Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 2022, Gov. Roy Cooper proclaimed Aug. 26 Women's Equality Day in North Carolina, honoring women leaders and urging support for organizations promoting gender equity. The day also commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 26, 1920, which granted some women the right to vote.

Fall-like weather arrives in a town near you this week, as lower humidity and temperatures spread across the state. Learn more in Around North Carolina and check out today's cooler temps below.

Are you looking forward to cooler temperatures? Or do you want the heat to stick around as long as possible? Hit reply and let us know!

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Trump Announces 4 Federal Judge Picks for NC

President Trump announced his nominations for filling federal district court vacancies in North Carolina on Friday.

He tapped Lindsey Freeman, who worked in the Justice Department during his first term and is now an assistant U.S. attorney in North Carolina, as well as David Bragdon, the chief appellate lawyer for the U.S. attorney's office and a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for the Middle District of North Carolina.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Courtwright Rodriguez and Troutman Pepper Locke attorney Matt Orso got the nod for the Western District.

North Carolina's "blue slip" rules require both of the state's U.S. senators to agree with the White House nominees—not a problem since all four were recommended to the administration by Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both Republicans.

ICE Activity Picks Up

A month after the Deportation Data Project reported that immigration arrests in North Carolina had surged 162% since President Trump took office in January, with 1,580 detained, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity is picking up again.

ICE officers detained an illegal immigrant at a downtown Asheville crosswalk on Aug. 21, drawing criticism from local officials who argued it endangered public safety.

On Aug. 6, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that Cyril Domaquik Clemens, 71, a U.S. citizen born in Liberia, was indicted for naturalization fraud after allegedly lying on his citizenship application about his criminal history, which included child molestation.

The investigation of Clemens falls under Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative targeting child molesters and other felons who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.

School Back in Session

The 2025-26 school year is officially underway in North Carolina, with new schools and policies addressing growth, smartphone usage, codes of conduct, and grade promotion.

Around 161,000 students returned to class in Wake County, where four new schools opened and high schoolers are now required to store phones and other wireless devices out of sight and disconnect smartwatches from smartphones.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools welcomed 141,000 students on Monday amid staffing shortages for teaching and bus driver positions. CMS is also banning cellphone use during instructional hours.

Asheville City Schools will now require students to store their cellphones during class across all grades. The district also updated its code of conduct to include 11 behavior expectations and introduced a grade promotion policy that requires reading and math assessments to advance to sixth and eighth grade.

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➤ Statewide: Fall temperatures arrive in North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday as lower humidity and highs in the upper 70s spread across much of the state. (More)

➤ Wake County: Teachers are demanding urgent HVAC repairs as the new school year begins, with one in three schools reportedly losing learning days due to HVAC issues over the past two years. (More)

➤ Union County: The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a jury's ruling that a couple's 60 chickens don't qualify as household pets under their homeowners' association rules. (More)

➤ Buncombe County Parks and Recreation is seeking community input on its Systemwide Parks & Recreation Master Plan after Hurricane Helene interrupted development efforts last year. (More)

➤ Lake Norman: Philipp Stahala, known as the Lake Norman diver, recovered a wedding ring that slipped off a Lincoln County man's finger over the weekend. He's previously recovered phones, sunglasses, and even a prosthetic eye from the lake. (More)

➤ Onslow County: The Camp Lejeune–New River Marine Corps Air Station closed the designated swimming area at New River Marina until further notice due to an uptick in alligator activity. (See Post)

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➤ UNC football coach Bill Belichick announced that the Tar Heels will be featured in a season-long Hulu documentary series. (More)

➤ North Carolina native Cal Raleigh hit his 48th and 49th home runs this weekend, setting the MLB single-season record for homers by a catcher. (More)

➤ Charlotte FC beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 on Sunday night, extending their win streak to seven games. (More)

Yesterday's Results: MLB | Soccer | WNBA | U.S. Open

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➤ Johnson & Johnson is investing $2 billion over 10 years to expand drug manufacturing in Holly Springs. The deal with Fujifilm Biotechnologies will create 120 jobs and provide the company with a 160,000-square-foot manufacturing suite within Fujifilm's $3.2 billion facility. (More)

➤ A groundbreaking ceremony for Westside Bottling, a new mixed-use development at the former site of Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Company's warehouse, took place last week. Plans call for shops, restaurants, apartments, and townhouses. (More)

➤ Charlotte-based Krispy Kreme aims to boost sales by retailing doughnuts in big-box stores like Costco, Walmart, and Kroger, as well as in convenience and grocery stores. (More)

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Flying together with our sponsor BIOptimizers

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➤ Western North Carolina's Anna Club, part of the Mountain Heirlooms Appalachian doll initiative, packaged 40 restored American Girl dolls for Texas girls ages 6-13 affected by the July 4 floods. (More)

➤ Former NASCAR Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray listed his 7,612-square-foot Lake Norman mansion for $12 million. The home has five bedrooms, a resort-style pool, a dock, four garages, and an outdoor kitchen. (See Photos)

➤ America's most popular ice cream brands, mapped by region, give Jeni's Ice Cream the win in North Carolina and other southeastern states. (See Map)

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Has traffic picked up in your area since schools reopened?

Yesterday's Results:

Have you been caught speeding in a school zone?

Not yet: 55%
Once or twice: 24%
I don't drive: 21%

In what flavor category did NC State's Howling Cow Creamery take first place during the American Dairy Science Association's inaugural collegiate creamery ice cream contest this summer?

Show me the answer