704 Unfiltered

Charlotte FC's club academy facility will not be housed at the Eastland mall, at least for now.

Tepper Sports & Entertainment (TSE), which owns Charlotte FC as well as the Carolina Panthers, announced they no longer had plans to be involved with the redevelopment of the Eastland Mall.

"After a great deal of consideration, the timeline for the Eastland project posed challenges that led us to research expedited alternatives," Tepper Sports said in a statement. "We continue to work towards a practice facility for Charlotte FC’s first team, the club’s academy and its MLS Next Pro team and will provide updates as our plans are finalized." 

TSE noted that while they have no plans at this time to have a presence at Eastland, they are open to discussions.

Additionally, TSE added that since they took Bank of America Stadium over in 2018, they have contributed over $70 million in facility improvements and doubled events taking place all without public funding from the city of Charlotte.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/tepper-sports-plans-eastland-mall-redevelopment-charlotte-fc-panthers-north-carolina-david-tepper/275-bb809144-92c2-4349-822c-1bd68e712263

Charlotte transportation officials met Wednesday to discuss the possibility of allowing more tolls on Interstate 77, stretching from Uptown to the South Carolina border. 

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says it received a request from an unidentified company to build toll lanes to the South Carolina state line. NCDOT said it must be formally approved by Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization before it can analyze the proposal. 

Any toll projects in North Carolina must be requested and approved by the local planning organization, NCDOT said citing state law. NCDOT issued a statement saying the proposal is only a concept and not anywhere close to being approved, and went further saying it's not "advocating for any particular path forward" regarding I-77 tolls.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/more-tolls-proposed-interstate-77-charlotte-south-carolina-state-border/275-b3ad3d8d-ff1e-4f4c-ba51-b2dcb50756b9

Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., was arrested Tuesday afternoon while protesting for abortion rights and reproductive justice at the Supreme Court, her staff announced on Twitter.

Adams tweeted earlier in the day that she would be participating in a protest for reproductive freedom and abortion rights with fellow members of the Democratic Women's Caucus. 

"We will not be silent as our fundamental rights are under attack," Adams tweeted. 

Adams issued a statement following the incident, calling the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade "fundamentally wrong."

“I took part in this protest today for all of the people who feel unheard after the decision in the Dobbs case," Adams said. "The Supreme Court’s decision was fundamentally wrong, so I will continue to put my body on the line - and record my votes in House - in defense of abortion rights.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/alma-adams-protest-nc-charlotte-abortion-rights-supreme-court/275-f6242c4e-8aa3-4e29-b93c-049fd9fa9ac2

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's office has filed domestic violence charges against Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges 

Bridges, 24, faces one felony count of injuring a child’s parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged assault on Bridges' girlfriend happened in front of their two children on or around June 27 and 28.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/los-angeles-county-district-attorney-domestic-violence-charges-miles-bridges/275-1c8b4cd3-1448-49fe-8407-48fc385d4fe0

Plus, The Carolina Panthers will wear black helmets for the first time in franchise history this season, with the team announcing a new alternate uniform combo Tuesday. On this episode of #WakeUpCLT To Go, we're getting a better look at the Panthers' new alternate threads and sharing some of the fan responses on social media. Panthers fans have been clamoring for an all-black look for years but NFL rules prevented the team from having alternate helmets in recent seasons. Now, as part of the new color rush uniforms, teams are allowed to have an alternate helmet and the Panthers are making the popular switch! 

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’s the last week to vote early in the City of Charlotte’s general election, which is on Tuesday, July 26. 

There are 14 early voting locations across Charlotte that voters can pick from. When going early, voters can choose the location most convenient for them. 

However, on election day, voters must go to the precinct they're assigned. Charlotte has 166 precincts. Voters can check what precinct they're assigned to online.

Candidates for Charlotte's mayor and city council are on the ballot, so only city residents can vote in this election. Voter Anita Shipman told WCNC Charlotte she participated in this election because "it all starts locally," so she wants to make sure her voice is heard.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/elections/vote-early-charlotte-city-election/275-abbda976-c9b6-4bee-b312-1d3d043bec15

 Two former White House aides are expected to testify at the House Jan. 6 committee's prime-time hearing Thursday as the panel examines what Donald Trump was doing as his supporters broke into the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, and Sarah Matthews, a former press aide, are expected to testify, according to the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and requested anonymity. Both Pottinger and Matthews resigned immediately after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that interrupted the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's victory.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/former-white-house-aides-testify-next-jan-6-hearing/507-28ce563d-f140-4440-ba17-96520cd9a55c

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! 

Plus, the Wake Up Charlotte team discusses the future of Charlotte's Epicentre. In a week the Epicentre will be auctioned off. What do you think should happen to it?

Nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to a mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school, but “egregiously poor decision-making” resulted in more than an hour of chaos before the gunman who took 21 lives was finally confronted and killed, according to a damning investigative report released Sunday.

The nearly 80-page report was the first to criticize both state and federal law enforcement, and not just local authorities in the South Texas town for the bewildering inaction by heavily armed officers as a gunman fired inside two fourth-grade classrooms at Robb Elementary School, killing 19 students and two teachers.

Altogether, the report and more than three hours of newly released body camera footage from the May 24 tragedy amounted to the fullest account to date of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Some families blasted police as cowards and demanded resignations.

“At Robb Elementary, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety," the report said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/uvalde-damning-report/507-6bc43e55-00c9-407f-b6b4-f284f239da3e

Police are investigating a shooting at Greenwood Park Mall that happened around 6 p.m. Sunday.

Four people are dead and police tell 13News the shooter is among those killed. 

Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said two others were wounded in the shooting and were being treated at area hospitals. 

Early Monday morning, Johnson County Coroner Michael Pruitt identified those who had died as three males and one female. That includes the shooter, who police have only identified as an adult male.

Chief Ison previously stated Sunday night, before the coroner's investigation, that those shot included one male and four females.

The coroner's office is working with the Marion County Coroner's Office on positive identification of those who died. Their identifies are expected to be released some time Monday morning.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/multiple-victims-reported-in-shooting-at-greenwood-park-mall/531-df15bbf5-8eca-4220-b149-7de4735fbe37

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! 

With continuing employment issues causing delays, CATS will be reducing the number of trips some buses will take. Richard DeVayne will have the latest on what this means for bus riders in Charlotte and which routes will be affected.

A new omicron subvariant, BA.5, is now the dominant strain of coronavirus in the United States. And while it's early, experts say this could be the most contagious strain. Ben Thompson connects the dots on what this means for people who are vaccinated and why doctors are trying to get everyone's attention before it's too late.

Plus, we have your morning rush with all the biggest headlines from the Carolinas. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police released its mid-year crime stats for 2022 and Ivana Trump, the former wife of former President Donald Trump, died.

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! 

German automaker BMW announced it will be selling $18 monthly subscriptions for customers to use the heated seats in their cars. All vehicles will come equipped with the parts for heated seats, but only customers who pay the subscription fee will have access to use them. What do you think? Would you pay to use heated seats in your car? Text us at 704-329-3600!

A new lawsuit was filed in South Carolina Tuesday challenging the state's new fetal heartbeat abortion law. Under the law, most abortions are illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, before most women even know they're pregnant. Tradesha Woodard has the latest on the lawsuit, why the plaintiffs say the abortion ban is a bad law and the push by state lawmakers to impose even stricter regulations on abortion in South Carolina.

Richard DeVayne reports on the latest developments with the Eastland Mall open-air flea market site. Vendors pleaded with Charlotte City Council for help finding a new spot, then 48 hours after the meeting, Councilman Tariq Bokhari and his staff claimed to have it figured out. Vendors told WCNC Charlotte they're excited to get back out and sell. Many vendors lost thousands of dollars worth of products and revenue. 

And finally, gas prices are finally going down! Can we get an amen?! With drivers finally paying around $4 (and sometimes less) how long will the prices stay that low? Ben Thompson connects the dots on the price of oil, what could happen this fall and just how cheap gas industry experts say we could see fuel across the Carolinas.

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 will spend nearly $10 million on body scanners in all its middle and high schools. 

Most of the area high schools already have body scanners. 

At a school board meeting, interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh said middle schools will start seeing them in the first few months of the school year.

There were reports of long lines, learning curves, and skeptics’ when CMS first started its pilot program of body scanners.

"It's been taking some time obviously," Juan Torres Muñoz, the CMS Board Student Advisor said, "because it's a new technology." 

Torres Munoz’s school was one of the first to have body scanners. 

Hattabaugh said the technology will cost $9.9 million and include a four-year service subscription, and staff training.

"We will begin to finish out our seven large comprehensive high schools to expedite the scanning processes," Hattabaugh said. "And then we'll go to our middle 6-8, our specialty high schools, and lastly, our K-8 schools."

Board members asked for more.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-spends-nearly-10-million-body-scanners-middle-high-schools/275-e5cdebd3-cac5-4c10-82b3-1838c56892b2

South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh is expected to be indicted by a grand jury on murder charges in last year's killings of his wife and son, NBC News reported Tuesday. 

A possible indictment is the latest twist in the sprawling scandal that's engulfed Murdaugh's legal dynasty. 

Three sources close to the investigation told NBC News the grand jury will indict Murdaugh later this week on double murder. The family has been notified of the indictment and so has Murdaugh. Part of the indictment is based on new evidence presented to the grand jury.

Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, Murdaugh's attorneys, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying they were unaware of a decision to indict their client. 

"We have not been advised by anyone associated with law enforcement or the Attorney General's office that Alex will be charged with murder. I am aware that SLED advised the family that they intend to seek murder indictments from a grand jury later this week. We won't have any comment until charges are actually brought against Alex," the statement reads.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/alex-murdaugh-indictment-murder-investigation/275-78b1043a-bd73-457d-aac4-04447ecf0460

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! 

Black Americans are far more likely to be denied mortgages, according to Zillow an online real-estate firm.

This means homeownership may be out of reach for many people, but Charlotte programs are trying to help residents achieve the American Dream and own a home. 

“In Charlotte right now, homeownership among people of color has dropped," President of DreamKey Partners, Julie Porter said. “For white folks, it’s about 77%, for black and Hispanic people it’s in the low 40’s."

Porter says they're working to create more opportunities for people of color to own a home by creating more affordable housing and offering down payment loan options through the House Charlotte Program.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/markets/real-estate/homeownership-among-poc-has-dropped/275-29216198-4cc5-45f0-ad32-e58f219e7d1f

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline plunged 19 cents over the past two weeks to $4.86 per gallon.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the continued decline comes as crude oil costs also fall.

“Assuming oil prices do not shoot up from here, motorists may see prices drop another 10-20 cents as the oil price cuts continue making their way to street level,” Lundberg said in a statement.

The average price at the pump is down 24 cents over the past month, but it's $1.66 higher than it was one year ago.

Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $6.14 per gallon. The lowest average was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at $4.19 per gallon.

According to the survey, the average price of diesel dropped 13 cents since June 24 to $5.76 a gallon.

Gas prices in much of the United States shot past the $5 a gallon mark last month before a slight drop, and Americans have responded by driving a bit less, two sets of data show. June gas sales are about 5% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels and 2.6% below a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/average-us-gasoline-price-plunges/507-c92fccad-9bfa-4d2d-a5eb-571556635fa3

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 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a divisive arch-conservative and one of his nation's most powerful and influential figures, has died after being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, hospital officials said.

Abe, 67, was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech in Nara. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was later pronounced dead despite emergency treatment that included massive blood transfusions, hospital officials said.

Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of an attack that shocked many in Japan, which is one of the world’s safest nations and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cabinet ministers hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country after the shooting, which he called “dastardly and barbaric."

Nara Medical University emergency department chief Hidetada Fukushima said Abe suffered major damage to his heart in addition to two neck wounds that damaged an artery, causing extensive bleeding. He was in a state of cardio and pulmonary arrest when he arrived at the hospital and never regained his vital signs, Fukushima said.

Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down in 2020.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/shinzo-abe-assassinated/507-7691dd2f-13f3-4705-af0c-8e1c2f1b8198

South Carolina lawmakers held a public hearing Thursday to consider banning nearly all abortions in the state, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last month to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Many speakers shared personal stories.

Aaron Cameron Popkin of Spartanburg told lawmakers he was a father of three children he called "survivors." 

“We lost three other children before they were born. All three died in my wife's body and required medical professionals to operate and save my wife’s life," said Popkin. "That procedure is not a flippant decision, it’s a live-saving procedure some legislation would ban."

"My mother was shocked and possibly disappointed when I took my first breath because I survived an abortion by induction," said one woman. 

Outside of the packed room, demonstrators from both sides chanted for and against abortion access. Many of them waited in line for hours for the opportunity to speak their mind in front of lawmakers. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/sc-house-lawmakers-first-public-testimony-total-abortion-ban/101-2a7f0040-8f39-4995-b3c4-b2c88353e1aa

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 suspect will be facing multiple charges in connection with a police chase that resembled Grand Theft Auto more than real life Wednesday afternoon. The suspect is accused of stealing multiple vehicles, crashing at least twice and carjacking someone in Ballantyne during the incident. Richard DeVayne has the latest on the investigation and what charges the unnamed suspect will face when he's released from the hospital.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper took executive action to protection abortion access in the state, but lawmakers in South Carolina are going the other way. Tradesha Woodward has an update on the house committee meeting that will see state leaders consider even tougher restrictions against abortion, which is already illegal after 6 weeks in South Carolina.

And finally, the Panthers have a new quarterback. Baker Mayfield will be coming to the Carolinas in exchange for a 2024 draft pick. He was so ready to get out of Cleveland that he gave up $3.5 million to make it happen. So what does it mean for the Panthers? Can he take the starting job from Sam Darnold or is it another move that doesn't make a splash for the organization?

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!