FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2025

Good morning! On this day in 1921, the Carroll A. Deering commercial schooner was discovered wrecked on Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras. The five-masted commercial schooner met her fate while returning from Brazil to Newport News, Virginia. She was one of the last wooden schooners built before iron shipbuilding took over.

Test your knowledge of what happened to the Carroll A. Deering crew by answering today's Trivia question, and take our poll to share whether you think Duke or UNC will win Saturday.

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Western NC Wildfire Nears Containment

A wildfire that burned 220 acres in the Crooked Creek area of McDowell County Wednesday was 55% contained as of Thursday morning, according to emergency management officials.

The fire started near the 3000 block of Bat Cave Road Wednesday after a tree fell on a power line.

There are no reported injuries or fatalities from the fire but it did damage one home and destroy multiple outbuildings. Residents were able to return home after evacuation orders were lifted at 8 a.m. Thursday.

Firefighters are also working to contain two other fires: one that had burned 60 acres above the North Fork of the Catawba River in McDowell County as of Thursday morning, and a smaller fire that was sparked along 80 Watson Place on Highway 221 North in Marion.

NC Lawmakers File Dozens of Bills

North Carolina's GOP-controlled General Assembly kicked off its 2025 legislative session Wednesday by filing dozens of bills.

Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, filed one to exempt tips and up to $2,500 in overtime pay from state income taxes, and another that would end Daylight Savings Time in North Carolina.

Rep. Erin Paré, R-Wake, filed a bill that would allow bettors to deduct wagering losses against gambling winnings, and Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort, filed a bill that would protect the right to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.

Constitutional amendment proposals included banning politically motivated gerrymandering and removing Jim Crow era literacy test requirements, even though they haven't been enforceable since the 1960s. You can look up any bill that was filed by number here.

Fort Liberty Troops Deploy to Border

Around 1,500 troops, including Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, are being deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border this week as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.

The Pentagon announced that 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in North San Diego County and a Stryker brigade with the Army's 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colorado, would also be among the units sent to the border.

Troops will spread out along the border to support enhanced detection and monitoring efforts, and to "repair and emplace" physical barriers.

View a video of the first wave of border deployments here.

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➤ Craven County: Two men have been charged with helping murder suspect John Nigh escape jail by removing ceiling grating and stuffing a mattress to make it look like Nigh was asleep in his cell. The escapee remains on the run. (More)

➤ Elizabeth City: U.S. Coast Guard members used a C-130 Hercules airplane and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to save two men who were sinking on a sailboat 103 miles east of Wilmington. (Watch Rescue)

➤ Western NC: A Hurricane Helene recovery official told a House Select Committee Wednesday that over 3,000 calls have been made to people needing homes but some "people don't want them." (More)

➤ Haywood County: A construction engineer working on a 5-mile section of I-40 near the Tennessee state line damaged by Hurricane Helene estimates that it will be spring before one lane can open. (More)

➤ Asheville: A Helene-damaged section of Swannanoa River Road between Tunnel and Fairview roads has reopened after NCDOT crews built a new road in less than 120 days. (More)

➤ Statewide: Republican Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin's most recent court filing asserts that more than 500 people who voted in the November election have never lived in North Carolina or the United States. (More)

➤ No. 2 Duke and UNC men's basketball square off for the first time this season tomorrow. UNC defeated Duke both times the teams met in 2024, while Duke swept the season series in 2023. UNC is currently 13-9 while Duke is 18-2. (More)

➤ The Charlotte Hornets struggled against the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday without LaMelo Ball. The Hornets never held a lead and fell to the Nets 104-83. (More)

➤ The Carolina Panthers are hiring former Los Angeles Rams coach AC Carter to be their new outside linebackers coach. (More)

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➤ PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines Group, will relocate its corporate headquarters from Dayton, Ohio, to Charlotte with plans to open in January 2026. (More)

➤ The Town of Cary withdrew a rezoning application from Epic Games for the Cary Town Center site after the company didn't act on plans to build its new campus there by 2024. (More)

➤ The owner of Champagne Manor, a now-closed Union County wedding venue, was arrested Tuesday and charged with multiple felonies for defrauding couples and investors of thousands of dollars. (More)

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➤ U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina endorsed FBI Director nominee Kash Patel on Thursday and then held up a "K$H Patel Bingo" card he created to keep track of Democrats' arguments against the nominee, with two boxes already marked. (Watch Video)

➤ A USAFacts map shows the dates each state entered the union, reminding us that North Carolina—one of the original 13 colonies—became the nation's 12th state on Nov. 21, 1789. (See Map)

➤ Five cold-stunned sea turtles are being cared for by veterinarians at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh until they're healthy enough to be re-released. (More)

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