August 21, 2025 • 37 mins
Governor Stein held a press briefing urging preparation as Hurricane Erin bears down on North Carolina, with impacts already felt along the Outer Banks. The State Board of Elections has corrected more than 20,000 voter records and is seeking additional ID numbers to comply with voter ID laws. Meanwhile, a business court judge declined to dismiss North Carolina’s lawsuit against TikTok, allowing the case to move forward.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's five oh two and welcome in to eight Thursday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig, a
good morning to you. We start off this morning with
Hurricane Aaron. We have been tracking it throughout the week
right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. The latest
details out just minutes ago from the National Hurricane Center
(00:31):
out of Miami, Florida, continues to show erin as a
now a weaker end category two hurricane. Its maximum sustained
wins one hundred and five miles an hour, the pressure
sitting at nine hundred and forty five millibars. The biggest
news out this morning is that the track and the
storm is now officially moving east. As of this five
(00:51):
am advisory, it is moving north northeast at seventeen miles
an hour, beginning its track away from the east coast
of the United States. Tracking some of those details this morning,
it is expected and the storm is in fact expected
to stay in the Atlantic Ocean, not land falling anywhere
on the continental United States or Bermuda, and it's making
(01:14):
its closest pass to our coastline this morning, bringing strong
and dangerous rip current, storm surge at beach erosion and
flooding at two beaches across the east coast of our state.
The biggest impacts being felt in the Outer Banks, where
a tropical storm warning does remain in effect for the
Outer Banks throughout the rest of the day today. With
(01:36):
Aaron currently being about two hundred miles off the coast
of the Outer Banks, it is now moving northeastward. However,
the storm is an estimated eight hundred miles wide, bringing
some of those coastal tropical bands to the Outer Banks
this morning. The weather is expected to deteriorate at least
slightly in the morning hours, as it will improve throughout
(01:58):
the day today. Well, yesterday, Governor Josh Stein held a
press conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, providing
information to residents across the state of North Carolina. This
is what the Governor had to say about, well, the
state of emergency.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Emergency across North Carolina to facilitate our emergency response and
to keep you safe. The statewide state of emergency enables
us to send critical resources from across the state and
around the country to respond. We've activated across agency storm
response that includes the Department of Public Safety, the Department
(02:34):
of Transportation, the North Carolina National Guard, the State Highway Patrol,
and many local partners. Our State Emergency Response Team stands
ready to quickly and decisively respond to any needs along
the coast. We have already pre positioned three swift weater
rescue teams and two hundred National Guard troops to various
(02:54):
locations on the coast, along with boats, high clearance vehicles,
and aircraft.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
That is some of the staging and the preparation being
done by the State of North Carolina in preparation of
this storm, and the coastal impacts are expected to be
the most severe. According to Governor.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Stein, folks on the coast need to take care. Based
on the current forecast, we are anticipating coastal flooding from
massive waves, tropical storm force winds, and tidal and storm
surge for much of the state shoreline, especially the outer
outer banks, from this evening through Thursday, life threatening rip
(03:34):
currents for most of the week. No one should be
in the ocean. An extensive beach erosion along much.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Of the coast that is already beginning to take effect
this morning. High tide is expected across the vast majority
of the eastern half of our state. In the six
six am hour this morning, high tide, alongside some of
these high waves from Hurricane Erin to continue to cause
some of that beach erosion that is already already been
(04:06):
having and causing some problems across the eastern half of
our state. That high tide will likely cause that water
to continue to push further inland, causing areas, specifically out
in the outer Banks to become swelled with water during
that high tide period again around six point thirty or
so this morning. And while Hurricane Aaron is not making
(04:28):
an immediate landfall throughout North Carolina, a gore again anywhere
on the East coast. We are in the thick now
in the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. The Governor
providing some information tips into things for people across the
state to make sure they have available and ready to go,
not only for Arin but for future storms as we
(04:51):
continue to trek through the hurricane season.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
First, stay informed, follow reputable sources of information like the
National Weather Service and local media so you know the
latest about the storm risks. I strongly encourage you to
register online right now for emergency text and phone alerts
from your county emergency management agency. Second, get your disaster
(05:14):
kit ready. Think about what you would need after a
major storm. Things like enough food, water and supplies for
three to five days for each person and pet in
your household, a flashlight and fresh batteries, a battery operated radio. Next,
have a plan in case you have to evacuate. Build
(05:35):
a go bag of cash, prescriptions, phone chargers, and important
documents like insurance policies and other personal and financial records.
Take photos of whatever you own that is valuable in
case it gets destroyed. Know your evacuation plan and how
to connect with your family after the storm. Write down
(05:56):
their phone numbers on a piece of paper if you
have not memorized them. Visit Know your Zone dot NC
dot gov for more information. And finally, do not drive
through floodwaters. Too many people have died driving into flooded roadways.
Don't do it. You do not know how deep the
(06:17):
water is or how fast it is running, so please
don't drown.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Turn around.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
We do not want you to become a casualty of
Hurricane Erin with US ocean overwash, we anticipate impacts to
our roadways, especially NC Highway twelve. For the most up
to date roadway information, visit drive and see dot gov.
For more information about the storm preparations, evacuation orders, open shelters,
(06:46):
or other important tips, visit Ready NC dot gov slash Erin.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
That's Governor Josh Stein at the Emergency Operations Center in
Raleigh yesterday talking about the state of the state of
emergency that is currently in effect across North Carolina due
to Hurricane Erin. Some new details data just coming in
this morning. Airin now two hundred miles away from Cape Hatteras,
it is now moving east, so away from the North
(07:15):
Carolina coastline. Maximum wind gusts between forty and forty five
miles an hour in that area, and some buoys are
already reporting wave heights as high as eighteen feet just
off the coast of the Outer Banks this morning. So
that is of course why some of those state of
emergencies are in effect, and why a tropical storm warning
and some mandatory evacuations were and continue to be in
(07:38):
place for coastal regions in the northeast sector of our state.
Will Ray, the head of North Carolina Emergency Management, did
join Governor Stein yesterday at the press conference in Raleigh.
This is what he had to say from an EOC standpoint.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Extremely large, dangerous waves forecasted around twenty feet in height,
along with storm surge of two to four feet on
top of the surf, will likely impact the dunes along
portions of the North Carolina Coast, especially east and southeast
facing beaches and the outer banks. Numerous roadways will likely
(08:14):
become impassable, especially on Highway twelve as the Governor mentioned,
and in communities on the Barrier Islands. This will be
a longer duration event, with coastal flooding expected over several
high tide cycles. We will see rainbands trailing errand that
will also impact the area. Already saturated soils across the area,
which could lead to extended impacts. Please be sure to
(08:37):
have multiple ways to receive weather alerts, especially during the
overnight hours. You need to be informed by receiving information
from reputable sources of information, and have a plan to
protect yourself and your family. Hurricane Erin is already creating
extremely dangerous and life threatening rip currents for all of
the North Carolina Coast that will linger through the weak
(09:00):
We've seen a high number of rescues along the coast,
and you should avoid swimming anywhere on the North Carolina
coast right now.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
And as you heard from Will Ray discussing some of
the overwash, Highway twelve in certain areas is already closed folks.
With the North Carolina both the Department of Transportation and
local officials have closed portions of Highway twelve due to
some of that overwash beginning to take effect. Portions of
a Highway twelve closing around to seven o'clock last night,
(09:28):
and those will remain closed until the storm as the
storm continues to move away from our coast and the
surf begins to move out of the area. A lot
of resources already being deployed across the state of North Carolina.
Will Wray talked about that as well.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Deployed three of our state's swift water rescue teams from
partners in the North Carolina Marine Patrol, North Carolina Wildlife Resources,
and a joint team made up of the Wake Forest
Fire Department and Nightdale Fire Department, as well as three
of our state searching rescue task forces from Bunkham County,
the Charlotte Fire Department, and the Greensboro Fire Department. All
of which have water rescue, structural collapse and wide area
(10:09):
search capabilities. These search and rescue assets are positioned in
eastern North Carolina to quickly respond to assist first responders
and local emergency managers with response needs. We've activated approximately
two hundred North Carolina National Guardsmen with high clearance vehicles
and positioned them across the coastal plane to support quick
(10:30):
response into those impacted communities. Aircraft have been placed on
standby from the North Carolina National Guard and the State
Highway Patrol to support rescue needs as well as movement
of commodities, teams or equipment.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So, as you heard there from Will Ray and from
Governor Josh Stein, a lot of preparation work already has
now concluded across the state. That state of emergency order
going into effect late in the day on Tuesday. This
press briefing taking place yesterday morning. They're at the Emergency
Operations Center in Raleigh. If you're just waking up and
(11:04):
joining us this morning. The latest out of hurricane air
in the storm now currently two hundred and five miles
off the coast of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The
good news to pass along that eastward movement for the
storm has officially begun. It's now moving north northeast at
seventeen miles an hour as it does begin too week,
(11:25):
and it is still a Category two hurricane with maximum
sustained winds at one hundred and five miles an hour.
Some of the coastal rainbands in this massive storm, which
is expected and predicted now to be close to eight
hundred miles wide, is affecting portions of the Outer Banks
this morning. Not only do you are you dealing with
some of the high tide, some of the ocean swells
(11:47):
eighteen twenty foot waves causing some overwash, but some heavy
rain expected through the early morning hours in the Outer Banks.
We'll continue to keep an eye on all of those
details throughout the rest of the show. Here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour, you can read some additional details
from that Emergency Operation press briefing yesterday, including Governor Josh
(12:09):
Stein and Will Ray, the head of Emergency Management. We've
got an article and some quotes this morning up on
our website Carolina Journal dot com. The headline story there,
steinholds press briefing on preparing for Hurricane Aaron. It's five
(12:31):
twenty one, Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour,
Good Thoo's Good Thursday Morning to You News Talk eleven
ten ninety nine to three WBT. More than twenty thousand
voter registration records for people in North Carolina have been
fixed under the North Carolina State Board of Elections Registration
Repair project that was announced and began its rollout about
(12:53):
a month ago. However, election officials are now in the
process of mailing the remaining eighty two two thousand plus
individuals whose records still need Updating back on July seventeenth,
the state Board kicked off a major initiative with the
project to collect missing identification numbers for roughly one hundred
(13:15):
and three thousand registered voters whose records lacked the required information.
The project aims to bring the state's voter rolls into
compliance with both federal and state laws, recent court rulings,
as well as ongoing lawsuits with the United States Department
of Justice. The Board unanimously approved the three part plan,
(13:37):
which again started back on July the seventeenth. However, they
approved it at their June twenty fourth meeting unanimously. And
I will note that the current State Board of Elections
is made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, so
bipartisan nature working there as part of the project. Voters
receiving the mailings will be asked to provide either their
(14:01):
driver's license number or the last four digits of their
Social Security number, as their records lack one or both
of those pieces of information, which are required by both
state and federal law. Looking at the federal side this morning,
under the federal Help America Vote Act, also known as HAVA,
(14:22):
you've heard us talk about that pretty frequently around this
issue over the last couple of months, took effect all
the way back in two thousand and four. All voter
registrations across the United States must include either a driver's
license number or the last four digits of a social
Security number. However, for nearly a decade under Democrat control,
(14:44):
North Carolina's voter registration form lacked clear instructions, resulting in
tens of thousands of registrations being submitted without that required information.
The new mailings encourage recipients to provide their ideas nification
numbers in one of the following ways by mail, which
(15:04):
would be filling out the form at the bottom of
the letter being sent out by the state Board of Elections,
signing it and mailing it back to the state Board
in an enclosed, pre addressed return envelope with postage already
being provided free of charge from the State of North Carolina.
Probably the most convenient for the vast majority of folks
(15:25):
across our state is the online option. An individual with
a North Carolina driver's license or a DMVID card that
is a non driver's licensed state issued ID can submit
an updated voter registration form through the Department of Motor
Vehicles secure website. This is the same website that many
(15:45):
folks use to pay their vehicle property taxes as well
as deal with their registration. You have logged into the
my DMV website before, it's that exact same website. There
is no fee for that service, and you can update
that information provide that completely for free and within just
minutes directly on the DMV's website. And finally, the third
(16:06):
option in person, an individual can also visit their county
Board of Elections, So the county in which you are registered,
head on over to that office and provide the required information. However,
that cannot be updated via phone. You do have to
show up in person to make that change happen. Sam Hayes,
(16:26):
the executive director of the State Board, said, it's quick,
it's easy, it's free. We strongly encourage all voters on
the registration repair list to take action now and avoid
any issues next time they show up to vote. Voters
across the state can also search whether they are on
the list or not via a link that we've got
(16:46):
up on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. The article
on our site has a link to the Registration Repair
search tool, which is updated every single day by the
State Board, where you can view whether your registration is
already up to date or not. Election officials noted that
if a voter receives a letter, but the has already
(17:07):
gone through the process of repairing their registration both online
or in person, and no longer appears on the list,
they do not have to take any additional action. Since
the launch of the Registration Repair project, the registrations of
more than twenty thousand voters have been fixed through a
combination of research by county Board of Elections and a
(17:30):
responsive individual voters to update their voter registration records now.
This is very important to note for folks that are
on this list and do not handle their voter registration
through one of the three avenues that we talked about
this morning. In future elections in person, voters who have
still not provided that required information to their either their
(17:52):
local county Board of Election or the State Board of
Election will be required to vote with a provisional ballot,
and the only way in which that provisional ballot will
be allowed to go through and your votes to count
is if you provide that information either a driver's license,
full driver's license number, or last four of the social
Security number when you vote. Currently, the state Board is
(18:17):
creating a flag to appear on these voters records and
in either an electronic or paper poll book that are
used at voting sites to alert poll workers and those
working on local elections that these voters must vote provisionally
and provide that missing information for their ballot to count.
(18:37):
County Board of Elections will also train poll workers accordingly
to make sure that that process goes as smooth as possible.
This has been a long time issue for the State
Board of Elections. There have been a couple of different
lawsuits going back a few years at dealing with this.
You've had concerned citizens concerns of voters across the state
of North Carolina that it continually brought this concern to
(19:01):
the State Board of Election over the last couple of
years about how this information It was not immediately clear
on the voter application form whether that information was required
or not. However, with the State Board of Election changing
political party leadership earlier this year, after the General Assembly
passed legislation moving the State Board of Election appointment authority
(19:26):
one of the additional seats away from Governor Josh Stein
and to a state auditor, Dave Bollock, who is a Republican.
That board now has a three to two Republican to
Democrat a majority, and one of the first things that
Republican board members dealt with when taking control of that
board was dealing with this ongoing problem dealing with these
(19:47):
voter registrations. You can read some additional details, including checking
out that registration repair search tool to see if your
name is listed, by visiting our website This Morning Carolina
Journal dot com this story sorry headline I should stay.
State Election Board corrects over twenty thousand records, seeks more
(20:07):
ID numbers Again, you can read that over on our website,
Carolina Journal dot com. It's five thirty five. Welcome back
to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT, recapping and talking about Hurricane Erin
(20:28):
this morning. The latest information out from the National Hurricane
Center less than thirty minutes or so ago, continues to
show erin churning through the Atlantic this morning, a category
two hurricane with maximum sustained wins at one hundred and
five miles an hour. The big update this morning for
the first time, the storm is now moving east north
(20:50):
northeast at seventeen miles an hour as it is making
its closest pass to the North Carolina coast as we
speak this morning, and as some of the folks and
the outer banks deal with some of those impacts. It
is a massive storm. It's currently two hundred miles away
from Cape Hatteras. However, the storm is an estimated eight
(21:10):
hundred miles wide, with the coast already seeing some of
those coastal rainbands this morning. Aaron is now slowly pulling
away from the coast as it will continue its northeastward journey,
and so while conditions are expected to be the worst
throughout the morning hours today especially during high tide, which
(21:30):
is coming up here in about an hour or so.
The will continue to see improvements throughout the middle of
the day. Maximum wind gusts being reported this morning in
Cape Hatteras are between forty and forty five miles an
hour in Maximum wave heights coming in from some booys
just off the Carolina coast is already eighteen feet, and
(21:51):
you've heard from officials over the last couple of days
the risk of some twenty foot waves. While that is
part of the reason why those of tropical storm watches
and warnings were in effect, some of the mandatory evacuations
as portions of Highway twelve were closed last night according
to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicle drivenc dot
(22:13):
gov shows that portions of Highway twelve closed around seven
pm last night and that will remain closed until the
water recedes and it is safe for drivers, and obviously
crews have to assess make sure the road is still intact.
But once the water recedes and crews are able to
assess any damage there, they will get that reopen and
folks will begin their ability to travel freely on Highway twelve.
(22:37):
Looking at the power outages, this morning, not really a
whole lot to report. Carterac County reporting about five hundred
customers without power. It's not immediately clear whether that is
due to a hurricane erin or some other sort of
event causing a power outage. Statewide, only eight hundred and
twenty six customers without power, the vast majority of those
(22:57):
throughout the outer Banks. No major power outage issue us
this morning. Governor Josh Stein holding a press conference yesterday
at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, talking about the
state of emergency that he declared earlier this week.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yesterday, I declared a state of emergency across North Carolina
to facilitate our emergency response and to keep you safe.
The statewide state of emergency enables us to send critical
resources from across the state and around the country to respond.
We've activated a cross agency storm response that includes the
Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation, the North
(23:35):
Carolina National Guard, the State Highway Patrol, and many local partners.
Our state Emergency Response Team stands ready to quickly and
decisively respond to any needs along the coast. We have
already pre positioned three swiftwater rescue teams and two hundred
National Guard troops to various locations on the coast, along
(23:56):
with boats, high clearance vehicles, and aircraft.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Governor Josh Stein yesterday morning and also talked about the impacts,
which again are predominantly being felt across the coast and
more accurately, the Outer Banks area of our state.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Folks on the coast need to take care. Based on
the current forecast. We are anticipating coastal flooding from massive waves,
tropical storm force winds, and tidal and storm surge for
much of the state shoreline, especially the outer Outer Banks,
from this evening through Thursday. Life threatening rip currents for
(24:32):
most of the week. No one should be in the ocean,
an extensive beach erosion along much of the coast, A.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Lot of that already taking place this morning. That's Governor
Josh Stein. Will Ray, the head of North Carolina Emergency Management,
also talked about some of the resources that they have
deployed and have ready as Aaron made her impacts closer
to North Carolina yesterday.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
Yesterday, North Carolina Emergency Management deployed three of our state's
swift water rescue teams from partners in the North Carolina
Marine Patrol North Carolina Wildlife Resources and a joint team
made up of the Wake Forest Fire Department and Nightdale
Fire Department, as well as three of our state's search
and rescue task forces from Bunkham County, the Charlotte Fire Department,
and the Greensboro Fire Department, all of which have water rescue,
(25:19):
structural collapse and wide area search capabilities. These search and
rescue assets are positioned in eastern North Carolina to quickly
respond to assist first responders and local emergency managers with
response needs. We've activated approximately two hundred North Carolina National
Guardsmen with high clearance vehicles and position them across the
(25:40):
coastal plain to support quick response into those impacted communities.
Aircraft have been placed on standby from the North Carolina
National Guard and the State Highway Patrol to support rescue
needs as well as movement of commodities, teams or equipment.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
That is will ray with the North Carolina Urgency Management
providing that update and providing that information. We've got a
full rundown of that press conference yesterday and Raleigh over
on our website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com, where
it's now five forty one News Talk eleven ten ninety
nine to three WBT. The ever popular social media app
TikTok has been in the news a lot over the
(26:20):
last couple of years. Concerns over its ownership out of
the coming in directly out of the Chinese government. Should
it be banned not banned across the United States? That's
been an ongoing conversation. However, there is an interesting legal
challenge going on here in the state of North Carolina.
They could have some impacts for folks across our state.
To get an update on that, Mitch Kochi of the
John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Mitch,
(26:44):
the lawsuit we're talking about this morning actually go back,
goes back a couple of years when Josh Stein was
in the Attorney General's office. What's going on there?
Speaker 5 (26:52):
It does, and this is separate from the idea of
banning TikTok, That, of course, is something that's happening on
the national level in North Carolina. The lawsuit that was
filed by then Attorney General now Governor Josh Stein didn't
ask to ban TikTok, but it said that TikTok and
its corporate parent, Byte Dance are responsible for violating a
(27:14):
state law by designing their application in such a way
that it addicts young people. The algorithms and everything else
that's in the design is designed so that a kid
signs up for TikTok and then we'll get addicted to
it and can't get off the screen because they're going
to keep seeing videos that they like. And so this
(27:37):
is something that the Stein State Justice Department went to
court over saying, look, this is something that violates the
Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act in North Carolina and TikTok
and Byte Dance should be forced to pay a price
for that. It is a case that has continued now
with Josh Stein moving on to the Governor's office and
(28:00):
Jeff Jackson moving into the Attorney General's office. Jackson and
his lawyers are continuing to defend the lawsuit. And the
latest development the reason that we're talking about it is
that a State Business Court Judge Adam Conrad just issued
an order that dismissed or rejected the motions that TikTok filed.
(28:22):
To dismiss the case, TikTok basically made a number of arguments.
One of them is that this is not something that
belongs in state court. They also said that federal law
immunizes TikTok against any state lawsuit. They also made a
first amendment argument and they said that basically the state
did not put forward a claim that can be addressed
(28:44):
in a court. It's the failure to state acclaim argument.
And basically Conrad in his order that came out this week,
shot down all of those arguments.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
It said, no, this lawsuit can move forward. Mitch.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
This is taking place in the North Carolin line of
Business Court. We've discussed a couple of stories out of
the Business Court. I'll be the first to admit not
that many. What makes the business court different from the
variety of other legal challenges that you've brought us up
to speed on here over the last couple of months.
Speaker 5 (29:15):
It's an important point because business court operates like superior court,
which is the main trial court level of North Carolina.
You have district court, but district court deals with the
smaller cases. Superior court is the main trial court where
you deal with crimes or civil suits of most types.
(29:37):
The difference between a typical superior court and business court
is it's designed to deal with complex litigation that has
something to do with businesses. So almost anything that's going
to have a business aspect to it, one party or
another might want to have the case heard in business court.
(29:58):
And that's what happened here, talking about a really complicated
case dealing with a major business, and so the idea
of having it in the specialized business court rather than
in just a general Wait county or a Mechlenburg County
or a New Hanover County superior court. It made sense
for this case to be put there. And generally a
(30:21):
case gets to business court because one or both of
the parties ask for it to be in business court,
and then.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
The chief Justice of the.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
State Supreme Court signs off on it. So that's why
a case gets to business court. That's why these specialized
business court judges deal with cases that only deal with businesses,
rather than having to do business case one day and
then a murder or a robbery the next day or
something like that.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
That's why business court is of interest here.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, and of course you talk about some of those
very unique complexities that do come up when you're talking
about something like in this case, a multi national corporation
in byte Dance, operating this very popular social media app
Mitch this has been an ongoing, lengthy lawsuit, and I
feel like some of what's being discussed here in North
Carolina could into being superseded by some of those movements
(31:14):
at the national level. Well, that also, I would assume,
adds to the probably interesting nature of this case.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
Yeah, it certainly could be superseded by what happens nationally,
especially if Byte Dance and TikTok eventually are banned. I mean,
if that happens, then probably much of this suit, if
not all, of it becomes moot. Unless the state continues
to push forward and saying you know, even though you
aren't allowed to operate, you still put forward this addictive
(31:42):
application and caused all kinds of problems in North Carolina
and you should have to pay for it. That potentially
could go forward, but certainly you would have much less
steam if TikTok is forced to shut down. If TikTok
talk is allowed to continue to operate, then this case
certainly has legs because the idea is not on the
(32:04):
state level trying to shut down TikTok or say you
can't operate in North Carolina. It's just saying, look, the
way that you're operating is violating our state law and
you're going to have to pay a price for it.
So even if TikTok wins at the national level, the
fact that this case continues to move forward in North
Carolina in the Business court means that it's.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Legal woes won't be over now.
Speaker 5 (32:28):
One thing that might be interesting to see is depending
on what happens in the Business court and as it
moves forward, because right now, all that has happened is
that the case continues to move forward, closer and closer
to a trial and some sort of resolution. The only
thing that happened at this point is that the judge
(32:49):
is said no, I'm not going to dismiss the case.
That doesn't mean an ultimate win for the state. It
just means the state can press forward with its case now.
Depending on the outcome of the case, it's something that TikTok.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Or Byte Dance might try to.
Speaker 5 (33:02):
Move from state court to federal court saying, look, you know,
federal court tell the states they can't mess with us.
But that remains to be seen right now. The major
point is that TikTok tried to get this case thrown
out of state court, and the state court judge said no,
it's going to move forward.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
We'll continue to track the progress on that legal proceeding
here in North Carolina, and of course keep our eye
on some of those potential movements at the national level
as well. We appreciate the update this morning. Mitch Kokai
joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five
(33:41):
point fifty three. Good morning again, Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News Hour news Stock eleven, ten ninety nine
to three WBT. Continuing our track of Hurricane Aaron this
morning the news as you're just waking up and getting
your day started. That storm is now officially beginning its
process of moving east out of the five as advisory
from the National Hurricane Center, Aaron moving north northeast at
(34:04):
seventeen miles an hour. It does continue to be a
Category two hurricane with its winds at one hundred and
five miles an hour. For those keeping track at home,
Category two storms are between ninety six and one hundred
and ten miles an hour. Once it falls to a
ninety five miles an hour and below, it will be
a Category one storm as it is expected to weaken
(34:26):
as it moves away from the United States. Impacts being
felt right now in the Outer Banks area of our
states some tropical storms. The showers and storms moving on
shore this morning, some very high waves being reported by
some booyes just off the shore of Cape Hatteras this morning.
Eighteen foot waves being reported by a couple of those
(34:48):
booies with some winds in the mid forties a wing
gus in the mid forties to low fifties as that
storm is making its closest pass. It's about two hundred
miles directly east of of Cape Hatteras this morning as
it begins its trek away. A state of emergency is
in effect for North Carolina, as we heard in a
press conference yesterday from Governor Josh Stein and Will Ray,
(35:11):
the head of Emergency Management. Crews are staged and ready
to go to deal with any potential impacts, which again
are expected to be relatively minimal outside of the rip
current risk and some of the high surf. High tide
is expected throughout portions of the Outer Banks in the
next thirty minutes or so as daybreak continues, So we'll
(35:32):
probably watch that and see that unfold live throughout all
of the various pier and beach cameras that exist throughout
the outer Banks this morning. Highway at twelve, which has
been a large portion of discussion throughout the week, Highway
twelve in certain areas of war closed last night. The
highway was closed around seven pm, according to the Department
(35:53):
of Transportation, that was due to water rushing over the road.
I would imagine some similar conditions are a continuing this
morning with that. Will Ray, the head of the North
Carolina Department of Emergency Management, had this to say about
the storm at a press conference yesterday.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Extremely large, dangerous waves forecast at around twenty feet in height,
along with storm surge of two to four feet on
top of the surf, will likely impact the dunes along
portions of the North Carolina Coast, especially east and southeast
facing beaches and the outer banks. Numerous roadways will likely
(36:31):
become impassable, especially on Highway twelve as the Governor mentioned,
and in communities on the Barrier Islands. This will be
a longer duration event, with coastal flooding expected over several
high tide cycles. We will see rainband's trailing errand that
will also impact the area. Already saturated soils across the area,
which could lead to extended impacts. Please be sure to
(36:54):
have multiple ways to receive weather alerts, especially during the
overnight hours. You need to be informed by receiving information
from reputable sources of information, and have a plan to
protect yourself and your family.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
The conditions are expected to uh and they already are
deteriorating in some areas. They will improve throughout the day.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
Today.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
You can get more details on this state of emergency
press briefing that took place at the Emergency Operations Center
yesterday over on our website this morning at Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it for a Thursday edition.
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 three WBT
It's five oh two and welcome in to eight Thursday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig, a
good morning to you. We start off this morning with
Hurricane Aaron. We have been tracking it throughout the week
right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. The latest
details out just minutes ago from the National Hurricane Center
(00:31):
out of Miami, Florida, continues to show erin as a
now a weaker end category two hurricane. Its maximum sustained
wins one hundred and five miles an hour, the pressure
sitting at nine hundred and forty five millibars. The biggest
news out this morning is that the track and the
storm is now officially moving east. As of this five
(00:51):
am advisory, it is moving north northeast at seventeen miles
an hour, beginning its track away from the east coast
of the United States. Tracking some of those details this morning,
it is expected and the storm is in fact expected
to stay in the Atlantic Ocean, not land falling anywhere
on the continental United States or Bermuda, and it's making
(01:14):
its closest pass to our coastline this morning, bringing strong
and dangerous rip current, storm surge at beach erosion and
flooding at two beaches across the east coast of our state.
The biggest impacts being felt in the Outer Banks, where
a tropical storm warning does remain in effect for the
Outer Banks throughout the rest of the day today. With
(01:36):
Aaron currently being about two hundred miles off the coast
of the Outer Banks, it is now moving northeastward. However,
the storm is an estimated eight hundred miles wide, bringing
some of those coastal tropical bands to the Outer Banks
this morning. The weather is expected to deteriorate at least
slightly in the morning hours, as it will improve throughout
(01:58):
the day today. Well, yesterday, Governor Josh Stein held a
press conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, providing
information to residents across the state of North Carolina. This
is what the Governor had to say about, well, the
state of emergency.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Emergency across North Carolina to facilitate our emergency response and
to keep you safe. The statewide state of emergency enables
us to send critical resources from across the state and
around the country to respond. We've activated across agency storm
response that includes the Department of Public Safety, the Department
(02:34):
of Transportation, the North Carolina National Guard, the State Highway Patrol,
and many local partners. Our State Emergency Response Team stands
ready to quickly and decisively respond to any needs along
the coast. We have already pre positioned three swift weater
rescue teams and two hundred National Guard troops to various
(02:54):
locations on the coast, along with boats, high clearance vehicles,
and aircraft.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
That is some of the staging and the preparation being
done by the State of North Carolina in preparation of
this storm, and the coastal impacts are expected to be
the most severe. According to Governor.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Stein, folks on the coast need to take care. Based
on the current forecast, we are anticipating coastal flooding from
massive waves, tropical storm force winds, and tidal and storm
surge for much of the state shoreline, especially the outer
outer banks, from this evening through Thursday, life threatening rip
(03:34):
currents for most of the week. No one should be
in the ocean. An extensive beach erosion along much.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Of the coast that is already beginning to take effect
this morning. High tide is expected across the vast majority
of the eastern half of our state. In the six
six am hour this morning, high tide, alongside some of
these high waves from Hurricane Erin to continue to cause
some of that beach erosion that is already already been
(04:06):
having and causing some problems across the eastern half of
our state. That high tide will likely cause that water
to continue to push further inland, causing areas, specifically out
in the outer Banks to become swelled with water during
that high tide period again around six point thirty or
so this morning. And while Hurricane Aaron is not making
(04:28):
an immediate landfall throughout North Carolina, a gore again anywhere
on the East coast. We are in the thick now
in the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. The Governor
providing some information tips into things for people across the
state to make sure they have available and ready to go,
not only for Arin but for future storms as we
(04:51):
continue to trek through the hurricane season.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
First, stay informed, follow reputable sources of information like the
National Weather Service and local media so you know the
latest about the storm risks. I strongly encourage you to
register online right now for emergency text and phone alerts
from your county emergency management agency. Second, get your disaster
(05:14):
kit ready. Think about what you would need after a
major storm. Things like enough food, water and supplies for
three to five days for each person and pet in
your household, a flashlight and fresh batteries, a battery operated radio. Next,
have a plan in case you have to evacuate. Build
(05:35):
a go bag of cash, prescriptions, phone chargers, and important
documents like insurance policies and other personal and financial records.
Take photos of whatever you own that is valuable in
case it gets destroyed. Know your evacuation plan and how
to connect with your family after the storm. Write down
(05:56):
their phone numbers on a piece of paper if you
have not memorized them. Visit Know your Zone dot NC
dot gov for more information. And finally, do not drive
through floodwaters. Too many people have died driving into flooded roadways.
Don't do it. You do not know how deep the
(06:17):
water is or how fast it is running, so please
don't drown.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Turn around.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
We do not want you to become a casualty of
Hurricane Erin with US ocean overwash, we anticipate impacts to
our roadways, especially NC Highway twelve. For the most up
to date roadway information, visit drive and see dot gov.
For more information about the storm preparations, evacuation orders, open shelters,
(06:46):
or other important tips, visit Ready NC dot gov slash Erin.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
That's Governor Josh Stein at the Emergency Operations Center in
Raleigh yesterday talking about the state of the state of
emergency that is currently in effect across North Carolina due
to Hurricane Erin. Some new details data just coming in
this morning. Airin now two hundred miles away from Cape Hatteras,
it is now moving east, so away from the North
(07:15):
Carolina coastline. Maximum wind gusts between forty and forty five
miles an hour in that area, and some buoys are
already reporting wave heights as high as eighteen feet just
off the coast of the Outer Banks this morning. So
that is of course why some of those state of
emergencies are in effect, and why a tropical storm warning
and some mandatory evacuations were and continue to be in
(07:38):
place for coastal regions in the northeast sector of our state.
Will Ray, the head of North Carolina Emergency Management, did
join Governor Stein yesterday at the press conference in Raleigh.
This is what he had to say from an EOC standpoint.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Extremely large, dangerous waves forecasted around twenty feet in height,
along with storm surge of two to four feet on
top of the surf, will likely impact the dunes along
portions of the North Carolina Coast, especially east and southeast
facing beaches and the outer banks. Numerous roadways will likely
(08:14):
become impassable, especially on Highway twelve as the Governor mentioned,
and in communities on the Barrier Islands. This will be
a longer duration event, with coastal flooding expected over several
high tide cycles. We will see rainbands trailing errand that
will also impact the area. Already saturated soils across the area,
which could lead to extended impacts. Please be sure to
(08:37):
have multiple ways to receive weather alerts, especially during the
overnight hours. You need to be informed by receiving information
from reputable sources of information, and have a plan to
protect yourself and your family. Hurricane Erin is already creating
extremely dangerous and life threatening rip currents for all of
the North Carolina Coast that will linger through the weak
(09:00):
We've seen a high number of rescues along the coast,
and you should avoid swimming anywhere on the North Carolina
coast right now.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
And as you heard from Will Ray discussing some of
the overwash, Highway twelve in certain areas is already closed folks.
With the North Carolina both the Department of Transportation and
local officials have closed portions of Highway twelve due to
some of that overwash beginning to take effect. Portions of
a Highway twelve closing around to seven o'clock last night,
(09:28):
and those will remain closed until the storm as the
storm continues to move away from our coast and the
surf begins to move out of the area. A lot
of resources already being deployed across the state of North Carolina.
Will Wray talked about that as well.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Deployed three of our state's swift water rescue teams from
partners in the North Carolina Marine Patrol, North Carolina Wildlife Resources,
and a joint team made up of the Wake Forest
Fire Department and Nightdale Fire Department, as well as three
of our state searching rescue task forces from Bunkham County,
the Charlotte Fire Department, and the Greensboro Fire Department. All
of which have water rescue, structural collapse and wide area
(10:09):
search capabilities. These search and rescue assets are positioned in
eastern North Carolina to quickly respond to assist first responders
and local emergency managers with response needs. We've activated approximately
two hundred North Carolina National Guardsmen with high clearance vehicles
and positioned them across the coastal plane to support quick
(10:30):
response into those impacted communities. Aircraft have been placed on
standby from the North Carolina National Guard and the State
Highway Patrol to support rescue needs as well as movement
of commodities, teams or equipment.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
So, as you heard there from Will Ray and from
Governor Josh Stein, a lot of preparation work already has
now concluded across the state. That state of emergency order
going into effect late in the day on Tuesday. This
press briefing taking place yesterday morning. They're at the Emergency
Operations Center in Raleigh. If you're just waking up and
(11:04):
joining us this morning. The latest out of hurricane air
in the storm now currently two hundred and five miles
off the coast of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The
good news to pass along that eastward movement for the
storm has officially begun. It's now moving north northeast at
seventeen miles an hour as it does begin too week,
(11:25):
and it is still a Category two hurricane with maximum
sustained winds at one hundred and five miles an hour.
Some of the coastal rainbands in this massive storm, which
is expected and predicted now to be close to eight
hundred miles wide, is affecting portions of the Outer Banks
this morning. Not only do you are you dealing with
some of the high tide, some of the ocean swells
(11:47):
eighteen twenty foot waves causing some overwash, but some heavy
rain expected through the early morning hours in the Outer Banks.
We'll continue to keep an eye on all of those
details throughout the rest of the show. Here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour, you can read some additional details
from that Emergency Operation press briefing yesterday, including Governor Josh
(12:09):
Stein and Will Ray, the head of Emergency Management. We've
got an article and some quotes this morning up on
our website Carolina Journal dot com. The headline story there,
steinholds press briefing on preparing for Hurricane Aaron. It's five
(12:31):
twenty one, Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour,
Good Thoo's Good Thursday Morning to You News Talk eleven
ten ninety nine to three WBT. More than twenty thousand
voter registration records for people in North Carolina have been
fixed under the North Carolina State Board of Elections Registration
Repair project that was announced and began its rollout about
(12:53):
a month ago. However, election officials are now in the
process of mailing the remaining eighty two two thousand plus
individuals whose records still need Updating back on July seventeenth,
the state Board kicked off a major initiative with the
project to collect missing identification numbers for roughly one hundred
(13:15):
and three thousand registered voters whose records lacked the required information.
The project aims to bring the state's voter rolls into
compliance with both federal and state laws, recent court rulings,
as well as ongoing lawsuits with the United States Department
of Justice. The Board unanimously approved the three part plan,
(13:37):
which again started back on July the seventeenth. However, they
approved it at their June twenty fourth meeting unanimously. And
I will note that the current State Board of Elections
is made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, so
bipartisan nature working there as part of the project. Voters
receiving the mailings will be asked to provide either their
(14:01):
driver's license number or the last four digits of their
Social Security number, as their records lack one or both
of those pieces of information, which are required by both
state and federal law. Looking at the federal side this morning,
under the federal Help America Vote Act, also known as HAVA,
(14:22):
you've heard us talk about that pretty frequently around this
issue over the last couple of months, took effect all
the way back in two thousand and four. All voter
registrations across the United States must include either a driver's
license number or the last four digits of a social
Security number. However, for nearly a decade under Democrat control,
(14:44):
North Carolina's voter registration form lacked clear instructions, resulting in
tens of thousands of registrations being submitted without that required information.
The new mailings encourage recipients to provide their ideas nification
numbers in one of the following ways by mail, which
(15:04):
would be filling out the form at the bottom of
the letter being sent out by the state Board of Elections,
signing it and mailing it back to the state Board
in an enclosed, pre addressed return envelope with postage already
being provided free of charge from the State of North Carolina.
Probably the most convenient for the vast majority of folks
(15:25):
across our state is the online option. An individual with
a North Carolina driver's license or a DMVID card that
is a non driver's licensed state issued ID can submit
an updated voter registration form through the Department of Motor
Vehicles secure website. This is the same website that many
(15:45):
folks use to pay their vehicle property taxes as well
as deal with their registration. You have logged into the
my DMV website before, it's that exact same website. There
is no fee for that service, and you can update
that information provide that completely for free and within just
minutes directly on the DMV's website. And finally, the third
(16:06):
option in person, an individual can also visit their county
Board of Elections, So the county in which you are registered,
head on over to that office and provide the required information. However,
that cannot be updated via phone. You do have to
show up in person to make that change happen. Sam Hayes,
(16:26):
the executive director of the State Board, said, it's quick,
it's easy, it's free. We strongly encourage all voters on
the registration repair list to take action now and avoid
any issues next time they show up to vote. Voters
across the state can also search whether they are on
the list or not via a link that we've got
(16:46):
up on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. The article
on our site has a link to the Registration Repair
search tool, which is updated every single day by the
State Board, where you can view whether your registration is
already up to date or not. Election officials noted that
if a voter receives a letter, but the has already
(17:07):
gone through the process of repairing their registration both online
or in person, and no longer appears on the list,
they do not have to take any additional action. Since
the launch of the Registration Repair project, the registrations of
more than twenty thousand voters have been fixed through a
combination of research by county Board of Elections and a
(17:30):
responsive individual voters to update their voter registration records now.
This is very important to note for folks that are
on this list and do not handle their voter registration
through one of the three avenues that we talked about
this morning. In future elections in person, voters who have
still not provided that required information to their either their
(17:52):
local county Board of Election or the State Board of
Election will be required to vote with a provisional ballot,
and the only way in which that provisional ballot will
be allowed to go through and your votes to count
is if you provide that information either a driver's license,
full driver's license number, or last four of the social
Security number when you vote. Currently, the state Board is
(18:17):
creating a flag to appear on these voters records and
in either an electronic or paper poll book that are
used at voting sites to alert poll workers and those
working on local elections that these voters must vote provisionally
and provide that missing information for their ballot to count.
(18:37):
County Board of Elections will also train poll workers accordingly
to make sure that that process goes as smooth as possible.
This has been a long time issue for the State
Board of Elections. There have been a couple of different
lawsuits going back a few years at dealing with this.
You've had concerned citizens concerns of voters across the state
of North Carolina that it continually brought this concern to
(19:01):
the State Board of Election over the last couple of
years about how this information It was not immediately clear
on the voter application form whether that information was required
or not. However, with the State Board of Election changing
political party leadership earlier this year, after the General Assembly
passed legislation moving the State Board of Election appointment authority
(19:26):
one of the additional seats away from Governor Josh Stein
and to a state auditor, Dave Bollock, who is a Republican.
That board now has a three to two Republican to
Democrat a majority, and one of the first things that
Republican board members dealt with when taking control of that
board was dealing with this ongoing problem dealing with these
(19:47):
voter registrations. You can read some additional details, including checking
out that registration repair search tool to see if your
name is listed, by visiting our website This Morning Carolina
Journal dot com this story sorry headline I should stay.
State Election Board corrects over twenty thousand records, seeks more
(20:07):
ID numbers Again, you can read that over on our website,
Carolina Journal dot com. It's five thirty five. Welcome back
to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT, recapping and talking about Hurricane Erin
(20:28):
this morning. The latest information out from the National Hurricane
Center less than thirty minutes or so ago, continues to
show erin churning through the Atlantic this morning, a category
two hurricane with maximum sustained wins at one hundred and
five miles an hour. The big update this morning for
the first time, the storm is now moving east north
(20:50):
northeast at seventeen miles an hour as it is making
its closest pass to the North Carolina coast as we
speak this morning, and as some of the folks and
the outer banks deal with some of those impacts. It
is a massive storm. It's currently two hundred miles away
from Cape Hatteras. However, the storm is an estimated eight
(21:10):
hundred miles wide, with the coast already seeing some of
those coastal rainbands this morning. Aaron is now slowly pulling
away from the coast as it will continue its northeastward journey,
and so while conditions are expected to be the worst
throughout the morning hours today especially during high tide, which
(21:30):
is coming up here in about an hour or so.
The will continue to see improvements throughout the middle of
the day. Maximum wind gusts being reported this morning in
Cape Hatteras are between forty and forty five miles an
hour in Maximum wave heights coming in from some booys
just off the Carolina coast is already eighteen feet, and
(21:51):
you've heard from officials over the last couple of days
the risk of some twenty foot waves. While that is
part of the reason why those of tropical storm watches
and warnings were in effect, some of the mandatory evacuations
as portions of Highway twelve were closed last night according
to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicle drivenc dot
(22:13):
gov shows that portions of Highway twelve closed around seven
pm last night and that will remain closed until the
water recedes and it is safe for drivers, and obviously
crews have to assess make sure the road is still intact.
But once the water recedes and crews are able to
assess any damage there, they will get that reopen and
folks will begin their ability to travel freely on Highway twelve.
(22:37):
Looking at the power outages, this morning, not really a
whole lot to report. Carterac County reporting about five hundred
customers without power. It's not immediately clear whether that is
due to a hurricane erin or some other sort of
event causing a power outage. Statewide, only eight hundred and
twenty six customers without power, the vast majority of those
(22:57):
throughout the outer Banks. No major power outage issue us
this morning. Governor Josh Stein holding a press conference yesterday
at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, talking about the
state of emergency that he declared earlier this week.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yesterday, I declared a state of emergency across North Carolina
to facilitate our emergency response and to keep you safe.
The statewide state of emergency enables us to send critical
resources from across the state and around the country to respond.
We've activated a cross agency storm response that includes the
Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation, the North
(23:35):
Carolina National Guard, the State Highway Patrol, and many local partners.
Our state Emergency Response Team stands ready to quickly and
decisively respond to any needs along the coast. We have
already pre positioned three swiftwater rescue teams and two hundred
National Guard troops to various locations on the coast, along
(23:56):
with boats, high clearance vehicles, and aircraft.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Governor Josh Stein yesterday morning and also talked about the impacts,
which again are predominantly being felt across the coast and
more accurately, the Outer Banks area of our state.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Folks on the coast need to take care. Based on
the current forecast. We are anticipating coastal flooding from massive waves,
tropical storm force winds, and tidal and storm surge for
much of the state shoreline, especially the outer Outer Banks,
from this evening through Thursday. Life threatening rip currents for
(24:32):
most of the week. No one should be in the ocean,
an extensive beach erosion along much of the coast, A.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Lot of that already taking place this morning. That's Governor
Josh Stein. Will Ray, the head of North Carolina Emergency Management,
also talked about some of the resources that they have
deployed and have ready as Aaron made her impacts closer
to North Carolina yesterday.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
Yesterday, North Carolina Emergency Management deployed three of our state's
swift water rescue teams from partners in the North Carolina
Marine Patrol North Carolina Wildlife Resources and a joint team
made up of the Wake Forest Fire Department and Nightdale
Fire Department, as well as three of our state's search
and rescue task forces from Bunkham County, the Charlotte Fire Department,
and the Greensboro Fire Department, all of which have water rescue,
(25:19):
structural collapse and wide area search capabilities. These search and
rescue assets are positioned in eastern North Carolina to quickly
respond to assist first responders and local emergency managers with
response needs. We've activated approximately two hundred North Carolina National
Guardsmen with high clearance vehicles and position them across the
(25:40):
coastal plain to support quick response into those impacted communities.
Aircraft have been placed on standby from the North Carolina
National Guard and the State Highway Patrol to support rescue
needs as well as movement of commodities, teams or equipment.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
That is will ray with the North Carolina Urgency Management
providing that update and providing that information. We've got a
full rundown of that press conference yesterday and Raleigh over
on our website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com, where
it's now five forty one News Talk eleven ten ninety
nine to three WBT. The ever popular social media app
TikTok has been in the news a lot over the
(26:20):
last couple of years. Concerns over its ownership out of
the coming in directly out of the Chinese government. Should
it be banned not banned across the United States? That's
been an ongoing conversation. However, there is an interesting legal
challenge going on here in the state of North Carolina.
They could have some impacts for folks across our state.
To get an update on that, Mitch Kochi of the
John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Mitch,
(26:44):
the lawsuit we're talking about this morning actually go back,
goes back a couple of years when Josh Stein was
in the Attorney General's office. What's going on there?
Speaker 5 (26:52):
It does, and this is separate from the idea of
banning TikTok, That, of course, is something that's happening on
the national level in North Carolina. The lawsuit that was
filed by then Attorney General now Governor Josh Stein didn't
ask to ban TikTok, but it said that TikTok and
its corporate parent, Byte Dance are responsible for violating a
(27:14):
state law by designing their application in such a way
that it addicts young people. The algorithms and everything else
that's in the design is designed so that a kid
signs up for TikTok and then we'll get addicted to
it and can't get off the screen because they're going
to keep seeing videos that they like. And so this
(27:37):
is something that the Stein State Justice Department went to
court over saying, look, this is something that violates the
Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act in North Carolina and TikTok
and Byte Dance should be forced to pay a price
for that. It is a case that has continued now
with Josh Stein moving on to the Governor's office and
(28:00):
Jeff Jackson moving into the Attorney General's office. Jackson and
his lawyers are continuing to defend the lawsuit. And the
latest development the reason that we're talking about it is
that a State Business Court Judge Adam Conrad just issued
an order that dismissed or rejected the motions that TikTok filed.
(28:22):
To dismiss the case, TikTok basically made a number of arguments.
One of them is that this is not something that
belongs in state court. They also said that federal law
immunizes TikTok against any state lawsuit. They also made a
first amendment argument and they said that basically the state
did not put forward a claim that can be addressed
(28:44):
in a court. It's the failure to state acclaim argument.
And basically Conrad in his order that came out this week,
shot down all of those arguments.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
It said, no, this lawsuit can move forward. Mitch.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
This is taking place in the North Carolin line of
Business Court. We've discussed a couple of stories out of
the Business Court. I'll be the first to admit not
that many. What makes the business court different from the
variety of other legal challenges that you've brought us up
to speed on here over the last couple of months.
Speaker 5 (29:15):
It's an important point because business court operates like superior court,
which is the main trial court level of North Carolina.
You have district court, but district court deals with the
smaller cases. Superior court is the main trial court where
you deal with crimes or civil suits of most types.
(29:37):
The difference between a typical superior court and business court
is it's designed to deal with complex litigation that has
something to do with businesses. So almost anything that's going
to have a business aspect to it, one party or
another might want to have the case heard in business court.
(29:58):
And that's what happened here, talking about a really complicated
case dealing with a major business, and so the idea
of having it in the specialized business court rather than
in just a general Wait county or a Mechlenburg County
or a New Hanover County superior court. It made sense
for this case to be put there. And generally a
(30:21):
case gets to business court because one or both of
the parties ask for it to be in business court,
and then.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
The chief Justice of the.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
State Supreme Court signs off on it. So that's why
a case gets to business court. That's why these specialized
business court judges deal with cases that only deal with businesses,
rather than having to do business case one day and
then a murder or a robbery the next day or
something like that.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
That's why business court is of interest here.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, and of course you talk about some of those
very unique complexities that do come up when you're talking
about something like in this case, a multi national corporation
in byte Dance, operating this very popular social media app
Mitch this has been an ongoing, lengthy lawsuit, and I
feel like some of what's being discussed here in North
Carolina could into being superseded by some of those movements
(31:14):
at the national level. Well, that also, I would assume,
adds to the probably interesting nature of this case.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
Yeah, it certainly could be superseded by what happens nationally,
especially if Byte Dance and TikTok eventually are banned. I mean,
if that happens, then probably much of this suit, if
not all, of it becomes moot. Unless the state continues
to push forward and saying you know, even though you
aren't allowed to operate, you still put forward this addictive
(31:42):
application and caused all kinds of problems in North Carolina
and you should have to pay for it. That potentially
could go forward, but certainly you would have much less
steam if TikTok is forced to shut down. If TikTok
talk is allowed to continue to operate, then this case
certainly has legs because the idea is not on the
(32:04):
state level trying to shut down TikTok or say you
can't operate in North Carolina. It's just saying, look, the
way that you're operating is violating our state law and
you're going to have to pay a price for it.
So even if TikTok wins at the national level, the
fact that this case continues to move forward in North
Carolina in the Business court means that it's.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Legal woes won't be over now.
Speaker 5 (32:28):
One thing that might be interesting to see is depending
on what happens in the Business court and as it
moves forward, because right now, all that has happened is
that the case continues to move forward, closer and closer
to a trial and some sort of resolution. The only
thing that happened at this point is that the judge
(32:49):
is said no, I'm not going to dismiss the case.
That doesn't mean an ultimate win for the state. It
just means the state can press forward with its case now.
Depending on the outcome of the case, it's something that TikTok.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Or Byte Dance might try to.
Speaker 5 (33:02):
Move from state court to federal court saying, look, you know,
federal court tell the states they can't mess with us.
But that remains to be seen right now. The major
point is that TikTok tried to get this case thrown
out of state court, and the state court judge said no,
it's going to move forward.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
We'll continue to track the progress on that legal proceeding
here in North Carolina, and of course keep our eye
on some of those potential movements at the national level
as well. We appreciate the update this morning. Mitch Kokai
joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five
(33:41):
point fifty three. Good morning again, Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News Hour news Stock eleven, ten ninety nine
to three WBT. Continuing our track of Hurricane Aaron this
morning the news as you're just waking up and getting
your day started. That storm is now officially beginning its
process of moving east out of the five as advisory
from the National Hurricane Center, Aaron moving north northeast at
(34:04):
seventeen miles an hour. It does continue to be a
Category two hurricane with its winds at one hundred and
five miles an hour. For those keeping track at home,
Category two storms are between ninety six and one hundred
and ten miles an hour. Once it falls to a
ninety five miles an hour and below, it will be
a Category one storm as it is expected to weaken
(34:26):
as it moves away from the United States. Impacts being
felt right now in the Outer Banks area of our
states some tropical storms. The showers and storms moving on
shore this morning, some very high waves being reported by
some booyes just off the shore of Cape Hatteras this morning.
Eighteen foot waves being reported by a couple of those
(34:48):
booies with some winds in the mid forties a wing
gus in the mid forties to low fifties as that
storm is making its closest pass. It's about two hundred
miles directly east of of Cape Hatteras this morning as
it begins its trek away. A state of emergency is
in effect for North Carolina, as we heard in a
press conference yesterday from Governor Josh Stein and Will Ray,
(35:11):
the head of Emergency Management. Crews are staged and ready
to go to deal with any potential impacts, which again
are expected to be relatively minimal outside of the rip
current risk and some of the high surf. High tide
is expected throughout portions of the Outer Banks in the
next thirty minutes or so as daybreak continues, So we'll
(35:32):
probably watch that and see that unfold live throughout all
of the various pier and beach cameras that exist throughout
the outer Banks this morning. Highway at twelve, which has
been a large portion of discussion throughout the week, Highway
twelve in certain areas of war closed last night. The
highway was closed around seven pm, according to the Department
(35:53):
of Transportation, that was due to water rushing over the road.
I would imagine some similar conditions are a continuing this
morning with that. Will Ray, the head of the North
Carolina Department of Emergency Management, had this to say about
the storm at a press conference yesterday.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Extremely large, dangerous waves forecast at around twenty feet in height,
along with storm surge of two to four feet on
top of the surf, will likely impact the dunes along
portions of the North Carolina Coast, especially east and southeast
facing beaches and the outer banks. Numerous roadways will likely
(36:31):
become impassable, especially on Highway twelve as the Governor mentioned,
and in communities on the Barrier Islands. This will be
a longer duration event, with coastal flooding expected over several
high tide cycles. We will see rainband's trailing errand that
will also impact the area. Already saturated soils across the area,
which could lead to extended impacts. Please be sure to
(36:54):
have multiple ways to receive weather alerts, especially during the
overnight hours. You need to be informed by receiving information
from reputable sources of information, and have a plan to
protect yourself and your family.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
The conditions are expected to uh and they already are
deteriorating in some areas. They will improve throughout the day.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
Today.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
You can get more details on this state of emergency
press briefing that took place at the Emergency Operations Center
yesterday over on our website this morning at Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it for a Thursday edition.
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 three WBT
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