Friday, March 7, 2025

FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2025

Good morning! On this day in 1887, the North Carolina General Assembly established the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts under the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Act. Three name changes later, in 1965, the university became known as North Carolina State University at Raleigh—with “at Raleigh” typically being dropped.

Speaking of NC State, the women’s basketball team is the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament and plays Georgia Tech today at 1:30 p.m. Are you keeping up with the women’s tournament? Let us know by answering today’s poll.

We’re sponsored today by New Sapience, offering an investment opportunity in AI technology.

MS-13 Gang Member Arrested

Authorities arrested Josue Zepeda-Padilla, a high-ranking member of the MS-13 gang wanted for a gang assault and kidnapping of a 15-year-old in New York, at a Winston-Salem home Wednesday morning.

Zepeda-Padilla, a previously deported illegal migrant, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Winston-Salem Police, and two U.S. Marshal branches. One of seven gang members indicted for the assault and kidnapping crimes, Padilla has eluded law enforcement officials for over a year.

Catrina Thompson, a U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of North Carolina, said Zepeda-Padilla had been traveling between various cities in North Carolina. When law enforcement arrived at the home he was staying in, Zepeda-Padilla attempted to escape through the attic but fell through the ceiling of a connected home.

NC Assesses Storm Damage

North Carolinians are assessing damage from Wednesday’s severe weather, which included an EF1 tornado that touched down in Union County at 90 mph for about three minutes and spanned over 2 miles.

The twister destroyed two sheds, tossing wood from the sheds into the air and launching tin from the roofs into trees more than a football field away. It also sliced through the roof of a nearby house that was under construction.

Waist-high flooding impacted I-40 in Johnston County near Exit 319, and in Raleigh, limbs and branches crushed a tool shed and knocked down fencing.

Power outages impacted as many as 20,000 North Carolina customers Wednesday, but that number was down to around 5,000 as of Thursday afternoon.

NASCAR Sues 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports

NASCAR is suing two North Carolina-based racing teams for operating as an “illegal cartel.”

The suit targets 23XI Racing, owned by basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Curtis Polk; and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins and Brad Jenkins. Both companies compete in the NASCAR Cup Series.

NASCAR claims the teams agreed to pressure NASCAR to “accept their collusive terms” and that Polk allegedly represented “all teams in negotiations, coordinating their conduct, and threatening teams that considered leaving the conspiracy.”

The countersuit follows 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ October 2024 antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France for “anti-competitive practices and monopolistic control of the sport.”

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➤ Statewide: The North Carolina Senate voted along party lines on Wednesday to ban Attorney General Jeff Jackson from suing President Trump over any executive orders. Democrats protested by forcing the Senate to vote on the issue again next week. (More)

➤ Western NC: The Senate also expedited a bill to provide $533 million in additional spending for hurricane relief efforts. Of that, $217 million will go to victims of Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018) to complete lingering home construction projects. (More)

➤ Central NC: Authorities are warning against scammers impersonating U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents via phone scams and phishing attempts. (See Details)

➤ Union County: A 15-year-old Cuthbertson High School female student is in custody after sending violent messages to students at Cuthbertson, Sun Valley, Weddington, and Parkwood high schools. (More)

➤ Rockingham County: The remains of Korean War veteran Sergeant David E. Hardy were identified four years ago and have been returned to his hometown. Hardy, a prisoner of war, will be laid to rest in Eden beside his parents and brother, who was killed in World War II. (More)

➤ Rowan County: Deputies arrested five people after witnessing a drug deal and obtaining a warrant to search a home where they found psilocybin mushrooms, wax marijuana, meth, drug paraphernalia, and a moonshine still. (More)

➤ Cumberland County’s Board of Commissioners halted work on the new Crown Event Center for 30 days to conduct a third-party review to make sure the $145 million appropriated for its construction is being “properly used.” (More)

➤ UNC women’s basketball defeated Boston College 78-71 yesterday in the second round of the ACC women’s tournament. UNC advances to face Florida State today at 11 a.m., while NC State and Duke begin their tournament play at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., respectively. (More)

➤ Duke men’s basketball assistant coach Jai Lucas has announced he is leaving the program and will not coach during the postseason after being hired as Miami’s next head coach. (More)

➤ The Charlotte Hornets lost their eighth straight game on Wednesday night, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-110. It’s the seventh time in that span they’ve lost by double-digits. (More)

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➤ Amazon announced it will open a new robotics fulfillment center in Wilmington with a groundbreaking event scheduled for March 12. (More)

➤ UPS will lay off 99 employees from its W. Point Drive location in Charlotte as part of efforts to optimize its network and improve efficiency. (More)

➤ Durham-based Chimerix announced it will be acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $8.55 per share in cash, or $935 million, prompting shares to soar by more than 69% on Wednesday. (More)

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➤ Dare County’s Seed Libraries program, which is free and open to the public, is fully stocked with seeds donated by Lowes Home Improvement, Sow True Seed, Burpee Seeds, and the Seed Savers Exchange. (More)

➤ Roxy, a 4-year-old emotional support Doberman Pinscher, was cleared to attend work with a Garner Amazon fulfillment center employee who has a heart condition. (Watch Video)

➤ A Japanese-style farmhouse set on 18 acres in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains offers 800 feet of Tuckasegee River frontage—including a waterfall—and can be yours for $3.1 million. (See Photos)

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