VOLUME 11 ISSUE 2 | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026
NSJONLINE.COM
VAHID SALEMI / AP PHOTO
A plume of smoke rises following a U.S.-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday.
US says attacks on Iran will last several weeks
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BRIEF this week
Macron orders French aircraft carrier to Mediterranean Paris French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets during the ongoing war in the Middle East. Macron said the Charles de Gaulle will be escorted by its air wing and its escorting frigates. In a prerecorded speech aired on French TV, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air-defense systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the Middle East. He cited Monday’s strike on a British air force base on Cyprus, adding that Cyprus was a member of the European Union with which France has recently signed a strategic partnership.
Friendly fire downs 3 American jets; 6 crew members OK Cairo Three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire Monday during an Iranian air assault, the U.S. military said. All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered, the U.S. said. An attack by Iranian aircraft, missiles and drones was underway at the time the planes were shot down. Iranian state television claimed that Iran had targeted one of the U.S. planes that crashed in Kuwait without elaborating. Kuwait said its air defenses had accidentally shot down the jets as part of its support for the U.S. combat operation in Iran, U.S. Central Command said.
Fighting spilled across the Middle East following initial strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
UNC BOG approves tuition increase The board also adopted an academic freedom policy change and definition By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The UNC Board of Governors met last week and approved two key items: a 3% tuition hike and a clear definition of academic freedom to be added to UNC System policies. Board Chair Wendy Murphy said the decision will “allow
See UNC, page A3
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israeli and U.S. airstrikes pounded Iran in an escalating campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday would likely take several weeks. Tehran and its allies retaliated across the region, striking Israel and various targets inside Gulf states, including energy facilities in Qatar and the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia. The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Places deemed safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai saw incoming fire, energy prices shoot up, and U.S. allies pledging to help stop
Elections Modernization commission holds inaugural meeting “It’s time for a serious effort to modernize our election system.” Dave Boliek, state auditor
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for a raise in tuition for the first time in almost a decade is not a rubber stamp.” The approval marks the first increase in tuition rates for the UNC System in nine years. Murphy later said inflation driving up operation costs had been dealt with so far, but UNC System schools can’t be expected to continue “holding the line” without “negative impacts.” The board gave its initial green light on a 3% in-state undergraduate tuition increase at its meeting in January, and
The Associated Press
A vendor was selected to move forward on the decades-old system’s replacement By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The North Carolina State Board of Elections’ Modernization of Election Data Systems Commission held its inaugural meeting last Tuesday in Raleigh. State Auditor Dave Boliek, who launched the commission in early February, chaired the meeting. The Feb. 24 meeting was
livestreamed on the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor’s Facebook page. Boliek formed the bipartisan 22-member Modernization of Election Data Systems (MEDS) Commission earlier this month. The commission, which includes state election officials, political appointees and academics, was formed with a goal of having the maximum amount of input and conducting the work on modernizing state election systems transparently. Legislation passed by the General Assembly gave Boliek See MEETING, page A2
Iranian missiles and drones. Trump said operations are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.” The State Department has urged U.S. citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to safety risks. “The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters before briefing members of Congress about the Iran operation. Trump said the military campaign’s objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fired missiles at Israel on Monday. Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to do so and says its nuclear program is peaceful. As several airstrikes hit See IRAN, page A3