WCNC Charlotte To Go

With inflation and the burden of high costs, thousands of families in the Charlotte area community are turning to The Salvation Army for support this holiday season. Across the viewing area, The Salvation Army expects to provide gifts to more than 15,000 children this year. To meet the need, WCNC Charlotte teamed up with Belk and Tropical Smoothie Cafe to help make the holidays magical for everyon...

A new report dives into concerning findings of forever chemicals in freshwater fish nationwide and in the Carolinas.  KFF Health published a report in USA Today that says many states aren’t warning residents of the toxic chemicals present in waterways and fish. According to the article, North Carolina is one of the 17 states that does notify people, and it’s for good reason.  There are concerning...

A 19-year-old was arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year-old Garinger High School basketball player , investigators announced.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to a shooting at a home on Keswick Avenue in north Charlotte around 7:30 p.m. When officers arrived, they found 14-year-old Johnnie McClendon dead from a gunshot wound. McClendon's family confirmed he was a stude...

A high school student has died and two others are seriously injured after a crash in Mint Hill, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district confirmed.  It happened Monday morning near the intersection of Blair Road and Allen Station Drive, about a mile away from Rocky River High School. CMS released the name of the student who was killed in the crash, as 18-year-old Jovany Escamilla-Salinas. A spok...

The  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department  is investigating two separate homicides that happened within minutes of each other early Sunday night. Just after 8 p.m., CMPD announced they were investigating a homicide on Snow Lane in east Charlotte.  Just 10 minutes later, CMPD announced they were investigating a second homicide, on Keswick Avenue in north Charlotte. At the scene of that deadly sh...

A decade after the federal government began offering expanded Medicaid coverage in states that opted to accept it, hundreds of thousands of adults in North Carolina are set to receive benefits , a development that boosters say will aid hospitals and local economies in addition to the long-term uninsured. North Carolina elected officials agreed this year to expand Medicaid, which will provide the g...

American Airlines is joining the race to fight global warming. The iarline is now looking at using sawdust to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Ben Thompson connects the dots on how the Charlotte-based airline is working to offset its carbon emissions without impacting travel costs for passengers. Spotify Wrapped 2023 has arrived,  delivering a personalized recap  of what you listened to this pas...

All charges have been dropped against Christina Pierre, the woman seen in a video being punched by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers.  When the video was recorded earlier this month, at least four CMPD officers were restraining Pierre on the ground while a fifth officer punched her multiple times. A second video obtained by WCNC Charlotte showed Pierre being searched before she was...

The Carolina Panthers have fired first-year head coach Frank Reich after the team fell to 1-10, losing to the Tennessee Titans 17-10. The Carolina Panthers defense forced the Tennessee Titans to punt on every single drive of the second half, but Bryce Young and the Panthers were unable to put together a game-tying drive. With three minutes remaining in the game, the Panthers had one final chance t...

Casey Parsons, the Salisbury, North Carolina woman who pleaded guilty to killing adoptive daughter Erica Parsons, has been transferred from federal custody. She will now begin serving her life sentence in a North Carolina state prison. Records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons show Parsons was taken out of federal custody on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. However, it's not clear which state prison in Nor...

Mecklenburg County will be getting more money to tackle the problem of teen violence. The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners recently unanimously approved thousands of dollars to fund violence prevention programs. Across the Charlotte region , more kids and teens are involved in shootings this year. City and county leaders are working to combat the issue, and there's hope the new federal fu...

A vehicle speeding toward a U.S.-Canada bridge from the American side crashed and exploded at a checkpoint in Niagara Falls on Wednesday, killing two people and prompting the closing of multiple border crossings for hours. Authorities weren't sure what spurred the wreck but said there were no signs it was a terror attack. The FBI's Buffalo office said late Wednesday that it had concluded its inves...

An effort to seek solutions for those facing substance abuse took shape Tuesday at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. The agency announced a new, free Narcan vending machine will be in its arrest processing center in collaboration with the group Carolinas CARE Partnership, which is providing the products. The goal is to stop opioid overdoses for those recently released from jail before it's...

On Nov. 21, 2022, then-11-year-old Madalina Cojocari was last seen at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius, North Carolina, leaving her school bus just before 5 p.m. She has not been seen since. It's been one year since Madalina disappeared. There are no new leads on her whereabouts, and the case remains relatively stagnant. Here's a rundown of what led up to this: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/c...

A suspect is in custody after investigators determined an apartment fire in west Charlotte was intentionally set, officials said.  The  Charlotte Fire Department  responded to a fire at the Little Rock apartments just off West Boulevard around 6:30 p.m. When fire crews arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from a first-story apartment home. The fire was controlled by a team of firefighters i...

More and more people in Mecklenburg County are having to move out of homes they can't afford.  After a lull during the pandemic, eviction filings by landlords have come flooding back. Experts say it's driven by several factors, like high rents, and a lack of affordable housing.  “We have got to do something as a county, as a city, to combat this issue," Jessica Gibson, executive director for the J...

Another person has died from flu complications in North Carolina this week, bringing the state to four deaths this flu season.  But it’s not the only respiratory virus to be wary of as we head into the holidays.  COVID, the flu and RSV have all been on the rise, according to new state data. Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the...

Questions have been raised after a video showing a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer repeatedly punching a woman in south Charlotte Monday surfaced. The video, posted and shared on Instagram, shows at least four CMPD officers Monday restraining a woman on the ground while a fifth officer can be seen punching the woman multiple times. In the video, another officer can be seen escorting a man awa...

Five projects to widen a section of NC-73 into four lanes will soon affect the daily commutes of drivers in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Lincoln counties.  The North Carolina Department of Transportation is hosting two public meetings in Huntersville on Tuesday, Nov. 14 to answer questions and provide updates on the multi-million dollar projects.  Jen Goodwin, communications officer with NCDOT, said...

Parking violations in Charlotte may soon get more expensive. Right now, if you park illegally at certain spots you can be fined $25. On Monday, the city council could raise it to $100. “We are trying to find ways to keep our pedestrians safe,” Dimple Ajmera, a Charlotte City Councilwoman said. This would affect people who park illegally on a sidewalk. Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/l...

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police  launched a new fentanyl awareness campaign Thursday called,  "No Cap, Those Pills are Sus ," designed to reduce overdose deaths that have been  labeled a crisis in the Charlotte area .  The campaign's name uses slang in an effort to target young people and their families, according to CMPD. The main goal of this campaign is to  prevent overdose deaths  through educati...

Nearly 300 retired Mecklenburg County employees burdened by a budget mistake they say the county made are now finally being heard.  "When I got that letter in the mail, my heart sank," Karen Hefner, a former Mecklenburg County employee who retired in 2015, said. Back in April of this year, retirees were notified that their dependents’ monthly premiums on medical insurance were never meant to be co...

Naming rights opportunities highlighting betting companies wouldn't be allowed under proposed rules put forth Tuesday by the North Carolina Lottery Commission's sports betting committee. The latest set of rules are now open for public comment. Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/sports-betting-companies-naming-rights-north-carolina-arenas/275-40c23954-fcd6-475a-b182-18ef475bcff4 Watch W...

Election Day in North Carolina is Tuesday, and voters will be asked to consider a $2.5 billion bond referendum for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district. As WCNC Charlotte previously reported, this bond referendum marks the largest ask by a school district in North Carolina. But if approved, will taxpayers have to pay more money in the upcoming years?  Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/n...

You can cast your vote in North Carolina on Nov. 7, but what do you need to know before you go? The VERIFY team breaks down what you need to know before you head to the polls. Read more: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/verify/dos-donts-voting-north-carolina-south-carolina/275-2e3b6c9c-4613-4bae-b364-23038c0a85cc Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte,...