President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. Trump’s positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Friday, October 2, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

Today, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police plan to release the tapes from the day Harold Easter suffered a seizure in a police interview room. He died three days later. Those who have seen the tapes say parts are hard to watch."He was calling out for help. Acknowledging the peril he is in and then just repeating 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die," said the attorney for Easter's family,  Alex Heroy.The department says the release of the tapes are an effort to be more transparent.  The release comes days after all four officers and one sergeant connected to Easter's death resigned from CMPD. Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Thursday, October 1 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into bitter taunts and near chaos Tuesday night as Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent with angry — and personal — jabs that sometimes overshadowed the sharply different visions each man has for a nation facing historic crises.In the most tumultuous presidential debate in recent memory, Trump refused to condemn white supremacists who have supported him, telling one such group known as Proud Boys to “stand back, stand by.” There were also heated clashes over the president's handling of the pandemic, the integrity of the election results, deeply personal attacks about Biden's family and how the Supreme Court will shape the future of the nation’s health care.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Wednesday, September 30, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will meet in their first debate Tuesday in a presidential election year marked by extraordinary turmoil.With the election 35 days away and early votes already being cast in some states, Biden has kept a lead over the Republican president in most national polls. While debates have not significantly shaken up the election in recent years, Tuesday’s highly anticipated matchup will offer the clearest contrast yet between the two men.The debate, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern Time in Cleveland, is the first of three between Trump and Biden.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Tuesday, September 29, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House, according to a report Sunday in The New York Times. Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Monday, September 28, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte! SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

South Carolinians who vote absentee in the November election will have to have a witness signature after a federal judge overruled a lower court ruling that said the signatures weren't required.The South Carolina Election Commission said Thursday that the signatures will now be mandatory. This comes after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the U.S. District Court ruling that came out Monday.South Carolinians voting absentee by mail must now have their signatures on ballot return envelopes witnessed.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Friday, September 25, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

President Donald Trump will make a stop in Charlotte today.  His campaign hasn't released specific details on the trip but the White House did say the visit will be focused on discussing his administration's "action and vision" for healthcare at low costs.Today's visit marks Trump's fifth visit to the Tarheel State in around a month.  WCNC Charlotte will be following Trump's visit and have updates on air and online throughout the day. Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Thursday, September 24, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects at the Supreme Court to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the women's rights champion, leader of the court's liberal bloc and feminist icon who died last week.Even with the court closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic and Washington already consumed with talk of Ginsburg's replacement, the justice's former colleagues, family, close friends and the public will have the chance Wednesday and Thursday to pass by the casket of the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Wednesday, September 23, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

Three more North Carolina school districts have indicated plans to layer on more in-person learning.Board of Education members in Gaston, Cabarrus, and Watauga Counties met separately Monday night to discuss how to respond to Gov. Roy Cooper's recent announcement about Plan A.Last week, the governor said that elementary school students would be allowed to return to the classroom full-time, starting Oct. 5.Gaston County’s Board of Education did not make a formal decision Monday. However, board members indicated they would eventually make the move toward Plan A, but wanted to do so in a deliberate manner.Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Tuesday, September 22, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email

The community will gather today to remember a Charlotte man shot and killed during protests in Uptown Charlotte four years ago.  Justin Carr was killed fighting for racial justice and peace. His legacy will be carried on tonight during a vigil in Marshall Park. Plus, local school districts discuss new plans to bring kids back to school and we’re ushering in the official start of fall with cooler temperatures this week.  Those stories and more in your Morning Rush for Friday, September 18, 2020.Join Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte!SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER: www.wcnc.com/email