The North Carolina State Board of Elections on Friday voted to dismiss the remaining protests in the closely contested race between Republican Jefferson Griffin and Democrat Allison Riggs. With 292 ballots in question and a margin of just 734 votes between the candidates, the board's decision moves the process forward but did not issue a certificate of election immediately.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Los Angeles, calling for a “sanctuary ordinance in every city.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office were disqualified from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump in the election interference case.
A $70 million furniture manufacturing plant planned by SBA Home, a Lithuanian company that produces furniture for IKEA, will bring 250 new jobs to Mocksville, North Carolina, thanks to significant state and local incentives. The North Carolina Economic Investment Committee approved a $1.4 million job development investment grant, to be distributed over the next 12 years, while Mocksville and Davie County contributed $800,000 in incentives to support the project.
A shooting in Towson, Maryland, on Tuesday evening left one person dead and nine others injured, according to Baltimore County police. The incident occurred near Loch Raven Boulevard around 7:15 p.m., where authorities also found a vehicle engulfed in flames.
A few years ago, the Buffalo Bills threatened to leave New York State unless a new stadium deal was secured. This kind of relocation bluff is common in the NFL, with only the Green Bay Packers standing out as a team with a municipally owned facility and a market too small to seriously consider relocation. Despite the ever-present threat of the Bills moving to a more lucrative market, Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul ultimately signed a deal providing $600 million in state funding for a new $2.1 billion stadium for the Bills, with Erie County contributing an additional $250 million. This was after team owner Terry Pegula threatened to move the franchise to Austin, Texas, where he would privately finance a stadium.
The Pinellas County Commission has approved a $312.5 million bond issue to finance its part of a new $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. The 5-2 vote, which was delayed twice, allows the county to move forward with selling the bonds, contingent on the Rays meeting their obligations under the deal. The approval follows the St. Petersburg City Council’s earlier vote to approve its $287.5 million share of the project on December 6.
