September 17, 2025 • 32 mins
Utah prosecutors announced they will seek the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, the suspect charged in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Meanwhile, new U.S. Census data shows North Carolina’s median household income climbed to $74,000 in 2024. Wiley Nickel has announced a run for Wake County district attorney. State Auditor Dave Boliek is raising concerns about transparency in Charlotte’s settlement with its CMPD chief. Governor Stein is in Washington, D.C., pressing federal officials for $13.5 billion in additional Hurricane Helene recovery aid.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Wednesday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Tracking some national news this morning, Utah prosecutors have announced
charges in as well as the intent for them to
seek the death penalty for and after the assassination of
(00:31):
Charlie kirk Those charges being levied against Tyler Robinson yesterday
in a press conference. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray spoke
during that news conference and announced that prosecutors in Utah
County will be pursuing the death penalty against the twenty
two year old man who is accused of assassinating Charlie
(00:51):
Kirk back one week ago. Last Wednesday at Utah Valley University,
Robinson appeared in a Utah court via be a WebEx
of video link, wearing a green kevlar vest, facing seven charges,
including aggravated murder. That is the only that is the
crime that is eligible for capital punishment in the state
(01:12):
of Utah, which is one of twenty one states that
still has capital punishment on the books. The shooting occurred
as as Charlie Kirk the co founder of Turning Point
USA and a very prominent voice on the conservative side
of the isle, was hosting one of his very popular
campus tour college events one week ago in Utah, more
(01:32):
than three thousand people in the crowd when bullets rang
out and Kirk was killed, according to prosecutors. According to
prosecutors in the case, Robinson, the twenty two year old
alleged shooter, His mother told authorities her son had been
increasingly embracing left wing ideology over the last couple of years,
(01:54):
and the prosecutors detailed his romantic relationship with a transgender
room mate. That is relevant because text messages between Robinson
and the roommate revealed a confession and motive, with Robinson
allegedly saying, according to prosecutors, quote, I had enough of
this hatred. Some hate cannot be negotiated out. Robinson also
(02:17):
admitted to planning the attack for over a week and
carved messages referencing Antifa and other subculture phrases and ideology
into bullet casings and magazines, including things like Hey Fascist,
catch and a World War and an Italian World War
two anti fascist song, Oh Bella Chow. He later described
(02:41):
all of that in a text message as being quote
mostly a big meme. However, there was no meme in
pulling the trigger and killing Charlie Kirk. The investigation gained
a momentum when Robinson's family recognized him in those FBI
released images released late last week by the Federal Bureau
of Investigtionation and identified that the rifle had been in
(03:03):
the family and originally had belonged to Robinson's grandfather. DNA
evidence was recovered from the weapon and a towel used
to wrap it up. After the shooting took place, Robinson
ditched it in the nearby woods, where it was then
later combed over by local, state, and federal law enforcement
and captured. Robinson initially thought and had planned to completely
(03:25):
escape undetected. However, he did text his transgender roommate partner
and talked about trying to grab the rifle and indicating
that he had screwed up by not grabbing it. Earlier,
FBI Director Cash Bettel announced that in Tyler Robinson's discord
chat group is also under investigation. All participants in that
(03:46):
are now part of an ongoing probe, as Robinson also
communicated with multiple people in that chat room, talking about
the act, the heinous, horrific act that he took that
he was at the hands of last Wednesday. Robinson also
faces additional charges, including obstruction of justice for attempting to
(04:07):
hide evidence and witness tampering for instructing his partner to
quote delete their communication and remain silent if contacted by police.
Utah County Judge Tony Graff appointed a public defender for
Tyler Robinson, who was ruled who is being obviously prosecuted
(04:27):
here in the case. Utah maintains the death penalty and
includes firing squads as an execution method, though only two
inmates have been executed since a twenty ten that has
been pretty standard in most of the twenty one states
where the death penalty does exist. Very few capital punishments
actually playing out across the United States. We've seen some
(04:48):
commentary from President Donald Trump in the last week as well,
indicating that if the death penalty is on the table,
prosecutors should go after it, and according to Utah County
Attorney Jeff Gray in his news conference yesterday, they will
be seeking capital punishment in this case. First appearance taking
place yesterday afternoon. Not immediately clear when that next court
(05:10):
date is going to be taking place. However, we'll keep
an eye on the details. Actually looks like looks like
that is going to be taking place September twenty ninth,
So coming up here in a couple of weeks when
that next court hearing will take place. We'll keep an
eye on all of the details right here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. North Carolina also making some national
(05:33):
news as it relates to Charlie Kirk. Fox News running
an article yesterday after noon showing a situation unfolding at
UNCW as individuals not immediately clear whether they are students
or not, took a light blue paint color and poured
over a rock on campus known as the Spirit Rock
(05:55):
that was painted with a tribute for Charlie Kirk. Students
gathered an night to honor Kirk at a vigil that
was attended by more than two thousand people. With that
taking place yesterday a morning and throughout yesterday afternoon, groups
of agitators on campus did attempt multiple times to deface
(06:16):
the Spirit Rock, which had written on it quote, if
you believe in something, you need to have the courage
to fight those ideas, not run away from them, and
silence them signed and having the memorial to Charlie Kirk
nineteen ninety three to twenty twenty five, after multiple hours
of students skipping class and standing by the rock to
(06:36):
make sure that individuals did not pour paint on it.
While that happened around eleven o'clock yesterday morning, getting some
national coverage from Fox News showing this situation unfolding on
campus as a group of about three or four individuals
did pour some of that blue paint over the rock,
getting some major attention from national news sources and on
(07:00):
social media over the last twelve hours or so. Another
unfortunate story that has brought North Carolina some national news.
That coverage is available this morning over at Fox News.
The headline there University's Charlie Kirk tribute defaced as students
hurl insult at supporters and call them lost souls. Obviously,
(07:22):
it has been a busy, really busy two weeks or
so here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, continuing to
track a variety of stories, including the horrific murder of
Irena Zaruska and Charlotte that took over most of our
coverage through the early parts of last week, and then
of course, as pretty much every other news outlet across
the country, transitioning to the Charlie Kirk story. We continue
(07:45):
to track all of that, and we'll have continuing and
additional coverage over on our website. This morning at Carolina
Journal dot com. It's five twenty Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine
three WVT. You might be familiar with the name Wiley Nickel.
(08:10):
Back earlier this year, nicol announced his intention to run
for United States Senate on the Democrat side of the isle,
of course, a vacant seat now which will be left
by retiring Senator Tom Tillis. However, after former Governor Roy
Cooper announced that he was jumping into the race, Wiley Nickel,
who was a former representative in the House of Representatives
(08:31):
a congress member out of the thirteenth Congressional District, he
announced that he would be stepping back. In Our news
that we're tracking this morning over at Carolina Journal dot
com shows that the former congressman has made his candidacy
official for the office of Wake County District Attorney. He
made the announcement on social media yesterday. Current District Attorney.
(08:51):
Lauren Freeman, a Democrat, announced earlier this year that she
will not run for reelection in twenty twenty six, so
the former congressman and then Senate candidate, now DA candidate
will look to take over that seat in Wait County
and our state's capital. In July, there was speculation that
he was considering a run for office after he dropped
out of the United States Senate race and endorsed former
(09:14):
Democrat Governor Roy Cooper for nomination. When Cooper announced his
official intention to run for the seat, Nicol said this
in a video clip posted to social media yesterday, quote,
I'm running for Wait County District Attorney because the stakes
for our community and our democracy have never been higher
in this moment. With the President shredding the constitution in
(09:36):
the oval office, we need leaders who will stand up
to protect our rights and keep our judicial system fair
and independent. Listen, my time in Congress was cut short
because Republicans jerrymandered, and I've got a lot of work
left to do. Nicol also incredibly popular on social media
as well, having some major social media followings in left
(09:58):
wing circles. Republicans have entered the race thus far that
primary will take place in March. Candidate filing will open
in early December of this year. Primary if there needs
to be one in March, and of course the general
election headed your way late next year. You can read
some additional details on Wiley Nicol We've got, as well
(10:19):
as coverage of his his backstory, his time in Congress,
his original announcement for the United States Senate. All of
that available over on our website. This morning, Carolina Journal
dot com with the headline story Nickel announces run for
Wait County District Attorney. In some other statewide news this morning,
some new data coming out from the United States Census
(10:41):
Bureau shows that median household incomes in North Carolina stands
at seventy three thousand, nine hundred and fifty eight dollars.
That's a from in twenty twenty four, according a two
census data that compares to a median of more than
eighty three thousand, seven hundred for the nation as a whole.
According to those numbers, North Carolina's median household income in
(11:05):
twenty twenty three was seventy thousand, eight hundred and four dollars,
so about three thousand dollars more than the year prior. Nationally,
the Bureau reported a slight decline in the official poverty rate,
up to eleven percent about thirty five point nine million people,
(11:26):
and said that ninety two percent of the United States
population had health insurance for at least as part of
twenty twenty four. Private coverage remained more common than public
coverage sixty six versus thirty six, with employer sponsored insurance
covering fifty four percent of the population for some or
all of calendar year twenty twenty four. The findings come
(11:49):
from three new Bureau reports. The official poverty rate in
North Carolina was thirteen percent in twenty twenty four, essentially
unchanged from the year prior, and the seventeenth highest rate
among states in the nation. Child poverty stood at sixteen percent.
That's the fifteenth highest nationwide, and the Bureau noted racial differences.
(12:12):
Latino North Carolinians had the highest poverty rate at twenty percent,
followed by Black residents at nineteen percent and American Indian
residents at seventeen percent. Brian Balfour, the senior vice president
of Research at the John Locke Foundation, said, quote, Unfortunately,
too many North Carolinians continue to struggle with poverty. Research shows, however,
(12:36):
a nearly surefire way to escape it. Those who follow
the so called success sequence, which involves staying in school,
waiting until marriage to have children, and working full time
will escape poverty ninety seven percent of the time. Similarly,
high rates are enjoyed by those who grew up up
(12:57):
poor and across races. Moreover, children in North Carolina living
in single parent homes are five times more likely to
live in poverty than those with two parents. Policymakers concerned
with poverty would be wise to take those facts into consideration.
While income and poverty rates were and remained largely flat,
(13:18):
North Carolina was one of only two states to see
measurable increases in Medicaid coverage in twenty twenty four. According
to the report, the state's uninsured rate fell from nine
point four percent in twenty twenty three to eight point
six percent in twenty twenty four. That's statistically a very
(13:38):
significant drop. The Census attributed the improvement primarily to the
state's Medicaid expansion, which increased the state's Medicaid coverage rate
by about one percentage point to twenty percent. Obviously, the
lawmakers in Raleigh over the last couple of years working
through Medicaid expansion. It was fully rolled out for the
(13:59):
last past calendar year, and those numbers were absolutely detected
in this data from the United States Census. However, coverage
trends varied across the country. The national uninsured rate was
stable at eight percent, even though it rose significantly in
eighteen states and the District of Columbia. North Carolina's improvement
(14:20):
stood in contrast to those increases and that national pattern.
Between twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four, median incomes
rose five percent for Asian American households, six percent for
Hispanic households, while it fell three percent for African American households.
Median income did not change significantly from white households in
(14:41):
general or for white non Hispanic households either. At the
top end, household income at the ninetieth percentile increased four percent,
while the tenth and fiftieth percentile showed no significant change.
The national poverty rate slightly decreased by point by p
point four percentage points to ten point six percent, translating
(15:04):
to approximately thirty five point nine million people living and
living in poverty. The supplemental poverty measure was noted at
twelve point nine percent, also indicating no significant change from
the previous year. The Census Bureau also released a housing
report showing shelter costs continuing to rise in twenty twenty four.
(15:25):
That's an issue all across the country. No real shock there.
Median monthly owner costs for homeowners with a mortgage rose
to over two thousand dollars two thousand and thirty five
dollars a month, up almost four percent from the year prior,
driven mainly by higher mortgages and insurance costs. The median
share of income spent by mortgaged homeowners was twenty one
(15:49):
and a half percent, with more than half of owned
homes at sixty percent, having a mortgage payment, while the
number of homes owned free and clear increased by about
nine hundred one thousand in the twenty twenty four calendar year.
Median monthly condo and HOA fees were up, and you
saw some of those big time increases in states like Nevada, Florida, Florida,
(16:12):
and Arizona. Rents also rose, as the median gross rent
increase by almost three percent to more than fourteen hundred
dollars nationwide in twenty twenty four, though the median share
of income spent on rent remained at thirty one percent.
Some very interesting data in this report, obviously a lot
of numbers that we're going through this morning. We've got
(16:33):
a full link to all of the articles and all
of those reports from the Census Bureau over on our
website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com. That story's headline,
NC median household income reaches seventy four thousand dollars in
twenty twenty four. You can read that at Carolina Journal
dot com. It's five thirty six. Welcome back to the
(16:59):
Carolina Journal News Hour Newstalk eleven, ten ninety nine to
three WBT. Utah prosecutors in a press conference yesterday announced
that they are pursuing the death penalty against twenty two
year old Tyler Robinson, the man that is accused of
assassinating Charlie Kirk during a campus event well one week
ago today at Utah Valley University. Robinson also made his
(17:23):
first court appearance at yesterday afternoon via WebEx wearing a
green kevlar vest. He is facing seven charges. The one
that does include the potential for capital punishment is aggravated murder,
which the Utah County Prosecutor Utah County Attorney, I should
say in Jeff Gray, did announce that they would be
(17:44):
seeking in this case. According to prosecutors, Robinson's mother had
told authorities that her son, the twenty two year old
alled shooter, had increasingly embraced left wing ideology over the
last couple of years and was dating his transgender roommate,
who he exchanged text messages with both before, during, and
(18:05):
seemingly after the shooting, saying at one point quote, I
have had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be
negotiated out. In referencing Charlie Kirk. He would then go
on to of course, murder Kirk at Utah Valley University yesterday.
Robinson also admitted to planning the attacks over a several
week span of time, carved messages referencing Antifa and other
(18:30):
subcultures into bullet casings, and with that Robinson's family did
recognize him from those released images by the FBI late
last week, called there a sun, and was able to
they were successful and able to finally convince him to
turn himself into authorities, which he did in fact do
late last Thursday night around ten pm local time in Utah.
(18:54):
With that, there are a six other charges that are
being sought out by the Utah Valley by the Utah
County I should say attorney in Jeff Gray and prosecutors
in this case. There is another court hearing that is
scheduled afore September the twenty ninth, as Utah remains a
one of twenty one states that does have the death penalty,
(19:16):
including firing squad as an execution method. Important to note, however,
there are only there have only been two inmates executed
in the state of Utah since twenty and ten, so
while folks may get the death penalty, it is not
a very common thing in the state of Utah. We
continue our coverage of that story this morning here on
(19:38):
the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now five thirty
eight News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
Earlier this year, the City of Charlotte and Charlotte Mecklenberg
Police Chief Johnny Jennings were in the news after it
was reported that there was a more than three hundred
thousand dollars settlement between the city and the Chief State Auditor,
(19:59):
Dave Bollick has begun an investigation into that. To walk
us through some of those details this morning, and a
new report out of the Auditor's office tree so Pega
Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the news hour.
Three hundred thousand dollars settlement for a police chief already
making a pretty hefty salary in the city of Charlotte,
Terresa did raise a lot of eyebrows earlier this year.
What are you learning from the Auditor's office this morning?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Sure, Good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me so.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Yeah, Auditor Bullock released that report on that, you know,
for lack of a better tournament. Well, it was it
was a secret agreement because right nobody knew about the
city council and the Mayor of Charlotte kept that quiet
until you know, it was found out. So Auditor Bollock
(20:44):
did release a special report, and what he said is
that the investigations objectives were to determine circumstances and sources
of funding for that payment, and to determine whether there
are city's actions complied with state laws, specifically North Carolina's
Public Records Act and the North Carolina Open Meetings Law
in other applicable laws. So what he said his office
(21:07):
investigations found was of the total payment, two hundred eighty
thousand came from the city's general fund and twenty five
thousand came from the Risk Management Fund, and that fund
typically is used to pay claims against the city, and
that had a total of twenty seven point four million
dollars in expenses for fiscal year twenty twenty four. Also,
(21:28):
the agreements text revealed the city's payments to Jennings included
severance pay, additional vacation days, retention bonuses, merit base salary increase,
and also a reimbursement for legal expenses. We all have
it all broken down in the article, but basically the
auditor said the payment was kept from the public until
he requests that Charlotte Mayer Violiles disclosed the amount.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Five days later.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Then Jennings announced his upcoming retirement and released the information
about the agreement. And again we do have a breakdown
of the settlement in.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Our story this morning.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Yeah, and Teresa, maybe a little backstore. I know our
audience here in Charlotte is probably familiar with it, but
maybe for some that or not. There was some rumor
that Johnny Jennings was going to sue the City of Charlotte.
Then after that alleged threat was made, and again a
lot of this is maybe uncooborated, but after that alleged
threat was made, this payment was not disclosed publicly, but
(22:21):
was able to be obtained by some members of the
Charlotte media, including WBT Radio, who were one of the
first to report on that. This settlement comes out and
it's a large chunk of change, and you also talk
about some of the vacation time and other salary equivalent
benefits that the chief did receive from this. This is
a huge issue of public transparency, Teresa.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Oh. Absolutely, you're talking that much, thousands of dollars, you know,
and it's being kept from the public. It's all with
you know, city funds. City taxpayers are paying this money.
It absolutely is a matter of transparency, pretty important one
at that.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
You know when you talk about that the vast majority
of this money coming from the general fund. As I
understand it, Teresa, that's essentially like the government's what like
savings account or checking accounts where they kind of store
money that they use for a variety of issues that
may exist and come up throughout the year.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yes, that's correct, Yes, and.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Then we look at this mitigation fund. Presumably that's if
the city is involved in any litigation they're sued by
somebody or something like that. But in this case, there
was no actual lawsuit file to get at least not
that we're aware of, filed against the City of Charlotte.
Was there any disclosure as to why they were able
to use money from that fund for some of these payouts.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Well, if we're looking through what we had, the city
confirmed the expenditures from the general fund they weren't anticipated
or included in the cities adopted fiscal year twenty twenty
five budget, but the city stated the costs were covered
through other operational savings realized during the fiscal year. And
also the city stated there are no internal documents did
(24:00):
to show that the one hundred and seventy five thousand
dollars severance payment was specifically included in the cities adopted
twenty twenty six budget for the fiscal year of twenty
twenty six, as a settlement agreement had not been approved
when the budget was proposed, but the city determined that
it was not required to pass a budget amendment to
reflect the upcoming severance payment. Reports that it appears that
(24:23):
Charlotte's City Council voted to settle with Jennings sometime between
the closed sessions held somewhere between April twenty eighth and
May fifth, in order to avoid litigation related to text
messages he received from a former Charlotte City councilman, and
on May eighth, the city officially entered into that sellment
with Jennings. So that's a little more of the information
(24:47):
we have in the story.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
One of the things that State Auditor Dave Bollock has
really prided himself on since getting into that office or
earlier this year, of course winning his election back last November,
is bringing a shining a light in bringing a level
of transparency Teresa to any sized government, whether we're talking
about a small school district or something like the North
Carolina Department of Transportation DMV of course now this morning
(25:11):
talking about the City of Charlotte. He's been pretty hell
bent on doing that and seems to indicate and give
some recommendations in the vast majority of his reports, any
recommendations out of the Order's office after this three hundred
plus thousand dollars payment earlier this year, Sure, sure.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah, he definitely wants to shine a lights, calling himself
a watchdog when it comes to all of this.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
He had some recommendations.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Of course, we're talking about transparency, improved transparency and settlement reporting,
also timely release of closed session minutes, and also to
reevaluate the use of the general fund for settlement payments.
He said they launched the investigation because the people of
Charlotte deserve to know how their money is being spent.
And he also said, you know, this is the people's
(25:55):
money and it shouldn't be kept behind closed doors. Our
report brought transparency to the city Charlotte, but however, as
shown in the mayor's response, city leadership doesn't share our
interest in being open and transparent about spending the people's money.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
That's a direct quote from Auditor Dave Bollock.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Obviously very frustrating for the taxpayers and residents in the
City of Charlotte in the Greater Mecklenburg County area. We've
got a link this morning including all of the numbers
and figures, including a full link to that special report
from State Auditor Dave Bollock's office that's available over on
our website this morning. Carolina Journal dot com. We appreciate
the details. Teres Opeika joins us Son the Carolina Journal
(26:34):
News Hour. It's time for the sixth annual WBT Little
Heroes Blood Drive Tomorrow, Thursday, September the eighteenth. WBT and
the One Blood A Big Red Bus will be at
Watson Insurance in Belmont from ten am to three pm,
and we're encouraging you to make an appointment to make
(26:56):
a life saving blood donation. The sixth annual WBT Little
Heroes Blood Drive continues Tomorrow, Thursday, September the eighteenth, at
Watson Insurance in Belmont. Visit WBT dot com this morning
for location details and to make sure that you can
register your appointment. Good morning again, five point fifty two.
Welcome back to The Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven,
(27:17):
ten ninety nine to three WBT. Democrat Governor Josh Stein
will be in Washington, d C. Throughout the day today
at requesting, as he announced earlier this week, an additional
thirteen and a half billion dollars from the federal government.
As next week will mark one year since Hurricane Helene
(27:38):
devastated the western half of North Carolina. The governor talked
about the importance of getting some of those federal funds
to flow into the state. At a press conference on Monday, we.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Are grateful for every federal dollar that we've received because
it brings us closer to recovery, but we need more help.
The next stage of recovery is going to require a
new commitment from Congress and from the administration to not
forget the people of western North Carolina. Western North Carolina
(28:09):
has not received anywhere near what it needs nor our
fair share. So far, North Carolina has received or been
awarded federal funding equivalent to about nine percent of the
total damage that Helene caused. States that were similarly devastated
following hurricanes Katrina, Maria or Sandy saw seventy percent of
(28:35):
their damages covered by federal funding. The average is typically
between forty and fifty percent of total damage and federal
relief dollars. Today, I am making a new request of
Congress for an additional thirteen and a half billion dollars
in recovery assistance, and I'll be headed to Washington on
Wednesday for meetings to further this request to our federal park.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
That's Governor Josh Stein. Earlier in the week that press
conference taking place at Blue Ridge Community College and their
Technology Education and Development Center in the Flat Rock that
is in Henderson County, where the governor did make that
push for an additional thirteen and a half billion dollars,
noting that he will be heading to Washington, d C. Today.
(29:21):
It's not immediately clear who the governor is going to
be meeting with President Trump off the table. He is
over in the UK this morning on a state visit,
but in probably a pretty strong likelihood there will be
administration officials into whatever meetings are going to be taking place.
The governor noted that roughly seventy four thousand home destroyed
by Helene, very few of which had flood insurance, and
(29:45):
ninety six percent of small businesses in the area reported
some whether they were minor or major, but some impacts
from the storm, with six out of seven people not
reaching there with six out of seven of those stores,
small business is not reaching their pre Hellene revenues. He
noted that western North Carolina's economy relies heavily on the
(30:07):
strength of small businesses, including the massive tourism industry in
the western half of our state. He's also requesting additional
money from hud as the Community Development Block Grant for
Disaster Recovery, also known as a CDBGDR grant, an additional
eight billion dollars he is requesting to help rebuilding homes,
(30:29):
help small businesses, as well as repairing infrastructure to make
sure that they are complete and are more prone. God forbid,
another storm like Helene should affect the western half of
our state once again. As we do remain in the
middle of the twenty twenty five Atlantic hurricane season. The
Governor focused, of course, in on infrastructure as well. In
(30:50):
the immediate aftermath of the storm, you had more than
five thousand miles of state maintained roads as well as
many private driveways and bridges that were either partially or
completely destroyed. And fortunately, as of this morning, ninety seven
percent of that five thousand miles of those state maintained
roads were reopened and are operating at least in some capacity,
(31:14):
including Interstate forty, which has reopened between the North Carolina
and Tennessee border. However, those are temporary reopenings and temporary
repairs that were put in place, meaning that the speed
limits in some areas of Interstate forty in the mountains
are just twenty five thirty five miles an hour, one
lane in each direction, a lot of truck and tractor
(31:36):
trailer traffic through those areas. So while the road is opened, yes,
it is not at its normal capacity, and it does
cause some major delays and can really slow down a
trip west or east on Interstate forty out near the
Tennessee line. That is also something that he is hoping
to get some additional support from the federal government on.
(31:57):
Important to note here in North Carolina, more than a
billion dollars has already been passed and approved by the
North Carolina General Assembly. We'll track the governor's visit in Washington,
DC today and provide any additional coverage and detail over
on our website, Carolina Journal dot com and right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's going to do
(32:18):
it for a Wednesday edition at 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 Wednesday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Tracking some national news this morning, Utah prosecutors have announced
charges in as well as the intent for them to
seek the death penalty for and after the assassination of
(00:31):
Charlie kirk Those charges being levied against Tyler Robinson yesterday
in a press conference. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray spoke
during that news conference and announced that prosecutors in Utah
County will be pursuing the death penalty against the twenty
two year old man who is accused of assassinating Charlie
(00:51):
Kirk back one week ago. Last Wednesday at Utah Valley University,
Robinson appeared in a Utah court via be a WebEx
of video link, wearing a green kevlar vest, facing seven charges,
including aggravated murder. That is the only that is the
crime that is eligible for capital punishment in the state
(01:12):
of Utah, which is one of twenty one states that
still has capital punishment on the books. The shooting occurred
as as Charlie Kirk the co founder of Turning Point
USA and a very prominent voice on the conservative side
of the isle, was hosting one of his very popular
campus tour college events one week ago in Utah, more
(01:32):
than three thousand people in the crowd when bullets rang
out and Kirk was killed, according to prosecutors. According to
prosecutors in the case, Robinson, the twenty two year old
alleged shooter, His mother told authorities her son had been
increasingly embracing left wing ideology over the last couple of years,
(01:54):
and the prosecutors detailed his romantic relationship with a transgender
room mate. That is relevant because text messages between Robinson
and the roommate revealed a confession and motive, with Robinson
allegedly saying, according to prosecutors, quote, I had enough of
this hatred. Some hate cannot be negotiated out. Robinson also
(02:17):
admitted to planning the attack for over a week and
carved messages referencing Antifa and other subculture phrases and ideology
into bullet casings and magazines, including things like Hey Fascist,
catch and a World War and an Italian World War
two anti fascist song, Oh Bella Chow. He later described
(02:41):
all of that in a text message as being quote
mostly a big meme. However, there was no meme in
pulling the trigger and killing Charlie Kirk. The investigation gained
a momentum when Robinson's family recognized him in those FBI
released images released late last week by the Federal Bureau
of Investigtionation and identified that the rifle had been in
(03:03):
the family and originally had belonged to Robinson's grandfather. DNA
evidence was recovered from the weapon and a towel used
to wrap it up. After the shooting took place, Robinson
ditched it in the nearby woods, where it was then
later combed over by local, state, and federal law enforcement
and captured. Robinson initially thought and had planned to completely
(03:25):
escape undetected. However, he did text his transgender roommate partner
and talked about trying to grab the rifle and indicating
that he had screwed up by not grabbing it. Earlier,
FBI Director Cash Bettel announced that in Tyler Robinson's discord
chat group is also under investigation. All participants in that
(03:46):
are now part of an ongoing probe, as Robinson also
communicated with multiple people in that chat room, talking about
the act, the heinous, horrific act that he took that
he was at the hands of last Wednesday. Robinson also
faces additional charges, including obstruction of justice for attempting to
(04:07):
hide evidence and witness tampering for instructing his partner to
quote delete their communication and remain silent if contacted by police.
Utah County Judge Tony Graff appointed a public defender for
Tyler Robinson, who was ruled who is being obviously prosecuted
(04:27):
here in the case. Utah maintains the death penalty and
includes firing squads as an execution method, though only two
inmates have been executed since a twenty ten that has
been pretty standard in most of the twenty one states
where the death penalty does exist. Very few capital punishments
actually playing out across the United States. We've seen some
(04:48):
commentary from President Donald Trump in the last week as well,
indicating that if the death penalty is on the table,
prosecutors should go after it, and according to Utah County
Attorney Jeff Gray in his news conference yesterday, they will
be seeking capital punishment in this case. First appearance taking
place yesterday afternoon. Not immediately clear when that next court
(05:10):
date is going to be taking place. However, we'll keep
an eye on the details. Actually looks like looks like
that is going to be taking place September twenty ninth,
So coming up here in a couple of weeks when
that next court hearing will take place. We'll keep an
eye on all of the details right here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. North Carolina also making some national
(05:33):
news as it relates to Charlie Kirk. Fox News running
an article yesterday after noon showing a situation unfolding at
UNCW as individuals not immediately clear whether they are students
or not, took a light blue paint color and poured
over a rock on campus known as the Spirit Rock
(05:55):
that was painted with a tribute for Charlie Kirk. Students
gathered an night to honor Kirk at a vigil that
was attended by more than two thousand people. With that
taking place yesterday a morning and throughout yesterday afternoon, groups
of agitators on campus did attempt multiple times to deface
(06:16):
the Spirit Rock, which had written on it quote, if
you believe in something, you need to have the courage
to fight those ideas, not run away from them, and
silence them signed and having the memorial to Charlie Kirk
nineteen ninety three to twenty twenty five, after multiple hours
of students skipping class and standing by the rock to
(06:36):
make sure that individuals did not pour paint on it.
While that happened around eleven o'clock yesterday morning, getting some
national coverage from Fox News showing this situation unfolding on
campus as a group of about three or four individuals
did pour some of that blue paint over the rock,
getting some major attention from national news sources and on
(07:00):
social media over the last twelve hours or so. Another
unfortunate story that has brought North Carolina some national news.
That coverage is available this morning over at Fox News.
The headline there University's Charlie Kirk tribute defaced as students
hurl insult at supporters and call them lost souls. Obviously,
(07:22):
it has been a busy, really busy two weeks or
so here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, continuing to
track a variety of stories, including the horrific murder of
Irena Zaruska and Charlotte that took over most of our
coverage through the early parts of last week, and then
of course, as pretty much every other news outlet across
the country, transitioning to the Charlie Kirk story. We continue
(07:45):
to track all of that, and we'll have continuing and
additional coverage over on our website. This morning at Carolina
Journal dot com. It's five twenty Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine
three WVT. You might be familiar with the name Wiley Nickel.
(08:10):
Back earlier this year, nicol announced his intention to run
for United States Senate on the Democrat side of the isle,
of course, a vacant seat now which will be left
by retiring Senator Tom Tillis. However, after former Governor Roy
Cooper announced that he was jumping into the race, Wiley Nickel,
who was a former representative in the House of Representatives
(08:31):
a congress member out of the thirteenth Congressional District, he
announced that he would be stepping back. In Our news
that we're tracking this morning over at Carolina Journal dot
com shows that the former congressman has made his candidacy
official for the office of Wake County District Attorney. He
made the announcement on social media yesterday. Current District Attorney.
(08:51):
Lauren Freeman, a Democrat, announced earlier this year that she
will not run for reelection in twenty twenty six, so
the former congressman and then Senate candidate, now DA candidate
will look to take over that seat in Wait County
and our state's capital. In July, there was speculation that
he was considering a run for office after he dropped
out of the United States Senate race and endorsed former
(09:14):
Democrat Governor Roy Cooper for nomination. When Cooper announced his
official intention to run for the seat, Nicol said this
in a video clip posted to social media yesterday, quote,
I'm running for Wait County District Attorney because the stakes
for our community and our democracy have never been higher
in this moment. With the President shredding the constitution in
(09:36):
the oval office, we need leaders who will stand up
to protect our rights and keep our judicial system fair
and independent. Listen, my time in Congress was cut short
because Republicans jerrymandered, and I've got a lot of work
left to do. Nicol also incredibly popular on social media
as well, having some major social media followings in left
(09:58):
wing circles. Republicans have entered the race thus far that
primary will take place in March. Candidate filing will open
in early December of this year. Primary if there needs
to be one in March, and of course the general
election headed your way late next year. You can read
some additional details on Wiley Nicol We've got, as well
(10:19):
as coverage of his his backstory, his time in Congress,
his original announcement for the United States Senate. All of
that available over on our website. This morning, Carolina Journal
dot com with the headline story Nickel announces run for
Wait County District Attorney. In some other statewide news this morning,
some new data coming out from the United States Census
(10:41):
Bureau shows that median household incomes in North Carolina stands
at seventy three thousand, nine hundred and fifty eight dollars.
That's a from in twenty twenty four, according a two
census data that compares to a median of more than
eighty three thousand, seven hundred for the nation as a whole.
According to those numbers, North Carolina's median household income in
(11:05):
twenty twenty three was seventy thousand, eight hundred and four dollars,
so about three thousand dollars more than the year prior. Nationally,
the Bureau reported a slight decline in the official poverty rate,
up to eleven percent about thirty five point nine million people,
(11:26):
and said that ninety two percent of the United States
population had health insurance for at least as part of
twenty twenty four. Private coverage remained more common than public
coverage sixty six versus thirty six, with employer sponsored insurance
covering fifty four percent of the population for some or
all of calendar year twenty twenty four. The findings come
(11:49):
from three new Bureau reports. The official poverty rate in
North Carolina was thirteen percent in twenty twenty four, essentially
unchanged from the year prior, and the seventeenth highest rate
among states in the nation. Child poverty stood at sixteen percent.
That's the fifteenth highest nationwide, and the Bureau noted racial differences.
(12:12):
Latino North Carolinians had the highest poverty rate at twenty percent,
followed by Black residents at nineteen percent and American Indian
residents at seventeen percent. Brian Balfour, the senior vice president
of Research at the John Locke Foundation, said, quote, Unfortunately,
too many North Carolinians continue to struggle with poverty. Research shows, however,
(12:36):
a nearly surefire way to escape it. Those who follow
the so called success sequence, which involves staying in school,
waiting until marriage to have children, and working full time
will escape poverty ninety seven percent of the time. Similarly,
high rates are enjoyed by those who grew up up
(12:57):
poor and across races. Moreover, children in North Carolina living
in single parent homes are five times more likely to
live in poverty than those with two parents. Policymakers concerned
with poverty would be wise to take those facts into consideration.
While income and poverty rates were and remained largely flat,
(13:18):
North Carolina was one of only two states to see
measurable increases in Medicaid coverage in twenty twenty four. According
to the report, the state's uninsured rate fell from nine
point four percent in twenty twenty three to eight point
six percent in twenty twenty four. That's statistically a very
(13:38):
significant drop. The Census attributed the improvement primarily to the
state's Medicaid expansion, which increased the state's Medicaid coverage rate
by about one percentage point to twenty percent. Obviously, the
lawmakers in Raleigh over the last couple of years working
through Medicaid expansion. It was fully rolled out for the
(13:59):
last past calendar year, and those numbers were absolutely detected
in this data from the United States Census. However, coverage
trends varied across the country. The national uninsured rate was
stable at eight percent, even though it rose significantly in
eighteen states and the District of Columbia. North Carolina's improvement
(14:20):
stood in contrast to those increases and that national pattern.
Between twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four, median incomes
rose five percent for Asian American households, six percent for
Hispanic households, while it fell three percent for African American households.
Median income did not change significantly from white households in
(14:41):
general or for white non Hispanic households either. At the
top end, household income at the ninetieth percentile increased four percent,
while the tenth and fiftieth percentile showed no significant change.
The national poverty rate slightly decreased by point by p
point four percentage points to ten point six percent, translating
(15:04):
to approximately thirty five point nine million people living and
living in poverty. The supplemental poverty measure was noted at
twelve point nine percent, also indicating no significant change from
the previous year. The Census Bureau also released a housing
report showing shelter costs continuing to rise in twenty twenty four.
(15:25):
That's an issue all across the country. No real shock there.
Median monthly owner costs for homeowners with a mortgage rose
to over two thousand dollars two thousand and thirty five
dollars a month, up almost four percent from the year prior,
driven mainly by higher mortgages and insurance costs. The median
share of income spent by mortgaged homeowners was twenty one
(15:49):
and a half percent, with more than half of owned
homes at sixty percent, having a mortgage payment, while the
number of homes owned free and clear increased by about
nine hundred one thousand in the twenty twenty four calendar year.
Median monthly condo and HOA fees were up, and you
saw some of those big time increases in states like Nevada, Florida, Florida,
(16:12):
and Arizona. Rents also rose, as the median gross rent
increase by almost three percent to more than fourteen hundred
dollars nationwide in twenty twenty four, though the median share
of income spent on rent remained at thirty one percent.
Some very interesting data in this report, obviously a lot
of numbers that we're going through this morning. We've got
(16:33):
a full link to all of the articles and all
of those reports from the Census Bureau over on our
website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com. That story's headline,
NC median household income reaches seventy four thousand dollars in
twenty twenty four. You can read that at Carolina Journal
dot com. It's five thirty six. Welcome back to the
(16:59):
Carolina Journal News Hour Newstalk eleven, ten ninety nine to
three WBT. Utah prosecutors in a press conference yesterday announced
that they are pursuing the death penalty against twenty two
year old Tyler Robinson, the man that is accused of
assassinating Charlie Kirk during a campus event well one week
ago today at Utah Valley University. Robinson also made his
(17:23):
first court appearance at yesterday afternoon via WebEx wearing a
green kevlar vest. He is facing seven charges. The one
that does include the potential for capital punishment is aggravated murder,
which the Utah County Prosecutor Utah County Attorney, I should
say in Jeff Gray, did announce that they would be
(17:44):
seeking in this case. According to prosecutors, Robinson's mother had
told authorities that her son, the twenty two year old
alled shooter, had increasingly embraced left wing ideology over the
last couple of years and was dating his transgender roommate,
who he exchanged text messages with both before, during, and
(18:05):
seemingly after the shooting, saying at one point quote, I
have had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be
negotiated out. In referencing Charlie Kirk. He would then go
on to of course, murder Kirk at Utah Valley University yesterday.
Robinson also admitted to planning the attacks over a several
week span of time, carved messages referencing Antifa and other
(18:30):
subcultures into bullet casings, and with that Robinson's family did
recognize him from those released images by the FBI late
last week, called there a sun, and was able to
they were successful and able to finally convince him to
turn himself into authorities, which he did in fact do
late last Thursday night around ten pm local time in Utah.
(18:54):
With that, there are a six other charges that are
being sought out by the Utah Valley by the Utah
County I should say attorney in Jeff Gray and prosecutors
in this case. There is another court hearing that is
scheduled afore September the twenty ninth, as Utah remains a
one of twenty one states that does have the death penalty,
(19:16):
including firing squad as an execution method. Important to note, however,
there are only there have only been two inmates executed
in the state of Utah since twenty and ten, so
while folks may get the death penalty, it is not
a very common thing in the state of Utah. We
continue our coverage of that story this morning here on
(19:38):
the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now five thirty
eight News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
Earlier this year, the City of Charlotte and Charlotte Mecklenberg
Police Chief Johnny Jennings were in the news after it
was reported that there was a more than three hundred
thousand dollars settlement between the city and the Chief State Auditor,
(19:59):
Dave Bollick has begun an investigation into that. To walk
us through some of those details this morning, and a
new report out of the Auditor's office tree so Pega
Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the news hour.
Three hundred thousand dollars settlement for a police chief already
making a pretty hefty salary in the city of Charlotte,
Terresa did raise a lot of eyebrows earlier this year.
What are you learning from the Auditor's office this morning?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Sure, Good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me so.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Yeah, Auditor Bullock released that report on that, you know,
for lack of a better tournament. Well, it was it
was a secret agreement because right nobody knew about the
city council and the Mayor of Charlotte kept that quiet
until you know, it was found out. So Auditor Bollock
(20:44):
did release a special report, and what he said is
that the investigations objectives were to determine circumstances and sources
of funding for that payment, and to determine whether there
are city's actions complied with state laws, specifically North Carolina's
Public Records Act and the North Carolina Open Meetings Law
in other applicable laws. So what he said his office
(21:07):
investigations found was of the total payment, two hundred eighty
thousand came from the city's general fund and twenty five
thousand came from the Risk Management Fund, and that fund
typically is used to pay claims against the city, and
that had a total of twenty seven point four million
dollars in expenses for fiscal year twenty twenty four. Also,
(21:28):
the agreements text revealed the city's payments to Jennings included
severance pay, additional vacation days, retention bonuses, merit base salary increase,
and also a reimbursement for legal expenses. We all have
it all broken down in the article, but basically the
auditor said the payment was kept from the public until
he requests that Charlotte Mayer Violiles disclosed the amount.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Five days later.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Then Jennings announced his upcoming retirement and released the information
about the agreement. And again we do have a breakdown
of the settlement in.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Our story this morning.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Yeah, and Teresa, maybe a little backstore. I know our
audience here in Charlotte is probably familiar with it, but
maybe for some that or not. There was some rumor
that Johnny Jennings was going to sue the City of Charlotte.
Then after that alleged threat was made, and again a
lot of this is maybe uncooborated, but after that alleged
threat was made, this payment was not disclosed publicly, but
(22:21):
was able to be obtained by some members of the
Charlotte media, including WBT Radio, who were one of the
first to report on that. This settlement comes out and
it's a large chunk of change, and you also talk
about some of the vacation time and other salary equivalent
benefits that the chief did receive from this. This is
a huge issue of public transparency, Teresa.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Oh. Absolutely, you're talking that much, thousands of dollars, you know,
and it's being kept from the public. It's all with
you know, city funds. City taxpayers are paying this money.
It absolutely is a matter of transparency, pretty important one
at that.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
You know when you talk about that the vast majority
of this money coming from the general fund. As I
understand it, Teresa, that's essentially like the government's what like
savings account or checking accounts where they kind of store
money that they use for a variety of issues that
may exist and come up throughout the year.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yes, that's correct, Yes, and.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Then we look at this mitigation fund. Presumably that's if
the city is involved in any litigation they're sued by
somebody or something like that. But in this case, there
was no actual lawsuit file to get at least not
that we're aware of, filed against the City of Charlotte.
Was there any disclosure as to why they were able
to use money from that fund for some of these payouts.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Well, if we're looking through what we had, the city
confirmed the expenditures from the general fund they weren't anticipated
or included in the cities adopted fiscal year twenty twenty
five budget, but the city stated the costs were covered
through other operational savings realized during the fiscal year. And
also the city stated there are no internal documents did
(24:00):
to show that the one hundred and seventy five thousand
dollars severance payment was specifically included in the cities adopted
twenty twenty six budget for the fiscal year of twenty
twenty six, as a settlement agreement had not been approved
when the budget was proposed, but the city determined that
it was not required to pass a budget amendment to
reflect the upcoming severance payment. Reports that it appears that
(24:23):
Charlotte's City Council voted to settle with Jennings sometime between
the closed sessions held somewhere between April twenty eighth and
May fifth, in order to avoid litigation related to text
messages he received from a former Charlotte City councilman, and
on May eighth, the city officially entered into that sellment
with Jennings. So that's a little more of the information
(24:47):
we have in the story.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
One of the things that State Auditor Dave Bollock has
really prided himself on since getting into that office or
earlier this year, of course winning his election back last November,
is bringing a shining a light in bringing a level
of transparency Teresa to any sized government, whether we're talking
about a small school district or something like the North
Carolina Department of Transportation DMV of course now this morning
(25:11):
talking about the City of Charlotte. He's been pretty hell
bent on doing that and seems to indicate and give
some recommendations in the vast majority of his reports, any
recommendations out of the Order's office after this three hundred
plus thousand dollars payment earlier this year, Sure, sure.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah, he definitely wants to shine a lights, calling himself
a watchdog when it comes to all of this.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
He had some recommendations.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Of course, we're talking about transparency, improved transparency and settlement reporting,
also timely release of closed session minutes, and also to
reevaluate the use of the general fund for settlement payments.
He said they launched the investigation because the people of
Charlotte deserve to know how their money is being spent.
And he also said, you know, this is the people's
(25:55):
money and it shouldn't be kept behind closed doors. Our
report brought transparency to the city Charlotte, but however, as
shown in the mayor's response, city leadership doesn't share our
interest in being open and transparent about spending the people's money.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
That's a direct quote from Auditor Dave Bollock.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Obviously very frustrating for the taxpayers and residents in the
City of Charlotte in the Greater Mecklenburg County area. We've
got a link this morning including all of the numbers
and figures, including a full link to that special report
from State Auditor Dave Bollock's office that's available over on
our website this morning. Carolina Journal dot com. We appreciate
the details. Teres Opeika joins us Son the Carolina Journal
(26:34):
News Hour. It's time for the sixth annual WBT Little
Heroes Blood Drive Tomorrow, Thursday, September the eighteenth. WBT and
the One Blood A Big Red Bus will be at
Watson Insurance in Belmont from ten am to three pm,
and we're encouraging you to make an appointment to make
(26:56):
a life saving blood donation. The sixth annual WBT Little
Heroes Blood Drive continues Tomorrow, Thursday, September the eighteenth, at
Watson Insurance in Belmont. Visit WBT dot com this morning
for location details and to make sure that you can
register your appointment. Good morning again, five point fifty two.
Welcome back to The Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven,
(27:17):
ten ninety nine to three WBT. Democrat Governor Josh Stein
will be in Washington, d C. Throughout the day today
at requesting, as he announced earlier this week, an additional
thirteen and a half billion dollars from the federal government.
As next week will mark one year since Hurricane Helene
(27:38):
devastated the western half of North Carolina. The governor talked
about the importance of getting some of those federal funds
to flow into the state. At a press conference on Monday, we.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Are grateful for every federal dollar that we've received because
it brings us closer to recovery, but we need more help.
The next stage of recovery is going to require a
new commitment from Congress and from the administration to not
forget the people of western North Carolina. Western North Carolina
(28:09):
has not received anywhere near what it needs nor our
fair share. So far, North Carolina has received or been
awarded federal funding equivalent to about nine percent of the
total damage that Helene caused. States that were similarly devastated
following hurricanes Katrina, Maria or Sandy saw seventy percent of
(28:35):
their damages covered by federal funding. The average is typically
between forty and fifty percent of total damage and federal
relief dollars. Today, I am making a new request of
Congress for an additional thirteen and a half billion dollars
in recovery assistance, and I'll be headed to Washington on
Wednesday for meetings to further this request to our federal park.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
That's Governor Josh Stein. Earlier in the week that press
conference taking place at Blue Ridge Community College and their
Technology Education and Development Center in the Flat Rock that
is in Henderson County, where the governor did make that
push for an additional thirteen and a half billion dollars,
noting that he will be heading to Washington, d C. Today.
(29:21):
It's not immediately clear who the governor is going to
be meeting with President Trump off the table. He is
over in the UK this morning on a state visit,
but in probably a pretty strong likelihood there will be
administration officials into whatever meetings are going to be taking place.
The governor noted that roughly seventy four thousand home destroyed
by Helene, very few of which had flood insurance, and
(29:45):
ninety six percent of small businesses in the area reported
some whether they were minor or major, but some impacts
from the storm, with six out of seven people not
reaching there with six out of seven of those stores,
small business is not reaching their pre Hellene revenues. He
noted that western North Carolina's economy relies heavily on the
(30:07):
strength of small businesses, including the massive tourism industry in
the western half of our state. He's also requesting additional
money from hud as the Community Development Block Grant for
Disaster Recovery, also known as a CDBGDR grant, an additional
eight billion dollars he is requesting to help rebuilding homes,
(30:29):
help small businesses, as well as repairing infrastructure to make
sure that they are complete and are more prone. God forbid,
another storm like Helene should affect the western half of
our state once again. As we do remain in the
middle of the twenty twenty five Atlantic hurricane season. The
Governor focused, of course, in on infrastructure as well. In
(30:50):
the immediate aftermath of the storm, you had more than
five thousand miles of state maintained roads as well as
many private driveways and bridges that were either partially or
completely destroyed. And fortunately, as of this morning, ninety seven
percent of that five thousand miles of those state maintained
roads were reopened and are operating at least in some capacity,
(31:14):
including Interstate forty, which has reopened between the North Carolina
and Tennessee border. However, those are temporary reopenings and temporary
repairs that were put in place, meaning that the speed
limits in some areas of Interstate forty in the mountains
are just twenty five thirty five miles an hour, one
lane in each direction, a lot of truck and tractor
(31:36):
trailer traffic through those areas. So while the road is opened, yes,
it is not at its normal capacity, and it does
cause some major delays and can really slow down a
trip west or east on Interstate forty out near the
Tennessee line. That is also something that he is hoping
to get some additional support from the federal government on.
(31:57):
Important to note here in North Carolina, more than a
billion dollars has already been passed and approved by the
North Carolina General Assembly. We'll track the governor's visit in Washington,
DC today and provide any additional coverage and detail over
on our website, Carolina Journal dot com and right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's going to do
(32:18):
it for a Wednesday edition at 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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Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.