NC Bills Reinforce ICE Crackdowns

A North Carolina Senate bill that passed on March 4 and a House bill proposed on March 5 would, if fully approved, bolster U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authority in North Carolina.

Senate Bill 153, titled the North Carolina Border Protection Act, would allow designated state law enforcement officers to be trained and deputized to perform certain ICE functions, as well as require audits of state benefits being provided to illegal migrants.

House Bill 318, titled The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act, would require local jails to hold illegal immigrants that match ICE detainers until ICE takes custody of them or the immigrants would otherwise be released, eliminating the current 48-hour limit. It also expands the list of crimes that trigger immigration status checks.

NCDOT Blames Project Delays on Inflation

NCDOT says inflation is to blame for construction cost increases that have forced multiple highway project delays.

Lane widening projects impacted by the delays include U.S. 64/U.S. 264 between Wendell Boulevard and where it splits at Zebulon (delayed until 2035), U.S. 64 in Cary and Apex (delayed until 2032), N.C. 42 west of Clayton (delayed until 2031), and I-885 between the Research Triangle Park and Highway 147 in Durham County (delayed until 2030).

A planned interchange where N.C. 751 meets U.S. 64 in Chatham County won’t begin until 2032, and phase one of a plan to turn a portion of Raleigh’s Capital Boulevard into a freeway that was supposed to start in 2026 has been delayed for five years.

Check out NCDOT’s proposed 10-year plan for more information.

Endangered Infant Born at Duke Lemur Center

Duke Lemur Center announced that 10-year-old Lupicina, a Coqueral’s sifaka lemur, gave birth to a healthy male infant named Majorian on Dec. 19.

Majorian is the third offspring of Lupicina and breeding partner Gabe. His older siblings are named Felix and Camilla.

Coqueral’s sifaka lemurs are considered critically endangered due to habitat loss from burning and deforestation on the African island of Madagascar.

Duke Lemur Center is celebrating Majorian’s birth by asking for baby shower gifts—from nut butter and beans to coconut water and paper cups. Check out the Amazon wishlist here.

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➤ Statewide: The North Carolina House seeks to require majority approval of the governor’s clemency decisions following former Gov. Roy Cooper’s removal of 15 people from death row in December. (More)

➤ Western NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins surveyed damage from the recent wildfires and Hurricane Helene, attended a wildfire operations briefing, and participated in a U.S. Forest Service roundtable last Thursday. (More)

➤ Greensboro: The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations that North Carolina A&T State University’s police department mishandled or misappropriated state property. (More)

➤ Haywood County: Cataloochee Ski Area will replace its two-person lift with a new 2,800-foot quad lift that will transport skiers and snowboarders to the mid-point and top of the Omigosh! run. Construction is scheduled to begin in May. (See Details)

➤ Durham: A traffic stop led to a 6-mile pursuit of a truck that deputies later found submerged in Falls Lake. Evidence indicates the driver, who is still missing, escaped the truck and made it to land. (See Photo)

➤ Statewide: A new poll gives former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper a four-point advantage over Republican North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, should Cooper run for Tillis’ senatorial seat in 2026. (More)

➤ UNC will face Notre Dame at 2:30 p.m. in the second round of the ACC tournament. The winner of that game moves on to face Wake Forest in the quarterfinals. (More)

➤ The Carolina Panthers have signed star safety Tre’von Moehrig to a three-year, $51 million contract. Moehrig will help strengthen a defense that was among the league’s worst in 2024. (More)

➤ No. 2 Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg was named the ACC Player of the Year on Monday. Flagg was also included on the all-ACC team with four other players from North Carolina schools. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | ACC Tournament | NCAAW | NCAAB | NCAASB | Soccer

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➤ Merck announced the opening of a $1 billion, 225,000-square-foot facility in Durham Tuesday that will be dedicated to vaccine manufacturing. (More)

➤ Duke Energy is considering building a nuclear power plant with a small modular reactor three miles behind its Stokes County steam station. Construction would begin in 2030 and the plant would be able to generate power by 2034. (More)

➤ FHI 360, a Durham-based global health and development nonprofit, is furloughing 370 employees due to the federal freeze on U.S. foreign assistance. (More)

➤ The president of L-Town Charities, a Lincoln County nonprofit, has been accused of spending over $300,000 in funds for sports betting and charged with one felony count of embezzlement. The vice president was also charged with embezzlement. (More)

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➤ Yesterday we shared former UNC football coach Mack Brown’s $6.6 million Chapel Hill mansion listing. Today you can check out his $12.75 million Figure Eight Island beach home listing. (Listing Info and Photos)

➤ Dale Earnhardt’s grandson, Wyatt Miller, made his Late Model debut Saturday at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton. (See Photos)

➤ The Worm Moon’s appearance this week coincides with a total lunar eclipse, entering Earth’s partial shadow at 11:57 p.m. EDT Thursday and full shadow Friday at 1:09 a.m. EDT. (See Details)

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Should North Carolina’s General Assembly have the power to approve the governor’s clemency decisions?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not sure

Yesterday’s Results:

Should fluoride be added to drinking water?

1. Yes: 32%
2. No: 24%
3. Only if it isn’t naturally there: 24%
4. Not sure: 20%

What university did Duke Lemur Center’s original colony of lemurs come from?

Show me the answer