We begin today with the story of Ciji Graham.

The 34-year-old Greensboro police officer died of heart failure in 2023, waiting on an abortion that might have saved her life. As ProPublica recently reported, Graham and her physicians knew she was at risk.

But NC’s 12-week abortion ban—and similar bans passed in surrounding Republican-led states—left providers backed up and, at times, slower to give care, even if women like Graham were legally allowed to get one. Graham was six weeks pregnant.

Graham’s death is, according to abortion rights proponents, exactly the kind of worst-case scenario they warned would happen. We caught up recently with Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Democrat representing Chatham and Durham counties in the state legislature, about it. 

NC Sen. Natalie Murdock is a Democrat representing Chatham and Durham counties in the North Carolina state legislature. 

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NC Elections Director Sam Hayes, center, at an NC Board of Elections meeting this month. Hayes recently attended a campaign fundraiser for US Rep. Tim Moore. (Lynn Bonner/NC Newsline)

I’ve been covering news and politics in North Carolina for 20 years now. And during that time, the nonpartisan staff who oversee our elections have gone above and beyond to avoid the appearance of working for one political party or the other.

Things have changed. 

In this astonishing new report, we learned that election officials are now openly supporting some candidates. For instance, Sam Hayes, the state’s election director, recently attended a campaign fundraiser for US Rep. Tim Moore, who is running for re-election. 

And Dave Boliek, the state auditor—who appoints members of the State Board of Elections—campaigned this week with state Rep. Phil Berger at an early voting site. 

1. 18 people hospitalized after gas leak at North Carolina factory. WBTV

“More than a dozen people were hospitalized after a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a solar plant factory in North Carolina on Wednesday morning.”

2. ‘Uniquely North Carolina’: NC Courage unveils new home jerseys in honor of the state. WRAL

“The Venus flytrap is one of North Carolina’s most iconic native species. The release sent from Courage said that Venus flytraps are rare, precise and unapologetically ruthless—all qualities that also define the team.”

3. NC lawmakers wrestle with broken mental health system, ask public for input. NC Health News

“People with severe mental illness often cycle in and out of psychiatric hospitals, emergency rooms and jail cells. North Carolina lawmakers want to put a stop to it, but that’s easier said than done.”

(Graphic by Alexis Lawson)

Let’s flash back to one of North Carolina’s most important moments of the Civil Rights Movement. It also happens to be one of the most important moments that happened anywhere in the movement.

On Feb. 1, 1960, four Black students from North Carolina A&T sat down at a whites-only lunch counter at the Greensboro Woolworth’s. 

They weren’t the first protesters to try the sit-in. But their sit-in, which lasted weeks and drew international attention, changed Woolworth’s policy and gave demonstrators a roadmap to success in other places.

Cardinal & Pine readers know most of that already. But did you know the Woolworth’s where it all went down is now a civil rights museum? 

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum has been restored in recent years. It features the original lunch counter and many other pieces of a movement that’s still incredibly relevant in the modern South.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Today’s edition includes content from ProPublica, Michael McElroy, NC Newsline, and Alexis Lawson. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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