Triangle/Local Archives

NC State economist predicts record job growth in 2026

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) — Economist Dr. Mike Walden says North Carolina is positioned for record-breaking job growth and business expansion in 2026. The NC State University distinguished professor emeritus told Carolina Newsmakers host Don Curtis that the state’s strong education system, workforce and stable business climate will continue to attract investment even as the national economy moderates. Walden expects new business announcements in North Carolina to reach multibillion-dollar levels and job creation to hit record highs. Nationally, he predicts easing inflation and interest rates as the Federal Reserve cuts rates and tariff reductions help stabilize prices.… Continue Reading

Suspects in separate Charlotte, North Carolina, train stabbings face federal counts

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A man accused of killing a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train has appeared in federal court. Decarlos Brown Jr. made his initial court appearance Thursday on a charge of causing death on a mass transportation system. He is also facing a first-degree murder charge in state court. Authorities accuse him of randomly stabbing Iryna Zarutska in August. His appearance came hours before the government announced a similar mass transportation charge against a different man for an unrelated, non-fatal stabbing on the same light rail system last week.… Continue Reading

Meet the real holiday cacti and learn the easy way to keep them thriving

There is one thing we don’t have a lot of in my house and that’s houseplants. I have absolutely no reason why. I have had a pothos and a snake plant on my desk at work for many years. Of course, they are low maintenance and that’s true of ninety-nine percent of the plants in my landscape too. Now, we do buy several seasonal plants during the Christmas season. At the Campbell Road annual Christmas Open House every year we buy poinsettias, cyclamen and “holiday” cactus. Some people relish the thought of trying to sustain the life of the poinsettia and cyclamen; however, we buy these favorites every year to support our plant nursery friends and brighten up our home. They do a much better job of growing tropical plants than we do!… Continue Reading

Honduran man is held without bond in North Carolina train stabbing that drew comments from Trump

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge says a Honduran man charged in a non-fatal stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train will remain held without bond. Officials say the 33-year-old suspect, Oscar Solarzano, is in the country illegally. He appeared in court Monday via video link and listened impassively as a translator read charges including attempted first-degree murder. The public defender in court declined to comment. The Charlotte Area Transit Service says he’d been banned from its property in October, but it hasn’t disclosed why. The Friday attack came a few months after an unrelated one that killed a Ukrainian refugee riding one of the city’s trains.… Continue Reading

Man wounded in 2nd stabbing attack on Charlotte commuter train since August

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina have charged a 33-year-old man with stabbing someone on a commuter train in Charlotte. The Friday incident that left a man seriously wounded is the second knife attack reported on one of Charlotte’s light-rail trains since August, when authorities say a Ukrainian refugee was killed by an assailant with a pocket knife. An arrest warrant filed in a Mecklenburg County court says 33-year-old Oscar Solarzano appeared to be intoxicated when he challenged another train passenger to a fight. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a news release that the victim was stabbed and hospitalized in critical condition. Court records say Solarzano was in the U.S. illegally. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.… Continue Reading

AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions

Students applying to college know they’re not supposed to use AI chatbots to write their essays. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read those essays. That’s just one way that AI is entering the college admissions space for many schools starting this fall. Administrators around the country say that 2025 marks a new era in college admissions as AI tools are being incorporated into the way applications are screened, analyzed and scored. Schools like Virginia Tech, the California Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are introducing AI tools in a variety of ways. Some colleges are speaking publicly about it, and others are not.… Continue Reading

Tending God’s earth: a journey of faith through gardening

I have always believed that God is in everything. There can be nothing on Earth to which this idea applies more than a garden. Don’t forget — one of God’s first creations was the Garden of Eden. George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “The best place to find God is in a garden.” For me, gardening has become a spiritual quest. I would like to say I have been a gardener all my life, but truthfully, I hated pulling weeds as a boy and never pursued working in God’s earth until I was unexpectedly thrown into hosting a radio gardening show more than four decades ago.… Continue Reading

What’s open on Thanksgiving? Not much, as many stores rest — or prepare — ahead of Black Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Thanksgiving and the formal launch of the holiday shopping season, Americans will again take to the road for holiday gatherings before knocking off items on their Christmas gift lists. Most national grocery store chains are open on Thursday for last-minute needs, although many close early. Major U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving Day, either giving workers the day off or preparing for Black Friday. Many will open early on the day after Thanksgiving, which is typically the biggest shopping day of the year. Black Friday has lost some of its frantic energy as customers increasingly shop for gifts online.… Continue Reading

Charlotte immigration crackdown goes on, Homeland Security says, despite sheriff saying it ended

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Law enforcement leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, say a federal immigration crackdown centered around the city appears to be tapering off Thursday. But a Homeland Security official insists the operation will continue. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin says the operation is not over and not ending anytime soon. That comes after both the local sheriff and police department said earlier in the day that the crackdown appeared to be over less than a week after it began. Homeland Security officials say about 370 people have been arrested over the past five days since the North Carolina enforcement began.… Continue Reading

Arrests now top 250 in immigration crackdown across North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during an immigration crackdown in North Carolina centered around Charlotte, the state’s largest city. Those totals released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are about double the arrest figures announced earlier this week. The operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive mass deportation efforts. Military and immigration agents have converged on Democratic-run cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. The push to carry out arrests in North Carolina expanded to areas around the state capital of Raleigh in just the last day.… Continue Reading