Ryan Oehrli

Wrongful death lawsuits stacked up. But a Charlotte-area surgeon kept operating. Former patients and their loved ones say North Carolina doctor with a string of malpractice settlements should face more accountability.

Former patients and their loved ones say North Carolina doctor with a string of malpractice settlements should face more accountability.

ICE protesters turn their attention to private prison company in North Carolina The company wants to hold people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a closed private prison in Eastern North Carolina.

“Its rural setting offers a secure operational environment with minimal community disruption while ensuring proximity to key transportation networks and regional support services,” GEO Group told ICE in a pitch later published by the ACLU.

Border Patrol’s Bovino could come back to Charlotte - this time on witness stand The now-demoted Border Patrol commander personally authorized agents to chase a U.S. citizen who was taking photos of them in Charlotte.

Border Patrol’s Bovino could come back to Charlotte - this time on witness stand

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...

CMPD said officers followed policy before light rail stabbing. They didn’t. Charlotte police were supposed to get DeCarlos Brown Jr. mental health help eight months before Iryna Zarutska’s death, CMPD policies say.

CMPD said officers followed policy before light rail stabbing. They didn’t. | By @juliacoin.bsky.social (Gift link)

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...

They made a home in uptown, but a DHS visit went south. ‘They stole him.’ The couple from Azerbaijan, who married in Charlotte last year, wrestled with whether they should fight in immigration court or self-deport.

“Tural kind of disappeared,” Gadirov said. “They just stole him, robbed him… You’re doing everything together. You’re cooking here, you’re drinking here, you’re watching TV — and that person is no longer with you.”

Read more at:

www.charlotteobserver.com/article31454...

DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.

Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.

Journalist Don Lemon arrested after protest that disrupted Minnesota church service Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested after he entered a Minnesota church and recorded anti-immigration enforcement protesters who disrupted a service.

BREAKING: Journalist Don Lemon is arrested after a protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.

Trump’s fundraisers are now using the threat of dispatching ICE against citizens as an email engagement tactic.

Killings in Minneapolis ‘absolutely deplorable,’ Charlotte’s congresswoman says Rep. Alma Adams was one of the Democrats to file articles of impeachment against Secretary Kristi Noem.

Killings in Minneapolis ‘absolutely deplorable,’ Charlotte’s congresswoman says | By @oehrli.bsky.social

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...

People are sleeping outside Charlotte ICE office overnight because of long waits Some said they feared being arrested once inside the office, but still made the wait. Many are asylum seekers.

Some people wait days and sleep outside Charlotte’s DHS office to make their appointments:

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...

Roy Cooper backs conditions on Homeland Security funding after Minnesota shootings • NC Newsline U.S. Senate candidate and former N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper called for “immediate reforms” before any additional funding for ICE and Border Patrol is approved.

U.S. Senate candidate and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called for “immediate reforms” before any additional funding for ICE and Border Patrol operations following the deaths of two Minneapolis activists during altercations with federal agents.

Trump administration drops legal appeal over anti-DEI funding threat to schools and colleges The Trump administration is dropping its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked a campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion threatening federal funding to the nation’s schools and colle...

Trump administration drops legal appeal over anti-DEI funding threat to schools and colleges. This leaves in place a federal judge's ruling that the anti-DEI effort violated the First Amendment and federal procedural rules. (Via AP) apnews.com/article/dei-... #ncpol #nced

The raid on the home of @washingtonpost.com’s @hannahnatanson.bsky.social is a reminder journalists need to be vigilant.

We can’t stop government overreach — but we can help you secure yourself digitally.

Watch @trevortimm.bsky.social share tips that can make a real difference for journalists.

‘Turn off your video’: ICE agents tell NC men to quit recording traffic stop The two U.S. citizens were stopped when they went to pick up a work vehicle left behind when ICE arrested two of their coworkers, they said.

‘Turn off your video’: ICE agents tell NC men to quit recording traffic stop | By @oehrli.bsky.social

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...

Jim Hunt, governor who championed education, dies at 88 Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt has died. The Wilson County native served the state for four terms as a Democrat, expanding the role of the governor and pushing for major education initiatives. Hu...

Hunt grew up on a dairy farm in the tiny Rock Ridge community outside Wilson, and biographer and longtime aide Gary Pearce says that experience got him interested in politics at an early age.

www.wunc.org/2025-12-18/j...

‘El pueblo salva al pueblo’: How Carolina Migrant Network fought Border Patrol To many in the Charlotte area, the alerts they sent out were a lifeline. But they said they don’t feel like heroes.

To many, the staff at Carolina Migrant Network are heroes. Their alerts warned people where Border Patrol was during Operation Charlotte’s Web.

But the small team said they don’t feel heroic. They just tried their hardest:

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...

Leaders of a Catholic church in Massachusetts kept a Nativity display with an anti-ICE message in place on Monday, defying an order from the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to remove it. The display shows Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus missing, replaced by a sign reading “ICE WAS HERE.” trib.al/adPW46y

Brother and sister in Charlotte helping protect people from immigration raids After people they knew were arrested, they did what they could to help their community, they said.

After people they knew were arrested, they did what they could to help their community, they said.

Border agents arrested Charlotte man for documenting them, friends, partner say His attorney said the FBI would not allow him to meet with his client before federal officials questioned him, which would violate the Constitution.

His attorney said the FBI would not allow him to meet with his client before federal officials questioned him, which would violate the Constitution.

Why this isn’t like past storms: a slow-motion crisis in Buxton and beyond | Island Free Press Storm-driven damage on the Outer Banks—or any coastal town in North Carolina—is nothing new. Hurricanes like 1991’s Emily and 2003’s Isabel wiped out swaths of homes, while 2011’s Hurricane Irene […]

Storm-driven damage on the Outer Banks—or any coastal town in North Carolina—is nothing new.
But the Buxton situation—and, more accurately, the Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands situation—is different.

islandfreepress.org/blog/why-thi...

CMPD has a new chief. These may be biggest challenges facing Estella Patterson Patterson will replace outgoing Chief Johnny Jennings, whose exit sparked questions about transparency and a state investigation.

Charlotte's and Mecklenburg County's new police chief has a lot on her plate. One thing we'll be watching: Will she actually take questions from reporters?

“Biblical Justice, Equal Justice, for All”: How North Carolina’s Chief Justice Transformed His State and America Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power. Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well be...

NEW: Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power.

Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well beyond the borders of his state.

By @dougbockclark.bsky.social

The State of Local News

localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/sta...

(This is not catching some freelancers and independent journalists, I’m sure.)

In North Carolina, there are eight counties with no local news outlet. Every single one is in ENC.

The Pentagon press corps is gone. As reporters for major news outlets turn in their government-issued press badges rather than accept new restrictions, some argue that the best military journalism is yet to come.

Pulitzer-winning natsec reporter James Risen calls the Pentagon press corps' eviction "an opportunity to be more adversarial. You've got to write tough stories to convince people to take you seriously." Read Ivan L. Nagy. www.cjr.org/news/the-pen...

The road not taken: Why a 17-mile bridge wasn’t built from Oregon Inlet to Rodanthe | Island Free Press When the Marc Basnight Bridge opened in 2019, it replaced the aging Bonner Bridge with a modern 2.8-mile span over Oregon Inlet — a shorter, more affordable choice than the […]

The following by Joy Crist at @IslandFreePress is the story of how decades of debate, environmental battles, and local priorities led to the shorter bridge — and why the decision still defines the Outer Banks today.

#obx #ncwx #yestv

islandfreepress.org/blog/the-roa...

Description of Ocracoke — and some lore — published in Sports Illustrated in 1958

UNC Reinstates Suspended Professor Following Investigation, Threat of Legal Action Following an investigation and threats of legal action, UNC-Chapel Hill reinstated Dixon to his position Friday morning/

Professor Dwayne Dixon confirmed that he was reinstated to his position on Friday morning.