuals to
drive back and forth on dot cruise or dot noted
rather that their crews will be back on scene at
(11:36):
daybreak this morning to begin that process and make sure
everything is safe there as a homes continue to collapse.
We've seen close to a dozen homes collapse in the
Outer Banks thus far this season, as that northeaster did
bring some wind, rain and a very high surf, a
lot of beach erosion all the way up and down
(11:56):
the North Carolina coast. Will continue to keep an eye
on those details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour,
keeping our thread, keeping our discussion this morning on Mother Nature.
It has now been over a year since Hurricane Helene
devastated businesses, communities, and families across western North Carolina. This morning,
(12:17):
we will dive into the craft brewing industry, which is
incredibly popular in western North Carolina as they continue on
their road to recovery. Western North Carolina has long been
integral to the state's craft brewing industry, accounting for roughly
one quarter of breweries in the state and playing an
(12:38):
outsized role in shaping North Carolina's ever popular beer culture,
so when Hurricane Helene hit the state last year, the
industry was, as you can imagine, severely impacted. Just Ashville
itself is home to over fifty of North Carolina's four
hundred and thirty breweries that are licensed and exists statewide
(12:59):
and has been named Beer City USA four different times
because of some of the destruction and devastation from the storm.
There was a not possible safe drinking water for fifty
four days in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene. And
with that, not only did you not have drinking water,
but of course all of the flooding and damage from
(13:21):
Hurricane Helene that took effect in the immediate aftermath, craft
brewers across North Carolina and the US played an important
role in relief efforts for their local communities. Individual breweries
across the West acted as distribution centers to deliver critical
supplies to the region, as well as donations poured in
(13:42):
from brewers all around the country to help get their
fellow breweries back up and running. While awaiting IRS tax
exemption status for a new charitable foundation that it established
in response to Helene. The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild
coordinated many of these donations under its Pouring for Neighbors campaign.
(14:04):
Reflecting on the campaign in an interview with Carolina Journal,
craft Brewer Guild Executive director Lisa Parker said, quote, in
the beginning, because we didn't have the foundation open, what
we did was encourage everybody to donate their proceeds to
boots on the ground operations, things that included recovery and
rescue operations. That very first month. It was bigger than
(14:28):
a brewery issue, and we knew that, so we wanted
to channel the help for our very broad national industry
towards helping our communities. Despite a very underwhelming federal response
from the storm, most western North Carolina breweries fortunately have
since physically reopened, with all but five tap rooms having reopened. However,
(14:51):
craft breweries in the region are still suffering from Helene's
lingering impact on tourism. Lisa Parker told the Carolina Journal, quote,
I think the biggest impact that we are seeing to
date is still the lack of tourism. There's still a
lot of work to be done to get back to
even close to where it was before. But the mountains
have reopened, and the mountains are here and they're ready
(15:13):
for you to visit. As a result, recovery efforts have
shifted focus to rekindling tourism in western North Carolina as
we've hit that one year mark. Alongside Governor Josh Stein's
tourism initiative, which is called to Rediscover the Unforgettable, the
Craft Brewers Guild has launched its own effort to direct
(15:34):
visitors and money back to Western North Carolina breweries and
the larger economy as a whole. They are currently running
a sweepstakes that rewards the visits to multiple state craft
breweries with a chance to win a beer trip centered
in Ashville. Additionally, the Guild recently held one of its
industry events in Ashville, which brought over one hundred members
(15:56):
of the industry out to the mountains so that those
individuals could see for themselves that Western North Carolina was
once again open for business. However, renewed tourism is unlikely
to happen immediately, making up for lost revenue caused by
months of closure and limited to no tourism in the
immediate aftermath of the storm. Lisa Parker described it as
(16:19):
quote a huge hurdle to overcome for small businesses. However,
the craft Brewers Guild has stepped up to help some
of those struggling breweries clear that hurdle. The foundation of
the North Carolina craft Brewers Foundation has already distributed more
than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in business recovery grants,
extending a much needed lifeline until tourism in western North
(16:44):
Carolina rebounds. When asked what the next year of recovery
may look like for craft brewers in Western North Carolina,
Lisa Parker affirmed that the craft Brewers Guild is committed
to supporting the recovery of craft breweries in the long
run and in the face of future disasters. She told
The Carolina Journal, we know that other hardships are going
(17:06):
to impact our state down the road, so this foundation
and this fund is going to be available for that,
not only now, but in the future. She concluded by
reflecting on craft brewery support for their communities in western
North Carolina in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, saying,
these are small businesses who in many cases are family
(17:27):
owned and operated, and they give so much of their
own time and business resources to come together to make
life better for others in their community and in their state.
They are truly special businesses. We will, of course, keep
our very close eye on some of these recovery efforts
and relief efforts that continue to take place in western
(17:49):
North Carolina. Our latest feature this morning highlighting the very
important and very large craft brewing industry that does exist
in the mountains of our state. You can read additional
details this morning on our website, Carolina Journal dot com.
The headline story nccraft Brewers Guild reflects on one year
of Helene recovery. It's five thirty six. Welcome back to
(18:18):
the Carolina Journal News our newstock eleven ten ninety nine
three WBT recapping our big breaking international news this morning. Hamas,
the Iranian back terror group operating in the Gaza strip,
has released all twenty living Israeli hostages earlier this morning
East Coast time, as part of the Gaza peace deal,
(18:39):
which was brokeer to and announced by the Trump administration
late last week. These Israeli hostages, most of them civilians,
have been held in captivity in Gaza now for more
than two years. So just after eight am local time
this morning, in the Middle East, the first group of
seven high hostages were released. Those hostages were transferred by
(19:03):
Hamas to the Red Cross, who then went through the
process of delivering them to Israeli forces inside of Gaza.
The seven were released earlier than the other thirteen had
just made their way to the handoff between the Hamas
and the Red Cross shortly before five o'clock Eastern time
(19:23):
this morning. President Donald Trump set to address the Israeli
Parliament coming up here shortly this morning. He will be
the fourth president to ever do so, and is also
set to get the Israeli Medal of Freedom or Medal
of Honor. It's I'm not sure exactly what they call it,
but he will be the first US president to get
(19:43):
that as that will be coming up as it is
now just over just after twelve thirty in Israel this morning.
Here on the East Coast, we will keep an eye
on the details throughout the day right here on News
Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT eight you're
listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Over the last
(20:04):
six or seven months, we've been talking a lot about
tariffs over on our website Carolina Journal dot com and
right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour as it
effects a variety of industries across the state of North Carolina.
This morning, we turn our attention to the pharmaceutical industry
to walk us through some of the details and what
tariffs are wreaking havoc on that industry look like. Katie's
ender Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the news hour. Katie,
(20:28):
good morning to you. Thanks for the time. Tell us
a little bit about what you're tracking with pharmaceuticals tariffs
here across the tar Hill State.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Hi, good morning, Nick. Yeah, thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
So.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, So, pharmaceuticals is one of the biggest trade commodities
here in North Carolina. It's also one of the biggest
manufacturing industries here in the state. And so it's actually
been the number one trade commodity for the last couple
of years here. It's been the number one export since
about twenty twenty, and it's been the number one import
as well for the last year. But about the last
(21:00):
week of September, President Trump announced one hundred percent tariff
on imports of pharmaceuticals that was set to begin on
October first, which were of course about a week out
from now a little over a week out from and
we really haven't seen that come into effect yet. So
he announced this in a true social post, But just
because he posts puts something on the internet doesn't mean
that it's you know, law, or that it's actually coming
(21:22):
into place, so we have yet to see that actually enacted.
But this announcement applies only to name brand pharmaceuticals and
not generic medications. And he also mentions in this post
that he made that it does not apply to basically
any manufacturing facilities in the United States, so there is
(21:44):
a caveat there. So any pharmaceutical companies that have plans
or manufacturing facilities in the United States will be exempt
from this one hundred percent import tariff. So some of
the larger manufacturers like Eli, Lilly and GSK, who actually
have facilities here in North Carolina have been preparing for
this since Trump took office in January because obviously they
(22:05):
knew that this was coming, and so they've been investing
in manufacturing plants and in R and D and in
all these different areas to kind of avoid this caveat,
to use this caveat to avoid the tariffs. But some
of the smaller manufacturers that only produce one or two
drugs are going to be feeling the greater impact of
these tariffs if and when they're implemented, because they do
(22:26):
rely more heavily on contract manufacturers that are overseas and so,
as I mentioned, ELI Lilly and GSK are some of
the larger manufacturers. ELI Lilly has a manufacturing facility in
the Research Triangle Park area, and then GSK has an
R and D site in Zebulun and Katie.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
You look at some of these major pharmaceutical companies that
you're noting have presences here in the state of North Carolina.
What kind of economic impact are we looking in terms
of exports with these pharmaceuticals and so.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
As I mentioned before, Nick, the industry has been the
state's number one export since twenty twenty according to data
from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. It's also
the first year that pharmaceuticals have been the state's top import.
And so that was you know, started in twenty twenty four,
and those trends have continued. Both the import and export
(23:16):
trends have continued year to date through July data for
this year, so it's been you know, the top export
for about four years now, and it's been the top
import for the last year, and we're seeing those trends continue.
According from to data from the dpn C, So the
exports have climbed about seven point four billion through July
(23:38):
and from six point eight billion, which is a gain
of about nine percent according to the EDP and C.
And so the sector made upwards of nearly twenty nine
percent of total exports over the same period according to
that edpn C data. And so nick I got to
speak with Joseph Harris, who's a fiscal policy analyst here
at John Locke Foundation. He said that, you know, North
(24:01):
Carolina's pharmaceutical products have nearly exceeded the state's total for
all of twenty twenty four, with much of the surge
concentrated in January, February, and March, as far as firms
accelebrated shipments and anticipate anticipation of the federal tariff on
pharmaceutical drugs. And you can read the rest of his
quote online. But it's not only a major export, but
(24:22):
it's a major import as well. As I noted, for
the last year, it's been the top import to North Carolina.
Imports rose from nine point three billion to seventeen point
six billion, nearly a ninety percent increase over the last year.
According to DP and C data, in twenty twenty four,
for pharmaceutical imports total nineteen billion, as compared to twelve
(24:42):
point two billion in twenty twenty three, five point two
billion in twenty twenty two, and so year to date
through July, the pharmaceuticals accounted for approximately twenty nine percent
of all total imports to North Carolina. And then once again,
Joseph Harris said the post one hundred percent tariff unbranded
and patented pharmaceutical imports could post serious economic consequences. This
(25:07):
issue is especially relevant to North Carolina, where pharmaceuticals are
the state's largest trade sector. And then you can read
the rest of his quote, but that's what he had
to say about the issue.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
You know, Katie, as you go through some of these numbers,
pretty remarkable, just five I say, just but just five
point two billion dollars in twenty twenty two, all the
way up to nineteen billion in twenty twenty four. I mean,
you're talking about incredible amounts of growth in a sector,
nearly a ninety percent increase in certain cases, when you
break it down inside the pharmaceutical industry. While folks may
(25:38):
have a love hate relationship with big Pharma, we know
that there's a kind of an ongoing discussion about that
at the national level. This is a huge driver of
business in North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Right exactly. Yeah, this is one of the number one,
you know, manufacturing industries in North Carolina, and we have
seen some huge jumps in these numbers, you know. So
we'll have to keep an eye on this and see
if these tariffs are going to be implemented and what
impact that's going to have on the industry, because it's
certain to have a pretty big impact if that one
(26:10):
hundred percent tariff is implemented.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
No question about it. We'll keep an eye on that.
We've actually got some pretty good infographics over on our
story this morning. We're folksing maybe visualize some of these
numbers and understand it a little bit better. Katie, Where
can folks go and get those details right?
Speaker 2 (26:25):
They can read this full story with all the quotes
and charts and numbers at Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
We appreciate the details this morning. Katie Zender from Carolina
Journal dot com joins us Son the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Good morning again, it's five point fifty Welcome back to
the Carolina Journal News Our News Stock eleven, ten ninety
nine three WBT. We continue to track severe weather across
(26:53):
North Carolina. Fortunately, the state is not dealt with a
major landfalling hurricane or tropical storm this season. However, the
northeasters went through the eastern half of the state throughout
the weekend has caused some additional issues in the outer Banks,
who have been getting just absolutely slammed thus far this
hurricane season due to some of the conditions from that nor'easter.
(27:17):
Portions of Highway twelve do remain closed this morning due
to overwash. According to a Facebook post from the North
Carolina Department of Transportation yesterday afternoon, Highway twelve is closed
in that area. Cruise were out late last night assessing
the status of the road, making sure that it was
safe to drive on, and then Cruise will be back
(27:39):
out once again at daybreak this morning to continue all
of the checks and making sure that it's a stable
and whatnot, and we'll hopefully have that reopened as we
watch some of the devastation from what have we seen
close to a dozen homes clap collaps thus far in
the outer banks. We'll keep an eye on the arrest
of the Atlantic hurricane season right here on the Carolina
(28:02):
Journal News Hour. Continuing one of our big breaking North
Carolina stories this morning, Democrat state Representative Cecil Brockman made
his first a court appearance on Friday. The Democrat representative
was arrested last Wednesday and was charged with two counts
of statutory rape with a child and two additional counts
(28:24):
of indecent liberties with a child as well. Brockman did
appear in court via a video link from a hospital bed,
and Guildford County prosecutor said that the alleged victim, who
is fifteen years old, lived with the forty one year
old in Cecil Brockman for a period of time near Atlanta, Georgia.
That's where the prosecutors say that the two had met
(28:47):
on an online dating app. They then both moved back
to the High Point area sometime over the summer of
this year. According to a summary of allegations that were
proposed by the prosecutors. Looking at some of the other details,
the Guildford County District Attorney and Avery Krump said that
Brockman called emergency dispatchers back on October fifth to report
(29:10):
a missing friend. Is what he told nine to one one.
Davidson County dispatchers realized that Brockman was referring to a juvenile,
and the state representative told nine to one one that
he'd been tracking the person using an app called Life
three sixty. After sending a ride share vehicle to pick
up the juvenile in Davidson County, the driver said that
(29:32):
he well couldn't find the alleged victim and then canceled
the ride. That's according to details from prosecutors. At that point,
High Point Police became involved and later tapped to their
law enforcement partners on the State Bureau of Investigation gave
them a heads up where they launched an investigation as well.
The alleged victim's cell phone was searched and fourteen videos
(29:55):
of illicit sexual acts were found. According to prosecutors, the
State Bureau of Investigation of recognized Brockman in those videos.
That footage showed acts consistent with what the victim described
them during an interview and obviously led to them pursuing
charges against the state representative. Brockman tried to contact the
(30:16):
victim who was being treated at a hospital in North
Carolina and allegedly attempted to push his way through a
locked door, according to the district attorney, and used his
status as a state lawmaker to try and gain information
about the whereabouts of that victim. Brockman and a legislative
aid that he has have yet to respond to any
(30:37):
public comment as to these allegations that were announced last
Wednesday and the charges that have since been levied against him.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle here in
North Carolina have called for Brockman to resign. That include
individuals like Democrat Governor Josh Stein, who described the charges
(30:59):
as quote extremely serious and deeply troubling, writing in a
statement quote while the legal process has yet to play out,
it's clear he referring to Brockman, cannot effectively serve his
constituents and should resign immediately. The state Democrat Party also
chiming in. Anderson Clayton, who is the head of the
North Carolina Democrat Party, posted a statement last week saying, quote,
(31:23):
the North Carolina Democrat Party calls on Representative Brockman to
immediately resign. The profound seriousness of these criminal charges make
it impossible for him to effectively represent his community. House
Speaker Destin Hall, the Republican from Caldwell County, also called
the situation shocking and urge Brockman to resign, posting on
(31:45):
x quote the charges against Representative Brockman are shocking and
extremely serious given the evidence that's publicly known, he should
resign immediately so these charges do not distract from the
work of the North Carolin House. All their comments for
a calling for his resignation have come in as well.
They include people like House Minority leader and Robert Reeves,
(32:08):
who is the leading Democrat in the North Carolina House.
Former governor turned Senate candidate Roy Cooper calling the situation
disturbing and disqualifying, calling on Brockman to resign as well.
We have not heard anything publicly from Brockman since the
Friday court appearance, again, which took place in the hospital.
(32:30):
There was a period of time in which Brockman tried
to ask the judge to speak. There was about a
fifteen minute recess, and after that recess, Brockman's attorney told
the judge that in fact Brockman was not going to
be speaking at least during that Friday court hearing. There
was another court hearing scheduled coming up on November the thirteenth.
(32:52):
As Brockman is currently being held on a one plus
million dollar bond. We will continue to watch this major
North Carolina political story unfold and some of the political
impacts as the General Assembly is slated to be back
in Raleigh one week from today on October the twentieth.
We will keep our eyes on all of the details
(33:12):
right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and of course,
continuing coverage over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com.
That's gonna do it For a busy Monday edition of
the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next followed
by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning
five to six right here on News Talk eleven, ten
and ninety nine to three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into a Monday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour News Stock eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT on Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
We start with breaking international news this morning, as the
Iranian backed terror group known as Hamas operating in the
Gaza Strip has officially released all twenty living Israeli hostages.
(00:32):
This happening just moments ago as part of the ongoing
Gaza peace steal that was broken by the Trump administration.
We talked about some of those details last week. Part
of the ceasefire and ongoing peace steal, which was announced
late last week, would require all of the Israeli hostages,
most of them civilians, that have been held in captivity
(00:56):
in Gaza now for more than two years, to finally
be released. That process did begin this morning, as it
is just after twelve noon in Israel. Right now, just
after five o'clock here on the East Coast, President Donald
Trump has landed in Israel and is set to address
their parliament. Coming up here momentarily. We are awaiting that
(01:19):
live feed. If that breaks here during the five o'clock out,
we'll bring those details to you. This is how the
process is unfolding again for the twenty living hostages. The
first group of seven hostages were released shortly before eight
am local time. The hostages are being transferred by hamas
they are being then handed over to the Red Cross.
(01:41):
The Red Cross is kind of the intermediary force there
who then is delivering them to IDF forces inside of
Goza where they are then taken via helicopter to Tel Aviv.
Seven released earlier this morning. Thirteen others have just hit
that Red Cross checkpoint, being transfer to IDF forces before
(02:02):
they are taken via helicopter again to Tel Aviv. So
a major international breaking news this morning. As the ceasefire
has been in effect now for a couple of days,
the living hostage transfer from all accounts and all live
feeds that we've got available this morning has taken place.
The President of the United States in Donald Trump, set
(02:22):
to address the Israeli Parliament coming up here in just
a couple of minutes. This will be the fourth time
that a US president has ever done that. He has
also expected to get the Israeli Medal of Honor, which
I do not believe has ever been given to a
US president. We will be awaiting those details We'll keep
a close eye on it right here this morning on
(02:43):
the Carolina Journal News Hour. Turning our attention to some
other news this morning. A major shocking story hitting the
General Assembly last week. Democrat Representative Cecil Brockman was arrested
on Wednesday in charge with a litany of issues, including
inappropriate activities with a minor and statutory rape, and we
(03:08):
are learning additional details after a Friday court appearance. It
was originally supposed to happen on Thursday. However, Brockman was
rushed to the hospital at some point in the day,
either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, before that
court appearance. It's not immediately clear why. However, he did
appear in court on Friday via video conference from the hospital.
(03:32):
Brockman was laying in a hospital bed when making that
In Guildford County, prosecutors said that the alleged victim, who
is fifteen years old, apparently lived with the forty one
year old and Cecil Brockman for a period of time
just outside the Atlanta, Georgia area, the city where prosecutors
say that the two had met on an online dating app.
(03:54):
The fifteen year old then moved with Brockman to high
Point sometime during this summer. According to a summary of
the allegations that were read out by Guildford County prosecutors
Friday afternoon, Brockman has represented high Point in the legislature
now for over a decade, so, living apparently for some
period of time just outside of Atlanta before moving him
(04:16):
and this alleged fifteen year old victim back to the
high Point area. Guildford County District Attorney in Avery Crump
said that Brockman called emergency dispatchers this is what really
got the whole ball rolling back on October the fifth,
to report a missing friend. Davidson County. Dispatchers realized that
(04:37):
Brockman was referring to a juvenile, and Brockman reported in
apparently told a nine to one one that he had
been tracking this person using an app called Life three sixty.
After sending a ride share vehicle to pick up the
juvenile in Davidson County, the driver apparently could not find
the alleged victim and canceled the ride, according to details
(04:59):
from prosecutors. At that point, high Point Police became involved,
and later the State Bureau of Investigation also was called
tagged into this investigation, they launched their own and that
was what led to the charges. Back last Wednesday, the
alleged victim's cell phone was searched in fourteen videos of
(05:19):
illicit acts. It's not immediately clear if these acts involved
Brockman or not were found. The State Bureau of Investigation
recognized a Brockman in some but maybe not all, of
the videos. That footage did show acts consistent with what
the victim described to them during an interview. According to
Guildford County prosecutors, Brockman tried to contact the victim, who
(05:42):
was being treated at a nearby hospital, and attempted to
push his way through a locked door at the facility.
According to the DA's office, authorities alleged in court documents
that he attempted to contact the victim in the hospital
and then use his status as a state lawmaker to
try and put through those lock doors and get access
to an area in which he was not authorized. Now,
(06:05):
as we brought you details on that late last week,
there has been cry out from both the parties here
in North Carolina for Brockman to resign, and it goes
all the way to the top, including Democrat Governor Josh Stein,
who described the charges as quote extremely serious and deeply troubling,
saying in a statement in part, while the legal process
(06:28):
has yet to play out, it is clear he referring
to Brockman, cannot effectively serve his constituents and should resign immediately.
His own party in the North Carolina Democrat Party, is
also calling for his resignation. The chair of the state
Democrat Party and Anderson Clayton, releasing a statement on Thursday saying, quote,
(06:49):
the North Carolina Democrat Party calls on Representative Brockman to
immediately resign. The profound seriousness of these criminal charges make
it impossible for him to effectively represent his community. That's
from the North Carolina Democrat Party and House Speaker Destin Hall,
who is the leader of the North Carolina House, the
(07:09):
Republican from Caldwell County, said that the situation when he
first found out about it, was shocking, writing a post
on x the charges against a Representative Brockman are shocking
and extremely serious. Given the evidence that's publicly known, he
should resign immediately so these charges do not distract from
the work of the North Carolina House. We did also
(07:33):
get some commentary as well from a former a governor
now a turned state senate US Senate candidate. I should
say in Roy Cooper saying, quote, the criminal charges brought
against Representative Brockman are disturbing and disqualifying. He should resign immediately.
I'll note that all of these calls for resignation against Brockman,
(07:55):
all of these were made on Thursday before a prosecutors
in Guilfi County and the Guildford County DA's office laid
out the case here, describing a situation in which Brockman
allegedly met this fifteen year old on a dating app,
was living with that individual outside of Atlanta, Georgia, before
moving at the time the fourteen and fifteen year old
(08:17):
to high Point, North Carolina, where some of these alleged
crimes took place. And while Brockman and his office have
not said anything in terms of request for comment and
have not, at least publicly as of this morning, resigned
from their office. A judge has set a bond of
one point five million dollars in the case. Originally no
(08:42):
bond was set, it is now set it a little
over a million dollars and part of that bond condition
is that Brockman would have no contact with the alleged victim.
The judge argued that Brockman was a flight risk because
the victim is out of state. However, authorities and the
judge ended up determining that a bail of just over
a million dollars would be sufficient in this case. It
(09:05):
is not immediately clear what the next steps are here. Brockman,
pleading not guilty to these charges, was again in a
hospital room in a hospital bed when making that first
appearance on Friday. A next court date in this case
is scheduled for November the thirteenth, shocking the North Carolina
(09:25):
General Assembly and from a pure numbers and political standpoint,
the North Carolina General Assembly is set to be back
in session one week from today with Brockman not being
in the General Assembly, not being able to attend whether
he is still in jail or not potentially still even
(09:46):
in the hospital, that would give Republicans a super majority
in the General Assembly. So we will watch this a
major North Carolina political story continue to unfold as we
kick off the new week here. Maybe to get some
ad calls for Brockman two resign. Still haven't heard anything
publicly from him or his office. We'll be keeping an
eye on this story over on our website, Carolina Journal
(10:09):
dot com. It's five twenty one. Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine, three WBT.
The weather in the eastern half of North Carolina less
than ideal over the weekend as a northeaster system caused
(10:32):
a massive flooding from the South Carolina line up to
the Virginia line, continuing to hammer the outer banks of
North Carolina. That even though we have not had a
major landfalling tropical event so far this Atlantic hurricane season,
as we begin to wind that season down here in
the over the next sixty days or so, the outer
(10:53):
banks has continued to get hammered. Portions of Highway twelve
was we're overwashed on Sunday with winds gusting between forty
five and fifty five sixty miles an hour in that area.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation providing updates on social media,
noting that Highway twelve was closed in parts on Hatteras
(11:14):
and Ocracoke over the weekend as crews were beginning the
work late in the night yesterday, and we'll rebegin the
process this morning verifying the structural integrity of Highway twelve
to make sure that it is safe for individuals to
drive back and forth on dot cruise or dot noted
rather that their crews will be back on scene at
(11:36):
daybreak this morning to begin that process and make sure
everything is safe there as a homes continue to collapse.
We've seen close to a dozen homes collapse in the
Outer Banks thus far this season, as that northeaster did
bring some wind, rain and a very high surf, a
lot of beach erosion all the way up and down
(11:56):
the North Carolina coast. Will continue to keep an eye
on those details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour,
keeping our thread, keeping our discussion this morning on Mother Nature.
It has now been over a year since Hurricane Helene
devastated businesses, communities, and families across western North Carolina. This morning,
(12:17):
we will dive into the craft brewing industry, which is
incredibly popular in western North Carolina as they continue on
their road to recovery. Western North Carolina has long been
integral to the state's craft brewing industry, accounting for roughly
one quarter of breweries in the state and playing an
(12:38):
outsized role in shaping North Carolina's ever popular beer culture,
so when Hurricane Helene hit the state last year, the
industry was, as you can imagine, severely impacted. Just Ashville
itself is home to over fifty of North Carolina's four
hundred and thirty breweries that are licensed and exists statewide
(12:59):
and has been named Beer City USA four different times
because of some of the destruction and devastation from the storm.
There was a not possible safe drinking water for fifty
four days in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene. And
with that, not only did you not have drinking water,
but of course all of the flooding and damage from
(13:21):
Hurricane Helene that took effect in the immediate aftermath, craft
brewers across North Carolina and the US played an important
role in relief efforts for their local communities. Individual breweries
across the West acted as distribution centers to deliver critical
supplies to the region, as well as donations poured in
(13:42):
from brewers all around the country to help get their
fellow breweries back up and running. While awaiting IRS tax
exemption status for a new charitable foundation that it established
in response to Helene. The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild
coordinated many of these donations under its Pouring for Neighbors campaign.
(14:04):
Reflecting on the campaign in an interview with Carolina Journal,
craft Brewer Guild Executive director Lisa Parker said, quote, in
the beginning, because we didn't have the foundation open, what
we did was encourage everybody to donate their proceeds to
boots on the ground operations, things that included recovery and
rescue operations. That very first month. It was bigger than
(14:28):
a brewery issue, and we knew that, so we wanted
to channel the help for our very broad national industry
towards helping our communities. Despite a very underwhelming federal response
from the storm, most western North Carolina breweries fortunately have
since physically reopened, with all but five tap rooms having reopened. However,
(14:51):
craft breweries in the region are still suffering from Helene's
lingering impact on tourism. Lisa Parker told the Carolina Journal, quote,
I think the biggest impact that we are seeing to
date is still the lack of tourism. There's still a
lot of work to be done to get back to
even close to where it was before. But the mountains
have reopened, and the mountains are here and they're ready
(15:13):
for you to visit. As a result, recovery efforts have
shifted focus to rekindling tourism in western North Carolina as
we've hit that one year mark. Alongside Governor Josh Stein's
tourism initiative, which is called to Rediscover the Unforgettable, the
Craft Brewers Guild has launched its own effort to direct
(15:34):
visitors and money back to Western North Carolina breweries and
the larger economy as a whole. They are currently running
a sweepstakes that rewards the visits to multiple state craft
breweries with a chance to win a beer trip centered
in Ashville. Additionally, the Guild recently held one of its
industry events in Ashville, which brought over one hundred members
(15:56):
of the industry out to the mountains so that those
individuals could see for themselves that Western North Carolina was
once again open for business. However, renewed tourism is unlikely
to happen immediately, making up for lost revenue caused by
months of closure and limited to no tourism in the
immediate aftermath of the storm. Lisa Parker described it as
(16:19):
quote a huge hurdle to overcome for small businesses. However,
the craft Brewers Guild has stepped up to help some
of those struggling breweries clear that hurdle. The foundation of
the North Carolina craft Brewers Foundation has already distributed more
than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in business recovery grants,
extending a much needed lifeline until tourism in western North
(16:44):
Carolina rebounds. When asked what the next year of recovery
may look like for craft brewers in Western North Carolina,
Lisa Parker affirmed that the craft Brewers Guild is committed
to supporting the recovery of craft breweries in the long
run and in the face of future disasters. She told
The Carolina Journal, we know that other hardships are going
(17:06):
to impact our state down the road, so this foundation
and this fund is going to be available for that,
not only now, but in the future. She concluded by
reflecting on craft brewery support for their communities in western
North Carolina in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, saying,
these are small businesses who in many cases are family
(17:27):
owned and operated, and they give so much of their
own time and business resources to come together to make
life better for others in their community and in their state.
They are truly special businesses. We will, of course, keep
our very close eye on some of these recovery efforts
and relief efforts that continue to take place in western
(17:49):
North Carolina. Our latest feature this morning highlighting the very
important and very large craft brewing industry that does exist
in the mountains of our state. You can read additional
details this morning on our website, Carolina Journal dot com.
The headline story nccraft Brewers Guild reflects on one year
of Helene recovery. It's five thirty six. Welcome back to
(18:18):
the Carolina Journal News our newstock eleven ten ninety nine
three WBT recapping our big breaking international news this morning. Hamas,
the Iranian back terror group operating in the Gaza strip,
has released all twenty living Israeli hostages earlier this morning
East Coast time, as part of the Gaza peace deal,
(18:39):
which was brokeer to and announced by the Trump administration
late last week. These Israeli hostages, most of them civilians,
have been held in captivity in Gaza now for more
than two years. So just after eight am local time
this morning, in the Middle East, the first group of
seven high hostages were released. Those hostages were transferred by
(19:03):
Hamas to the Red Cross, who then went through the
process of delivering them to Israeli forces inside of Gaza.
The seven were released earlier than the other thirteen had
just made their way to the handoff between the Hamas
and the Red Cross shortly before five o'clock Eastern time
(19:23):
this morning. President Donald Trump set to address the Israeli
Parliament coming up here shortly this morning. He will be
the fourth president to ever do so, and is also
set to get the Israeli Medal of Freedom or Medal
of Honor. It's I'm not sure exactly what they call it,
but he will be the first US president to get
(19:43):
that as that will be coming up as it is
now just over just after twelve thirty in Israel this morning.
Here on the East Coast, we will keep an eye
on the details throughout the day right here on News
Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT eight you're
listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Over the last
(20:04):
six or seven months, we've been talking a lot about
tariffs over on our website Carolina Journal dot com and
right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour as it
effects a variety of industries across the state of North Carolina.
This morning, we turn our attention to the pharmaceutical industry
to walk us through some of the details and what
tariffs are wreaking havoc on that industry look like. Katie's
ender Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the news hour. Katie,
(20:28):
good morning to you. Thanks for the time. Tell us
a little bit about what you're tracking with pharmaceuticals tariffs
here across the tar Hill State.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Hi, good morning, Nick. Yeah, thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
So.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, So, pharmaceuticals is one of the biggest trade commodities
here in North Carolina. It's also one of the biggest
manufacturing industries here in the state. And so it's actually
been the number one trade commodity for the last couple
of years here. It's been the number one export since
about twenty twenty, and it's been the number one import
as well for the last year. But about the last
(21:00):
week of September, President Trump announced one hundred percent tariff
on imports of pharmaceuticals that was set to begin on
October first, which were of course about a week out
from now a little over a week out from and
we really haven't seen that come into effect yet. So
he announced this in a true social post, But just
because he posts puts something on the internet doesn't mean
that it's you know, law, or that it's actually coming
(21:22):
into place, so we have yet to see that actually enacted.
But this announcement applies only to name brand pharmaceuticals and
not generic medications. And he also mentions in this post
that he made that it does not apply to basically
any manufacturing facilities in the United States, so there is
(21:44):
a caveat there. So any pharmaceutical companies that have plans
or manufacturing facilities in the United States will be exempt
from this one hundred percent import tariff. So some of
the larger manufacturers like Eli, Lilly and GSK, who actually
have facilities here in North Carolina have been preparing for
this since Trump took office in January because obviously they
(22:05):
knew that this was coming, and so they've been investing
in manufacturing plants and in R and D and in
all these different areas to kind of avoid this caveat,
to use this caveat to avoid the tariffs. But some
of the smaller manufacturers that only produce one or two
drugs are going to be feeling the greater impact of
these tariffs if and when they're implemented, because they do
(22:26):
rely more heavily on contract manufacturers that are overseas and so,
as I mentioned, ELI Lilly and GSK are some of
the larger manufacturers. ELI Lilly has a manufacturing facility in
the Research Triangle Park area, and then GSK has an
R and D site in Zebulun and Katie.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
You look at some of these major pharmaceutical companies that
you're noting have presences here in the state of North Carolina.
What kind of economic impact are we looking in terms
of exports with these pharmaceuticals and so.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
As I mentioned before, Nick, the industry has been the
state's number one export since twenty twenty according to data
from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. It's also
the first year that pharmaceuticals have been the state's top import.
And so that was you know, started in twenty twenty four,
and those trends have continued. Both the import and export
(23:16):
trends have continued year to date through July data for
this year, so it's been you know, the top export
for about four years now, and it's been the top
import for the last year, and we're seeing those trends continue.
According from to data from the dpn C, So the
exports have climbed about seven point four billion through July
(23:38):
and from six point eight billion, which is a gain
of about nine percent according to the EDP and C.
And so the sector made upwards of nearly twenty nine
percent of total exports over the same period according to
that edpn C data. And so nick I got to
speak with Joseph Harris, who's a fiscal policy analyst here
at John Locke Foundation. He said that, you know, North
(24:01):
Carolina's pharmaceutical products have nearly exceeded the state's total for
all of twenty twenty four, with much of the surge
concentrated in January, February, and March, as far as firms
accelebrated shipments and anticipate anticipation of the federal tariff on
pharmaceutical drugs. And you can read the rest of his
quote online. But it's not only a major export, but
(24:22):
it's a major import as well. As I noted, for
the last year, it's been the top import to North Carolina.
Imports rose from nine point three billion to seventeen point
six billion, nearly a ninety percent increase over the last year.
According to DP and C data, in twenty twenty four,
for pharmaceutical imports total nineteen billion, as compared to twelve
(24:42):
point two billion in twenty twenty three, five point two
billion in twenty twenty two, and so year to date
through July, the pharmaceuticals accounted for approximately twenty nine percent
of all total imports to North Carolina. And then once again,
Joseph Harris said the post one hundred percent tariff unbranded
and patented pharmaceutical imports could post serious economic consequences. This
(25:07):
issue is especially relevant to North Carolina, where pharmaceuticals are
the state's largest trade sector. And then you can read
the rest of his quote, but that's what he had
to say about the issue.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
You know, Katie, as you go through some of these numbers,
pretty remarkable, just five I say, just but just five
point two billion dollars in twenty twenty two, all the
way up to nineteen billion in twenty twenty four. I mean,
you're talking about incredible amounts of growth in a sector,
nearly a ninety percent increase in certain cases, when you
break it down inside the pharmaceutical industry. While folks may
(25:38):
have a love hate relationship with big Pharma, we know
that there's a kind of an ongoing discussion about that
at the national level. This is a huge driver of
business in North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Right exactly. Yeah, this is one of the number one,
you know, manufacturing industries in North Carolina, and we have
seen some huge jumps in these numbers, you know. So
we'll have to keep an eye on this and see
if these tariffs are going to be implemented and what
impact that's going to have on the industry, because it's
certain to have a pretty big impact if that one
(26:10):
hundred percent tariff is implemented.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
No question about it. We'll keep an eye on that.
We've actually got some pretty good infographics over on our
story this morning. We're folksing maybe visualize some of these
numbers and understand it a little bit better. Katie, Where
can folks go and get those details right?
Speaker 2 (26:25):
They can read this full story with all the quotes
and charts and numbers at Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
We appreciate the details this morning. Katie Zender from Carolina
Journal dot com joins us Son the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Good morning again, it's five point fifty Welcome back to
the Carolina Journal News Our News Stock eleven, ten ninety
nine three WBT. We continue to track severe weather across
(26:53):
North Carolina. Fortunately, the state is not dealt with a
major landfalling hurricane or tropical storm this season. However, the
northeasters went through the eastern half of the state throughout
the weekend has caused some additional issues in the outer Banks,
who have been getting just absolutely slammed thus far this
hurricane season due to some of the conditions from that nor'easter.
(27:17):
Portions of Highway twelve do remain closed this morning due
to overwash. According to a Facebook post from the North
Carolina Department of Transportation yesterday afternoon, Highway twelve is closed
in that area. Cruise were out late last night assessing
the status of the road, making sure that it was
safe to drive on, and then Cruise will be back
(27:39):
out once again at daybreak this morning to continue all
of the checks and making sure that it's a stable
and whatnot, and we'll hopefully have that reopened as we
watch some of the devastation from what have we seen
close to a dozen homes clap collaps thus far in
the outer banks. We'll keep an eye on the arrest
of the Atlantic hurricane season right here on the Carolina
(28:02):
Journal News Hour. Continuing one of our big breaking North
Carolina stories this morning, Democrat state Representative Cecil Brockman made
his first a court appearance on Friday. The Democrat representative
was arrested last Wednesday and was charged with two counts
of statutory rape with a child and two additional counts
(28:24):
of indecent liberties with a child as well. Brockman did
appear in court via a video link from a hospital bed,
and Guildford County prosecutor said that the alleged victim, who
is fifteen years old, lived with the forty one year
old in Cecil Brockman for a period of time near Atlanta, Georgia.
That's where the prosecutors say that the two had met
(28:47):
on an online dating app. They then both moved back
to the High Point area sometime over the summer of
this year. According to a summary of allegations that were
proposed by the prosecutors. Looking at some of the other details,
the Guildford County District Attorney and Avery Krump said that
Brockman called emergency dispatchers back on October fifth to report
(29:10):
a missing friend. Is what he told nine to one one.
Davidson County dispatchers realized that Brockman was referring to a juvenile,
and the state representative told nine to one one that
he'd been tracking the person using an app called Life
three sixty. After sending a ride share vehicle to pick
up the juvenile in Davidson County, the driver said that
(29:32):
he well couldn't find the alleged victim and then canceled
the ride. That's according to details from prosecutors. At that point,
High Point Police became involved and later tapped to their
law enforcement partners on the State Bureau of Investigation gave
them a heads up where they launched an investigation as well.
The alleged victim's cell phone was searched and fourteen videos
(29:55):
of illicit sexual acts were found. According to prosecutors, the
State Bureau of Investigation of recognized Brockman in those videos.
That footage showed acts consistent with what the victim described
them during an interview and obviously led to them pursuing
charges against the state representative. Brockman tried to contact the
(30:16):
victim who was being treated at a hospital in North
Carolina and allegedly attempted to push his way through a
locked door, according to the district attorney, and used his
status as a state lawmaker to try and gain information
about the whereabouts of that victim. Brockman and a legislative
aid that he has have yet to respond to any
(30:37):
public comment as to these allegations that were announced last
Wednesday and the charges that have since been levied against him.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle here in
North Carolina have called for Brockman to resign. That include
individuals like Democrat Governor Josh Stein, who described the charges
(30:59):
as quote extremely serious and deeply troubling, writing in a
statement quote while the legal process has yet to play out,
it's clear he referring to Brockman, cannot effectively serve his
constituents and should resign immediately. The state Democrat Party also
chiming in. Anderson Clayton, who is the head of the
North Carolina Democrat Party, posted a statement last week saying, quote,
(31:23):
the North Carolina Democrat Party calls on Representative Brockman to
immediately resign. The profound seriousness of these criminal charges make
it impossible for him to effectively represent his community. House
Speaker Destin Hall, the Republican from Caldwell County, also called
the situation shocking and urge Brockman to resign, posting on
(31:45):
x quote the charges against Representative Brockman are shocking and
extremely serious given the evidence that's publicly known, he should
resign immediately so these charges do not distract from the
work of the North Carolin House. All their comments for
a calling for his resignation have come in as well.
They include people like House Minority leader and Robert Reeves,
(32:08):
who is the leading Democrat in the North Carolina House.
Former governor turned Senate candidate Roy Cooper calling the situation
disturbing and disqualifying, calling on Brockman to resign as well.
We have not heard anything publicly from Brockman since the
Friday court appearance, again, which took place in the hospital.
(32:30):
There was a period of time in which Brockman tried
to ask the judge to speak. There was about a
fifteen minute recess, and after that recess, Brockman's attorney told
the judge that in fact Brockman was not going to
be speaking at least during that Friday court hearing. There
was another court hearing scheduled coming up on November the thirteenth.
(32:52):
As Brockman is currently being held on a one plus
million dollar bond. We will continue to watch this major
North Carolina political story unfold and some of the political
impacts as the General Assembly is slated to be back
in Raleigh one week from today on October the twentieth.
We will keep our eyes on all of the details
(33:12):
right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and of course,
continuing coverage over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com.
That's gonna do it For a busy Monday edition of
the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next followed
by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning
five to six right here on News Talk eleven, ten
and ninety nine to three WBT
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