Latest news with #WRAL
Axios
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
North Carolina proposal to ban inland shrimp trawling met with fierce pushback
A potential ban on inland shrimp trawling has become one of the most controversial bills moving through North Carolina's state legislature. Why it matters: The proposal, which would ban trawling less than a half-mile off the coast, heats up a long battle between the state's recreational and commercial fishermen. It also pits those opposed to the measure over environmental concerns against others who say a ban would devastate the state's shrimping industry and wipe out jobs. Several hotly debated proposals — including on tax cuts, immigration and gun permitting — have advanced in this year's legislative session, which began in January, but none have caused quite as much of a stir as the state Senate's shrimp trawling measure. Driving the news: The proposal has been met with fierce pushback from commercial fishermen, who catch shrimp in the state's estuaries and sounds. "There's been a war and they're trying to get rid of the commercial sector," Ryan Speckman, co-founder of Locals Seafood, tells Axios, noting the commercial fishing industry in North Carolina is quite small. The big picture: North Carolina is the only state on the eastern seaboard that has yet to ban inshore shrimp trawling, supporters of the legislation note. Proponents argue it's a long overdue change needed to protect natural habitats from "what has long been recognized as one of the most destructive fishing practices in coastal waters," per the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. Shrimp trawling requires dragging heavy nets and chains on the ocean floor, and some methods result in the unintended capture of other species, the federation said. Between the lines: Lawmakers who have supported the legislation faced death threats just days after a Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, while another Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were injured after they were shot inside their homes. The State Bureau of Investigation arrested a Brunswick County man Friday for threatening Republican Senate Rules Chairman Bill Rabon, per WECT. "All senators in Raleigh need to understand what happened to Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman in Minnesota can happen here in North Carolina," the man said in a Facebook post, the outlet reported. The latest: Amid outcry from the commercial fishing industry and pushback from Republicans and Democrats alike, the Senate advanced a separate bill Monday that would pay commercial fishermen affected by the bill, spending some $10 million to do so over the next five years, WRAL reports. Still, opponents of the legislation gathered in Raleigh Tuesday afternoon to protest the legislation with the backing of House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. Two lawmakers who are among the most ideologically opposite in the state legislature, Republican Rep. Keith Kidwell, a far-right freedom caucus member, and Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison, both spoke against the inshore trawling ban, according to WRAL. "Are we going to shut down the people who go to work every day, making an honest living, because some branch of the government finally decides in some slimy backroom deal that they don't want to do this anymore?" Kidwell said. Harrison said that if the legislature was concerned about the environment, it would be talking about water quality, coastal development, wetlands and more, according to WRAL.
NBC Sports
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC Sports
Bill Belichick claims CBS secretly aimed camera at Jordon Hudson during interview
Yes, if Bill Belichick had simply taken a job at Duke, there's much we would never know. But because he opted to take a job with a public and not a private institution, his communications with North Carolina officials are fair game. On Friday, WRAL posted an item featuring quotes from some of the documents it has obtained through public-records requests. They focus on the aftermath of the disastrous CBS interview, which included Belichick's girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, instructing him not to answer the question of how they met. Belichick previously has accused CBS of editing the interview to create a 'false narrative' regarding Hudson's perceived effort to control the conversation. In a message to Beth Keith, a senior associate vice chancellor in the office of university communication at North Carolina, Belichick claims that CBS surreptitiously recorded video of Hudson during the interview of Belichick. 'Secretly, CBS had a camera focused on Jordon where Lead producer Gabe instructed her to sit,' Belichick wrote to Keith. Belichick also explained that Hudson attended the interview because Simon & Schuster publicist David Kass was not present. Earlier this month, someone from Belichick's camp (possibly, Hudson herself) leaked various allegations to about Kass's role in the interview debacle. Belichick persists in his claim that questions unrelated to his book were not supposed to be asked during the interview with Tony Dokoupil of CBS. 'For approximately 35 uninterrupted minutes, Tony asked questions about the book,' Belichick wrote. 'Then, the questions shifted to other subjects that were not related to the Art of Winning, which we had outlined as off-limits with my book publicist.' The communications with UNC also include an explanation from Belichick as to how he and Hudson met — and as to why she shut down the question. 'I met Jordon randomly on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021,' Belichick wrote. 'That is no secret. Jordon was not dodging the specific question regarding how we met, but rather was preventing the interview from continuing to probe into personal matters.' It really would be useful to see the full interview, so that the reasonableness of Hudson's apparent 'enough is enough' interjection could be assessed. Why won't CBS post the full interview? It would leave no doubt as to what happened during what should have been a slo-pitch softball session, and as to how often Hudson interrupted. While this isn't another example of Belichick or Hudson kicking a sleeping dog and pushing a dormant story back into the news cycle, the release of the communications received now by the media is a natural consequence of Belichick taking a job with a public institution.
Axios
19-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Support for regulating psychoactive hemp gains momentum in NC
Bipartisan support for restricting hemp in North Carolina is gaining steam, with GOP lawmakers unveiling yet another proposal Tuesday that would regulate intoxicating weed-like products in the state. Why it matters: The new legislation, backed by the state's most powerful Republican, is one of several bills proposed in recent months that would crack down on psychoactive hemp products in North Carolina. Though marijuana remains illegal in any form, the state is among the most lenient in the country in its regulation of hemp-derived consumables, but a bipartisan movement to change that has been building. What they're saying: "Stores selling these hemp products are popping up in towns across North Carolina, and children are getting ahold of these products," Senate Leader Phil Berger said in a press release about the bill Monday night. "Without these regulations, the availability of these dangerous products is only going to get worse." Driving the news: On Tuesday morning, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina's state Senate rolled out the most restrictive yet viable proposal yet to regulate hemp while moving to ban products made with any hemp-derived cannabinoids other than delta-9, the psychoactive component of marijuana. The bill would also set age and dosage limits and licensing and testing standards for sellers and manufacturers. Yes, but: It would not legalize marijuana, however — a proposal that has been floated in previous sessions but has yet to surface this year. Flashback: "It's really ironic that in some ways, the most liberal, pro-marijuana adult-use state in the country is North Carolina," Democratic Gov. Josh Stein told WRAL in an exclusive interview earlier this month, in which he also announced he was launching a task force to explore regulations on THC products and marijuana legalization "It's not Colorado, it's not Massachusetts, it's not these states that legalized it and then created a regulatory structure to sell it. It's North Carolina, where we have no rules whatsoever." State of play: As of now, the state has no limits — or age restrictions — on any cannabinoids with psychoactive effects much like those of THC, including delta-9. The new bill unveiled Tuesday, however, would outright ban "synthetic" high-inducing hemp products that can be found on shelves just a few blocks from the state legislature, including delta-8, THC-A, delta-7 and delta-10. The bill also appears to ban CBD, another hemp-derived cannabinoid. The cannabis plant has more than 100 cannabinoids. Some of them produce a weed-like high, while others, like CBD, are not. The other side: House Rules Chairman Rep. John Bell, who is the president of CBD and hemp manufacturer Asterra Labs, is "disappointed in the bill," he told Axios in a text message Tuesday. "This bill will destroy the hemp industry and move it out of state. Not one stakeholder was involved." He had not expressed the same opposition to another bill proposed earlier this session that would regulate his industry, though he told Axios at the time that the legislation wouldn't necessarily be a slam dunk for his company because it would implement new licensing fees and require changes to how it packages its products, for example. Democrats and Republicans alike expressed support for the new legislation, however, when it was unveiled in a committee hearing Tuesday morning. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson also attended the committee meeting. "This is long overdue," Jackson, a Democrat, told lawmakers. "One of the major themes in terms of feedback that I've gotten from law enforcement and from families over the last six months has been about this issue — and usually happens when a family learns that it is truly the Wild West, at least with respect to what children are allowed to buy in these places."
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A well-known WRAL reporter is leaving the station. What we know
A WRAL reporter and North Carolina native is leaving the station after six years. Aaron Thomas' last day at WRAL is Monday, June 16, according to social media posts announcing the news. 'This wasn't an easy decision,' Thomas wrote in a Facebook post. 'Reporting for my hometown TV station has been a blessing and a dream fulfilled. YEARS of prayer and self-reflection led to the conclusion that it's time for a new challenge.' Thomas, who did not immediately respond to a request for more information from The News & Observer, said in the Facebook post that he would take a month to 'recharge + reset.' 'As for what's next? Stay tuned,' Thomas wrote. Thomas, who joined WRAL in 2019, graduated from N.C. State University in 2014 with a degree in communication media, according to his WRAL bio. He was born in Fayetteville and raised in Fuquay-Varina, the bio says. During his six years at WRAL, Thomas won two Nashville/MidSouth Emmy Awards in breaking/spot news - multiple reports and team coverage categories. Before coming to WRAL, Thomas worked for two years as a reporter/multimedia journalism at ABC affiliate WRIC-TV in Richmond, Virginia. From 2015-17, he was a reporter/multimedia journalist at CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV in State College, Pennsylvania. WRAL legend Charlie Gaddy — 'the Walter Cronkite of North Carolina' — has died Thomas is the latest broadcast journalist to leave WRAL in recent months. Gilbert Baez, a longtime Fayetteville reporter for the station, left WRAL in January, after the station did not renew his contract. Baez is hosting a new TV show, 'Air Angels: Flight Helene.' He is also hosting a three-hour weekday news program at WFNC, The N&O previously reported. Debra Morgan joined WRAL as an anchor in 1993. Until 2023, she co-anchored newscasts at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., alongside Gerald Owens. But in May of that year, she began co-anchoring only at the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. hours, a change she said would offer better work-life balance. Morgan's last day on the anchor desk at WRAL was May 21. Have a question about your community you'd like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you'd like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you. If you have a question about the Charlotte area, send The Charlotte Observer team a question by submitting questions to this form. If you have a question about Raleigh or a Triangle area community, send The News & Observer team a question by submitting questions to this form. Local TV station announces new host for public affairs program. Here's when she'll start Former WRAL reporter begins 2 new TV & radio projects this year. Here's what to know
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Teen Loses Foot After Freak Accident. Days Later, He Learns Man Who Saved Him Had Been in a Crash and Was Down the Hall
18-year-old Bryson Wilkinson from North Carolina was working a shift at a tree removal company when he got caught in a rope and ultimately lost his foot and part of his right leg A man rushed to apply a tourniquet while they waited for first responders Soon Wilkinson and Gary Caldwell, the man who saved him, were reunited at the hospital after Caldwell was injured in a crashA North Carolina teenager who lost his foot in a tree removal accident quickly found himself recovering in the same building as the man who helped save him. Bryson Wilkinson, 18, was working a shift at a tree removal company on Wednesday, May 21, when he got caught in a rope and ultimately lost his foot and part of his right leg in the accident, according to local NBC affiliate WECT. 'I thought it was over for me. I thought that was about to be the end of my life,' Wilkinson said. Gary Caldwell, a resident of the area, rushed to apply a tourniquet and Wilkinson was taken to a local hospital to undergo an amputation. Just two days later, Caldwell found himself at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, down the hall from Wilkinson, according to local station WRAL. "He ended up in a motorcycle accident," Wilkinson told the outlet WRAL. "I just couldn't believe what I saw." Doctors helped reunite them as they both began to heal. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'As soon as I walked in I broke down crying. I couldn't believe it,' Wilkinson told WECT. 'I'm going to keep staying in touch with him as long as I can.' Since getting home from the hospital, Wilkinson has been sharing updates about his recovery on TikTok. A GoFundMe to support him has raised more than $1,000. 'I want to tell people that their life's not over if they lose a limb. Things happen,' he told WECT. 'They can get past it in life. They don't need to give up. They don't need to lose hope.' Read the original article on People
