My account

Black Lives Matter mural defaced in North Carolina town

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — A Black Lives Matter mural drawn in honor of a North Carolina man shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies was damaged one day after it was unveiled, and police are investigating the incident.  A video posted to Facebook on Sunday by Glenda Thomas showed that skid marks were left on the mural in Elizabeth City, news outlets reported Monday. Artist Michael Little painted the mural

Have You Seen Me?

By DR. JOY MARTINEZ, Staff Writer Perpetrators of trafficking and forced labor are victimizing over 20 million humans across the globe. Within the United States 100,000 children are trafficked each year. According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of victims are trafficked across international borders every year. 80 percent of these are women and half are children. In America alone, there are nearly 3,000,000 adults and 100,000 children who

Haiti’s future uncertain after brazen slaying of president

By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO Soldiers patrol in Petion Ville, the neighborhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, and first lady Martine Moïse was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalized, according to a statement from the country’s interim prime minister. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) —

Tropical storm kills 1 in Florida, hurts 10 at Georgia base

By RUSS BYNUM and CURT ANDERSON A weakened but resilient Tropical Storm Elsa killed at least one person in Florida on Wednesday and injured several others when a possible tornado struck a campground at a Navy base in southeast Georgia. The National Hurricane Center said Elsa still packed 45 mph (72 kph) winds more than nine hours after making landfall along Florida’s northern Gulf Coast. The storm’s center was sweeping

Official: Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated at home

In this Feb. 7, 2020, file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sources say Moise was assassinated at home, first lady hospitalized amid political instability. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Hatii (AP) — Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, the country’s interim prime minister said in

Group gives hefty raises to South Carolina agency leaders

A group that considers pay raises for the leaders of state agencies has agreed to give tens of thousands of dollars in pay increases to five directors. There was only one vote Thursday against the raises by the Agency Head Salary Commission with most members agreeing the extra pay is needed to keep talented leaders with increased competition from private industries, The State newspaper reported. “Unfortunately we have been behind the curve

Baby boom forecast busts in North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Predictions of a baby boom during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown have gone bust in North Carolina, according to a team of researchers. Data compiled by Carolina Demography showed that birth rates in North Carolina fell by 3.1% from 2019 to 2020, in line with a national decline of 3.8% over the same period, the News & Observer reports. Carolina Demography is located within the Carolina Population Center

Biden: US ‘coming back together,’ but COVID not yet finished

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling a vaccination “the most patriotic thing you can do,” President Joe Biden on Sunday mixed the nation’s birthday party with a celebration of freedom from the worst of the pandemic. He tempered the strides against COVID-19 with a warning that the fight against the virus wasn’t over. “Today, all across this nation, we can say with confidence: America is coming back together,” Biden declared as he

Temporary Catawba casino opens in North Carolina

 The South Carolina-based Catawba Indian Nation has opened a preliminary, temporary version of its proposed casino just across the border in North Carolina.  Tribal leaders were joined by local and state government officials Thursday for a ribbon-cutting at the modular facility containing 500 slot machines just off Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Charlotte. It’s a key step in ultimately creating the $273 million

‘Blue pill’ overdoses alarm South Carolina health officials

Fake blue pain pills — laced with cocaine, meth or fentanyl — are showing up in alarming numbers in South Carolina, health officials said. About 500 people have overdosed from the little blue pill that’s a counterfeit of Roxicodone, according to South Carolina’s Opioid Emergency Response Team. Many of the cases involved people ages 20 to 29. Roxicodone is an opioid that’s prescribed to treat pain. The pills are also