Decreased funding for Charlotte Arts and Science 

By: Tyria Bourda - Carolinian Reporter Due to Charlotte City Council's recent decision to cut funding for Charlotte's Arts and Science, artists like Marcus Kiser now wonder if his grant will be affected. According to its February 27th agenda, the city council wants to "diversify funding" by allocating those dollars to "programs based in city-owned facilities." Kiser, a local multimedia designer, has received ASC grants in the past therefore this

Ransomware criminals are dumping kids’ private files online after school hacks

BY FRANK BAJAK, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH AND LARRY FENN The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy - even suicide attempts. "Please do something," begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser at a school in Minneapolis. Other victims talked about wetting the bed or

US citizenship test changes are coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills

BY TRISHA AHMED ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency. The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship - a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years before applying. Many are still shaken after former Republican President Donald Trump's administration changed the test in

Attorneys: Lawsuit alleging North Carolina House speaker ruined a marriage has been resolved

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Litigation filed by a North Carolina local elected official alleging House Speaker Tim Moore's ruined his marriage by having an affair with his wife is ending, attorneys said on Monday, two weeks after a lawsuit was filed. Lawyers for Scott Lassiter and Moore confirmed the resolution in separate emails. They said little or nothing more when asked for details, such as whether the lawsuit filed in

Deep sea mining permits may be coming soon. What are they and what might happen?

BY VICTORIA MILKO JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The International Seabed Authority - the United Nations body that regulates the world's ocean floor - is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the green energy transition. Years long negotiations are reaching a critical point where the authority will soon need to begin accepting mining permit applications, adding to worries over the potential

Judge limits Biden administration in working with social media companies

BY JIM SALTER A judge on Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about "protected speech," a decision called "a blow to censorship" by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri. Their lawsuit alleged

North Carolina trooper fatally shoots stranded driver who opened fire on him, authorities say

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina state trooper who was trying to help a stranded driver was shot in his protective vest before he killed the motorist who fired at him, authorities said. Trooper Jeffrey Dunlap stopped on Interstate 26 near Asheville on Monday night to help motorist Wesley Scott Taylor, 57. Taylor pulled out a gun and shot Dunlap in the chest, the highway patrol said. Dunlap's ballistic

Former North Carolina legislator, appeals court judge is next parole panel chairman

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A former North Carolina legislative leader and appellate court judge has been named the next chairman of the state parole commission. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Monday that he's elevated Darren Jackson to lead the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision & Parole Commission. The governor had just appointed Jackson to the commission in May. Jackson said he became chairman effective over the weekend, succeeding the retiring Bill Fowler,

The Secret Service found cocaine at the White House, AP sources say

BY COLLEEN LONG AND MICHAEL BALSAMO WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Secret Service agents were doing routine rounds on Sunday when they found the white powder in

Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI STAR, Idaho (AP) - Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself. Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles - the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin Blue Line banner representing law enforcement outside his house. "We were scared to put it up," Jennifer