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Police are investigating a string of robberies in the first days of April that appear to be targeting the Hispanic community.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, there have been 11 robberies in east and north Charlotte targeting Hispanic people since April 1.

Investigators say the robberies took place late at night and early in the morning in apartment complex parking lots.

Officers are working to identify suspects and determine if the robberies are connected.

CMPD advises residents to park in well-lit areas and avoid gathering in parking lots late at night.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/hispanic-victims-targeted-in-nearly-a-dozen-robberies-across-charlotte-cmpd-says-investigation-11-robberies-in-april/275-729e2c99-ba43-4b11-b396-7c00b46698dc

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School leaders are pushing for more resource officers in every elementary school, but they're facing some challenges including more money and staffing shortages.

This comes over a week after a deadly shooting at a school in Nashville and gun laws are more relaxed here in North Carolina.

The district said they're not starting from scratch, and they have already made safety investments in their schools. The investments include adding additional cameras, reinforcing entries, and replacing blind spots.

CMS said as incidents continue to build over time, they're looking to reevaluate to ensure each and every student is safe.

Some CMS leaders are putting together a plan to hire more school resource officers, but not necessarily an officer per school. They say this is a step in the right direction as they continue to grapple with ongoing shortages.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-leaders-school-rescource-officers/275-a36832ba-2b0e-491a-8cd4-f3a41d0fb58b

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! 

All eyes are on Charlotte transit leaders as they sort out several issues within CATS. This comes after learning of derailments not properly disclosed to local leaders, past due inspections and several concerns about safety.

City leaders laid out an action plan to get operations back in order during the Transportation, Planning and Development committee meeting Monday.

"This thing is a cancer right and you have to retreat the cancer before it spreads," city council member Malcolm Graham said. "I think you can say it's spreading already because it is not just the derailments, it’s the maintenance, it's all of the other things we are dealing with."

Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle brought to light another issue. 

"There have been times when CATS has been operating the ROCC [Rail Operation Control Center] with one rail operator at a time... that is certainly not an ideal situation," Cagle said, citing staffing shortages.

Cagle said the issue was reported to him by a rail operations manager. However, it was also reported anonymously to the NCDOT SSO which led to an unannounced inspection Friday night where that was the case.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/cats-meeting-charlotte-light-rail-transportation/275-02e4a42e-1cbb-4b63-93f9-f54e7aad52db

The Concord Police Department confirmed two missing boys who were believed to be with their father were found safe in Missouri Monday morning.

The 8-year-old and 11-year-old brothers were reported missing on Saturday evening after officers responded to a kidnapping call along Wilshire Avenue Southwest.

Police were told the brothers were taken from a neighbor’s yard where they were playing and put into a white vehicle by a Black male adult, who witnesses believed to be their father 35-year-old Aaron Eugene Toliver.

Authorities believed Toliver was en route to Texas or Florida, where family members live, however, the boys were eventually found safe at 8:35 a.m. Monday at the Super 8 hotel on US 1301 Highway 136 West in Rock Port, Missouri.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/concord-police-search-missing-brothers-believed-to-be-with-father/275-e16ef2ab-55dd-4582-a6cb-e918440172de

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! 

In an effort to have more people in the Charlotte community about lifesaving measures, the Carolina Panthers will be joined by Damar Hamlin to train players and staff on CPR and other skills.

The session will take place on April 3 at 10:45 a.m. at the Atrium Health Dome in Charlotte and is hosted by the American Heart Association. 

According to a release, the CPR automated external defibrillator (AED) course provides the highest level of training in the lifesaving skills of CPR and how to use an AED.

Hamlin, Nicole Tepper, and Nancy Brown, the CEO of the American Heart Association, will be special guest speakers at the event.

Kevin King, the Panthers' head athletic trainer, along with several Atrium Health and American Heart Association personnel will speak to participants.

The event will also be open to Panthers PSL owners.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/nfl/panthers/damar-hamlin-panthers-teaming-up-to-teach-players-and-staff-cpr-nfl/275-e4f8932b-e79a-4f14-b0b8-9fe03984fc9d

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's city manager admitted Thursday afternoon that he inadvertently didn't see a text message from former CATS CEO John Lewis about a minor light rail train derailment incident that happened in May 2022. The incident, which was only first revealed to the public this month, has called into question the reliability and transparency of the transit agency that has been under public scrutiny for employee safety, service disruptions, and staff shortages.

City manager Marcus Jones, who was joined by interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle and city councilman Ed Driggs during a virtual briefing Thursday, said Lewis had sent him a message about the minor derailment of the LYNX Blue Line on May 21, 2022. 

No passengers or operators were injured when a middle set of wheels came off the track. Lewis told Jones in the text, which was read aloud during the briefing, that a bus bridge was in place while CATS investigated at the time.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/marcus-jones-cats-charlotte-nc-train-derailment-light-rail-investigation-text-message/275-0302adbb-faf3-401d-a4ad-2bb2802ed6ea

Former North Carolina state Sen. David Hoyle, a powerful force on taxes, economic development and education within state government when Democrats last controlled the General Assembly, died on Wednesday at age 84, his son said.

Hoyle died at his home in the Gaston County seat of Dallas, where he had once elected been mayor in his 20s. His health had been declining since he suffered a stroke several years ago, according to his son David Hoyle Jr.

Hoyle served nine terms in the Senate, where he was a longtime co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Hoyle and Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand was considered top lieutenants to then-Senate leader Marc Basnight of Dare County.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/former-n-carolina-senator-tax-secretary-david-hoyle-dies-at-84-north-carolina-dallas-nc-general-assebmly/275-5373072d-8bf8-4056-b36e-c844e68b8bd3

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools interim superintendent revealed a $2.2 billion budget recommendation Tuesday night.

This money is for the district's operating budget and is funded by both the state and county.

This year, the district plans to ask the Mecklenburg County Commission for $38.9 million more than it did last year to fund its portion.

"We took a look and asked a general question and said to people, 'We don't want you to think about money right now, we will ask a simple question, what systems and initiatives do we need to put in place to ensure the achievement of our goals and guardrails?'" Crystal Hill, CMS interim superintendent, said. 

The school board restructured how it governs itself in the last few years. It has a set of measurable action items and goals surrounding things like student achievement and test scores. 

Those goals inform what decisions the board makes and how funding is prioritized.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-billion-dollar-budget-recommendation-teacher-raises-covid-funds/275-4ff550e5-befa-4996-9196-9c5203d788a1

Authorities have arrested the third and final suspect in a drive-by shooting from earlier this month in Statesville, police report.

The United States Marshals Service, with the assistance of Carolina’s Regional Fugitive Task Force, took Javis Black, 22, into custody in Beckley, West Virginia, according to an update from the police department.

Black, Tevin Seymour, and Dakota Michael Duke were all wanted for a March 15 shooting on Goldsboro Avenue. Within two days of the incident, authorities announced they had Seymour and Duke in custody. At the time, Black's whereabouts were unknown.

Statesville Police said the three men fired into a home around 10 p.m. on March 15, hitting 19-year-old Zion Sincere Wilder and an unnamed 15-year-old in the head. Police said Wilder died at the scene and the 15-year-old remains in critical condition at the hospital.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/us-marshals-arrest-final-suspect-deadly-statesville-drive-by/275-eec12d9d-458e-4dd9-8d01-ed387223cbbf

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 substitute bus for Hanford Dole Elementary had to stop at the Miller's Ferry Fire Department Monday afternoon after a student got sick on the bus, according to Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

The school district said the bus had been on the route for about 10 minutes when it happened. 

As the bus made it to the fire department, two other students on board said they were feeling sick. The two students were taken to be evaluated at an area hospital, and the remaining students were moved onto another bus for the rest of the bus route.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/second-time-students-sick-hanford-dole-elementary-school-bus/275-439f40ec-85c0-4219-8d40-3df58e02e033

Two people were taken into custody after a shooting between bondsmen and a suspect resulted in multiple houses being shot and a bystander being grazed by a bullet.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, an assault for a deadly weapon call was made around 5 p.m. on Monday on Superior Street near Walker Branch Road. 

Two people were found in the area suffering from gunshot wounds.

Police learned that bondsmen were attempting to serve outstanding warrants on a suspect when the person began shooting at them. The bondsman returned fire toward the suspect.

During the course of the shootout, multiple nearby homes were hit by gunfire. An adult bystander was grazed by a bullet. The bystander was not transported to a hospital. Nobody in any of the homes suffered any injuries. Police are working to learn which of the people involved shot these houses.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/bystander-grazed-by-bullet-as-suspect-bondsmen-exchange-gunfire-in-southwest-charlotte-north-carolina-shooting-investigation-arrested/275-5654b31f-4fdd-49e7-9eb3-cf5ffaf2f3e0

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! 

 Facing a potential indictment, Donald Trump took a defiant stance at a rally Saturday in Waco, disparaging the prosecutors investigating him and predicting his vindication as he rallied supporters in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement.

With a hand over his heart, Trump stood at attention when his rally opened with a song called “Justice for All” performed by a choir of people imprisoned for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Some footage from the insurrection was shown on big screens displayed at the rally site as the choir sang the national anthem and a recording played of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-waco-rally/507-0988abe8-257f-4699-b7b9-48ab06ef1c48

North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced on Saturday he will run for governor in 2024, a bid that will likely require him besting Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to earn the Republican nomination.

While Republicans have controlled the Legislature since 2011 and won a majority on the state Supreme Court last November, they have struggled to enter the Executive Mansion. The GOP has won just one gubernatorial general election since 1992, and winner Pat McCrory served for just four years.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/elections/north-carolina-treasurer-running-nc-governor-2024/275-7190fcf7-d1eb-482c-8c87-4cad5aa78bac

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! 

After a panel about equal justice wrapped up on the campus of Livingstone College Thursday afternoon, Shanquella Robinson's family and their attorney have promised to continue to maintain pressure on federal authorities to either prosecute the people responsible for her death or extradite them to Mexico.

Ben Crump joined Robinson's family for a news briefing at the Music Room inside the Varick Auditorium on Thursday. Crump was joined by several civil rights advocates as well, who all shared similar demands for intervention at the national level.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/shanquella-robinson-news-briefing-march-23-2023/275-429c3ffd-ec29-4433-8533-6cce401f71d7

The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he'll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.

Shou Zi Chew's testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/tiktok-ceo-congress/507-ecfa0fe7-3601-43dc-b991-36782f178d9f

NBA legend Michael Jordan's potential majority stake sale of the Charlotte Hornets seems no clearer than when reports initially came out about the possible move last week.

On Wednesday, Jordan's family office, Jump Management, released a statement on the matter, saying that it remains unclear if a deal will take place between Jordan and Gabe Plotkin, a hedge fund executive who owns a minor stake in the team.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/nba/hornets/michael-jordans-charlotte-hornets-sale-uncertain-family-office-says-nba-basketball-michael-jordan-lamelo-ball-sports-jump-management-gabe-plotkin/275-338fb615-08af-46b0-926c-716607b86469

And finally on today's edition of #WakeUpCLT To Go, we're discussing the importance of registering your pets in Mecklenburg County. And we're sharing your pet photos on our website!

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!