Local search for North Carolina

1+ hour, 12+ min ago (347+ words) A North Carolina man will serve between 30 and 37.5 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to beating his 5-year-old son to death nearly two years ago. Amir Hines, 26, was arrested on New Year's Eve 2023 after Raleigh police responded to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Hospital for reports of a violent incident involving a 5-year-old boy. Medical personnel told investigators the boy's injuries were consistent with a "serious assault," and investigators determined his father was responsible. Hines, who was 24 at the time, was was reportedly "frustrated" with his son, Karter, who had autism and was nonverbal, according to The News & Observer. He was initially charged with felony child abuse causing serious injury, but the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder following the boy's death on Jan. 1. He ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder to avoid the possibility of…...

2+ hour, 29+ min ago (855+ words) For the past two Christmases, John Juka's family restaurant looked about the same as any business in Bethlehem: shuttered and eerily empty. But on Saturday evening, it bustled with families and was lit by strings of red lights, a hopeful change in the Palestinian city that's been reeling since war broke out in Gaza. Christmas celebrations are slowly returning to the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. While a shaky ceasefire holds in Gaza, Palestinians hope the festivities are a step toward a more peaceful future in a region shaken by tragedy. "It's not like it was before the war," 30-year-old Juka said. "But it's like life is coming back again." Tourism and religious pilgrims have long been a prime economic engine for Bethlehem. Around 80% of the Muslim-majority city's residents live off it, according to the local…...

2+ hour, 34+ min ago (242+ words) MILWAUKEE " Actor and singer Hugh Jackman surprised a group of high school choir students Tuesday to promote his upcoming movie "Song Sung Blue."" The Milwaukee High School of the Arts students anticipated watching a preview of the film, but Jackman walked into their classroom to a sea of shocked screams." "I couldn't even believe that it was real," one student said in a video posted by the school. "It was so cool. And I mean, we go to a public school so we don't really have stuff like that happen to us a lot." The entire thing was caught on camera, showing the choir class watching a video filmed by Jackman promising to make their "music dreams come true" before saying he had a better idea. Students began to talk among themselves with "no way" being echoed across the stands…...

5+ hour, 14+ min ago (176+ words) CHARLOTTE, N.C. " Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arrested a man on drug trafficking charges after an anonymous tip led investigators to an apartment in southwest Charlotte. The Southwest Crime Reduction Unit launched an investigation along Yancey Road near South Tryon Street following a CrimeStoppers tip that alleged a person was selling narcotics from their apartment, according to a statement from CMPD. Officers executed a search warrant at the location and seized two firearms, over $6,100 in U.S. currency, approximately 1,776 grams of suspected marijuana, more than 120 grams of suspected cocaine, 30 suspected oxycodone pills, several suspected THC vape cartridges and various drug paraphernalia, police said. Pierce Cerda, 25, was charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute a Schedule II controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana, felony possession of marijuana, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of controlled…...

6+ hour, 38+ min ago (181+ words) National parks visitors will receive free admission on President Donald Trump's birthday next year, but will have to pay a regular fee on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, after the National Park Service overhauled its free admission calendar. Admission fees have been waived on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for years, including throughout Trump's first administration. Juneteenth was added as an entrance fee-free day in 2024. The changes come as Trump has made eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts a centerpiece of his administration. Earlier this year, on Juneteenth " the oldest regular U.S. celebration of the end of slavery " the president criticized the number of "non-working holidays" in the United States, which he claimed "is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS." The calendar also removes the first day of National Park Week, the Bureau of Land Management's birthday, Great…...

6+ hour, 48+ min ago (157+ words) Motorists are encouraged to avoid this area and use alternate routes. Search location by ZIP code Crash closes East Gate City Boulevard between Bennett and Reid streets, Greensboro officers say A crash has closed the eastbound and westbound lanes of East Gate City Boulevard, according to the Greensboro Police Department. Officers said the crash is between Bennett and Reid streets. At this time, there is no word on when roads will reopen; however, motorists are encouraged to avoid this area and use alternate routes. Search location by ZIP code Crash closes East Gate City Boulevard between Bennett and Reid streets, Greensboro officers say A crash has closed the eastbound and westbound lanes of East Gate City Boulevard, according to the Greensboro Police Department. Officers said the crash is between Bennett and Reid streets. At this time, there is no word…...

7+ hour, 4+ min ago (493+ words) Barrett Brasfield, born at just 26 weeks and weighing barely a pound, spent 403 days at Children's of Alabama before he finally got to go home. His mother, Carli Brasfield, recalled the uncertainty of those early days. "Those first few days were just very unknown," she said. "We didn't really know some nights if he would make it through the night or what we were going to be looking at, but we just held on the hope that, as long as Barrett wanted to keep fighting, we would keep fighting with him." During his time in the hospital, Barrett faced numerous challenges, including early infections and sepsis, which required intubation and extensive medical treatment. Carli said, "He had unfortunately a lot of early infections and sepsis through a central line, and that kept us intubated for a really long time. He was…...

7+ hour, 34+ min ago (950+ words) It was a pain worse than childbirth, said a TikTok mom as she described bouts of uncontrollable vomiting after marijuana use. "I was crying and screaming, and I was like, 'I can't take this anymore!' I hate my life," she said. "I'm just begging God, like, please make it stop!" Dubbed "scromiting" by social media due to the combination of screaming and loud vomiting, the medical name for the condition is cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, which is on the rise in the United States. Habitual users of cannabis, including teenagers, are showing up in emergency rooms complaining of severe intestinal distress. "They are writhing, holding their stomach, complaining of really bad abdominal pain and nausea," said Dr. Sam Wang, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist and toxicologist at Children's Hospital Colorado, who treats adolescents with the condition. "They vomit and…...

8+ hour, 2+ min ago (122+ words) Top headlines from Dec. 1 - Dec. 5, 2025 Unattended candle causes $325K in damages in Charlotte house fire To stream WCNC on your phone, you need the WCNC app. Download the WCNC app Next up in 5 Example video title will go here for this video CHARLOTTE, N.C. " A house fire caused by an unattended candle left burning resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, according to the CharlotteFire Department. Shortly before 3 a.m. on Saturday, fire crews responded to a home on Sylvania Avenue, which is just off North Tryon Street. Within 45 minutes, 30 firefighters had controlled the fire. No injuries were reported, but the fire caused $325,000 in damages, according to the fire department....

8+ hour, 11+ min ago (150+ words) The northbound lane of the 1100 block of Summit Avenue is closed, according to the city of Greensboro. City officials said the closure is from Wendover Avenue to Fourth Street. Approximately one customer is without water service. City officials told WXII the closure is for repairs on a water service line. City crews said they will be on-site until repairs are completed, which is expected by 9 p.m. Signs and traffic cones are in place, and motorists are urged to use alternate routes to avoid the area. If you notice discoloration or cloudy water coming from your tap after the repairs, run cold water for a few minutes through a faucet without an aerator until clear. For water and sewer emergencies, including main breaks and sewer stoppages, or changes in the taste, odor, or color of drinking water, call Water Resources 24-hour Dispatch…...