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CHARLOTTE, NC — Republican Dan Bishop defeats Democrat Dan McCready in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district race, giving Republicans a narrow victory in the GOP-leaning district where Donald Trump won by 12 points in 2016.
Political contributor Mary C. Curtis discusses the results and what the win means for 2020.
On the next Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup…
Hurricane Dorian has been making its way up the East Coast and is now impacting the Carolinas. The storm is bringing heavier winds than normal to the Queen City, and is responsible for power outages throughout the two states. We’ll bring you the latest on Dorian’s damage to the coast with a report from WCNC’s Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich and Spectrum News’ Jonathan Lowe, and we’ll look at the impact of the hurricane on early voting near the coast.
On Tuesday, a 3-judge panel ruled that North Carolina’s House and Senate maps were drawn to give Republicans the advantage and said they were unconstitutional. The legislature now has just two weeks to draw new maps. We’ll talk about the details of the ruling and what’s next.
We are just days away from the Special Election that will decide “which Dan” will be the winner of the 9th District Congressional Election. We’ll have one final check in on this race before Election Day.
North Carolina’s state school performance grades were released this week… how did CMS schools- as well as area Charters do? We’ll take a look.
Host Mike Collins and a panel of journalists will discuss those stories and more on this week’s Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup.
Guests:
Brad Panovich, Chief Meteorologist, WCNC-TV
Jonathan Lowe, reporter for Spectrum News
Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com and WCCB
David Boraks, reporter for WFAE
Steve Harrison, WFAE’s Political Reporter
OPINION — It was a difference in styles and generations. In a Carolinas swing, first there was Beto O’Rourke with a town hall at a brewery in Charlotte, North Carolina — more like an informal gathering among many new friends. The next day there was Joe Biden with a large crowd at a historically black college in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
It was a day and a world apart last week, though in both cases, supporters uniformly praised a certain quality in their chosen candidate — authenticity.
Hopes for 2020 run high in these two states, and the stakes are real for both parties.
OPINION — Master Sgt. Luis F. DeLeon-Figueroa and Master Sgt. Jose J. Gonzalez. Those names might not be that familiar to most. But their families, friends and fellow soldiers won’t forget them. The two Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan last week, U.S. officials said, which brings the total killed this year to 14, one more than all of last year.
This is the news that disappears quickly from the headlines, as politicians and pundits try to make sense of just what happened at the G-7 meeting in France, for instance, and the latest chaos at the top. When the Amazon is burning, and the president of the United States skips the climate change meeting, as his buddy Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro takes time to insult the wife of the host country’s leader, it’s more distracting than usual.
But it is still astonishing how little attention the 18-year American engagement in Afghanistan seems to attract in the country’s consciousness and conversation.
The right has long accused the media of bias, but now some on the left, including Bernie Sanders, are echoing accusations of media bias. New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg says the “Trump era forces us to be a little more aggressive” about the telling the truth because journalists are met with “so much disinformation.”But Roll Call columnist Mary C. Curtis adds that journalists have to be cognizant of their own biases, “every journalist frames their story, and we have to be honest about that.” Adam Serwer and Bari Weiss also join.
CHARLOTTE, NC — President Trump is heading to El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, after shootings left a total of 31 dead. His official message this week decried violence and white supremacy, but many also criticized his own divisive words. The division between politicians and parties continues on the best way forward and the reasons for the carnage. Is it guns, racism, mental illness, video games, or a combination?
OPINION — It was one of those Baltimore row houses that have come to define the city, three stories high, with a set of white marble steps out front. I will never forget those steps, the ones I had to scrub weekly, brush in one hand, Bon Ami cleanser in the other. And when I was finished, I had to do the same for older neighbors who needed the help. But those folks did their part, my mother reminded me, watching over the neighborhood from their windows when the block’s men, women and children were away working, running errands or attending school.
That’s what neighbors do for neighbors, all over America. And yes, that includes West Baltimore, about which Donald Trump tweeted: “No human being would want to live there.”
To my fellow Americans, especially those amused by the “antics” of the president of the United States, who buy what he’s selling, imagine how you would feel if those people and places that are in your bones were judged subhuman by the person whose job it is be a leader, your leader.
OPINION — CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the Democratic National Convention hit town in 2012, the dancing traffic cop made headlines for his smooth moves and entertaining approach to law enforcement. The officer captured the party atmosphere of that event, leading up to the renomination of no-drama President Barack Obama for a second term.
City leaders and residents now look back at that time with nostalgia as they prepare for the Republican National Convention coming to town from Aug. 24-27 next year to renominate a president who is all drama, all the time — as chants of “Send her back” at a Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina, earlier this month have reminded everyone of exactly what’s at stake.
Anticipating the economic and related benefits for the city after it was chosen by the GOP last year, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tom Murray said, “Charlotte has the collaboration, infrastructure and hospitality that will make the 2020 RNC an unforgettable experience for its attendees.”
Now, some are worrying about just how unforgettable the experience will be.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The public will hear from special counsel Robert Mueller, a reluctant witness as he testifies before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees. Will it be mostly political theater, with Democrats and Republicans trying to score points, or will substantive information be shared?
