The Carolina Panthers training facility project is still in limbo, and a Rock Hill, South Carolina, business owner spoke out about his concerns by writing a letter and sending it to city and county leaders.

Ryan Sanderson is the co-founder of the Knowledge Perk coffee shop. 

In his letter, he asked leaders to work together so the Panthers training facility project doesn’t leave Rock Hill. 

“I’m not just trying to look out for my business and my employees, but I’m trying to look out for my kid’s businesses down the road and my grandkid’s businesses down the road,” Sanderson explained. “And I don’t want us to set a precedent of not being able to communicate with the public and [not] collaborate with each other, and lose something as significant as this deal.”

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/business/small-business/carolina-panthers-training-facility-deal-issues-rock-hill-south-carolina-small-businesses/275-e8625fc7-b755-4ac3-b039-5241321d96f7

 The day after slapping Chris Rock on the stage of the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith issued an apology to the comedian, the academy and viewers at home, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the man I want to be.”

The fallout of Sunday's show continued Monday as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Smith's onstage assault and said it would launch an inquiry into it. Later in the day, Smith gave a stronger apology than he did in his best actor acceptance speech, which notably didn't include apologizing to Rock.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/entertainment/events/oscars/academy-condemns-will-smith-actions-launches-review/507-c1f8411a-d49a-416f-95e6-789f30767dbc

A plan years in the making could pick up some traction on Monday, March 28, from Charlotte City Council. According to Monday's agenda, in 2016, members of SouthPark's business community began discussions to create a municipal service district to "enhance the economic vitality of the area." READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/southpark-municipal-service-district-charlotte-city-council/275-d37dd484-2468-4ab8-ab3f-db927e8e34e5

Larry Sprinkle has a look at your Monday forecast, which calls for sunny skies and cool temperatures in the Carolinas, plus we have the latest update on the war in Ukraine, as military leaders fear Russia will try to split the country in half with a goal of controlling the eastern side.

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLt!

Two former Charlotte teachers filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission after claiming their attempts to buy the historic Torrence-Lytle School in Huntersville were denied while white buyers were offered lower prices. 

Tyson and Regina Bates attempted to buy the historic school, which was among the first for Black students in Charlotte, as part of an expansion of their summer camp program. The couple said they wanted to make Torrence-Lytle an affordable private school for underserved students from around the Charlotte area. 

According to the lawsuit, the Commission required them to submit multiple proposals and provide extensive financial statements, architectural plans and modified the terms of the deal to raise the price. The couple says the Commission offered lower prices to white-owned groups and didn't require significant down payments or extensive financial documents.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/racial-discrimination-lawsuit-torrence-lytle-school-huntersville-north-carolina/275-65b11077-8be4-4ba2-8b69-aeccae81b4ee

Based on pictures and videos sent to WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich and data he gathered, it looks very likely that a tornado touched down in Alexander County Wednesday night.

The damage occurred along Mount Olive Church Road around 11 p.m., just north of Ellendale. There seems to be a clear damage path as well as a few mobile homes damaged, too. Tiles were also missing from a few roofs with multiple tree limbs and branches down.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/weather/severe-weather/national-weather-service-survey-damage-alexander-county/275-cf6ea910-cb58-4b05-b22c-b885eec4b96b

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 third-graders continue to fall behind in English Language Arts despite returning to the classroom.

This was revealed at Wednesday night's school board meeting in a mid-year progress report on college and career readiness in schools in the district.

Preliminary reports show Black and Hispanic third-graders at CMS are still off track to be college and career ready based on English Language Arts scores. 

Some board members were visibly disappointed that in-person learning didn’t increase scores.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/cms-third-graders-falling-behind-despite-in-person-learning/275-8e6270db-c870-486b-8194-945af9af2456

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers the company announced Wednesday -- and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer.

Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger-dose shots cleared for older children and teens in the U.S.

The nation’s 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination. Competitor Pfizer currently offers kid-sized doses for school-age children and full-strength shots for those 12 and older.

But parents have anxiously awaited protection for younger tots, disappointed by setbacks and confusion over which shots might work and when. Pfizer is testing even smaller doses for children under 5 but had to add a third shot to its study when two didn't prove strong enough. Those results are expected by early April.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/moderna-says-low-dose-covid-shots-work-for-kids-under-6/507-b29f704a-455e-4639-8733-f29151b5a7ae

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! 

House Democrats have introduced multiple proposals aimed at sending direct payments to Americans to help cover high gas prices. The plans have some similarities to the one that sent $1,400 stimulus checks to millions last year during COVID-19.

The national daily average has been more than $4 per gallon for two weeks. It was $4.25 on Monday, down seven cents from a week ago, but still 72 cents higher than a month ago and $1.37 more expensive than the same date last year. 

AAA cited lower crude oil prices as one reason for the slight price drop at the pump since last week. It also said demand for gas is down, which is atypical for this time of year and may be a sign of people changing their driving habits.

One proposal by Reps. Mike Thompson of California, John Larson of Connecticut and Lauren Underwood of Illinois would send what they call an energy rebate of $100 per month for individuals or $200 to couples, plus $100 for each dependent, for each month the national gas price exceeds $4 per gallon. The rebate would be in effect though the end of 2022.

The payments would go to people based on their income and would follow the same guidelines as the 2021 Economic Impact Payments: Single filers earning up to $75,000 or married couples filing jointly earning up to $150,000 would be eligible.

A statement on Thompson's website did not explain how it would be paid for.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/gas-price-stimulus-checks/507-a450d9c6-1e5e-4f66-b43a-420f62ebb7db

Livingstone College will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday about changing the look of the criminal justice system with the group Reform Alliance.

The meeting, titled “Criminal Justice Reform: A Critical Conversation,” will begin at 3 p.m. at Varick Auditorium and is open to the public.

The nonprofit organization was founded by recording artist Meek Mill and Michael Rubin, a co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers. Grammy award-winner Jay Z; and Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, are also part of the organization's high-powered philanthropists.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/wake-up-charlotte/livingstone-college-national-leaders-criminal-justice-reform/275-aea9014e-44b1-4932-a102-0b1b81b9f1c4

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! 

York County leaders voted Monday night on a potential plan to save the Carolina Panthers training facility. 

In a last-minute vote, members of the York County Council agreed to bring a new financing offer for the infrastructure on the Rock Hill site. 

Earlier this month, the Panthers said construction on the new practice facility was put on pause after the city didn't pay an installment on the project.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/york-county-council-panthers-training-facility-rock-hill-site/275-7194d096-bf60-4d7f-849d-52997ece8aee

 No survivors have been found as the search continued Tuesday of the scattered wreckage of a China Eastern plane carrying 132 people that crashed a day earlier in a forested mountainous area in China's worst air disaster in a decade.

“Wreckage of the plane was found at the scene, but up until now, none of those aboard the plane with whom contact was lost have been found," state broadcaster CCTV said Tuesday morning, more than 18 hours after the crash.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/chinese-airliner-crashes/507-218ff028-d169-4814-82f9-b20adfb4fd69

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 Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin March 21, keeping the Senate on track for a possible final vote next month.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee chairman, announced the hearing schedule on Wednesday as Jackson was holding her first meetings with senators on Capitol Hill. Jackson met in the morning with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. She planned to see Durbin and the committee’s top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, in the afternoon.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/ketanji-brown-jackson-heading-to-capitol-hill/507-b7874891-f762-4470-8869-c5eec1dd5655

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) is continuing to investigate after a call caused a store to evacuate on Sunday, March 20. 

According to the CMPD Twitter account, Freedom Division officers responded to the 3200 block of Wilkinson Boulevard for an assault with a deadly weapon call. No one was hit by gunfire and a store in that block was evacuated, according to officers. Officials also said a person of interest was detained and they're not looking for anyone else. 

While officers did not identify which store was evacuated, the area does host a busy shopping center. Medic confirmed no patients were transported from the scene. Walmart's corporate office later confirmed it was the store.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/west-charlotte-store-evacuated-cmpd-call-investigation/275-337a6fb4-df2a-4c6e-9ec4-0b50f271d7a9

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! 

Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina is now entering the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitalizations and daily cases continue to drop statewide. 

"We can look forward with the belief that the worst is behind us," Cooper said. "As we look ahead, it's important to take stock of how far we've come."

Cooper praised North Carolina's response during the pandemic, all the way back to the first cases of COVID-19 in early 2020. Cooper said state leaders took action to keep the economy going and get children back in schools. 

"We came together, took strong action, protected people's health and worked to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed," Cooper said. "We focused not only on saving lives, but livelihoods."

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/roy-cooper-north-carolina-covid-response-next-phase-pandemic-omicron/275-be441f09-b9e1-4338-a694-c3d1266534ba

Drugmaker Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to authorize a fourth shot of its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose for all adults.

The request is broader than rival pharmaceutical company Pfizer's request earlier this week for the regulator to approve a booster shot for all seniors.

In a press release, the company said its request for approval for all adults was made “to provide flexibility” to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical providers to determine the “appropriate use” of a second booster dose of the mRNA vaccine, “including for those at higher risk of COVID-19 due to age or comorbidities."

U.S. officials have been laying the groundwork to deliver additional booster doses to shore up the vaccines' protection against serious disease and death from COVID-19. The White House has been sounding the alarm that it needs Congress to “urgently” approve more funding for the federal government to secure more doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, either for additional booster shots or variant-specific immunizations.

U.S. health officials currently recommend a primary series of two doses of the Moderna vaccine and a booster dose months later.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/moderna-4th-dose-covid-shot-seeks-fda-authorization/507-5440ba0b-9136-4f09-bed3-a4357e04d74e

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 average price for a gallon of gas in North Carolina hit a record high of $4.19 last week, and although prices are dropping penny by penny, drivers are paying a lot more than they were just a few weeks ago. 

At what point do the rising prices change people's behavior and driving habits?

Experts say a lot of it depends on someone’s personal situation, but some have already changed where they’re going because of the high price of gas.

Whether it's work, school or grocery shopping, it's difficult for most people to avoid getting in the car every day. With gas prices slowly coming down from a record high, when will Americans say enough is enough?

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/traffic/gas-prices/when-will-record-gas-prices-change-driver-behavior-north-carolina-south-carolina/275-8a7acdbe-03cb-4d00-a2c9-ade7cf012849

A Russian airstrike ripped apart a theater where hundreds of people have been living in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said, as Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a “self-purification” to rid his country of anyone who questions his invasion.

The bombardment Wednesday of the theater, which had become a makeshift shelter as combat tore across the port city over the past three weeks and made thousands homeless, left many people buried in the burning rubble, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement. There was no immediate word on how many people were killed or injured.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/ukraine/russia-ukraine-war-thursday/507-c81bf261-f253-4192-bb6d-712537f7cdce

The owners of Brooks' Sandwich House and Myers Park Presbyterian Church are teaming up to build more than a dozen townhomes in east Charlotte to help address the city's affordable housing crisis.

In 2018, one year before Scott Brooks was shot and killed at the beloved NoDa restaurant during an armed robbery, he and his brother David donated a 2-acre tract of land on East Lane Drive, just off W.T. Harris Boulevard, to Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region. Habitat drew plans to maximize the use of the property to build 17 affordable townhomes on a lot that would accommodate eight or fewer freestanding single-family homes. 

“It’s going to be such a boost for people-- hardworking people-- like ourselves and I think it’s going to be something that’s appreciated and I can sleep well at night knowing I’ve done my part," David Brooks said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/brooks-sandwich-house-habitat-humanity-townhomes-myers-park-presbyterian-donation/275-01b4cfdb-ff77-4acd-a385-8e6fe28574c9

The Iredell County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help to find a missing woman. 

According to a post from the Iredell County Sheriff Facebook page, Niecy Rose Moore was last seen in the area of Shinnville Road in Mooresville on Monday, March 14. 

Deputies say she is reported to have schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 

Authorities believe she is in the Gastonia area with an unknown male. Moore also reportedly took at Uber to the 1400 block of E. Franklin Boulevard in Gastonia on Monday.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/iredell-county-missing-woman-investigation/275-72924064-353b-497c-a530-74ba6d5fe24b

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!