This holiday season reached for the one butter that never disappoints Kerry Gold. made with milk from grass fed cows on Irish family farms, it's rich, creamy, and perfect for baking. whether browning butter for cookies or crafting the flakiest pie crust, Kerry Gold's high butterfat content makes all the difference in flavor and texture. Holiday treats will taste extraordinary. It's 5.05 and welcome into a Monday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT.
I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. We start off with a pretty substantial story that broke just before the Thanksgiving holiday. A three-judge federal panel has denied a request for an injunction blocking North Carolina's new congressional election map that we've talked about a lot over the last couple of months. Barring a successful appeal, which we are still tracking this morning, the decision which came out late Wednesday afternoon clears the way for those maps to be used in the 2026 election.
That ruling arrived five days before candidate filing is scheduled to open, which begins today at noon across the state of North Carolina. The Republican-led General Assembly redrew the congressional map back in the month of October with the Senate Bill 249 by shifting voters between congressional districts one and three. Those are both in eastern North Carolina, with their stated goal to help a GOP candidate win District 1, which was essentially a toss-up beforehand and currently held by Democrat Representative Don Davis. A Republican win in District 1 could shift the state's U.S. House delegation from a 10-4 advantage in Republicans to an 11-3 GOP advantage.
State Senate leader Phil Berger, the Republican from Rockingham County, responded within minutes of the ruling, saying, As Democrat-run states like California do everything in their power to undermine President Trump's administration and agenda, North Carolina Republicans went to work to protect the America first agenda. North Carolinians voted to send President Trump to the White House. In 2016, 2020, and 2024. This map reflects that support. President Trump deserves a Congress that will fight for American citizens and move his agenda forward.
Today's decision thwarts the radical left's latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people. Ending the quote there from the leader of the North Carolina Senate in Phil Berger. U.S. Appeals Court Judge Allison Jones Rushing, District Court Judge Richard Myers, and Thomas Schroeder issued a 57-page order the day before Thanksgiving. That came one week after holding an injunction hearing in Winston-Salem.
The same panel issued a 181-page order less than two weeks ago, rejecting arguments, the two arguments of two different set of plaintiffs made against the congressional map, as well as state, House, and Senate maps that were drawn for the 2024 elections. Those maps date back to 2023. The latest order rejected each argument for an injunction, as some arguments came from plaintiffs led by. By the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and the left-of-center activist group Common Cause. A second group identified as the Williams plaintiffs worked with Democrat operative Mark Elias' law firm to sue the Republican-led General Assembly over the maps.
Judges tackled the complaint that a mid-decade redistricting process led to malapportionment, which is a situation in which some congressional districts would have too many voters while others would have too few to comply with federal one-person, one-vote standards.
Now, the Looking at what the judges said in that 50-some-odd-page opinion, they wrote: According to the Williams plaintiff, because Senate Bill 249 was a quote, unnecessary mid-decade change to districts that had already been enacted by the state legislature, the General Assembly was barred from relying on the legal fiction that census data remains accurate for 10 years and without reliable data, could not redistrict at all, wrote the judges. We are not persuaded. First, the William plaintiffs have presented no evidence showing that the current population of the 2025's planned congressional districts, much less any evidence that any population deviation is constitutionally severe, the court went on to explain. More fundamentally, the Supreme Court precedent cuts sharply against the Williams plaintiffs' arguments that the General Assembly was not entitled to use the 2020 census. Data in enacting Senate Bill 249, the judges added.
They also rejected the plaintiffs' First and 14th Amendment claims in their ruling on Wednesday of last week, saying, quote, the gist of the plaintiffs' claims is that the General Assembly violated the Constitution by engaging in mid-decade redistricting to punish them for being Democrats and to favor Republicans without a legitimate reason for doing so. The court order explained, plaintiffs have not made a clear showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of any of these claims. The court explained, claims of excessive partisanship in redistricting present political questions are not suitable for resolution in federal court. And the Supreme Court has rejected the argument that a mid-decade redistricting undertaken for partisan reason is an exemption to that rule. The Supreme Court precedent, including a 2019 decision in North Carolina's Rucho v.
Common cause makes it out, as the judges noted, an obstacle for the plaintiffs' claims, saying that the plaintiffs have not shown that their First Amendment claims and the 14th Amendment partisanship claims are likely to be justiciable, much less successful. The panel also rejected the plaintiff's claims that the new congressional maps, quote, intentionally dilute the voting strength of black North Carolinians in congressional districts one and three. With the panel writing, we conclude that the Williams plaintiffs at this stage of the case have failed to make a clear showing that the General Assembly likely enacted Senate Bill 249 with the intent to minimize or cancel out voting potential of black North Carolinians living in Congressional Districts 1 or 3. We therefore deny their motion for a preliminary injunction on their 14th Amendment intentional vote dilution claim. The judges emphasized that the new congressional map shifted entire counties between the two targeted districts, writing, none of the counties that moved between congressional districts one and three are majority black.
and none belong to what plaintiffs characterize as the quote black belt. Moving whole counties as opposed to smaller voting blocks within this region does not raise an interference of racial targeting. Ending the quote there from the three-judge panel that released this very substantial ruling just a day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday afternoon. And unless something happens pretty quickly barring some last-minute successful appeal, it likely clears the 2026 congressional map for use here in North Carolina. This is incredibly relevant because the timeline, while it is rapidly evolving, candidate filing does begin today across the state of North Carolina as candidates will have the next 19 days to file for a variety of contests that will be taking place in the midterm election year.
Candidate filing will follow the legal process, which begins at noon and runs until noon on December the 19th, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Candidates across the state will have to make their way to Raleigh in some cases today if they plan on filing for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, Superior Court, District Court, or District Attorney. All of those candidates must drive to Raleigh and file officially at the North Carolina State Board of Elections headquarters.
While other local candidates looking at county commissions, school board members, members of the North Carolina legislature, I should say, those individuals have the ability to file at one of their local county board of elections. This is because primary election day is coming up pretty quickly. North Carolina is one of the earliest primaries in the country. Primary day will be March 3rd, 2026.
So we are only really just a couple of months away from that, with, of course, the general election rolling through the country and North Carolina on November the 3rd.
So we will continue to follow this process as it unfolds here across the state of North Carolina. A major ruling in favor of the Republican-led General Assembly on Wednesday. A major loss for Democrat groups and the Democrat operatives, Mark Elias, Common Cause, and Democrats in the North Carolina General Assembly on the ballot in 2026. One U.S. Senate.
Seat, all 14 North Carolina members of the North of the United States House, which will include potential new members in District 1 and 3, all 120 seats in the North Carolina House, and all 50 seats in the state Senate. We will have some of the most extensive coverage of the 2026 municipal elections that you'll find anywhere right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. You can read some additional coverage this morning on this decision by visiting our website, CarolinaJournal.com. The headline story: Federal judges deny injunction, uphold new North Carolina congressional map. As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics.
Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is kerrygold butter. Carrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe.
Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Terry Gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Kerry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. It's 21 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. Good Monday morning to you as the calendar reads December the 1st.
That means that new laws are in effect across the state of North Carolina, one of them very substantial. You'll remember the debate over the last couple of months about Arena's Law. That legislation was brought up after the horrific murder of Irina Zaruska. She was killed on the Charlotte light rail back in August by DeCarlos Brown Jr. That legal challenge continues this morning.
DeCarlos Brown has been charged both at the state and a federal level as we watch that legal battle continue to play out.
However, that prompted action from the North Carolina General Assembly to change state law to hold criminals accountable when local judges, magistrates, district attorneys, and others choose not to. Arena's law was Passed by the North Carolina General Assembly a few months ago and signed into law by Democrat Governor Josh Stein with an official start date of December the 1st, 2025, which brings us to today. That new legislation requires stricter, allows a stricter scrutiny on judges and magistrates when they are considering pretrial release. It bans a cashless bail in North Carolina and makes it easier for people who have a history of mental health issues to be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital after an arrest. The law also attempts to bring back the death penalty or restart it in North Carolina.
The legislation, which again was signed into law by the governor, orders the governor's administration to find a solution to get around legal injections, which are essentially banned due to a series of court rulings and other factors. This is relevant as nobody has been executed in North Carolina in nearly 20 years. You got to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last execution in the state, even though more than 120 prisoners do remain on death row across the state of North Carolina. Carolina. The law requires Stein's administration and top prison officials to recommend new ways of conducting either some sort of lethal injection or other sort of public execution across the state.
As we continue to watch that part take place, back to Arena's Law, this will have some major changes. Across the state of North Carolina, it tightens pretrial conditions for the release of violent offenders, as I mentioned, eliminates cashless bail, and establishes that new protocol for ordering mental health evaluations in the criminal justice system. In addition, it allows for death by firing squad if the death penalty is used in any case. And while the governor, at the time, when he signed this legislation back on October the 3rd, was not in favor of moving forward with it, he did, in fact, sign it. He voiced his criticism, he voiced his concern.
However, he did move forward and allow that legislation to become law signing that. Lawmakers reacting back in early October, about two months ago, saying, This is House Speaker Destin Hall, quote, Arena's law has been signed and is now a reality in North Carolina. This critical legislation makes our state safer by ending cashless bail and getting career criminals. off the street. The House Speaker followed up on that by saying we will never forget Irina Zaruska, and this is the first step to ensure what happened to her does not happen to anyone ever again across our state.
Other commentary came in. Representative Tricia Cotham, the Republican from Mecklenburg County, said in the immediate passage of that bill, I am thrilled that Irina's law is now a reality in North Carolina. Finally, we are getting dangerous criminals off of our streets so that we can make sure no one else suffers the heartbreak that Irina Zaruska's family endured. I am especially proud that through our efforts, this law provides additional prosecutors for Mecklenburg County, giving our local law enforcement the tools that they need to fight violent crime. I thank my colleagues.
There was also some other commentary that came in as well. Individuals in the congressional delegation, Pat Harrigan, who is the representative out of North Carolina's 10th congressional district. Said Democrat Governor Josh Stein dragged his feet for nine days, but Arena's Law is finally signed. This law protects families from violent repeat offenders and shuts down the revolving door that puts criminals back on our streets. North Carolinians demanded action, and today they won.
So, Arena's Law, which has been signed into law now for a couple of months, officially becomes law this morning. We will continue to track its progress as judges across the state of North Carolina over any cases that they are overseeing beginning as early as this morning. They will have to take some of these new factors into account when determining individuals' bail limits, when allowing individuals to essentially just walk free and not face any immediate consequences for their alleged actions. Of course, our legal system is innocent until proven guilty.
However, these magistrate judges and these magistrates And some of these judges now have a much higher bar that they have to uphold when determining some of those bail limits. And if they choose not to, if they choose to just move forward and not follow some of this legislation, there are repercussions. There are consequences for them, including potentially even removal from their office if it rises to a significant level.
Now, the North Carolina Supreme Court can remove some of these judges if they choose not to follow some of this new legislation, IRENA's Law, which, of course, was all the talk, all the debate over the last couple of months. You can read some of our additional coverage of that over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. We've got a plethora of stories tracking that legislation from its introduction all the way through the governor's signing. And as it is now implemented in the state, we will continue to follow it here across North Carolina.
Some other legislation that kicks in this morning as well. Another law does expand the power of North Carolina State Auditor Dave's Bollocks, Dave Bollock's office, rather, and it allows his office to investigate. Any entity, including private businesses and individual people that receive state or federal funding. Under that new law, the auditor can demand access to databases, data sets, and digital records needed for any purpose within the authority of the auditor's office, including performing audits of any type, assessing government efficiency, risk assessment, fraud detection, audit planning, or evidence gathering according to the legislation. And it gives the auditor the power to seek court intervention when someone doesn't comply.
That law was passed in July after lawmakers overrode Stein's veto of the legislation. The governor rejected that bill and said that he was worried that it could affect the state's economy. Claimed that the auditor's office and the Republican-led General Assembly would be targeting businesses across North Carolina, with the governor saying at the time, giving the auditor this introduction. Intrusive power may undermine our state's effort to recruit businesses to North Carolina. Additionally, this bill would remove the Office of the State Auditor from the state's cybersecurity efforts led by the Department of Information Technology, putting North Carolinians of personal information, identifying information at heightened risk of breach.
The state auditor said at the time that the new power would help his office maintain independent and that it, quote, enhances our ability to create more effective, efficient, and accountable government.
So that legislation officially goes into effect today. We will see what businesses the auditor takes a look at. If any, when there are concerns of a misuse of either state or federal monies, which regardless of whether that money is coming from the state of North Carolina or from the federal government, it is in fact our taxpayer dollars, no matter which way you slice or dice it up. We'll track that as well with that continued coverage over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics.
Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is Kerry gold butter. Carrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe.
Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Carry gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Kerry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. It's 5:36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. Recapping our big breaking news this morning, breaking back a couple of days ago, I should say.
A three-judge federal panel has rejected critics' requests for an injunction blocking North Carolina's new congressional map that was drawn back by the General Assembly in the month of October. And that's relevant this morning as candidate filing kicks off at noon today across the state. And barring a successful appeal, the map will be used for the state's 2026 congressional elections. And with this, the timeline is as we've been talking about with experts like Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation over the last couple of weeks, an incredibly compressed timeline with this. And now the fact that candidate filing begins this morning, and you will have a variety of candidates from across the state.
State of North Carolina, both Democrats and Republicans running for Congress in 2026, making the trek to Raleigh for them to officially file. It seems you'd find it hard-pressed that a court, at least at this point, would likely step in with a successful appeal. Of course, it could happen, not saying that it's impossible, but would seem rather unlikely at this point due to the fact that candidate filing is now open. The Republican-led General Assembly redrew the congressional map in the month of October, with Senate Bill 249 being the vehicle for that. It shifted counties between congressional districts one and three.
Those are in northeast and eastern North Carolina, with the Republican-led General Assembly not shying away from what the objective was, which was to help a GOP candidate win House District 1, which has been a toss-up district and is now held by Democrat U.S. Representative Don Davis. A Republican win in District 1 could potentially shift. The state's House delegation from a 10 to 4 majority to an 11 to 3 advantage for the GOP. In the immediate announcement from this three-judge panel on Wednesday, the leader of the North Carolina Senate and Phil Berger, the Republican from Rockingham County, said, As Democrat-run states like California do everything in their power to undermine President Trump's administration and agenda, North Carolina Republicans went to work to protect the America First agenda.
North Carolinians voted to send President Trump to the White House in 2016, 2020, and 2024. This new map reflects that support. President Trump deserves a Congress that will fight for the American citizens and move his agenda forward. Today's decision thwarts the radical left's latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people. The three judges in this case, Judges Allison Jones Rushing, District Court Judge Richard Myers, and Thomas Schroeder, issued that 57-page order on Wednesday.
This came about a week after holding an injunction hearing in Winston-Salem, and they rejected each of the arguments in the injunction, one of them dealing with malapportionment, which is meaning that the districts, both one and three, now don't have essentially equal populations, which is required by the United States Constitution for members of Congress, meaning that essentially every member of Congress throughout the country has about the same amount of individuals that they represent in Washington, D.C. The courts rejected that claim, claim, arguing that using the most recent census data, which is from 2020, is absolutely the only accurate data that exists right now until the next census, which will be heading up here in 2030.
Some of the legal challenges in this case as well also. Claimed that there were objections to the First and Fourteenth Amendment, that the General Assembly was infringing on rights in the First and Fourteenth. The court struck both of those down as well, dealing with a variety of different elements, claiming that the First Amendment argument that these voters were essentially being discriminated against due to the fact that they were Democrats was completely blown out by the courts. And the 14th Amendment, looking at the so-called black belt in North Carolina, arguing that racial data was used and that there was going to be substantial harm placed on black voters in both the first and third congressional districts. The court threw out those claims as well.
This morning, we do wait to see what the appeal process looks like as candidate filing begins at noon today. We will see one U.S. Senate race heading our way next year. Of course, that will be the race on the top of the ticket. All 14 North Carolina House seats.
will be North Carolina U.S. House seats, I should say, will be on the ballot next year. 120 seats in the North Carolina House, 150 seats in the Senate, and a plethora of local races across the state, county commissions, school board, all of those races will be taking place next year as well. As candidate filing does kick off today at noon, we will keep track of some of the big announcements, and there will likely be a couple over the next 19 days as the filing runs until noon on December the 19th. We will keep track of all of those details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is kerrygold butter. Carigold butter is crafted with milk from grass-fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result?
A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerry Gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Terry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. Nothing says joy like a kid getting a new bike for Christmas. That means it's time for Hancock's Bikes for Kids. Please consider bringing a new bike to WBT coming up this Friday, December the 5th, from 5 to 9 p.m.
The WBT team will be here to thank you for your generous donation. We also want to note a special thanks to Watson Insurance for making their Belmont office available as a bike drop location as well. That's 302 East Catawba Street in Belmont, WatsonInsurance.com. All bikes donated at Watson Insurance will be transported to WBT as well, courtesy of Garage Door Doctor. It's the 32nd annual WBT Hancock's Bikes for Kids, benefiting kids first of the Carolinas, presented by Garage Door Doctor, coming up this Friday, December the 5th, from 5 to 9 p.m.
You can visit WBT.com this morning for additional details. It's now 5:54 on the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10, 99. WBT with the calendar reading December the 1st. That means that new laws are in effect across the state of North Carolina. One of them garnered a lot of attention over the last couple of months.
That is Arena's Law, which makes it harder for people to get out of jail on bail set for low-level crimes. It also attempts to restart the death penalty here in the Tarheel state. It's, of course, named after the Ukrainian refugee by the name of Irena Zaruska that was brutally murdered earlier this year on the Charlotte light rail. As the individual, DeCarlos Brown Jr., who has been charged in that case, was released from jail without bail after he was later accused of murdering Zaruska. Many scrutinized some of the earlier arrests, of which he had plenty, and questioned why he wasn't in jail longer or potentially committed to a mental hospital.
As his family came out in the immediate aftermath and said that, yes, he in fact was dealing with severe mental issues.
So, this new legislation, which was passed by the General Assembly, signed into law in early October, requires stricter scrutiny on judges and magistrates when they are considering pretrial release and setting bail for individuals. It also bans cashless bail in North Carolina, a very popular thing used in more heavily progressive areas across the state, and makes it easier for people who have a history of mental health issues to be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital after an arrest. The law also attempts to kickstart or re-kickstart the death penalty in North Carolina, which has essentially been paused now, going on almost 20 years. The last lethal injection in North Carolina was in 2006, and there are more than 120 individuals that remain on death row across the state of North Carolina. This drew an incredible amount of debate and criticism at the time with Republicans in the general.
General Assembly claiming that they had no other option but to move forward with this legislation as of magistrates and judges in heavily Democrat areas like Mecklenburg County, where Zaruska was murdered, have continued to allow dangerous, hardened criminals out on the streets. This legislation, that I'll note, was signed into law by Democrat Governor Josh Stein. He had his objections to a variety of issues, including some of the now stricter scrutiny on judges and magistrates. Not a fan of the death penalty at all in North Carolina.
However, he did move forward in signing that legislation. And as lawmakers put it together, those new. Guidelines for bail and pretrial release do officially start today.
So we will watch this as it unfolds across the state of North Carolina. We've got a lot of coverage of this over the last couple of months over on our website, CarolinaJournal. com. That's going to do it for a Monday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT.
We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 11, 10, and 99.3, WBT. This holiday season reached for the one butter that never disappoints. carry gold. made with milk from grass fed cows on Irish family farms, it's rich, creamy, and perfect for baking. whether browning butter for cookies or crafting the flakiest pie crust, Kerrygold's high butterfat content makes all the difference in flavor and texture.
Holiday treats will taste extraordinary. Yeah.
