Member Week is here at Lowe's. That means it's time for Milo's Rewards members to save big with up to 40% off hundreds of items like appliances, tools, home essentials, and more. Plus, get free standard shipping. Shop these exclusive member-only savings now through October 15th. Not a rewards member?
Join for free today. Free standard shipping not available in Alaska and Hawaii. Exclusions and more terms apply. Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Details on lows.com/slash terms.
Subject to change. It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Stock 1110-993 WBT. My name is Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Well, day 15 now of the government shutdown in Washington, D.C., as federal paychecks are set to go out to federal workers today. This would be the second pay period of the month. As the last one was on October the 1st. And according to House Speaker Mike Johnson in a news conference yesterday, he says there's nothing for him to negotiate, and we will watch what unfolds in Capitol Hill today.
However, despite the federal government shutdown, the Senate passed its version of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, known as the NDAA, last week, which includes funding for North Carolina military installations. It now clears the way for the House and Senate Armed Services Committee to negotiate a compromise bill and send it back to both chambers for a vote before it would go to President Donald Trump's desk for a signature. In addition to increasing funding for North Carolina's military installations, the bill includes numerous provisions to improve readiness and quality of life for troops protecting the United States and strengthening alliances abroad. To the Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman in Roger Wicker, who is the Republican senator out of Missouri, he said in a press release last week: Today the Senate passed one of the most important legislative priorities to enable the modernization of our military and strengthen our national security. This year's NDAA reflects the severity of the threat environment we find ourselves in, one that we have not faced since World War II.
He said that the bill centers on two main themes, rebuild and reform, including advancements in things like drone technology, shipbuilding, and innovative low-cost weapons. The Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman said, quote, we have also set out to enact historic reforms in the Pentagon budgeting and acquisition process to unleash innovation and root out inefficiencies within the military. Senate Armed Service Committee Ranking Member Jack Reid said it's a good bipartisan bill that supports the troops and strengthens America's security. He said in a press release, quote, It provides essential resources for servicemen and their families, modernizes key platforms and invests in critical technologies. In things like AI and artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
This NDAA also bolsters our posture against China and Russia, supports Americans' allies, and protects the Department of Defense from emerging threats. U.S. Senator Ted Budd, who is also a member of that Senate Armed Service Committee, was instrumental in getting the funding for the military installations, the variety of them across North Carolina, and the passage of the main provisions of the bill. Our North Carolina senator said in a press release on Friday: North Carolina has long stood at the forefront of America's military strength, and I was proud to deliver key victories for our state and our nation in the fiscal year 2026 NDAA. That will further empower our servicemen and strengthen our forces both at home and abroad.
Last night, the Senate passed this historic defense package that enhances military facilities, reinforces air superiority, cuts burdensome regulations, combats terrorism, and ends discriminatory affirmative action policies at our service academies. America's strength rests on the unmatched lethality of its armed forces, and this year's NDAA reaffirms that commitment by advancing our military's readiness to confront any threat and resolve to defend the cause of freedom against any adversary. The senator from North Carolina in Senator Bud's bipartisan seized Iranian Arms Transfer Authorization Act was among the 55 amendments that were included and passed in the final NDAA. According to the press release, the amendment streamlines the process for taking ownership over confiscated Iranian weapons seized in transit to terror proxies like the Houthis in Yemen. It also bypasses a potential year-long legal process for the distribution of captured Iranian weapons and equipment held by U.S.
Central Command, allowing it to be sent to the United States military partners around the globe. He also co-sponsored the bipartisan Comprehensive Operations for Unmanned Systems Neutralization and Threat Elimination Response. That is a long name, and the acronym for that is the Counter Act, which also passed the Senate as an amendment for the fiscal year. 2026 NDAA. The amendment enhances airspace security at military installations across the country.
Senator Ted Budd also championed several key priorities that he says were aimed at improving the quality of life for the military and their families, including an across the board 3.8% raise for military service members, creating a basic pilot program to improve basic allowances for housing rates for North Carolina service members and their families. Prohibiting affirmative action in U.S. Service Academy admissions, rather, cutting burdensome environmental regulations that prohibit the Defense Department from procuring basic items, as well as accelerating the development, prototyping, and the deployment of mobile nuclear mini-reactor systems to enhance energy resiliency and forward-deploying power capability for U.S. military operations. The fiscal year 2026 NDAA authorizes more than $700 million for military construction projects.
That includes the full gambit planning and design, finding and funding all of those facilities across the country and here in North Carolina. Senator Ted Budd successfully worked to include authorizing provisions to support the following facilities, programs, and units. We'll go through at least a couple of them. We will start at a military air station. Or a Marine Air Station, Cherry Point, where there was authorization for $40 million in funding to boost the F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Center and an additional $15 million in funding to design the next phase of the Flightline Utilities Modernization Project.
So that's over at Cherry Point. Turning our attention to Camp Lejeune, authorizing $34 million in funding for expansion of the special operation. Forces combat service support, the motor transport program there. $90 million in funding to boost the Special Operation Forces Marine Raider Battalion Operation Facility. Pretty penny there, $90 million.
And an additional $48.28 million in funding to boost amphibious combat vehicle shelters. All of that taking place at Camp Lejeune. Fort Bragg has the longest list of monies set aside for additional programs. $19 million for the automated infantry platoon battle course. $24 million to complete the construction of an aircraft maintenance hangar on Fort Bragg, just outside Fayetteville.
$80 million in funding to improve the fort's power generation and microgrid.
So you could be looking, as I just mentioned, at maybe some SMR small modular reactor, nuclear reactor facilities for Fort Bragg. We'll see what goes on there. $32 million in funding for Special Operation Forces and a mission command center, an additional $80 million to boost the Special Operation Ammunition Supply Point, and $5 million in funding for what is called the Pathfinder Airborne Program, which is to improve soldier readiness. Many other facilities across North Carolina, including Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the North Carolina National Guard, and the North Carolina Manufacturer and Project Groups, all receiving some pretty hefty sums of money in. This fiscal year 2026 NDAA that did pass the United States Senate.
As I mentioned, this legislation will now make its way to the Senate Armed Service Committee. It will also make its way to eventually the United States House for them to give a final vote on it. Again, all of this happening while the government shutdown does continue in Washington, D.C. Day 15 now, we will continue to keep an eye not only on this NDAA, but some of the ongoings as it relates to the shutdown. Any relevant news and information, we'll bring it to you right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
You can read a more detailed list of all of the funding that could be coming to North Carolina's various military installations by visiting our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That headline story: funding for NC military installations in U.S. Senate and DAA. Again, those details at CarolinaJournal.com. I got it.
It's 521. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993WBT. We'll be diving into more detail on this tomorrow. I do want to let you know that early voting gets underway coming up tomorrow, Thursday, October the 16th, for voters in 380 different North Carolina municipalities ahead of an early November election day. Statewide, there are 447 cities, towns, and villages in 88 counties that are conducting elections.
Of these, 67 municipalities have chosen not to use early voting or absentee voting and will only be allowed to vote on election day, which is Tuesday, November 4th. The vast majority of those 67 municipalities we are talking about, very small towns and cities or villages across North Carolina that only may have a couple of hundred residents. We'll have a dive into some more detail on that with Teresa Opeka from CarolinaJournal.com coming up tomorrow. Morning, just to pass that along, early voting, especially in the Charlotte metro, many other major municipalities does begin tomorrow. We'll dive into those details tomorrow morning, right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now 5:23, News Talk 11:10-99-3 WBT.
One of the major North Carolina political stories that we continue to track this week on the Carolina Journal News Hour is the announcement that there will be some discussions coming up early next week, starting October the 20th, about redistricting in the North Carolina General Assembly. To shine a little bit more light on that and give us some details on that, it's my pleasure to welcome Dr. Andy Jackson from the John Locke Foundation to the Carolina Journal News Hour this morning. Andy, you have been following the redistricting battle here in North Carolina for quite some time. Before we get into any of the details, were you shocked by the announcement from Senators Phil Berger and Representative Destin Hall earlier this week that they will be looking at redistricting here at the end of October?
I'm not especially shocked. North Carolina has kind of been on the front line of these redistricting wars for a while now. And it was pretty clear that they could squeeze out another Republican district. They really could have written an 11-3 district last time around or 11-3 map last time around.
So I guess with all the stuff happening with California and Texas, it was almost inevitable. Let me ask you, and you mentioned this, and this has been something that has been mentioned by a lot of folks that have been following this in some cases for 20 or 30 years. You said North Carolina is kind of unique in the way in which our redistricting has continually boiled to the top. It's something that's only supposed to happen really every 10 years when you get new data from the census. Yet, Andy, if you look back at just the last decade, we've seen a whole bunch of redistricting here in North Carolina.
What gives? Yeah, it's been decades since we've had a complete set of maps, state house, state senate, and congressional maps that have lasted a whole decade. Maybe the 1970s. I'd have to go back and check. I only go back as far as the 80s, and it never happens.
Usually it's a result of a court decision where there's been either mainly what we can call racial gerrymandering, sometimes political gerrymandering, or that's been thrown out by the courts recently. And so, you know, over and over and over again, there's been some problem with redistricting in North Carolina. The good news is for state legislative districts, the House and the Senate. Unless there's a court case, they can only draw those districts once a decade after the census. The Constitution requires that once that's drawn, they can't do it again until the next census.
There is no such restriction for congressional districts.
So they can redraw them after every election if that's what they want to do, once they get that new set of election data. Yeah, and so as we look at the process that is likely to unfold next week in the General Assembly, all eyes appear to be on Congressional District No. 1. That's in the northeast half of the state. Democrat Don Davis is currently the representative there.
He is a Democrat serving in Washington, D.C. Walk us through some of the details on that district and why that is something that the General Assembly is likely to look at.
Well, the first district is one of the two traditional Voting Rights Act districts, for lack of a better word. It's the ones where blacks and Democrats are most likely to represent or elect a candidate of their choice. The other one was the 12th district. The 12th district is the one that used to snake all the way from Durham to Charlotte.
Now it's concentrated in Charlotte. The first district is up in that northeast corner, and it is also the only really competitive district in the state. Last time I took a look at it, we rated it a D plus zero, which means that it very, very barely leans Democratic by less than half a percentage point. And so it's a competitive district as it is. Don Davis always has a competitive race against whoever the Republicans throw up against him.
But now they're going to look at tweaking that. There's a few ways they can do it. And certainly the first be the easiest one to change to change it over to say a Republican Plus four, maybe a plus five, and make it more likely to beat Davis next year. And so, one of the terms that you have been using over the last couple of days describing this is dummy mandering. Andy, if you're going to make the first congressional district an R plus five, you're going to have to find and draw in those Republican voters from somewhere else geographically close to the first congressional district.
Is it accurate to say that you then have to weaken a district for a Republican to add some more Republican or conservative voters to that first district? Yeah, if you look at the map and you take a look at the voter distribution there, the two bordering districts are the 13th and the third. And Out of those two, it's much easier to take Republican-leaning areas out of the third. They can go and take some of those beach communities, take Dare County, for example, move that over, and then in exchange, either take parts of Pitt County from the third or some of these other counties that are a little bit more in the middle of the state. To do that, you're going to end up reducing the Republican advantage.
Republicans are about a nine percentage point advantage currently. In the third district.
So, if you were going to move the first district up and make it, say, an R4 district.
Well, then, and you're taking that all out of the third, then the third is going to go down on R5. And what makes this a dummy mander. Potentially, is that 2026 is a midterm election with a Republican in the White House. Republicans generally suffer in those kinds of elections, as do Democrats when there's a Democrat in the White House. And so, if Democrats can nominate a decent candidate in the third, they would have a real shot at winning that race.
So, unless Republicans plan on redrawing the entire map from Matteo to Murphy, then they're looking at making the third district much more competitive than it is right now. We'll continue the redistricting conversation with Andy Jackson from the John Locke Foundation coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's 5:36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10, 993, WBT.
Next week is squaring up to be a very interesting week in Raleigh as lawmakers, Republican leadership in both the House and Senate have announced that they are going to look at redrawing at least one, if not multiple, North Carolina congressional districts as we head into the 2026 midterm elections. We're continuing our conversation this morning with Dr. Andy Jackson from the John Locke Foundation. And so, as we watch this process, again, likely to unfold, at least from what we've been told in the General Assembly early next week, Andy, one of the other things that you've opined on is that seemingly, regardless of what ends up happening, there will be litigation that are brought against the maps drawn by the Republican-led General Assembly. As the state has a long history with redistricting, it also has a long track record and history of lawsuits in the immediate aftermaths of maps being redrawn.
What would something like that even look like? Because candidate filing for these districts are going to open up here in early December. Yeah, um I What's probably going to happen is that Democrats will ask for a preliminary injunction against the map, assuming that it gets written in the next month or two. That will likely fail because the most recent cases that we've had have failed. And so, to win a preliminary injunction, you have to demonstrate that you're likely to succeed.
And we just had a case in the same part of the state with North Carolina Senate districts where that lawsuit was thrown out. The judge said that they didn't really prove their case. And since there's a lot of geographic overlap between that suit and any suit about the first district, I'm expecting that they'll probably fail getting a preliminary junction. They'll have the election in 26 based on the new map. And then this case will probably be settled in 2027.
Whether or not they win depends a lot on what happens within that district.
So For example, if they end up making the district less black in the course of making it more Republican. And they make it so that you split more counties, or they make it less compact. You know, they make it so that the plaintiffs could demonstrate, hey, they could have drawn a much better map that has more black voters in it.
Well, then they might succeed in that case. We had a similar case in Alabama, either a year or two ago, where they showed way you could draw a more compact district. that has a a majority black Voters in it than you did. And so that's what I'm expecting that plaintiffs are going to try to demonstrate here. And it really requires the General Assembly to have some skill in drawing this because they're not supposed to be using racial data.
They've been successfully avoiding using racial data, but to draw a map. Where you don't really affect the number of blacks. Even though you don't know precisely where they are, it's going to be difficult. And one of the terms that has been used as this national discussion has been growing over the last couple of months, Andy, is gerrymandering. And there's a couple of different kinds of gerrymandering, but the two that we'll focus on is you've got partisan gerrymandering, which the courts have essentially said is not a valid argument.
There's really nothing here. The party that is in charge draws the maps. The other, however, is racial gerrymandering, and that is a completely different ballgame. And as you were just talking about in that case in Alabama, that is a legal argument that even over the last couple of years has been successful for some plaintiffs suing against map drawers. Yeah.
Well, and we have a case coming up that some people say is going to be a big test case coming out of Louisiana, where they drew a second majority black district. There's kind of a bracket that we have that you have. You need to be able to Demonstrate that you can draw reasonably compact districts that have majority black or a big proportion of black voters that they can elect candidates of their choice, but you can't Show that you have made race the primary motive for drawing the district. Um, and so that cuts both ways. Uh, we've had cases where we've had uh a majority back black district that was thrown out um because they were over-concentrating on race in violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause, which cuts both ways.
So, um, people that are drawing these maps and plaintiffs that are suing these maps are kind of in between in a kind of a narrow band between. The Voting Rights Act, where they're trying to get more black majority districts or districts where they can elect candidates that they like, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which says you can't really consider race when drawing districts. And that is a very narrow path both for drawing districts and succeeding in lawsuits. There's definitely going to be a lot of things to watch here in North Carolina in probably a relatively short time span, Andy, over the next probably six or eight weeks as we get closer to that early December candidate filing. We'll keep an eye on all of the details over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
We appreciate the information and insight this morning from Dr. Andy Jackson from the John Locke Foundation. He joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Where it's now 5:41, News Talk 1110, 993 WBT. We appreciate the details this morning from Dr.
Andy Jackson. And of course, as we head into next week's legislative session, we will be keeping you up to date with continued coverage of this what is said to be very hot political topic over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. In some light statewide news this morning, the 157th annual North Carolina State Fair opens tomorrow, Thursday, October the 16th. No relation there to the start of early voting and runs through October the 26th. One of the maiden features of the fair each and every year is the extensive amount of food vendors that are available.
And this year, there are 88 new food items, with food being cited as the number one draw to the state fair, according to officials with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The North Carolina State Fair is the largest event. In the state, according to state officials, and is a unique event that draws families and friends together over multiple generations. And folks from the Department of Agriculture say that they are very proud to be part of some of those cherished memories. It takes over a year to plan the state fair, and planning for next year's 2026 fair is already underway while the 2025 state fair kicks off tomorrow.
According to Steve Troxler, he says the fair is all about family fun. Looking at some of the various food vendors that were successful in winning some awards earlier this week on October the 13th, members of the media across North Carolina heard remarks from Steve Troxler and took advantage of food sampling at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh, just outside the campus of NC State. A variety of different winners in different categories, including some various vendors from across the state of North Carolina. We've got an article this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, focusing on some of the winners from 2024 and 2025. And according to Katie Zender, one of our reporters over at CarolinaJournal.com, they chose their favorite item that was available as part of the fair item food were pimento cheese and pork barbecue balls, which were battered and deep-fried, then drizzled with sweet and tangy barbecue sauce.
They are a creative. Of Fat Boys Barbecue, which is owned by husband and wife Miles and Aaron II. They are located out of Clayton, North Carolina, just outside the Raleigh Metro, and they are bringing their. They are bringing their pimento cheese barbecue pork balls to the state fair this year. You can read some additional details on that and find out more information about the fair over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com, that headline story: best new foods coming to NC State Fair in 2025.
This is the story of the one. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Granger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Granger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps him sure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork.
Call 1-800GRANGER, clickgranger.com, or just stop buying. Granger for the ones who get it done. Good morning again. It's 5:51. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10-993 WBT.
Don't forget, if you miss any portion of our show live here weekday mornings, 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. It's the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast. Download and subscribe now.
Day 15 of the federal government shutdown in Washington, D.C. Today is set to be an interesting one as it is the second pay period of the month for federal employees who received their last paycheck back on Wednesday, October the 1st. That's leaving many scratching their heads and wondering what is going to happen with the shutdown this morning as direct deposits are supposed to be hitting accounts for those federal employees. In a press conference yesterday, how Speaker Mike Johnson was asked by the media whether he was ready to negotiate with the other side of the political aisle. And he very bluntly told the reporters in the room, I have nothing to negotiate.
So we will watch and see what goes on on this 15th day after a group of Democrats made their way to Speaker Johnson's office last night in protest of the ongoing government shutdown. It's not immediately clear that there is any end in sight for what we have watched over the last two weeks or so. We'll keep our eye on it right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
However, even with the ongoing federal government shutdown, work does continue on other legislation, at least in the Senate in Washington, D.C., where they have been in session over the last couple of weeks. Last week, the Senate passed the 2026 fiscal year National Defense Authorization Act. Also known as the NDAA, which does include major funding for military installations across the state of North Carolina. United States Senator Ted Budd, who is a member of the Senate Armed Service Committee, was instrumental in getting the funding for military installations across North Carolina. In a press release, his office says, quote, North Carolina has long stood at the forefront of Americans' military America's military strength.
And I was proud to deliver key victories for our state and nation in the FY 2026 NDAA that will broaden and empower our service members and strengthen our forces both at home and abroad. Last night, the Senate passed this historic defense package that enhances military facilities, reinforces air superiority, cuts burdensome regulation, combats terrorism, and ends discriminatory affirmative action policies at our service academies. America's strength rests on the unmatched lethality of its armed forces, and this year's NDAA reaffirms that commitment by advancing our military readiness to confront any threat it resolves to defend the cause of freedom against any adversary. Senator Budd also had a couple of amendments to the final piece of legislation, the final NDAA. One of them included the Seized Iranian Arms Transfer Authorization Act, the short acronym for that, seize, and that was among some 55 amendments that were passed.
That specific amendment gives the federal government a quicker process to take ownership over confiscated Iranian weapons that have been seized during transit to a variety of terror proxies across the globe, more predominantly the Houthis in Yemen, in which the United States has been successful in confiscating some of those military arms. The other, known as the Counter Act, which enhances the United States, Airspace security at military installations domestically here in the United States.
Some of the broad strokes from the NDAA include providing a 3.8% raise across the board for all service members, prohibiting affirmative action in U.S. Service Academy admissions, and cutting burdensome environmental regulations that prohibits the Department of War from procuring basic items. Here in North Carolina, we are looking at a long list of additional funding for military installations across the state over at Fort Bragg. $80 million in funding to boost Special Operation Forces operational ammunition supply points. Another $80 million to improve Fort Bragg's power generation and a microgrid, as they could be looking at adding some SMR, small modular reactor nuclear technology to the generation mix over at Fort Bragg.
$24 million for the construction of aircraft maintenance hangars as well. Over at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, $54 million in funding to improve a child development center on base, and $41 million in funding to boost the combat arms training and maintenance complex that exists on Seymour Johnson. That money has been authorized. The North Carolina National Guard has been authorized for an additional $69 million in funding for aircraft maintenance. Maintenance hangars in addition or altering projects at the Salisbury Training Center.
So we'll potentially watch some of that money go out there as well. Over at Cherry Point, $40 million to boost the F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Center. And $15 million to design the next phase of the Flightline Utility Modernization Project over at Camp Lejeune, looking at $90 million to boost the Special Operation Forces Marine Raider Battalion Operation Facility. That is a major facility over at Camp Lejeune, as well as $48 million to boost some amphibious combat vehicle shelters. We have got a list of all of the various money that could be coming to North Carolina.
I'll note that this legislation now has to make its way to the Senate Armed Service Committee and to the United States House before it is officially sent to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. A lot of money coming to potentially coming to North Carolina. We'll keep our eye on all the details over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's going to do it for a Wednesday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT.
We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5-6, right here on News Talk 11-10 and 99.3 WBT.
