704 Unfiltered

Amelie's French Bakery is set to reopen its Uptown Charlotte location this week. It comes as more workers return to the office on a full-time basis, giving businesses in Charlotte's central district a much-needed boost. Ben Thompson connects the dots on why Uptown could see a resurgence in the wake of the pandemic.

Plus, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to sign a bill Thursday into law that will make it harder for repeat offenders to get out of jail. The bond reform act aims to keep violent offenders behind bars while they await trial. Tradesha Woodard joins the show to explain how the bill plans to do this and what state leaders are saying about the effort to keep the public safe.

And finally, we're looking at the biggest headlines from across the Charlotte area on Thursday, June 15 in your morning rush.

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 will be at Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte Wednesday to sign a bill into law that will soon legalize sports betting across the state. The legislation, which takes effect in early January, will allow sports gambling on mobile devices, as well as establish multiple sportsbooks and venues across the state. Richard DeVayne joins the show with the latest details, plus we break down how gambling revenue will be taxed and used to help youth sports and education programs in North Carolina.

FULL STORY: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/gov-cooper-to-sign-online-sports-betting-bill-in-charlotte-north-carolina-nc-sports-betting-mobile-app-phone/275-b3cade8a-925d-4d53-932f-497bcbf06af6

Next, we're looking at the cost of quiet quitting. A recent Gallup survey found about half of American workers are doing the bare minimum to get by on their job. Kia Murray has the details as we look at how impactful quiet quitting is on the economy, and discuss what workers say would help them stay engaged at the office.

And finally, Carolina Panthers training camp continues in Charlotte this week. All eyes are on rookie quarterback Bryce Young for obvious reasons, but there's more to it than just a "get to know me" period for new players. Ben Thompson connects the dots on what minicamp is, how it can make or break a team's season and why it's so important for a new coach and quarterback to make the most of this summer period.

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! 

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to face a judge Tuesday in a historic criminal case charging the former president with hoarding top secret government documents, boastfully displaying them to visitors and trying to hide them from investigators who demanded them back. We're connecting the dots on the serious charges Trump is facing and how it could impact his run for the White House in 2024.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-court-appearance-classified-documents/507-b6e02706-fb2a-4791-8bb4-4b76468fbfc2

Parents in Iredell County are calling on school board members to resign after a heated meeting Monday night. Tradesha Woodard joins #WakeUpCLT To Go with the latest details, including records that revealed secret meetings and jokes about students fighting, as well as the response from board members who are asking for grace from the community.

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 Salisbury church was destroyed by a fire caused by a lightning strike Sunday. Richard DeVayne joins #WakeUpCLT To Go from Salisbury, where firefighters are still monitoring the church for hot spots after the flames have died down.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/lightning-strike-causes-church-fire-in-salisbury-north-carolina-nc-church-power-cross-ministry/275-750afb6a-4c7a-4c61-92a6-855feda0d8c7

Plus, we've all seen the commercials. A new medicine has been developed for a condition and it has a name you can hardly pronounce and definitely can't spell. But did you know there's a method behind those crazy names? Ben Thompson connects the dots on how new drugs are named and what goes into giving them a confusing moniker.

And in our morning rush segment, we're recapping some of the biggest headlines across the Carolinas, including the push for a huge tennis complex in west Charlotte that could eventually host major events and bring hundreds of thousands of people to the Queen City on a yearly basis.

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!

The Belmont Police Department is investigating after a man attempted to abduct a child out of a car Monday evening.

The mother of the child told police she was on Park Street, near Wilkinson Boulevard, waiting for the light to turn green when she saw a man walking towards her vehicle. 

The suspect, identified as Joshua Pelzer, 31, walked to the passenger side of the vehicle where the juvenile was sitting with her window down when he grabbed the child’s arm and attempted to pull her out of the car, police said. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/attempted-child-abduction-belmont-police/275-b363e1c9-ff96-4591-a182-ac0975165f6a

School administrators and law enforcement are investigating after a student was found with a stun gun at a middle school.

The principal of Druid Hills Academy sent a message to parents on Wednesday about the incident. 

School officials say law enforcement was contacted as soon as the stun gun was found. No threat was made to students or staff, according to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/student-brings-stun-gun-to-north-charlotte-middle-school-north-carolina-gun-at-school/275-9f76336c-1afb-4555-ae9f-cb33038df26e

The Supreme Court of South Carolina has announced it will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the latest abortion law passed by the State Legislature last month.

The court said oral arguments will be held at 9:30 a.m. June 27 at their main building on Gervais Street.

McMaster signed the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion (2023) Act, banning abortions after roughly six weeks, on May 24. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the Greenville Women's Clinic, and two doctors then sued the State of South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson, and others over the new law. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/south-carolina-supreme-court-abortion-hearing/101-30b5a542-8428-413e-b1cd-373c1132ce3b

The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday and a released a guidebook summarizing what it calls discriminatory laws in each state, along with “know your rights” information and health and safety resources.

Sounding the alarm about the current political environment, the nation’s largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans said advisories warning against travel to dangerous places aren't enough to help people already living in so-called hostile states.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/lgbtq-state-of-emergency-declared-human-rights-campaign/507-5890a3e5-1cef-409c-b8c8-083b1e4ea2e9

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 man who was charged in connection with the brutal murder of a Charlotte woman who was stabbed over 130 times and found stuffed in a mattress was released from jail over the weekend on bond, jail records show. 

James Robert Salerno was given a $250,000 bond in January in connection with the 2020 killing of Mary Collins. Mecklenburg County jail records show that Salerno was released on June 3 on bond. His charges include murder, kidnapping and DWI. 

According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office inmate docket, Salerno does not have electronic monitoring. 

The victim's mother, Kasei Canfora, spoke to WCNC Charlotte about the gut-wrenching news she learned after attending a community violence rally with other inflected mothers who have suffered from gun violence.

"It's creating a lot of conflicting feelings within me," Canfora said. "It's very painful and I have no control over the entire process which is the hardest part. All of it feels like what they've done to my daughter, it just doesn't matter to them."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/mary-collins-murder-suspect-charlotte-north-carolina-noda-released-from-jail-bond-homicide-james-robert-salerno/275-f3b49149-ab94-4860-8461-6b56e99a92ab

The developer behind the proposed Lagoona Bay project in Huntersville filed a lawsuit against two town residents, alleging they made "slanderous lies" about him online. 

Hundreds of Huntersville residents packed into a gym in April and heard from Jake Palillo, the developer of the Lagoona Bay project that would transform an empty plot of land on Sam Furr Road into an almost 300-acre community with membership fees. 

The project includes a 41-acre commercial lagoon area with water sports, dining and retail, a luxury hotel, a convention center, and hundreds of housing options. 

Palillo said the development would increase property values for the area and said it would be something that would positively impact Huntersville residents in a positive way when and if they choose to sell their homes.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/residents-sued-by-developers-over-huntersville-lagoona-bay-project-public-forum-monday-north-carolina/275-1f6b75cf-7976-4786-85c3-1f51033a78a0

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/residents-sued-by-developers-over-huntersville-lagoona-bay-project-public-forum-monday-north-carolina/275-1f6b75cf-7976-4786-85c3-1f51033a78a0

City officials and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police will come together Friday as community leaders seek solutions to gun violence. Richard DeVayne joins the show to discuss action the city plans to take in an effort to stop the senseless shootings.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/one-week-1000-shootings-from-heartache-to-healing-to-hope-charlotte-north-carolina-gun-violence/275-239118f1-dd06-423f-8144-4bd5d6f0017b

Plus, if you try to watch your favorite movie or TV show, it may be gone. Ben Thompson connects the dots on why streaming platforms are cutting content and frustrating consumers. Welcome to the harsh reality of cord cutting in 2023.

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! 

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster will be deploying South Carolina National Guard (SCNG) troops to Texas in an effort to secure the border between the US and Mexico after the end of Title 42.

McMaster said he is doing this at the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and in the aftermath of a border security briefing McMaster attended in Austin, Texas, on May 22. That briefing was also attended by eight other governors -- including Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/national/military-news/governor-henry-mcmaster-to-send-southcarolina-national-guard-troops-to-texas-patrol-border-mexico/101-532f3bf4-091e-4746-98bd-d3fac47c8161