WCNC Charlotte To Go

Tuesday night, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt the budget for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year. County leaders approved a $2.5 billion county budget for Fiscal Year 2025. This number represents a 5.9%, or $140 million increase, over the county's 2024 budget. These numbers, along with sustained growth and the lack of affordable housing options for many in the area, have ma...

At Monday night's Housing, Safety and Community Committee meeting, city leaders presented the "teachers' village" -- a proposal that comes as CMS struggles to retain teachers and teachers push for higher wages to afford to live. According to Indeed, the average teacher salary at CMS is less than $47,000 a year. Compare that to the median Charlotte home price of $432,000 and the average 2-bedroom r...

Two people are dead and two others are recovering after a shooting at a block party in Rock Hill Saturday night. It happened just after 10 p.m. along Southland Drive. One person said the scene "felt like a war zone" as gunshots erupted during the celebration.  "Out of the blue, everyone just started running and when everyone started running it felt like I was a deer being hunted," the person said....

The trial of Christopher Palmiter, the stepfather of Madalina Cojocari, continued Thursday. The court session resumed with continued cross-examination of Palmiter.  Madalina was 11 years old when she was last seen getting off a school bus in November 2022 before going missing.   After more than a year-and-a-half, she is still missing. Palmiter is only charged with failing to report the disappearan...

Six people are displaced after a three-alarm building fire ignited just outside of Uptown early Thursday morning, the Charlotte Fire Department said. One person is also in the hospital. At least 60 firefighters battled the blaze on Margaret Brown Street, near South Irwin Avenue, around 2 a.m. Thursday, officials said. The fire took nearly an hour to put out. Crews at the scene told WCNC Charlotte...

The trial of Christopher Palmiter, the stepfather of Madalina Cojocari, resumed Tuesday after a break for the holiday weekend. Madalina was 11 years old when she was last seen getting off a school bus in November 2022 before going missing.   In court Friday, jurors heard from the school bus driver who was the last person to see Madalina in public. Jurors also heard from a Bailey Middle School coun...

A man has died and a woman is hurt after a shooting involving officers in Newton, police confirmed. The man was firing shots at first responders when officers shot back, according to the police department. Officers with the Newton Police Department received a report that a woman had been shot around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The woman told authorities she was shot while in the Catawba County Governme...

Delays were sky high at Charlotte Douglas Airport after severe weather Sunday.

Officials at Charlotte Douglas International Airport told WCNC Charlotte they expect the busiest summer travel season ever and Memorial Day weekend will bring many passengers through Charlotte to usher in its unofficial start. Passenger numbers are projected to be 14% higher than summer of 2023.  Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/travel/record-travel-charlotte-airport-holiday-summer/275-3151...

Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are investigating a homicide on Wednesday in northeast Charlotte. The homicide was reported on Ann Elizabeth Drive just east of North Tryon Street on Wednesday. CMPD sent an alert about the incident just before 6 p.m. This was the second homicide reported around North Tryon Street in 24 hours. Conner O’Neil Yancy, 20, was found dead in his...

One person was killed and another was hurt after a shooting led to an SUV crashing into a bus in northeast Charlotte early Wednesday morning, police said. Richard DeVayne joins the show with the latest from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police as they begin the investigation.  FULL STORY: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/deadly-shooting-crash-involving-cats-bus-northeast-charlotte-homicide-investig...

Diana Cojocari, the mother of missing Cornelius girl Madalina Cojocari, pleaded guilty Monday to not reporting her daughter missing back in 2022.   Diana Cojocari has been in jail since December 2022, about a month after Madalina was last seen leaving her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina, which is about 20 miles north of Charlotte in northern Mecklenburg County. Diana Cojocari initially ple...

The trial for Madalina Cojocari's stepfather was supposed to begin on Monday, but has been delayed. The missing child's mother, Diana Cojocari, is expected to be in court for an arraignment hearing on Monday after refusing to appear at her previous court date in February.   Madalina had not been seen publicly since the evening of Nov. 21, 2022, when the then-11-year-old was leaving her school bus...

A year after one of the worst fires in Charlotte history trapped and then killed two construction workers, the Charlotte Fire Department has yet to finish its "deep dive" of the day's events. WCNC Charlotte has spent months routinely checking in with the department about the status of its SouthPark fire internal review. In the days after the May 18, 2024 fire, public records reveal Chief Reginald...

More youths accused of serious crimes in North Carolina would be automatically tried in adult court in legislation that advanced through the state Senate on Wednesday. The measure approved 41-4 reworks some of the bipartisan juvenile justice reforms approved by the General Assembly that ended in late 2019 the mandate that 16- and 17-year-olds be tried in the adult criminal justice system. Read mor...

The search for Baylee Carver, a 17-year-old Albemarle teenager ended on Tuesday when she was found dead, police said. Searchers found the remains of Carver on Tuesday around 4:55 p.m. north of Highway 49 and Route 601 in Cabarrus County. The teenager's boyfriend, Joshua Biles, 20, has already been charged with felony obstruction of justice and concealment of death. Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/...

A search is underway for an Albemarle teen's remains as police believe she is dead. The Albemarle Police Department said officers responded to a home along Floral Drive at 4:30 a.m. Friday after getting a 9-1-1 call from someone asking for help. The department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said their inquiry led them to determine that 17-year-old Baylee Carver had died. Acco...

The Charlotte community will gather in Uptown on Monday to say its final goodbyes to one of the four officers killed in a shooting last month.  U.S. Marshals Task Force Officer Sam Poloche was killed on April 29 when investigators were serving warrants at a home in east Charlotte. Five other officers were hurt during the shootout, including four Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers. READ MORE: ht...

One person died and thousands remain without power after severe weather swept across the Charlotte area on Wednesday into Thursday morning.   Multiple severe thunderstorm watches and warnings were issued when waves of strong storms rumbled across the Carolinas Wednesday into early Thursday. On Thursday, the National Weather Service determined two separate tornadoes had impacted the region. Damage...

People across the Carolinas are assessing the damage after severe storms moved through the area. Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings were issued for parts of the Charlotte area as a line of strong storms moved across the Carolinas Wednesday afternoon, then again early Thursday morning. Wednesday, Gaston County officials said a person was killed when a tree fell on a car. The New Hope Fire Dep...

The Wells Fargo Championship is here, bringing some of the world's best golfers to Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club for the prestigious tournament.   The first round of the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship tees off Thursday, May 9. As has been the case every year but two since 2003, Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club will host the Wells Fargo Championship.   Here's everything you need to know: https://www.wc...

Charlotte leaders are considering raising property taxes and fees to help pay for city services. City manager Marcus Jones told the Charlotte City Council on Monday night that the Queen City's revenue currently can’t cover its growing needs.   His recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2025 budget include historic investments in things like affordable housing and police salaries. To help pay for it,...

For the second time in four days, Charlotte will say goodbye to a law enforcement officer who was killed in the line of duty. U.S. Deputy Marshal Thomas Weeks was among four men killed while serving warrants at a home in east Charlotte last week. Richard DeVayne has the latest on Weeks' career and how he will be honored during Monday's service.  FULL STORY: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/...

Joshua Eyer, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer killed in the line of duty Monday, will be remembered during a memorial service in Uptown Charlotte on Friday morning. Eyer is one of four law enforcement officers killed during a shooting in east Charlotte. Four other CMPD officers and a Statesville officer were also injured during the hours-long standoff. Here's what we know about...

President Joe Biden will visit Charlotte this week to meet with the families of officers who were killed in Monday's standoff, a city source told WCNC Charlotte's Nate Morabito.   Biden is expected to arrive Thursday and he will meet with the families. Five additional officers were injured during the shooting, including three Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers.  Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/...