704 Unfiltered

Legislation making it lawful to smoke marijuana or consume cannabis-infused products for medical purposes in North Carolina cleared the state Senate on Monday evening.

After no debate, the measure received bipartisan support by a vote of 36-7. The margin was similar to the outcome of an initial Senate vote last week that followed floor discussion. The bill now goes to the House, where chances for passage before this year's primary work session adjourns in a few weeks appear long. Speaker Tim Moore has said the issue may have to wait until next year.

The legislation creates a system whereby someone with one of more than a dozen “debilitating medical conditions” — cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder among them — can be prescribed cannabis by a trained physician. Users or their caregivers would have to receive a registration card from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

A new state commission would issue 10 medical cannabis supplier licenses, each of which could open up to eight sales centers. Up to five independent testing labs would be licensed to scrutinize the pot and related-products sold. It would still be awhile before sales occur under the bill given required rule-making and licensing.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/north-carolina-politics/nc-medical-marijuana-bill-house-senate-ok/275-60b786de-cd76-4782-bfce-b84fc9ccf44f

American adults who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 may soon get another choice, as advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday backed a more traditional type of shot.

Next, the FDA must decide whether to authorize the vaccine made by latecomer Novavax, a protein vaccine that's made with a more conventional technology than today's U.S. options.

Novavax shots are already used in Australia, Canada, parts of Europe and dozens of other countries. But U.S. clearance is a key hurdle for the Maryland-based company.

FDA's vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said another choice in the U.S. may entice at least some vaccine holdouts -- whatever their reason -- to consider rolling up their sleeves.

“We do have a problem with vaccine uptake that is very serious in the United States," Marks said. "Anything we can do to get people more comfortable to accept these potentially life-saving products is something that we feel we are compelled to do.”

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/fda-advisers-back-novavax-covid-19-shots/507-a2508a24-4476-4764-a52b-3465549b373a

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 husband and wife serving in the U.S. Army used their positions to obtain excess military products and either re-sell them or take them for their own private use, according to charging documents recently unsealed by federal prosecutors.

Court documents revealed Christopher and Heather Hammond, both stationed in Fort Bragg, illegally obtained Department of Defense equipment such as gun barrels, holsters, magazines, electric guitars, bayonets, gym equipment, and night vision goggles, among other things.

Prosecutors allege Christopher Hammond used his position as a Chief Warrant Officer during the years-long scheme. 

Hammond, according to charging documents, would request excess military property through his unit and then "used it for his own or others' private use and/or profit."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/national/military-news/fort-bragg-officer-major-arrested-allegedly-stealing-military-equipment/275-ab718304-6aa1-42c9-b39a-ea3d3530d07f

The state Department of Health and Human Services said families participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) can use their benefits for a wider variety of formula.

DHHS said the expansion will help families get formula available in stores when Gerber products are not available. As of Monday, 55 additional products are available to families. That's in addition to the eight options added last week for different sizes and types of Gerber products.

North Carolina contracts with Gerber to provide families standard types of infant formulas, a press release said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/life/parenting/dhhs-expands-formula-options-wic-families/275-8cc88bd7-b138-4422-9d37-c272b7331a4a

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! 

Gunmen opened fire on worshippers and detonated explosives at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday, leaving dozens feared dead, state lawmakers said.

The attackers targeted the St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state just as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, legislator Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said. Among the dead were many children, he said.

The presiding priest was abducted as well, said Adelegbe Timileyin, who represents the Owo area in Nigeria’s lower legislative chamber.

“Our hearts are heavy," Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu tweeted Sunday. “Our peace and tranquility have been attacked by the enemies of the people.”

Authorities did not immediately release an official death toll. Timileyin said at least 50 people had been killed, though others put the figure higher. Videos appearing to be from the scene of the attack showed church worshippers lying in pools of blood while people around them wailed.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said “only fiends from the nether region could have conceived and carried out such dastardly act,” according to a statement from his spokesman.

“No matter what, this country shall never give in to evil and wicked people, and darkness will never overcome light. Nigeria will eventually win,” said Buhari, who was elected after vowing to end Nigeria’s prolonged security crisis.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/nigeria-church-attack/507-bbf9dab2-302d-49ed-a2a1-a954a3b7abde

 Americans at the low end of the income rung are once again struggling to make ends meet.

A confluence of factors — the expiration of federal stimulus checks and surging inflation on staples like gas and food — are driving an even bigger wedge between the haves and have-nots.

While wealthier shoppers continue to splurge, low-income shoppers have pulled back faster than expected in the past two months. They're focusing on necessities while turning to cheaper items or less expensive stores. And they're buying only a little at a time.

It's a reversal from a year or so ago when low-income shoppers, flush with money from the government and buoyed by wage increases, were able to spend more freely.

Kisha Galvan, a 44-year-old mother of eight children from ages 9 to 27, was able to stock up on groceries for the week and buy extras like clothing and shoes at Walmart for her children last year.

But without the pandemic-related government support and inflation hovering at a near 40-year high, she is buying more canned food and depending on the local food pantry several times a week instead of once a week.

“I shop meal to meal," said the Rockford, Illinois, resident who has lived on disability for the past 15 years. "Before, we didn't have to worry about what we were going to get. We just go get it."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/soaring-inflation-divides-spending/507-db2d13b5-7f4a-4a75-bc3d-9e955258ea7f

North Carolina’s highest education department is urging school districts to opt-in to an anonymous reporting app called Say Something. 

This comes after the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. 

Say Something is a violence prevention program from the nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise. The program allows both students and adults to submit anonymous safety concerns through an app, website, or hotline.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the latest school in WCNC Charlotte's viewing area to get the Say Something App. They started training students in January.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/nc-education-leaders-school-districts-anonymous-reporting-app-say-something/275-398b5b74-b94e-49eb-be76-808e246d2236

Marijuana would be legalized for medical use in North Carolina with a physician's prescription and purchased through dozens of tightly regulated dispensaries in a measure receiving initial approval Thursday in the Senate.

The legislation, which received strong bipartisan support, could help people facing more than a dozen different “debilitating medical conditions” in which their doctor declares the health benefits of smoking or consuming cannabis outweigh the risks.

The bill's chief sponsors, however, focused on giving relief to patients with terminal illnesses that bring unbearable pain and suffering, while preventing them from having to act illegally.

“It is our duty as lawmakers to pass legislation that helps people who need our help,” said Brunswick County Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, a cancer survivor who has worked on this legislation for five years. “It is not going to make them ashamed or reluctant to seek help if it is recommended to them by their physician.”

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/north-carolina-politics/medical-marijuana-bill-advances-north-carolina-politics-state-news/275-6c7aa57f-16bc-4a50-b5af-6c0f59058316

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! 

Four people were killed Wednesday in a shooting at a Tulsa medical building on a hospital campus, police said. 

Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish confirmed the number of dead and said the shooter also was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

It was unclear what prompted the deadly assault. However, the unidentified gunman carried both a handgun and a rifle during the attack, Dalgleish said.

“Officers are currently going through every room in the building checking for additional threats,” police said in a Facebook post just before 6 p.m. “We know there are multiple injuries, and potentially multiple casualties.”

Police responded to the call three minutes after dispatchers received the report and made contact with the gunman one minute later, Dalgleish said.

Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg also said multiple people were wounded and that the medical complex was a “catastrophic scene.”

Police and hospital officials said they were not ready to identify the dead.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/multiple-people-shot-at-medical-building-in-tulsa/507-4fab7980-9a07-4941-88c5-8d2fba60d94f

Up to 200 people could be forced to find a new place to live as a west Charlotte motel is slated to close by the end of the month.

During Tuesday evening's City Council meeting, Mayor Vi Lyles noted she received a letter dated May 26 alerting her to the closure of Southern Comfort Inn. The extended-stay motel is set to shut down on June 30 according to Lyles, and it has provided low-price rent for residents there.

Lyles said the city government is making outreach to see what can be done. WCNC Charlotte has reached out to the City of Charlotte for more information.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/markets/real-estate/affordable-housing-crisis/charlotte-extended-stay-motel-closing-local-life/275-b0e5fd63-9f84-4981-a6a9-2459bbcab72e

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 City Council has voted to pass the $3.24 billion 2023 fiscal year budget, which will mean no tax increase for residents and a boost in pay to city employees.

While citizens won't see a bump on their taxes, there will be changes to parking in South End and uptown. Chiefly, hourly parking rates in both areas will go up by 50 cents, and drivers will now need to pay to park on Saturdays.

Along with those items, the budget also includes money to electrify city vehicles.

The city government's Twitter account noted the council voted unanimously to adopt the budget, and said the budget also would not lay off or furlough employees.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/wake-up-charlotte/charlotte-city-council-meeting-budget-eastland-mall-projects/275-96dc067c-560d-44e1-8490-0bf0bce8e596

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has finally confirmed clear backpacks will not go to high school students this school year, with only one week left in the school year.

This comes after months of silence on the backpacks -- which cost the district nearly $500,000 -- didn’t go out as planned in March.  

The backpacks were supposed to be one of many tools to curb violence in CMS schools. 

When the plan to deploy clear backpacks in CMS high schools was first announced, the community backlash was swift.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-clear-backpacks-not-distributed-school-year/275-8580dc74-bcaa-403c-b329-c17db3d900ec

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! 

Two people, including a 4-month-old baby, were killed in a shooting in Monroe late Sunday night, police said. 

Monroe police were called to a reported shooting at a home on Morrow Avenue, near the intersection with South Church Street, around 10:30 p.m. When officers arrived, they found both victims dead at the home. 

The victims were identified as 25-year-old Darion McClendon and Da'mari McClendon. 

"This is a difficult time for our community and our officers in the face of this senseless act of violence," Chief Bryan Gilliard said. "We are committed to bringing the perpetrator of this crime to justice."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/monroe-double-homicide-shooting-investigation/275-c0a4d437-1dfb-421d-a1f5-654d2078f7aa

Health officials in South Carolina have completed their monitoring of two people who were exposed to a person confirmed to have monkeypox during a flight. 

The infected person lives in the United Kingdom. Both South Carolina residents have been cleared and the state still has no confirmed cases of the virus so far. To date, the World Health Organization has identified around 250 confirmed or suspected cases of the rare disease in at least 16 countries. A handful of those cases have been in the United States. 

Dr. Katie Passaretti, an infectious disease expert with Atrium Health, said it wouldn't be surprising if cases pop up in the Charlotte area, but it's unlikely there will be significant monkeypox spread in the region.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/monkeypox-spread-coronavirus-covid-19-doctors-say-no/275-f13b792c-d6b8-448d-a018-17b1ecf9fbe3

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 group of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools seniors is trying to undo what they say is a senior prank gone wrong. 

CMS officials confirmed students vandalized the Myers Park High School campus earlier this week and the students responsible were disciplined according to the code of conduct.

It was all in good fun, rumors of a senior prank swirling around the Myers Park campus.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/myers-park-students-raising-money-undo-senior-prank-gone-wrong/275-de0fb24f-acdf-4bd8-9445-dc5db521f9e1

The wreckage of a plane carrying 22 people that disappeared in Nepal's mountains was found Monday scattered on a mountainside, the army said. There was no word on survivors.

The Tara Air turboprop Twin Otter was on a 20-minute flight Sunday when it the lost contact with the airport tower while flying in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops just before it was scheduled to land.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/nepal-plane-wreckage/507-b4beb223-f983-4a1a-9276-b4992096cfc4

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 Carolina Panthers paused work on its planned $800 million training facility in Rock Hill the day before South Carolina Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey, local leaders and the team's chief operating officer were scheduled to tour the site, newly obtained state records show.

Department of Commerce emails and text messages obtained by WCNC Charlotte through a public records request suggest state economic development officials were blindsided by the Panthers' March 7 decision to bring the project to a standstill. In fact, at the city of Rock Hill's request, Lightsey had planned to spend time at the site on the morning of March 8.

"Lordy Lordy!" Deputy Secretary of Commerce Ashely Teasdel wrote in an email reply on the evening of March 7 about the canceled tour.

Text messages reveal Gov. Henry McMaster spoke with Panthers Owner David Tepper in mid-April, six days before Tepper's GT Real Estate Holdings terminated its agreements with Rock Hill.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/south-carolina-commerce-officials-blindsided-carolina-panthers-training-camp-rock-hill-construction-stopped/275-130b0383-8ccf-407e-892d-beb13d6e5642

A new pandemic program offering financial help to homeowners is delivering an average of $13,500 to families in need, but four months in, those dollars are taking longer than expected to arrive.

The NC Homeowner Assistance Fund has approved roughly 1,800 applications since opening the program on Jan. 31, but more than 8,600 applications remained pending as of May 20, according to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

The agency, tasked with managing the $273 million federally-funded program, reports an average payment turnaround of 74 days, which is higher than the goal of no more than 56 days.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/homeowner-pandemic-program-money-charlotte-nc/275-0f50cc20-eb5e-4384-a835-e8eb5b38b4a2

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! 

On Wednesday, the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners heard public feedback from the community on its upcoming budget. The board, which was not allowed to engage with any of the comments made about the budget, heard over 40 people provide feedback on the budget proposal.

Some of the speakers were parents, concerned over staffing and resources for their children -- especially in light of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

"It was terrifying to send them to school today," Kate Murphy, a mother of three CMS students, said. "One thing you can do is fully fund CMS next year. I know you want the same thing. We want excellent education. Underfunding will not get us there."

WCNC Charlotte reached out to Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio after the deadly Texas shooting to ask if more money be allocated for officers in schools. Diorio said hiring officers is not the county's job but it's up to the Charlotte Police Department.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-advocates-petition-mecklenburg-county-funding/275-053a8237-80dc-421b-b54e-d9394eddc2f9

An EF0 tornado with wind speeds up to 75 mph touched down near Great Falls in Chester County, South Carolina, on Monday, the National Weather Service confirmed. 

The tornado touched down near Dewitt Road west of Great Falls during Monday's severe weather outbreak in the Carolinas. The storm moved northeast for about half a mile, causing damage to trees and uplifting some before lifting northeast of Dewitt Road. 

This is the second confirmed tornado in the Charlotte area on Monday. National Weather Service crews also confirmed a tornado touched down near Reedy Creek, along the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus county line.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/weather/severe-weather/tornado-confirmed-chester-county-south-carolina-may-23/275-755c6f53-030e-4058-b1fa-4932ad919841

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!