Local Features

In a brief filed this week in a North Carolina federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice argued that plaintiffs are trying to bypass statutory mechanisms designed to prevent "double-dipping" on disability benefits and court awards. Meanwhile, hundreds of military veterans and family members harmed by the toxic water prepare to gather on the U.S. Capitol lawn for a two-day demonstration that begins on Wednesday.

“What I find to be very heartbreaking in this day and time is that over the past three weeks, my staff has arrested four teenagers for violent crimes, shooting into residences and shooting other people, and even murder,” said Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin. “That's heartbreaking. And there's got to be a solution to this problem.”

Most people look at a nineteen-foot strip of fiberglass and wood and see a weekend hobby. Josh Kali saw the world.

The two-day demonstration in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and Thursday, is intended to pressure lawmakers to pass reform legislation that would bypass a massive government bottleneck currently stalling more than 400,000 cases.

May is Asthma Awareness Month, and recent health data shows that eastern North Carolina has the state's highest rates of pediatric asthma-related emergency room visits. While numbers have stabilized elsewhere, local emergency visits climbed significantly to nearly one percent of children.

Public comments heated up over House Bill 1038, which would eliminate Jacksonville's voting ward system and convert all council seats to at-large positions.

Odyssey for Democracy founder Clark Curtis said capturing these memories is crucial, particularly amid the current political climate. “Since when does history get a label as Critical Race Theory or whatever?” he asked, “It's part of all of our history.”

The legislation would ensure that surviving spouses of fallen servicemembers keep their survivor benefits if they remarry.

The Lejeune Justice Project is mobilizing to force federal policy to catch up with modern science. Founded by Marine spouse Lauren Merrell, the organization’s fight is born from the harrowing medical ordeal of her husband, Luis Martinez Junior. He was a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune from 1984 to 1987. The base stands as one of the worst public drinking water contamination disasters in American history.

Mike Morrill served in the United State Marine Corps for six years, from 1983 to 1989, and was stationed at Camp Lejeune for the majority of that time. He’s one of more than 400,000 people still trying to get compensation under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of the Navy after being sickened by contaminated water aboard the base.