WCNC Charlotte's Flashpoint

October is domestic violence awareness month.   According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 10 million people deal with some sort of physical abuse every year in the US.    Women 18 to 24 are most likely to face abuse and only 34% of victims receive medical care. Domestic violence hotlines receive an average of 20,000 phone calls per day.   This and more only on Flashp...

This week on Flashpoint, two city council members debate how to handle vaccine hold-outs among city staffers. According to new numbers released by the City of Charlotte, the Charlotte Fire Department has a vaccination rate under 60%. 68% of CATS workers are vaccinated.  And 67% of CMPD staff are vaccinated.   All three departments have shown substantial increases in vaccination rates since Septemb...

This week on Flashpoint, Leaders in Charlotte's Black community are sounding the alarm on the ongoing disparities in education outcomes for students of color at CMS, saying the impacts will be felt community-wide. In September, the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg hosted an online forum with CMS leaders to discuss ways to correct the educational gap between Black and white students,...

This week on Flashpoint, Mark Walker, a candidate for U.S. Senate from North Carolina, discusses his campaign and how he is looking to distinguish himself from democrats, fellow republicans, and anyone associated with Washington, D.C.     Later, as Charlotte City Council considers new district boundaries lines, current and former councilmen say leaders should add a council seat. Lawana Mayfield, a...

Before a single district map is drawn, members of Charlotte city council's committee on redistricting are at odds over the process. Republican Ed Driggs appeared on WCNC's Flashpoint with committee chair Malcolm Graham, a Democrat on the council. Driggs accused Graham of holding a vote on the criteria involved in redistricting without Driggs, the lone Republican on the committee, present. The issu...

On Flashpoint, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghan wars looks back on the two-decade war on terrorism. Matt Hoh spoke out against the war in Afghanistan long before recent critics. In 2009, the Marine combat veteran resigned in protest from his post with the US State Department in Afghanistan. "This last month in Afghanistan is what losing looks like, this is what defeat looks like," he said. "That's...

This week on FLASHPOINT, WCNC's Hunter Sáenz sits down with Charlotte City Councilmen, Republican Tariq Bokhari and Democrat Larken Egleston on Mecklenburg County's mask mandate for public buildings. The City of Charlotte has had a mask mandate for a few weeks now, but this week Mecklenburg County's went into effect county-wide. The mandate is for inside public buildings in Mecklenburg County, reg...

This week on FLASHPOINT, WCNC's Ben Thompson is joined by U.S. Senate hopeful Cheri Beasley. Beasley was the first African-American woman to serve as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. She's using that role, and two successful statewide races, to tout her strength on the campaign trail.  Beasley discusses why she thinks President Biden has earned a 'B' grade for his first seven mon...

This week on Flashpoint, the North Carolina House and Senate get ready to work out a compromise on the state budget, and local lawmakers are expressing measured optimism.  Rep. Wesley Harris, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, and Rep. Dean Arp, a Republican from Union County, join Ben Thompson on Flashpoint to discuss why they think a state budget is in the works. Next up, WCNC Charlotte's Indir...

On this week's Flashpoint, we're discussing Charlotte's affordable housing crisis . First up, Ben Thompson has an interview with Ely Portillo, the assistant director of outreach and strategic partnerships at UNC Charlotte's Urban Institute. The two discuss the housing market in Charlotte, and UNCC research that shows Wall Street-baked firms have bought more than 11,000 single-family homes in Meckl...

Flashpoint is back after a two-week break for the Olympics! On this week's show, Ben Thompson has an exclusive interview with Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris. During this interview, Ben chats with Gibbie about the delta variant of COVID-19, how quickly it's spreading and how health officials believe they can get it under control.  Harris also discusses how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Sc...

Flashpoint is still on break due to the Olympics in Tokyo, but we're going to bring you another Flashpoint Flashback. This week, it's Ben Thompson's interview with North Carolina. Sen. Thom Tillis in May.  PREVIOUS COVERAGE Weeks after surgery to remove prostate cancer, Sen. Thom Tillis is already back at work in Washington. "I feel great. Came out of surgery with the typical post-operative challe...

Flashpoint is taking a week off for the Olympics, but don't worry, we still have a podcast! On this week's flashback, Ben Thompson is discussing Charlotte's red hot housing market and how difficult it is for potential homebuyers to find property in the Queen City.  This episode features an interview with David Kennedy, president of Canopy Realtor Association, who says "there's not a quick fix to t...

In her first interview since announcing her retirement, Health Director Gibbie Harris joins WCNC Charlotte's Hunter Saenz on FlASHPOINT to discuss her decision to step down, what's next for the health department and the delta variant. Harris says the pandemic and stress that came from the last year and a half did not factor in on her decision but her family did. Later, Hunter details Charlotte-Mec...

This week's guest is Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles! During the interview, Ben Thompson asks Mayor Lyles about controversial votes the city council has made over the past month, including the 2040 future plan and the decision to postpone all city elections until 2022. And speaking of those elections, will Mayor Lyles seek a third term in office? She seems open to the idea but no matter how hard Ben trie...

On this week's Flashpoint, we're talking about the new North Carolina state budget and how it affects teachers. In our first segment, Ben Thompson speaks with Tamika Walker, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, who says the new proposal favors tax cuts over teacher pay.  In segment two, Ben interviews WCNC Charlotte's Hunter Saenz about Charlotte City Council's vote on the con...

Flashpoint is back in the studio this week! First, Ben Thompson is joined by Dr. Aman Nadhiri, a professor at Johnson C. Smith University, to discuss the history of Juneteenth and the importance of it today. Did you know Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983? Dr. Nadhiri discusses how we can use this as a teaching moment about the...

On Flashpoint, two Charlotte city councilmembers say new developments from the federal government show promise, but urge local consensus.

This week's episode is another FlashPOINT Flashback! We go back to April 4, when US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Ben Thompson to discuss Charlotte's controversial 2040 mobility plan. The city's current plan calls on a $4 to $6-billion investment from the federal government. "We're in a position to capitalize on that enthusiasm I think, and we've done a lot of the groundwork to ma...

On this week's show, Ben Thompson discusses potential new LGBTQ protections in Charlotte as we kick off Pride Month.  First, we're joined by City Council members Tariq Bokhari and Larken Egleston to discuss if the city will ever pass another non-discrimination ordinance after the fiasco that was House Bill 2 following Charlotte's first non-discrimination bill several years ago. The council members...

On this week's episode, it's another flashback as we go back to the Feb. 21 edition of FlashPOINT. This episode followed North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr's choice to vote in favor of convicting former President Donald Trump after the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Burr was one of a few Republicans who crossed party lines and supported the conviction.  Burr has a rock-solid reputation as a conserv...

FlashPoint is off this week but the FlashPoint podcast never takes a week off! On this episode, we revisit an interview with North Carolina Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat, following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. During this interview, Adams discusses what happened, as well as the inauguration of President Joe Biden and the importance of establishing the new administration and Congress.  The...

Pat McCrory is running for U.S. Senate but he's making it clear, he wants to avoid the drama that surrounds Washington D.C. politics. "I'm talking about issues," McCrory said on this week's WCNC FlashPoint.  The former Charlotte mayor and North Carolina governor weighed in on the  Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack  and the subsequent  panic-buying that followed in cities like Charlotte.   McCror...

This week on Flashpoint, we're looking ahead to 2022. That's when North Carolina will vote for a new U.S. Senator to represent citizens in Washington, and the race is heating up more than a year out. Dr. Michael Bitzer joins Ben Thompson for this week's episode. Bitzer is a professor of politics at Catawba College, and he says senatorial races in North Carolina draw a lot of national attention alr...

This week on Flashpoint, Ben Thompson sits down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R - N.C.). Tillis was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and had surgery to tackle it instead of less aggressive treatments. Tillis says he's already back to work on Capitol Hill while still recovering from surgery. You'll hear the full interview on the podcast today. PLUS: We...