CATS bus drivers and other employees gathered outside of Charlotte's government center Monday afternoon, demanding safety changes in the wake of the shooting death of a fellow driver, Ethan Rivera, 41.

Rivera died after police said a man shot him in a road rage incident while he drove his bus along Trade Street in Uptown.

"It's time to stand up," Willis Draughn, who goes by 'Red,' said.

Many of those in attendance at Monday's rally dressed in all black as they continue to mourn Rivera's death and hope no other bus driver experiences the same dangers he faced while on the job.

Draughn and others rallied city and CATS workers before heading inside to deliver their message to the mayor.

"The city works because we do," Dominic Harris said as he spoke before council on Monday night.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/wake-up-charlotte/cats-drivers-protest-charlotte-uptown-shooting/275-9beee186-cce1-4b03-a300-4822a6c688b8

A member of the Carolina Panthers who signed a new extension with the team Feb. 25 is awaiting his court date in Mecklenburg County for misdemeanor charges from last summer in Huntersville.

Tight end Ian Thomas is expected in court Aug. 29, according to Mecklenburg County court documents.

Joseph Person with The Athletic first reported the case on Monday, Feb. 28, and said Thomas is facing those charges after evading police on a dirt bike. 

According to a police report obtained by WCNC Charlotte from the Huntersville Police Department, he was placed under arrest July 12 for the charges, including reckless driving and felony fleeing to elude arrest.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/ian-thomas-carolina-panthers-huntersville-mecklenburg-county-court-arrest/275-1a880692-4b23-49e1-984f-4f6fa12d12f3

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT! 

On Monday afternoon, CATS bus drivers and other employees are expected to flood city hall demanding safety changes in the wake of the shooting death of a fellow driver, Ethan Rivera, 41.

Rivera died after police said a man shot him in a road rage incident while he drove his bus along Trade Street in Uptown.

Police have named Darrian Dru Thavychith as the suspect, but have yet to catch the 21-year-old. Thavuychith has a Charlotte address and police said they have spoken to his family and CMPD continues to ask the public's help in catching him.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/wake-up-charlotte/cats-drivers-protest-charlotte-uptown-shooting/275-9beee186-cce1-4b03-a300-4822a6c688b8

A man is in custody after police said he sexually assaulted a teen in an east Charlotte parking lot, police said.

Officers responded to a sexual assault call at Novant Mint Hill around 7 p.m. Thursday evening. The victim told police that she was sexually assaulted in the Harris Teeter parking lot on Wylalong Drive in the Mintworth Commons area.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/man-charged-after-sexually-assaulting-teen-harris-teeter-parking-lot-police/275-ff735082-62e8-460d-b284-ccea708883c7

The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at COVID-19 case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community. Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmission — roughly 95% of U.S. counties, according to the latest data.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/cdc-easing-covid-recommendations-mask-restrictions/507-645e3ace-14ea-4224-bc07-e6d94db183fa

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education is responsible for deciding how millions of dollars are spent on children’s education. At a special called meeting on Thursday night, the board started the groundwork to decide where to prioritize funds for the 2022-23 school year.

The meeting focused on how additional resources could help schools within CMS reach goals the district has for students by 2024. Data shows CMS students have fallen behind academically on multiple fronts.

One strategic goal includes achieving a 34% increase in the number of Black and Hispanic 3rd graders who are on track to be ready for college and careers. 

CMS wants 50% of these students to have a combined score of at least a 4 or 5 at the College and Career Ready level in English Language Arts.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-starts-working-school-year-budget/275-18501757-0d4d-4881-959b-9ae32a4b53a3

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT! 

Candidate filing in North Carolina will resume Thursday as scheduled now that the state Supreme Court has refused to delay the use of redistricting maps that were endorsed by trial judges. 

The justices declined any delay Wednesday night despite a flurry of appeals from Republican lawmakers and from voters and advocacy groups. 

The Supreme Court's decision means the primary is still on for May 17. 

The elections will use state House and Senate maps that the legislature approved last week and a congressional plan that was redrawn and adopted by a panel of trial judges earlier Wednesday.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/elections/new-legislative-congressional-maps-north-carolina-gov-roy-cooper/275-88281012-da2f-4592-a7aa-be5bd91dc235

Lancaster Interim Police Chief Phillip Hall is officially retiring from his role, a decision he announced at Tuesday night's City Council meeting. He will effectively leave the Lancaster Police Department on April 1. 

In an interview with WCNC Charlotte on Wednesday, Hall said he made the decision after Lancaster City Council voted to hire an outside consulting firm to search for a permanent chief instead of giving the job to him. 

"I felt like I got slapped in the face," Hall said. "The dedication that I’ve given to this department, time that I’ve spent away from my family – it’s all in vain now."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/lancaster-sc-interim-police-chief-council-member-resign/275-cf1ab23f-df6e-4225-9aa5-57f87da3bf1d

Imagine going to a pharmacy to pick up and pay for regular medications, only to find out your debit card is declined.

It's a situation that happens to many people.

But then imagine using that same debit card to pay for items at a different store, only to again see it declined.

That's what happened to Kim Pruett, a Tennessee mom who was simply running errands on a Monday morning.

"So everything we had to do today, we've had to put on our credit card, which isn't incredibly inconvenient...," Pruett said. "But for people who don't have access to credit cards, that's problematic."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/truist-bank-customers-lose-access-cards-money-merger/275-56c6adcb-54dd-4f5a-a5b5-dd1861da870a

The East-West faceoff over Ukraine escalated dramatically Tuesday, with Russian lawmakers authorizing President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders responding by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks.

Both leaders signaled that an even bigger confrontation could lie ahead. Putin has yet to unleash the force of the 150,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, while Biden held back on even tougher sanctions that could cause economic turmoil for Russia but said they would go ahead if there is further aggression.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/russia-sets-stage-for-ukraine-invasion/507-382af746-f16e-4841-b028-90bee2671e46

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools students and staff are preparing for the possibility of going mask optional.

The CMS school board will vote on the mask mandate Tuesday night. 

Eve Weiss and her mom Brooke Weiss spoke at Wednesday's Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners Meeting about the impacts they say masks have had on her education. 

“It has gone on long enough. People will still wear them even if we are told we don't have to. If they want to they will," Eve said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-charlotte-school-mask-policy-health-north-carolina/275-1b722133-1bc7-45c0-a582-1399ef10511d

Charlotte City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve plans to build a new elementary school across from Ardrey Kell High School. City council also voted to approve a multi-family development in the same area, with one no vote from Councilman Ed Driggs -- who represents that area. 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Woodfield Development plan to build a new elementary school and multi-family units across from Ardrey Kell High School, but some residents in south Charlotte are against it. 

“I just thought you can’t be serious, if you’ve got those two schools and a lot of traffic already why would you want to put all those apartments right there and create a situation that’s worse for the schools and could be dangerous for the kids and create a huge inconvenience for the neighbors," District 7 Charlotte City Councilman Ed Driggs previously said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/charlotte-council-rezoning-ballantyne-elementary-school-apartments-ardery-kell/275-a88fea18-a416-4235-ad7b-b8ee8675fe45

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!

It has been four years since world-renown evangelist Billy Graham passed away, but the North Carolina native's work continues to be felt. 

Rev. Billy Graham died on Feb. 21, 2018, from natural causes in his home in Montreat. He was born in Charlotte in 1918. 

Rev. Billy Graham retired to his mountain home in 2005 after nearly six decades on the road calling people to Christ at 417 all-out preaching and musical events from Miami to Moscow. 

According to his obituary, during the week of his 95th birthday in 2013, Rev. Billy Graham delivered his final message by more than 480 television stations across the U.S. and Canada. More than 26,000 churches participated in the My Hope project, making it the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s largest evangelistic outreach ever in North America. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/rev-billy-graham-anniversary-memorial-charlotte/275-1d7df35e-eb77-4bd9-86ad-979d45abdb29

A controversial rezoning decision will soon be made in the Ballantyne area.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and Woodfield Development plan to build a new elementary school and multi-family units across from Ardrey Kell High School, but some residents in south Charlotte are against it. 

“I just thought you can’t be serious, if you’ve got those two schools and a lot of traffic already why would you want to put all those apartments right there and create a situation that’s worse for the schools and could be dangerous for the kids and create a huge inconvenience for the neighbors," District 7 Charlotte City Councilman Ed Driggs said.

The rezoning petition comes as Charlotte continues to grow and student enrollment increases.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/charlotte-council-rezoning-ballantyne-elementary-school-apartments-ardery-kell/275-a88fea18-a416-4235-ad7b-b8ee8675fe45

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper encouraged schools and local governments to end mask mandates Thursday, citing widespread vaccine availability and decreasing COVID-19 metrics statewide. 

"The last couple of months, omicron overran the nation quickly," Cooper said during a Thursday briefing from Raleigh. "Now, just about as fast as the numbers peaked, they're falling. This variant is clearly more contagious, yet generally causes less severe illness, particularly to people who are vaccinated and boosted. And now people know how to gauge their level of risk and best protect themselves."

Cooper's recommendation comes one day after Mecklenburg County commissioners unanimously voted to drop the county's indoor mask mandate.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/north-carolina-mask-guidance-update-governor-roy-cooper-coronavirus-omicron-surge/275-451e982f-cb43-49c1-8d75-8924ededa58c

With a day to spare, North Carolina state lawmakers successfully passed new versions of congressional and legislative maps for approval by a trial court.

State lawmakers were given a deadline of Feb. 18 to create new maps after the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the first proposals, calling them unconstitutional.

The new maps will now go to a three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court on Friday. Judges have until Feb. 23 to approve or reject the legislature's new proposals.

The congressional proposal gives North Carolina Democrats a better chance to pick up more seats in the state.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/north-carolina-politics/north-carolina-lawmakers-new-redistricting-maps/275-be93afc9-7091-48dc-883a-5f42c6868033

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!

Novant Health announced it is adjusting visitor restrictions at its North Carolina hospitals due to a decline in COVID-19 cases statewide. 

Most patients hospitalized at Novant facilities in North Carolina will now be allowed to have an unrestricted number of visitors who are at least 12 years old, with limits remaining in place in certain areas, or as needed for safe social distancing in waiting areas and patient rooms. 

Visitor restrictions will remain in place for COVID-19 positive patients who are either hospitalized or in the emergency room, as well as patients who are being tested for COVID-19. 

Prior to Wednesday's change, most patients were granted up to two visitors per day, with visitation ending at 9 p.m. Overnight stays were not permitted without approved exceptions.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/novant-health-north-carolina-hospital-visitor-restrictions-relaxed-guidelines-covid/275-261ed36e-650a-40f6-877c-15080ae03077

A pilot died Wednesday when a plane crashed onto a highway in Davidson County, according to Sheriff Richie Simmons.

The plane went down and crashed with a tractor-trailer on I-85 in Lexington at mile marker 91 to 88.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol said the plane took off from the Lexington Davidson County Airport before quickly crashing into the back of a tractor-trailer on the highway. The plane hit the rear causing a fire as the tractor-trailer overturned. The pilot of the plane, Raymond John Ackley, 43, from Charlotte, died in the crash. The Highway Patrol said the plane experienced a possible mechanical issue after departing from the airport.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/plane-crashes-onto-i-85-in-davidson-county/83-3fbf0dce-d036-490b-9ef9-14884af6345b

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!

A teenager from Charlotte has died after falling from a hotel balcony in North Carolina. 

Chapel Hill Police say the 13-year-old fell from a fifth-floor balcony at the Graduate Hotel on West Franklin Street Saturday just before 11 p.m.

The teenager reportedly landed on the third floor, according to police. The cause of the fall is under investigation. Once known as the Franklin Hotel, the facility reopened as the Graduate Hotel in 2020.

WCNC Charlotte learned on Tuesday, Feb. 15, the teenager's identity is Brick "Bryant" McDermott.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/regional/chapel-hill-hotel-balcony-fall-child/275-df9187a0-23a5-45e2-a408-672b13772ea2

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and the Gaston County Sheriff's Office SWAT team brought a hostage situation in northern Lincoln County to an end shortly after midnight.

The incident involved a barricaded subject in a mobile home on Woodland Hills Trail holding two adult females hostage. Shortly after midnight, flash-bang grenades were exploded and the SWAT team breached the door of the mobile home taking the suspect in custody, the sheriff's office reports. 

The suspect, identified as Patrick Andrew Shomo, 40, of Gaston County, was taken into custody and the two women were freed from the mobile home. He was wanted in Gaston County on trafficking charges, officials said. No one was injured in the incident.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/lincoln-county-standoff-hostage-situation/275-34f1e3fa-b752-4146-8b48-d1c473ee2260

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!