Biden visits Raleigh

By Tyria McCray President Joseph R. Biden traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina for the first time since taking office in 2021. During his national month of action, President Biden's main priority was to strongly encourage the people of North Carolina to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Biden’s top priority is to have 70% of adults fully vaccinated by July 4, 2021. Biden visited Green Road Community Center in north Raleigh on

Chauvin gets 22 1/2 years in prison for George Floyd’s death

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. The punishment — which fell short of the 30 years that prosecutors had requested — came after Chauvin broke his more than

Annual N. Carolina farm bill nears final lawmaker approval

The North Carolina legislature neared final approval on Thursday of its annual farm bill, which includes the creation of a streamlined method for hog farms to receive environment permits to convert liquid waste into consumer natural gas. The House voted 75-32 in favor of the measure, which makes changes in more than a dozen categories related to agriculture. It now returns to the Senate, which approved a similar version last month.  “This bill

Chauvin could face decadeslong sentence in Floyd’s death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin learns his sentence Friday for murder in George Floyd’ s death, closing a chapter in a case that sparked global outrage and a reckoning on racial disparities in America. Chauvin, 45, faces decades in prison, with several legal experts predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. Though Chauvin is widely expected to appeal, he also still faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along

Toll in Florida collapse rises to 4; 159 remain missing

By TERRY SPENCER and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Officials say there are still 159 people unaccounted for after the partial collapse of a beachside building in Florida.  Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava noted Friday that rescue officials were still searching for survivors from the condo building collapse in Surfside, saying that a search and rescue mission was ongoing.  Raide Jadallah, an assistant Miami-Dade County fire chief, said

N. Carolina bill ending extra $300 benefits heads to Cooper

By GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina would end offering supplemental benefits from the federal government to the state’s unemployed in roughly a month under legislation finalized Wednesday by Republicans in charge of the General Assembly.  But House and Senate Democrats voted almost unanimously against the compromise hammered out by GOP leaders from both chambers, signaling a possible veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.  The legislation would do away with the $300-a-week Federal

Juneteenth Brings Talk of ‘Abolition Amendment’

In this Dec. 11, 2007, file photo, members of the Maricopa County DUI chain gang are escorted to their assignment in Phoenix. As the nation on Thursday, June 17, 2021 officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday, honoring when the last enslaved Black people learned they were free, lawmakers are reviving calls to end a loophole in the Constitution that has allowed another form of slavery to thrive. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Federal holiday pressures companies to give Juneteenth off

NEW YORK (AP) — The declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is putting the pressure on more U.S. companies to give their employees the day off, accelerating a movement that took off last year in response to the racial justice protests that swept the country. Hundreds of top companies had already pledged last year to observe Juneteenth in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the national reckoning

Price’s Chicken Coop Closing after almost 60 years in the Queen City

By DR JOY MARTINEZ, Staff Writer Lines are long as people wait to get their last taste of the classic chicken at the iconic restaurant. "It is with heavy hearts that The Chicken Coop has decided to close our doors after 59 years of business…” Brothers Talmadge and Pat Price introduced Charlotte residents to their secret family recipe for fried chicken in 1962, out of their humble Camden Road take-out