Ronald Hayes, left, and his son Shemar Hayes. (Photos: Ronald Hayes)

By Greg Childress

Ronald Hayes was cautious when he talked to a reporter this week about the political TV advertisement he appears in, talking about the death of his son Shemar, a college football player who was murdered in Charlotte in March 2024 at age 23.

“I have already been swindled into an ad that was about politics, which I don’t want to be about,” Hayes told NC Newsline on Monday.

Despite his intentions, the ad has landed him squarely in the middle of one of the nation’s most watched races.

(Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)

By Clayton Henkel

Every political candidate likes to believe they’re a winner, and Laurie Buckhout is no different. But the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District took things a little too far when she placed a bet on herself on the prediction market Kalshi to win November’s midterm election.

Buckhout is in a rematch with incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Don Davis, rated by some as the most vulnerable House Democrat in the country.

An Amazon warehouse near Newport, Delaware. The Federal Trade Commission and 22 states have sued Amazon over an alleged scheme to inflate advertising prices. (Photo by Jacob Owens/Spotlight Delaware)

By Alex Brown

NC is one of the states taking part in the lawsuit

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from 22 states sued Amazon Monday, claiming the online retail company used artificial bids to inflate costs for advertisers, bringing in tens of billions of dollars.

COMMENTARY

North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell), left, and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) speak ahead of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s State of the State address on March 12, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

By Rob Schofield

When it comes to understanding and assessing the never-ending barrage of new state voting rules and election law changes that North Carolina Republicans continue to advance, it would be one thing if the proposals came from a group of proud and honorable sticklers for detail.

In other words, yes, repeated efforts to make voting by mail more difficult, eliminate college polling sites and disqualify ballots with tiny technical errors would still be objectionable, wasteful and unnecessary.

PODCAST
MORE NEWSLINE

NEWS
  • Postal Service work to comply with Trump’s executive order is rushed, sloppy, whistleblower contends|
    APnews.com

  • Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, White House says|APnews.com

  • NC’s Dan Driscoll resigns Army leadership role as tension grows with Pete Hegseth |Raleigh News & Observer

  • As G20 shines global spotlight on Asheville, some residents say Trump has failed to fund recovery|
    BPR News/WUNC.org

  • G2O, Day 3: An inside look as financial leaders talk about Asheville, Helene resiliency|WLOS.com

  • NC’s Laurie Buckhout suspended from Kalshi after betting on her own campaign |Raleigh News & Observer

  • NC fast-tracks power line for $920M rare-earth magnet factory|WRAL.com

  • Raleigh water bills to include extra charge if paid by card or digital wallet starting Sept. 1|WRAL.com

  • University of Mount Olive withdraws nursing accreditation status days into semester|WRAL.com

  • Lunch Shaming: How NC law strengthens prevention; how schools are responding|WTVD/ABC11

COMMENTARY
  • Why we should care about what’s happening with Donald and Natalie |
    TheHill.com

  • Draughon Draws: Without a shred of evidence of mail-in ballot fraud|
    WRAL.com

 JOHN COLE'S NORTH CAROLINA

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