It's 5.06 and welcome into a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. We are keeping our eyes once again this morning on the tropics, tracking Aaron as it continues to move ever closer to the continental United States, particularly the East Coast. As of the 5 a.m.
Advisory, just down minutes ago from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, Aaron does continue to weaken this morning. It is now a low-grade category 2 storm with its maximum sustained winds around 100 miles per hour. Pressure sitting at 954 millibars, moving north-northwest at 13 miles an hour. The latest on the storm, and as we stand here this morning, it sits about 500 or so miles. From Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is expected to continue northward, bringing the worst of the weather and the worst of the impacts to North Carolina's outer banks area as we get into the latter parts of today, Wednesday, and through tomorrow before continuing to make its transition east and moving away from the North Carolina coast and really the coast of the entire country.
What makes this storm interesting is it is expected to strengthen as we get through the day tomorrow. The storm is estimated to be somewhat near 500 miles wide, meaning that its impacts could span very far from the center of the storm. Earlier this week, we covered multiple areas across North Carolina that do have emergency orders in effect. Local states of emergencies declared for Dare and Hyde counties in the Outer Banks with mandatory evacuations in place in place for places like Okra Coke and Hatteras. Island.
We're learning details this morning that Governor Josh Stein has declared a state of emergency as the Tar Hills State prepares for some limited impacts from Hurricane Aaron. The governor will be holding a press conference at 10:15 this morning where he will brief media and provide updates on the status of the storm and emergency efforts across the state. The governor said in a press release yesterday: Hurricane Aaron will bring threats of coastal flooding, beach erosion, and dangerous surf conditions. North Carolinians along the coast should get prepared now, ensure their emergency kits are ready, and listen to local emergency guidelines and alerts in the event that they need to evacuate. North Carolinians who have evacuated the Outer Banks area can find one shelter operating.
The state-operated disaster shelter is operating in Warren County and is being hosted by the Warren County Emergency Management Group. Pets are allowed at that shelter as the storm is expected to increase in size and strength during the next 48 hours, causing extensive beach erosion. Waves could be anywhere between 15 and 25 feet. Coastal flooding could impact some roads. We've been talking about North Carolina Highway 12 throughout the week that runs through the Outer Banks.
Some video I saw yesterday shows that even some of the high tides are already causing the road to be taken over by water. That is why those emergency orders were put into effect and evacuations took place on Monday and Tuesday. In terms of the Impact across the rest of the country. The National Hurricane Center makes it immediately clear right on their homepage, noting that beachgoers are cautioned against swimming at the most United States East Coast beaches due to life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. And that is exactly what we have seen.
A no-swim advisory has been put in place for Wrightsville Beach. That's just outside the Wilmington area after more than 70 water rescues on Monday as the storm does continue to churn in the eastern Atlantic. We will continue to track those details, and we'll be covering Josh Stein's emergency press conference, his state of emergency. We'll have those details a little bit later on today over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and we'll have any relevant information from the governor coming up for you tomorrow morning, right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Turning our attention to another statewide story this morning that did get some pretty big national news yesterday.
Up to four firefighters have been injured after a gas leak and massive building explosion in Midtown Wilmington yesterday morning. In a statement, the Wilmington Police Department noted that a vehicle struck a building's gas line on New Center Drive in Wilmington. The driver of that car fled the scene. The suspected hit-and-run driver was then taken into custody, with authorities believing that impairment was the factor. And overnight, we are learning details about that individual.
46-year-old Jason Lee Beach of Wilmington has been charged with a felony DWI causing serious injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, hit-and-run leaving the scene, reckless driving, and failure to maintain a lane. He is currently being held under a $100,000 bond at the new Hanover County Detention Center. With this, after the gas leak took place, the building later exploded. Fortunately, it was under construction and not currently occupied, but it was set to open in less than a couple of weeks as the new home of the Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center. That was scheduled to open within the first couple of weeks of September.
According to the Medical Center's Facebook page, they noted that all staff and construction workers were safely accounted for and no pets were inside at the time of the explosion. The video, which if you haven't seen it and some pictures of that, we've got those linked over on our story on our website this morning, caused debris from the building to rain down on nearby businesses, forcing some of them to suspend operations and evacuate staff and customers due to the falling debris. Rebecca Thurston with the Wilmington Fire Department confirmed that originally three firefighters were injured as a result of the explosion. That number has now ticked up to four, three of them dealing with minor injuries.
However, one of those firefighters dealing with some very severe burns being rushed to the Chapel Hill Burn Center throughout the day yesterday for burns on the firefighters' hands and arms. This was a very active situation that had a major road in Wilmington closed for a couple of hours, or more than a couple of hours, I should say, probably a little over six or seven hours throughout the day yesterday. The Wilmington Police Department, noting that it was a very active situation, emergency crews were clearing out the building while the gas leak was taking place as they were trying to do their best job as first responders to try and secure the scene. It was during that process in which something sparked the gas leak, causing that massive building explosion, causing debris to shoot up seemingly hundreds of feet into the air. Then that out-of-control fire burned, and from all accounts and all videos and pictures that have been made available, that building appears to be a complete and total loss this morning, with extensive damage seen throughout the entirety of the building.
A pretty wild situation did make some pretty big national news throughout the day. Yesterday, again, one firefighter is at the Chapel Hill Burn Center this morning. Three others have been released from New Hanover's Novant Health Regional Medical Center with those minor burns. We will continue. Continue to track any additional details on this story, potentially what caused the ignition of that gas leak, and more information about the individual who is now in custody this morning, charged with this and has been arrested and booked under causing this situation to unfold.
We've got a story this morning, including again some pretty wild pictures over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. The headline story: firefighters injured after a building explosion in Wilmington. You can read that and view those pictures at CarolinaJournal.com. Lowe's knows to bring your vision to life, it's important to find the right color. That's why Milo's Rewards members get a free Valspar paint or exterior stain sample to test your look, to confidently refresh your space.
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Details at Lowe's.com slash terms. Subject to change. It's 5:21. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Don't forget, if you miss any portion of our show or want to listen back to any of our interviews or topics, you can check out the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast.
It's available in Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your shows. Search for the Carolina Journal News Hour, tap the subscribe or follow button, and you'll get a new program delivered each and every weekday morning. You can also watch the show and watch it after the fact, live and on demand, by visiting our Carolina Journal YouTube channel. In some other statewide news this morning, the United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Apex Police Department, that's a municipality in Wake County, were working earlier this week on a search for a criminal illegal alien wanted on multiple sex offense warrants after he was able to escape from police. Law enforcement.
Law enforcement says that 27-year-old Jonathan Escobedo Ramirez ran away from officers in the area of Lufkin Road and East William Street on Monday morning. Reports say that DHS had warrants for Ramirez, who was convicted of sexual battery against a 14-year-old in May of 2018. A couple of months later, he was deported. That was July of twenty eighteen.
However, he later illegally re entered the United States. He is also wanted for illegal reentry after deportation and failure to register as a sex offender, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The search which took place on Monday included police drones and canines in a wooded area and was called off several hours later. Ramirez is described as a Hispanic adult male about five feet tall who was last seen wearing a yellow neon shirt. Apex police said in a Facebook post that people in the area should continue to, quote, be on the lookout for this wanted fugitive and call 911 immediately if they see him.
Illegal immigration has been an important issue for elected leaders across the political spectrum, both nationwide and here in North Carolina. Over the last couple of years, the General Assembly recently overrode one of Democrat Governor Josh Stein's vetoes involving an immigration bill. While the other one is calendar to be voted on, that could happen over the next couple of weeks. Senate Bill 153, the North Carolina Border Protection Act, mandates broad cooperation between state agencies and federal immigration authorities. That piece of legislation.
Seeks to curb sanctuary city policies across the state as well. Beyond law enforcement, Senate Bill 153 instructs state agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Division of Employment Security to review public benefits distributed to unauthorized immigrants and ensure that those benefits are curtailed where prohibited by law. The bill also includes a provision to waive local government immunity for jurisdictions that are deemed sanctuary cities or counties, allowing private citizens to sue them, meaning the city or county or municipality, to sue them if they suffer harm as a result of illegal immigrant activity. Additionally, it bars the entire UNC system and their campuses from adopting policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Governor Josh Stein said in June, quote, at a time when our law enforcement is already stretched thin, this bill takes state law enforcement officers away from their existing state duties and forces them to act as federal immigration agents.
Furthermore, under current law, people without lawful immigration status are already prevented from receiving Medicaid, SNAP, Section 8 housing, and other benefits. The Senate overrode that veto back on July the 29th, and the House is expected to try and override the veto coming up here in less than a week on August the 26th when the General Assembly is back in session. Another piece of legislation dealing with the hot button topic of illegal immigration is House Bill 318. That's the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act. That legislation compels law enforcement agencies to honor detainer requests from U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. When an undocumented individual is arrested and an ICE issues a detainer, local officials must hold the person for up to 48 hours to allow for federal authorities to exchange and rather hold a federal pickup. The legislation prohibits local governments from adopting sanctuary policies and introduces penalties, including loss of state funding for non-compliance. Additionally, it requires jail administrators to notify ICE when they reasonably believe that someone is in custody who is unlawfully present in the United States, even if a detainer has not yet been issued. Governor Josh Stein said while he vetoed House Bill 318 because he believes it's unconstitutional, he in fact does support the bill's efforts to require sheriffs to contact federal immigration authorities about people in their custody charged with things like sexual battery, armed robbery, arson, assault on public officials, and court personnel, alongside other dangerous crimes.
With the governor noting, people who commit these crimes should be held accountable whether or not they are here without legal authorization. And those charged with serious offenses ought to receive increased scrutiny from federal immigration officials.
However, the governor says his oath of office requires that he upholds the Constitution of the United States. With the governor saying, Therefore, I cannot sign this bill because it would require sheriffs to unconstitutionally detain people for up to 48 hours after they would have been otherwise released. The Fourth Circuit is clear that local law enforcement officers cannot keep people in custody solely based on suspected immigration violations. But let me be clear. Anyone who commits a serious crime in North Carolina must be prosecuted and held accountable regardless of their immigration status.
The governor releasing that nice press release saying that he is, in fact, in favor of the legislation, but for whatever reason he couldn't sign it into law.
Well, the General Assembly did the governor's work for him. They did deal with the override of that back on July the 29th, with both Democrats and Republicans dealing with this in both the North Carolina Senate and House. It did, in fact, become law and is currently law now, regardless of the governor's veto. We've got some details on both of these pieces of legislation: House Bill 318, as well as Senate Bill 153, and this very interesting story unfolding in Apex, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, earlier this week. All of that available on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com.
If you'd like to read some more, the headline story: criminal illegal aliens still at large after search called off in Apex. You can read those additional details over at CarolinaJournal.com. It's 536. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. As we continue to track tariffs and their impacts, not only across the United States, but here in North Carolina, we focus this morning on countries like Mexico.
And while Mexico was not included in the August the 7th tariffs, President Donald Trump did impose a 25% tariff on Mexico back on March the 4th. Last year in twenty twenty four, Mexico emerged as a top export destination for U. S. agricultural products with sales exceeding more than thirty billion dollars and supporting an estimated one hundred ninety thousand American jobs. That's according to a press release from USDA.
Agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico under the USMCA, that's the United States Mexico Canada agreement, totaled nearly seventy nine billion dollars last year as continuing a steady growing trend over the past decade. Between 2014 and 2024, agricultural imports from Mexico to North Carolina rose sharply, climbing from $45.5 million to more than $100 million in that 10-year time span, an increase of approximately 122%, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In 2024, the top three agricultural imports from Mexico were cigars and cigarettes made with tobacco or substitutes, edible vegetables, and certain roots, as well as prepared cereals, flours, starches, or milk products, including baked goods. During that same time period, agricultural exports from North Carolina to Mexico remained relatively flat from $224 million in 2014 to $241 million in 2024, a rise of just Just 8% over that same 10-year time span. Again, that data coming from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
According to Joseph Harris with the John Locke Foundation, the leading agricultural exports to Mexico in 2024 included miscellaneous edible preparations, a broad category that covers items such as condiments, soups, protein powders, and processed foods, along with unmanufactured tobacco as well as manufactured tobacco products and related tobacco goods. According to Harris, yet despite imports growing much faster than exports, exports are still more than double the value of imports, driven mainly by miscellaneous preparation items, unmanufactured tobacco and processed tobacco products. One exception to Trump's 25% tariff on Mexico is a material commonly used in fertilizer, which was given a lower rate of just 10%. Joseph Harris noted three. Through May 2025, agricultural imports from Mexico totaled $76.6 million, more than double the $35.8 million recorded in May of 2024.
him with him saying much of this year to date surge likely reflects importers front loading orders in anticipation of those tariffs taking effect. According to the USDA, the growth of U.S. exports to Mexico is driven by several key factors, including increasingly disposable income among Mexico's upper-middle class, widespread recognition of U.S. brands and food trends, and robust demand for premium agricultural products. Steve Troxler, the commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, told the Carolina Journal, quote, Mexico is a long-valued trading partner with the United States, and I don't see that changing.
We've got details not only on the back-and-forth trade between the United States and Mexico, but all of the other tariff discussions, including the August 7th tariffs that went into effect back a few weeks ago, and some of the other impacts on North Carolina's various industries. I'll note agriculture does continue to be the largest of those industries in the state of North Carolina. You can read this story and all of our other tariff coverage. On our website this morning at CarolinaJournal.com, where it's now 541, News Talk 1110-993, WBT. A little over a month ago, the North Carolina State Board of Elections officially kicked off a project to fix the registration for more than 100,000 voters across the state of North Carolina.
That project known as the Registration Repair Project. To get an update about a month or so after that launched, Teresa Opaika, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Teresa, some pretty big numbers. We've been tracking this for quite some time here on the program. What are we learning this morning from the state board?
Sure. Good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me.
So, yep, the kickoff was a little over a month ago, and they have made some significant progress at the State Board of Elections.
So, more than 20,000 voter registration records for people in North Carolina have been fixed under their registration repair project. But now, elections officials are still milling out the remaining 82,540 individuals who records still need updating.
So, as you mentioned, the state election board on July 17th started that major initiative with the project to collect the missing ID numbers from roughly a little over 103,000 registered voters who records lacked either the Social Security number or a driver's license number, actually, the last four of the social.
So, the project was to bring the state's voter rolls into compliance with both federal and state laws. Also, recent court rules. And an ongoing lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice. And the board unanimously approved a three part plan at their june twenty fourth meeting.
So that's how this came into fruition.
So it seems like they've been making some really good progress, but they still have a little ways to go. Yeah, and Teresa, you kind of mentioned there some of the backstory. There are a lot of different moving parts, this ongoing lawsuit, random voter complaints across the state of North Carolina. There's been some relatively high levels of scrutiny on the state board of elections, specifically dealing with this issue over the last couple of years, as you're reporting this morning.
Some good work in getting more than 20,000 voter registration records dealt with, but still over 82,000 remaining. What does this process look like for those that might have this issue? Again, no fault of their own. This is due to some faulty forms from the State Board of Elections. What do some of these processes look like to get this information corrected?
Sure. So, what they're encouraging them to do is either respond by mail online or in person. And they also said the election officials also noted if a voter receives a letter but they already have their registration repaired, they don't need to take any additional action. But in future elections, as you mentioned, in-person voters who still have not provided that required information to update their registration, they're going to have to vote with a provisional ballot and provide information, either the driver's license number or the last four numbers of their social security number when they vote. And what the state board's doing is creating a flag to appear on these voters' records in the electronic or paper poll books used at voting sites.
That's to alert poll workers that these voters must vote provisionally and provide that missing information in order for their ballots to count. And of course, county boards of elections will train poll workers accordingly.
So they all ha they have everything set up, so everything should be Hopefully foolproof. Yeah, and you talk about those three different ways in which that identification information, whether it's a full driver's license number or the last four of your social security number, can be provided. Teresa, I would imagine the way that most folks have dealt with this so far is actually through a portal that many people already use, which is actually the Department of Motor Vehicle, the DOT and DMV's service that they use to pay their yearly property taxes on their vehicles. That information can be updated for free right there. Correct.
Yeah.
So anybody who's got a North Carolina driver's license or DMV ID card, in case you don't drive, they still have the ID cards for you. They could submit an updated voter registration form through the DMV's website. They can go to payments.ncdot.gov, and there is no fee for the service, as you mentioned, and they can just click yes when asked to update their voter information.
So very simple and an easy way to update that information.
Some folks might be wondering this morning, maybe their name is on this list of over 82,000 voters. Teresa, we've got a link over on our website where they can actually go punch in their name and see if they're one of these affected voters. Is that correct? Yes, that is correct. If you go to the article, it does have the registration repair search tool.
So you can click on that, that's highlighted in the article. That link will take you directly to that list to see if you are on that list, and that list is updated daily. Absolutely. You can do that by visiting our website, CarolinaJournal.com. The headline story: State Election Board corrects over 20,000 records, seeks more ID numbers.
We appreciate the information, the update and the time this morning. From Teresa Opeca, you're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Good morning again. It's 5:52. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT, keeping our eye this morning on the Atlantic.
As Hurricane Aaron continues to churn as it makes its approach and splits the gap between the United States and Bermuda, as of the 5 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Aaron does remain as a category 2 storm with 100 mile an hour maximum sustained winds pressure, 954 millibars moving north-northwest at 13 miles an hour. While no immediate direct impacts from the storm are going to be felt across North Carolina as it is not going to be landfalling, there will be some effects from the storm. As it continues to grow, it is expected to be somewhere near 500 miles wide this morning, causing some potential impacts across the outer banks area of our state. As of this morning, the National Hurricane Center does have some advisories up for that area.
Looking at the map from them this morning, the Outer Banks is under a tropical storm warning with a state of emergency already declared in multiple municipalities, both Dare and Hyde counties. Yesterday, Democrat Governor Josh Stein declared a state of emergency as North Carolina prepares for impacts from Aaron. That state of emergency allows the mobilization of resources and personnel to assist along the coast. Coming up at 10:15 this morning, Governor Stein will hold a media briefing and provide additional updates on the state of emergency. The governor said yesterday, quote, Hurricane Aaron will bring threats of coastal flooding, beach erosion, and dangerous surf conditions.
North Carolinians along the coast should get prepared now, ensure their emergency kits are ready, and listen to local emergency guidelines and alerts in the event that they need to evacuate. Evacuate. Orders already in place for some areas in the outer banks as those local states of emergencies have been in effect since Sunday, and those evacuations do continue as the storm will begin its direct impacts in terms of high surf and potentially some wind and rain in the outer banks throughout the day today and into tomorrow. We'll be tracking the governor's press conference this morning. We'll have coverage on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and we'll provide any updated information and pertinent details tomorrow morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
In some other statewide news this morning making national attention, four firefighters were injured after a gas leak and building explosion in Midtown Wilmington yesterday afternoon. Wilmington police say that a vehicle struck a building's gas line on New Center Drive and fled the scene. The suspected hit-and-run driver was then taken into custody with authorities believing that impairment was an important factor. That individual, 46-year-old Jason Beach of Wilmington, has now been charged with DWI, a felony serious injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, hit-and-run leaving the scene, as well as reckless driving and failure to maintain lanes. With that gas leak taking place, first responders including Members of the Wilmington Fire Department got on the scene to try and secure it.
Then that's when the explosion happened. That explosion caused debris to rain down on nearby businesses and buildings, forcing some to suspend operations and evacuate staff. Rebecca Thurston with the Wilmington Fire Department confirmed four firefighters were injured as a result of the explosion. She said during a news conference yesterday: We were out here investigating, doing a primary search of the building to make sure that everyone was out, and that's when there was an explosion. Those firefighters were injured during that explosion and evacuation.
They have since been taken to the hospital, three with non-life-threatening injuries, one with severe injuries to their hands and arms. That firefighter was rushed to the Chapel Hill Burn Center yesterday due to some of those severe burns. The building was set to open in just a couple of weeks, set to be the new. Home of Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center scheduled to open in the early parts of September. It was about a four-year construction project, all up in flames this morning as that gas leak and building explosion completely destroyed that building.
All early reports indicate it is a complete and total loss. Fortunately, all staff of the veterinary clinic and the construction workers that were putting the finishing touches on that building were safely accounted for, and there were no pets inside at the time of the explosion. We've got some pretty unbelievable pictures of that this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That story's headline is Firefighters Injured After a Building Explosion in Wilmington.
Well, that's going to do it for a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3, WBT.
