NC Department of Health Warns of Personal Information Leak

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NC Department of Health Warns of Personal Information Leak

North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services just leaked out over 6,000 people’s personal information after mistakenly sending a spreadsheet to a vendor in an unencrypted email, according to a press release.

The spreadsheet was filled with the names, social security numbers, and test results for people who had to take drug tests to work, intern, or volunteer at DHHS.

Letters have been sent out to everyone on the list, but if you didn’t receive a letter, or didn’t read it, DHHS is recommending that anyone who recently had a drug test for their organization put an active fraud alert on their credit.

You can contact any of the following credit bureaus to request fraud alerts be placed on your credit to monitor for any suspicious behavior, new accounts, or unusual spending:

  • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
  • Experian: 1-888-397-3742
  • TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

If you have any other questions, you can call DHHS at 1-800-662-7030 with questions.

 

Earthquake Just Struck 30 Miles South of Charlotte

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Earthquake Just Struck 30 Miles South of Charlotte

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Pageland, SC area today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Its epicenter was at a depth of 2.5 kilometers.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division reported that the most severe effects were felt at around 1am this morning.

The quake struck about 30 miles south of Charlotte in Chesterfield County.

It was just slightly smaller than the 2.9 magnitude quake that rocked Asheville last December.

The Carolinas have been known to experience the occasional damage-causing earthquakes.

According to USGS.gov, “The largest earthquake in the area (magnitude 5.1) occurred in 1916. Moderately damaging earthquakes strike the inland Carolinas every few decades, and smaller earthquakes are felt about once each year or two.”

Did you feel last night’s quake? 

Charlotte-Area High School Performs In Front Of Millions During Macy’s Parade

Charlotte Stories
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Charlotte-Area High School Performs In Front Of Millions During Macy’s Parade

Yesterday morning a couple hundred students from a Charlotte-area high school were seen marching in front of millions of people around the world during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Fort Mill’s Nation Ford High School was selected out of over 400 high school finalists. They were 1 of only 8 high school bands chosen to march in the parade.

A total of 6 buses carrying over 300 students, faculty, and parents left Fort Mill on this past Monday to make preparations for Thursday morning’s parade.

They performed the song “We Gather Together” at roughly 10:07 a.m. yesterday morning;

The Nation’s Ford High School Marching Band was also featured during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade back in 2011 playing “A Carolina Medly”;

Way to be awesome Nation’s Ford!

Top 10 Best Black Friday Deals on Amazon

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Top 10 Best Black Friday Deals on Amazon

While it’s technically not Black Friday yet, most retailers start to offer their crazy deals on Thanksgiving, and Amazon is no exception.

Over the past 10 years, Amazon has become one of the best retailers for finding the craziest Black Friday savings, but not all of its deals are worth your attention. We’ve sifted through Amazon’s massive amount of Black Friday deals, and cherry-picked the top 10 deals of 2017;

Check out over 100 other black Friday deals available today and tomorrow here on the Amazon.com Black Friday Deal Page.

Free Amazon Prime Membership Trial – sign-up link – Receive free two-day shipping on most items including those for Black Friday and Cyber Monday – a must for any Amazon Black Friday deal shopping. It can be cancelled with no change inside 30 days letting you get all your holiday sales shopping done first.

Local Cone Weed Brought Huntersville Together and Raised Over $14,000 For Charity

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Local Cone Weed Brought Huntersville Together and Raised Over $14,000 For Charity

Over the past several months, a weed growing out of the center of a traffic cone has captivated the hearts of thousands around the Huntersville community.

It all started early this summer when a landowner neglected to mow a tiny piece of grass around a small traffic cone.

Somehow, one small weed was able to grow up inside of the cone, and shoot out directly through the center.

via Huntersville Fire Department

About a month after all the leaves died off of the now sizable weed, a good Samaritan decided to decorate it for Christmas;

and a few days later, someone droped off some presents;

“Two weeks ago it was suddenly decorated in the spirit of Christmas. We’re calling it magic,” the fire department’s public information officer, Bill Suthard, told ABC News. “It was the magic of the season. It had Christmas lights on it, it had a timer to come on at 7:30 at night and would go off in the morning. It had ornaments.”

Soon it became a regular tradition around town to take a shot of Cone Weed, drop a gift off, or just say hi;

As the Cone Weed craze continued to grow, local graphic designer Brian Blackmore decided to use the phenomina for a campaign to help the less fortunate. He designed some Cone Weed shirts and sweaters and launched his campaign on TeeSpring.com in support of a local non-profit called Hope Match;

Brian’s initial goal was to sell just 20 shirts, but after the Huntersville Fire Department joined the campaign and a $10,000 matching donor came on board, things really took off;

A local elementary school even joined in on the fun;

and a local baker made some custom Cone Weed cookies;

The Huntersville Fire Department and Hope Match have now sold 950+ shirts and raised more than $14,000 for families in need this holiday season.

Things were really looking up for Cone Weed – it had brought a community months of joy, and raised thousands of dollars for charity, but this past Monday morning, tragedy struck….

As hundreds of Huntersville residents were driving to work Monday morning, they were shocked to see an empty plot of grass where Cone Weed grew up.

After a few hours of conspiracies and hysteria on social media, the NCDOT released a statement;

They removed Cone Weed for being too close to the road and permanently relocated it to the Huntersville Fire Station;

For now, it seems, Cone Weed is happy with his new home.

Charlotte Ranked #1 Most Likely City In America To Attract Amazon’s New $5 Billion HQ2

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Charlotte Ranked #1 Most Likely City In America To Attract Amazon’s New $5 Billion HQ2

CNBC has just released a new report that ranks Charlotte the #1 city in America (tied with Raleigh and Greensboro) to win “the war for Amazon’s new headquarters”.

The new headquarters, nicknamed ‘HQ2’, will cost at least $5 billion to build and is expected to create as many as 50,000 new full-time jobs with an average annual salary of $100,000 per employee.

The new report uses conclusions from CNBC’s 2017 America’s Top States for Business study and data from the US Census Bureau to grade the top contenders for Amazon’s coveted second headquarters location. The grades were based on the Amazon’s four main site selection criteria: A metropolitan area with more than 1 million people; a stable, business-friendly environment, ability to attract and retain strong talent, and creative thinking when considering locations.

Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro all tied for a ‘B’ grade – the highest grade of the report.

“The three largest metropolitan areas in the Tar Heel State, each submitting bids, benefit from a state with one of the best workforces in the country and a heritage of innovation dating back to the Wright Brothers.

Counting against the state is a lack of mass transportation and a nagging lack of inclusiveness. North Carolina repealed the most controversial parts of its so-called bathroom bill, but it still lacks statewide protections against discrimination and expressly bars them at the local level. North Carolina finished No. 5 in this year’s Top States rankings.”

via CNBC

The report also gave ‘B-‘ grades to a number of other solid contenders, including Nashville, Austin, Atlanta, and Seattle, all with strong workforces, reasonably good economies and business-friendly regulations.

Amazon received a total of 238 official proposals from 54 states, providences, territories, and districts in North America, according to Amazon’s official HQ2 page. They are expected to release a list of their top contender cities 9 days from now.

Most experts think the determining factor for Amazon will come down to the tax incentives offered by each city and state. Some even think that Amazon’s new HQ2 will end up paying little to no local or state taxes for decades.

What are your thoughts about Amazon’s HQ2 coming to Charlotte? 

Do you think their benefits would outweigh the tax breaks we would likely have to give?

CMPD Giving Free Uber Rides To Prevent DUIs This Thanksgiving

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CMPD Giving Free Uber Rides To Prevent DUIs This Thanksgiving

Tomorrow night CMPD will be partnering with Operation Safe Streets to try to prevent drunk driving before it even starts.

The Mecklenburg County ABC Board initially established a program to help people who have drunk too much find a safe way home.

“The goal is to stop as many individuals as possible who have consumed alcohol and their intentions are to operate a motor vehicle. Arrest is not our purpose during this operation. Our goal is to stop impaired individuals before they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. If during our voluntary contact an officer has determined that an individual’s BAC (blood alcohol concentration) is .08 or greater, we will offer them a safe ride home, either by getting a friend/relative to agree to pick them up, or by Taxi with a free ride voucher,” according to their website.

Since the night before Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the biggest DUI nights of the year, Operation Safe Streets will go into action tomorrow night. Police will be stationed in the parking lots of many of Charlotte’s most popular bars to confront would-be drunk drivers.

If they spot someone who looks drunk with car keys in their hand, they will confront them and give them a personal breathalyzer to blow into. If they blow a .08 or higher, then a cab or Uber will be called for them and Operation Safe Streets will pay for it.

The program also helps officers identify bars where employees serve too much alcohol to customers who are clearly intoxicated (illegal under NC law) – guilty bars can temporarily lose their liquor license or be forced to pay substantial fines.

Stay safe this holiday season!

Cam Newton Gives Powerful Response To His Mugshot

Steve
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Cam Newton Gives Powerful Response To His Mugshot

This afternoon, Cam Newton made a rather shocking post on his Instagram and Facebook pages.

He posted an image of his 9-year-old mug shot on the anniversary of his arrest for the theft of a laptop.

In less than 5 hours, the post was shared over 1,000 times and has already attracted 1,300 comments;

The English translation of Cam’s post is;

“I contemplated posting this and even reluctant about it, but as I think about my life and the MANY things I’m THANKFUL for, I want to be an OPEN book so people can here my testimony and learn from the FLAWS and mistakes I MADE!”

“On this day 11/21/2008 I was arrested for a stolen laptop and I’m sure your asking yourself where is he going with this story.”

“The moral of the story is this … on this date I THOUGHT my life and my career was OVER and the fact that I had shamed my family with the media coverage surrounding this situation I vowed to myself on this day (9 years ago) that ‘I will be BETTER from this situation’.”

“What you must learn from this story is this: If you live your life listening to what OTHER people are saying what you should do AND NOT YOUR OWN, shame on YOU!”

“I can honestly say to you today that NO one gave me a chance to succeed down bad in my situation and if I would have listened to those people that said I CAN’T, WHO KNOWS where I would be today. So I’m EXTREMELY THANKFUL FOR GOD’s mercy, grace and FAVOR over my L1FE; so if I can do it with my circumstances surely you can do it and be WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BE with HARD WORK and PERSISTENCE!”

After Cam’s arrest, he struck a plea deal and had his charges dropped after completing a pretrial diversion program. Not long after, he signed with the Auburn Tigers where he won a national championship and the Heisman trophy.

Cam will be leading the 7-3 Panthers to New York this weekend to take on the Jets Sunday afternoon.

Smashburger Celebrating New Fort Mill Location by Giving Away Free Burgers

Charlotte Stories
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Smashburger Celebrating New Fort Mill Location by Giving Away Free Burgers

Smashburger is about to open their 4th Charlotte-area location in Fort Mill’s new Kingsley Town Center. To celebrate the restaurant’s newest location, they’ll be hosting special events in the days leading up to the Thursday, Dec. 7 grand opening. This includes three “Pay What You Want” events followed by a day where all guests will receive one free regular Classic Smashburger and 100 guests will win free Regular Classic Smashburgers for a year.

“We’re excited to be opening our fourth location in the Charlotte metro area,” said Steve Taylor, local Smashburger co-owner and 2012 recipient of Charlotte Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” award. “Kingsley is a promising location that is up-and-coming and we look forward to sharing delicious, smashed-to-order burgers with local residents. It’s going to be a great week of celebrating and we hope to see a lot of people come by to join the fun.”

The “Pay What You Want” events kick off Monday, Dec. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guests can pay as little as $1 for an entrée with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting Ace & TJ’s Grin Kids, an organization that provides terminally ill and chronically disabled children a magical week-long, all-expenses-paid vacation to Disney World. Then, later that evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the “Pay What You Want” proceeds will go to local Orchard Park Elementary School.

The final “Pay What You Want” event is Tuesday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. benefitting Children’s Attention Home, an organization focused on providing a safe and nurturing home for abused and neglected children from birth to 21 years of age.

On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the first 100 customers in line at the Kingsley grand opening will win free regular Classic Smashburgers for a year. Even after the first 100 guests have arrived, all guests that day will receive one free regular Classic Smashburger (per customer) between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

"this smashburger and fried pickles were SMASHING" -nigel thornberry voice

A post shared by carter 🍰 (@sugarcoatedcarter) on

Smashburger will officially open with regular prices and hours Thursday, Dec. 7. The store is located at 1329 Broadcloth Street in Fort Mill.

State-Wide Silver Alert Issued for Endangered 79-year-old with Dementia

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State-Wide Silver Alert Issued for Endangered 79-year-old with Dementia

The N.C. Center for Missing Persons has just issued a state-wide Silver Alert for a missing endangered man with dementia, Hubert G Newell.

Newell was last seen at 288 W Littlefield Rd., in Ayden, NC wearing a Redskins cap, beige jacket, and khaki pants.

He is a 5’9 white male, weighing around 200 lbs with brown/gray hair and hazel eyes.

Citizens are asked to be on the lookout for Hubert G Newell, who is believed to be suffering from dementia or some other cognitive impairment.

If you have any information about Newell’s whereabouts, please call Deputy J. Gates at the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office at 252-830-4141.

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