Another day has dawned, and there is news to be consumed.
1. Donald Trump is officially the Republican nominee for President of the United States. The final tallying of the Republican delegates was held at the Republican National Convention last night, and the people there agreed that Donald Trump was the best person to lead the country. Then a bunch of people spoke, among them Trump’s secret daughter, Tiffany; his son, Donald Trump Jr., who looks like a Happy Madison villain; Chris Christie, whose political career looks to be over; Dana White, the former president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC); and Paul Ryan, who tried really hard not to say Trump’s name. Top billing went to a soap opera actress named Kimberlin Brown. The keynote tonight will be delivered by Kirk Cameron. You will have to Google that to determine if it is true or a joke.
2. One North Carolina delegate bailed on Trump. Bob Orr, a former N.C. Supreme Court Justice, and a Republican, left the GOP convention early and called Trump a “danger to the country” and “singularly unqualified to lead this country.” Both true statements. But the party’s leaders, who think they can unify around Trump, lack tolerance for reasonable beliefs such as Orr’s. (Orr’s a Kasich guy.) From the Charlotte Observer:
State GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse said Orr “hasn’t been a good Republican for a long time.”
“The vast majority of delegates here are supportive of Mr. Trump even if he wasn’t their first choice,” Woodhouse said, adding that Trump had won the popular vote in the state’s Republican primary.
“The problem with Mr. Orr is not how he feels about Mr. Trump,” Woodhouse said. “It’s how he feels about Republican voters.”
Orr said he’d “put his Republican credentials up against anybody.”
“If I’d known there was some oath of loyalty, some code of omerta, where I couldn’t say anything against Trump, I probably wouldn’t have come,” he said.
With you on the whole “Trump is terrifyingly unqualified” part, Bob, but if you were expecting healthy dialogue at your convention, you’re in the wrong party, old sport.
3. Carrboro woman charged with drowning her son in Myrtle Beach. A sad story from South Carolina traces back to North Carolina. From WRAL:
Jameisha Alexander was seen holding her son, King, near the pond Saturday night by someone who called security. By the time officers arrived, Alexander was gone and the baby was in the water, according to her arrest warrant.
Paramedics tried CPR but the boy died a short time later. Alexander was taken into custody two hours later after being involved in a wreck about 20 miles away, according to a police report.
Alexander, 24, was jailed on a murder charge pending a Tuesday court hearing. The report was partly redacted and police wouldn’t discuss why they think she killed her son.
Alexander lived in Carrboro, and the boy lived in Chapel Hill. Myrtle Beach Online has more details.
4. CSX container hub coming to Rocky Mount, getting big financial incentives from the state. McCrory and others announced the deal Tuesday. From the News & Observer:
State officials approved $122.1 million in state financial incentives for the CSX project, including $110 million in performance incentives from the N.C. Department of Transportation, $7.8 million in intermodal tax credits and $4.3 million in Job Development Investment Grants, or JDIGs. To receive the full extent of incentives, CSX must meet hiring goals and invest $160 million in the facility by Dec. 31, 2024. It also must keep the 876 jobs it already has in the state.
The regional container hub, called the Carolina Connector, will route and reroute freight from trucks and trains to final destinations up and down the East Coast and across the country. It’s expected to bring 149 jobs to the Rocky Mount area, which has the second-highest unemployment rate in the state. The jobs will pay an average wage of $64,047.
The project was originally slated for Johnston County, but hit a snag earlier this year when property owners objected to not being notified. The same thing happened in Four Oaks.
5. Durham County Sheriff’s Office looking for courthouse vandals. Troubled teens (or maybe twentysomethings) thought it would be cool to vandalize public property late Sunday night. That’s not cool, kids! From DSCO:
Investigators with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office need help identifying a group of individuals captured on surveillance cameras at the Durham County Criminal Justice Center parking deck on Sunday, July 17 around 3:00 a.m. Individuals in the group vandalized signs and used a fire extinguisher, emitting potentially harmful vapors.
Here’s a video of the troublemakers making trouble. They wore backwards hats and one of them urinated on the wall of the parking deck. Rude! Anyone with information regarding this case should contact the Durham County Sheriff’s Office at (919) 560-0900 or call Durham CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. Citizens can also submit anonymous crime tips at crimetips@durhamsheriff.org.
Roundup complete. Try to enjoy your day.
