For more on this story, click below to read Cardinal & Pine's reporting from Dylan Rhoney.

cardinalpine.com/2025/11/14/w...

The coalition of grassroots organizations behind the effort is encouraging consumers to support local small businesses in their communities for their Thanksgiving and holiday shopping instead.

Organizers pushing the boycott argue these companies have profited from the worst policies pushed by the Trump administration, stayed silent despite its attacks on immigrant communities, and followed along with its attempts to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

For the latest on the Border Patrol, ICE operations in North Carolina, click below to read.

cardinalpine.com/2025/11/19/a...

This highlights a common theme of recent immigration raids, whether in Chicago, Charlotte, or North Carolina’s state capitol:

The actions of masked agents dragging people from their cars and pointing guns at passersby seem less about removing dangerous criminals than terrorizing communities.

Despite the worst of the worst claims, several reports show that 72% of people in custody nationwide as of Sept. 21 had no criminal record.

Of the 130 people arrested, 44 had criminal records and 86 did not, according to DHS.

In other words, the # of people arrested without criminal records was about double the number of people with criminal records. DHS officials announced more arrests on Monday, bringing the total to more than 200.

Then they posted photos of 11 of the people who’d been arrested. Two were gang members, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said, without offering proof.

Her story is not unusual.

Border Patrol officials arrested more than 130 people in the Charlotte area over the weekend, calling the operation a successful fight against gangs and violent criminals.

For more on this developing story, click the 🔗 below to read.

And follow Cardinal & Pine for more North Carolina news.

cardinalpine.com/2025/11/10/d...

The bill faces another formal vote in the Senate, then must be approved by the US House and signed by President Trump.

But Senate procedural rules were the only real option Democrats had to block a funding bill, so now that the party splintered, there is little they can do to stop final passage.

The Democrats faced criticism for dropping the effort to protect healthcare subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Without subsidies, premiums will double or triple for tens of thousands of North Carolinians and nearly 160,000 people in the state could lose insurance entirely.

For the full story, click to read. 👇

cardinalpine.com/2025/11/06/e...

Over the next two election cycles, North Carolinians, including plenty of Trump voters, will continue to be hit hard by Trump’s SNAP cuts, Medicaid cuts, rising grocery costs, and soaring Affordable Care Act premiums.

And then they will vote.

Local elections in North Carolina are non-partisan, meaning candidates don’t have party affiliations listed on the ballots.

But both state parties made endorsements, and there’s little distance between local and national politics when the consequences of federal policies besiege communities.

Voters in Charlotte and Greensboro ousted the lone Republicans on their city councils, and several towns chose Democrats over longtime Republican mayors, including Burlington, Graham, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, and Wake Forest.