VOLUME 10 ISSUE 51 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2026
NSJONLINE.COM
LYNNE SLADKY / AP PHOTO
Tale of two Drakes Former UNC star and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) was harrassed throughout Super Bowl 60 by the Seahawksâ defense â including former NC State linebacker Drake Thomas (42) â in Seattleâs dominant 29-13 win Sunday in Santa Clara, California. The North Carolina natives â Thomas is from Wake Forest, while Maye grew up in Huntersville â went head to head once before, with Thomas again coming out on top as the Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels in 2022. See more in Sports.
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Elections board disqualifies US Senate candidate
BRIEF this week
âWalk for Peaceâ concludes in D.C. Washington, D.C. A group of Buddhist monks reached Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, walking single file across a bridge over the Potomac River to cap a 15-week trek from Texas that has captivated the country. The monks have become fixtures on social media, along with their rescue dog Aloka. After spending Monday night in Arlington, Virginia, they crossed over the Chain Bridge into the District of Columbia shortly after 8 a.m. The monksâ trek included about two weeks through North Carolina in January, including passings through Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh.
Democrats call White House ICE offer âinsufficientâ Washington, D.C. Democratic leaders say a proposal from the White House is âincomplete and insufficientâ as they are demanding new restrictions on President Donald Trumpâs immigration crackdown and threatening a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, said in a statement late Monday that a White House counterproposal to the list of demands they transmitted over the weekend âincluded neither details nor legislative textâ and does not address âthe concerns Americans have about ICEâs lawless conduct.â The White House proposal was not released publicly. The Democratsâ statement comes as time is running short, with another partial government shutdown threatening to begin Saturday.
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Margot Dupreâs name will appear on Republican primary ballots, but votes for her wonât be counted
Annual school crime report released Overall offenses were down but violent crime rose 20.8% By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH â The State Board of Education received the annual K-12 school crime report during its meeting last week. The board also called for sweeping pay raises for all staff, including nonteaching and administrative staff, as well as a moratorium on funding for
the Opportunity Scholarship program that gives grants to students to attend the private school of their choice. Michael Maher, chief accountability officer for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, delivered the crime report presentation to the board. He noted the school crime report has been given a new title â âAnnual Report Discipline, Alternative Learning Placement, and Dropout,â or DALD for short. See CRIME, page A3
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH â The State Board of Elections voted to uphold the challenge of Margot Dupre as a North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate, meaning her name will still appear on the ballot in March but any votes for her will not be counted. The State Board of Elections (NCSBE) voted 3-1 to disqualify Dupre, with Siobahn Millen as the lone vote against. The board told Dupre she could potentially run as an unaffiliated or write-in candidate in the general election but would have to fix her registration issues and gather the required signatures. Dupre is one of several Republicans seeking to become
College Democrats, students sue over polling place removals A judge refused the injunction request Monday
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH â The College Democrats of North Carolina are leading a lawsuit over the State Board of Elections removal of on-campus early voting sites at three of the stateâs college campuses. The complaint, filed for the plaintiffs by Patterson Harkavy LLP attorney Narendra K. Ghosh and attorneys with the Elias Law Group, seeks a preliminary injunction. The Elias Law Group is run by former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign attorney Marc Elias.
At its meeting last month, the board voted 3-2 down party lines to cut certain early in-person voting sites from three schools: North Carolina A&T, UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina. Students attended the meeting to protest, and social media posts by âInfluence NCâ promoted busing options for students at NC A&T to attend the meeting. Influence NC did not respond to North State Journalâs inquiry about whether they funded the buses directly. The lawsuit claims the removal of polling locations is unconstitutional in that it restricts the right to vote based on age. The filing alleges the closures violate the First and See POLLING, page A8
âAt WCU, the on-campus early voting site has served the highest proportion of same-day registrants of any site in all of North Carolina.â College Democrats of North Carolina lawsuit
PHOTO COURTESY VOTEMARGOT.US
Margot Dupre the partyâs nominee to replace Sen. Thom Tillis. Other Republican candidates include former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, Donald M. (Don) Brown, Thomas Johnson, Michele Morrow and Elizabeth A. Temple. See DUPRE, page A2