Ending Saturday, September 5th, this week's top stories include a visit from the president, City Council extended its "Downtown Alive" program, how mail-in ballots will be processed and counted in this year’s election.

President Donald Trump paid his first visit to the Cape Fear region Wednesday during the 2020 election season. His agenda: to declare Wilmington the first official World War Two Heritage City. But it’s an opportune time and place for the Republican incumbent; since North Carolina is a battleground state with a slight Republican lean, it’s likely this is only the first of a series of visits from the candidates.

Covid-19 shut down North Carolina in March. A cautious re-opening plan by state officials has led to a flattening of the case count curve, but the restrictions have also stalled commerce.

Hurricane Isaias accomplished what even Covid-19 couldn’t do: delayed the start of the new academic year for students at year-round schools in New Hanover County. Traditional schools are still slated to begin August 17 th .

Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS have all run shows – some of them hit shows – created by Fracaswell Hyman . He is a writer, producer, and director of children’s television. He is also an actor who makes his home in Wilmington with his husband, their daughter, and a schnoodle.

Domestic violence incidents spiked during the early part of the pandemic shutdown around the globe.

As we watch public tolerance for Confederate monuments shift, and as we see Black Lives Matter, both the idea and the organization command center stage in a mainstream global conversation, new questions are emerging (largely for white people) about systemic racism and where and how it hides in plain sight. How is it perpetrated? How is it expressed? And why has it been invisible to so many white people for such a long time? How has white supremacy managed to adapt over time to changing cultures

The Carolina African American Writers’ Collective 25 came into being 25 years ago. The publication of the anthology All The Songs We Sing celebrates this anniversary.

Migratory birds have enjoyed federal protection since 1918 under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The law makes it illegal to capture, kill, trade, or otherwise transport wild birds without the express permission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It also holds companies or corporations accountable who cause the death of migratory birds through environmental accidents such as oil spills. But a proposed revision to the law rolls back some of these protections if entities can prove the deaths

What started in Minneapolis – protests over the murder of George Floyd in police custody – is reverberating around the world. From New Zealand to Brazil to Israel, Mexico, Turkey, Kenya, Japan, Canada – it might be simpler to list countries without protests. Hundreds of thousands of people are marching, expressing their rage over what happened to George Floyd and other people of color before him.