704 Unfiltered

Millions of Americans are waking up and packing the car for a holiday road trip. AAA predicts more than 3.5 million people will drive over 50 miles to their destination this year, including many in North Carolina. Destiny Richards joins us with a preview of your holiday travel, including the best times to drive and places to avoid as you get to and from your family gatherings this Christmas.

Former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton probably won't play for the team again, but he has an idea to fix things. He wants to be team president! On a recent episode of his podcast, Newtown laid out a plan he says would keep owner David Tepper accountable and get fans excited about the team despite some serious struggles this season.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/nfl/panthers/cam-newton-carolina-panthers-team-president-locked-on-panthers-nfl-news-david-tepper/275-400633a2-cd92-41c3-a60c-77808ec02363

Plus, the holidays are a stressful time for many. That's why it's critical we set clear guidelines and boundaries for friends and family before they arrive. Sarah French connects the dots on holiday eitquette when it comes to opening a gift you really didn't want.

And we have your top stories in your morning rush and the biggest headlines happening across the Carolinas on this morning's show!

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

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Police arrested a juvenile and say two more people are wanted for a string of car break-ins across south Charlotte. 

The break-ins happened around the SouthPark Mall and various apartment complexes across south Charlotte, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Police say the break-ins happened on Dec. 13, 14, and 18. The SouthPark Mall area saw at least 23 break-ins while apartments in Dilworth had 100 break-ins.

Police said the juvenile turned himself in, accompanied by his mother, and was charged with auto theft, breaking into a motor vehicle, larceny after breaking into a motor vehicle, and conspiracy. CMPD said detectives attempted to obtain a secure custody order for him due to his criminal history, but he was released into the custody of his mother based on guidance from the Department of Juvenile Justice. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/charlotte-string-of-car-break-ins/275-d510a7ca-0f84-4a99-963f-dd6cc104698d

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WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

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A good education can change anyone, but a good teacher can change everything.

"I think each one of us can attest to the idea that if you have had high-quality teachers in your schooling, that it leads to more value as a citizen in the future," Dean of the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte Dr. Malcolm Butler said.

Butler said UNC Charlotte's new partnership with the Barnhill Foundation will open doors for future educators. Right now CMS has a total of 427 vacancies, with another three part-time positions that also need to be filled. This new scholarship from the Barnhill Foundation aims to narrow the gap by adding more qualified teachers to the CMS school district.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/unc-charlotte-barnhill-foundation-scholarhip-teacher-vacancies/275-236271bc-f5a1-40be-b78c-661ea6305502

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

A man is dead following a shooting at an apartment complex in southwest Charlotte, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said.

Officers responded to a call just before 2 a.m. at The Volaire apartment complex, a "relatively new" development along West Tyvola Road, where they found a man with a gunshot wound.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/cmpd-deadly-shooting-southwest-charlotte-volaire/275-395e4864-f9f3-49fb-86dd-86e131a2d545

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

In an effort to increase reading levels for more kids, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is partnering with Stanford University to give students a boost.

"The target of this is early literacy, kindergarten, first grade. and then it is focused on accelerating reading skills with early literacy focus," Nancy Brightwell with CMS said.

The program is currently in 16 schools, and it allows students 15 minutes per day of one-on-one reading tutoring.

"The program is designed to dramatically increase regardless of what student's level of preparedness is when they come into kindergarten," Brightwell said.

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

A lot of people like to customize their vehicles. We see paint jobs, custom license plates, and spoilers. And an inexpensive way to personalize your care is with a license plate frame.

But one Charlotte resident posted on the neighborhood social networking app, “Nextdoor,” saying she was pulled over by CMPD, and the officer said her license plate frame was illegal. 

The Verify team looked into it.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/verify/license-plate-frame-north-carolina-dmv-driving-charlotte/275-41a286eb-7bbf-407e-9f7d-0d1f26e2f85b

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released data Wednesday on flu, RSV and COVID cases.

Five more flu-related deaths were reported in North Carolina last week, bringing the season total to 14. Ten of those are people 65 and older. The rise in flu deaths comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu vaccine uptake is the lowest in the last five years.

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/flu/north-carolina-flu-deaths-total-14/275-0b1676f8-67b5-4b26-9387-1bebc5f12807

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. 

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

Body camera video from the controversial arrest of a woman in southwest Charlotte last month was released Tuesday morning by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Video of the arrest was shared widely on social media because an officer could be seen repeatedly punching a woman while other officers held her to the the ground. For the first time Tuesday, CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings announced one officer would face disciplinary action following the incident. 

As seen in the initial video shared on social media, the body camera video shows an officer repeatedly striking Pierre in the thigh as officers hold her to the ground. CMPD previously said the punching of a person in the thigh is standard protocol when an officer is trying to restrain a person who is resisting arrest. Additional officers can be seen trying to keep a growing crowd of witnesses away.

Hours after the videos were released Tuesday, Jennings talked with reporters at police headquarters.

“Fourteen strikes to the female’s leg came after her hands were behind her back," Jennings said. "These strikes were not deemed justified. If the officer made an assessment after three leg strikes, he would have seen that they were effective, and the female’s hands were behind her back."

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/charlotte-mecklenburg-police-body-camera-footage-christina-pierre-punching-arrest/275-be8b9336-4ee0-4a13-8cc7-7020a2c23008

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. 

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

The Charlotte City Council on Monday night reviewed body camera footage from a controversial arrest in November that saw a woman get punched repeatedly by an officer. 

A Mecklenburg County judge recently ordered the public release of the footage after video of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer punching the woman outside a Bojangles in southwest Charlotte went viral. The video shows at least four officers restraining the woman while a fifth officer is seen punching her multiple times. 

"I had the opportunity to view this video, and it is not easy to watch," CMPD Police Chief Johnny Jennings said in a prewritten statement. "I never want to see an officer, much less one of my own, involved in a situation like this."

Christina Pierre was originally charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and simple possession. CMPD later dropped charges against the woman in the video. Jennings, as well as Pierre's attorney, were in favor of releasing the video, saying it would clear up what happened that day. 

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/charlotte-city-council-controversial-arrest-footage-review-cmpd/275-d88b330c-230f-4f4e-aa6e-8e7448f19bbb

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. 

An investigation is underway after a man pushed his way into a woman's home and sexually assaulted her, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said on Sunday. 

It happened at an apartment on Kumara Road in Charlotte's University City area just after 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to CMPD.

CMPD said a call came in regarding a sexual assault. Police said the victim heard a knock at the door. She answered the door and an unknown man forced himself inside, according to police. CMPD said the man sexually assaulted her and then left. 

Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/man-forces-himself-inside-apartment-and-sexually-assaults-woman-cmpd-says-charlotte-north-carolina/275-323bc190-3cb4-43be-83db-d911e5719621

Watch WCNC Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.   

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart 

All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.