The North Carolina Beat

🚨 UPDATE: The nationwide ground stop is still in effect, and no planes are leaving North Carolina airports tonight. The FAA's order runs until at least 11 p.m., and departures stay grounded "until further notice." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says this is "going to take some time." Charlotte Douglas had 582 delayed flights by 5:30 p.m., with departures averaging more than an hour and a half behind, according to FlightAware. Nationwide, delays were nearing 10,500 flights by 6 p.m. In Asheville, passengers were told at 4:30 p.m. there would be no updates until midnight, according to The Charlotte Observer. Staff gave travelers their bags back and told them to go home. RDU, Charlotte Douglas and Piedmont Triad all confirmed the stop. Planes already in the air are still landing. The FAA says a "temporary telecommunications outage" caused the stop and that "every flight has been accounted for." Mullin said, "There is no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack," and added, "Everybody is safe."

🚨 BREAKING: The FAA has ordered a nationwide ground stop, halting departing flights at every airport in the country, including Charlotte Douglas, RDU, Piedmont Triad and every other airport in North Carolina. The Federal Aviation Administration says all airports are ground stopped "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." The order took effect at 3:54 p.m. Eastern Friday and is scheduled to last until 11 p.m. Eastern, but departing flights are to stay on the ground until further notice, according to the FAA advisory. International flights headed to the U.S. are being handled case by case. The FAA hasn't officially said what caused it.

A freshman says he was about to shower when he spotted a blinking black device in a UNCW dorm bathroom. Police are investigating an alleged hidden camera in Pelican Hall, and the student identified as its owner has been removed from campus. thencbeat.com/raleigh-sheetz…

HISTORIC: Democrat Raymond Smith flips eastern NC’s 3rd District — first Black representative ever, first Democrat since 1995. Ends 30-year GOP streak. Murphy concedes. thencbeat.com/eastern-nc-3rd… #Election2026

This is North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. Democrat Raymond Smith against Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy. This afternoon, Murphy was clinging to a 41-vote lead. Tonight? That lead is GONE. Raymond Smith is now ahead, 118,464 to 118,180, by 284 votes in unofficial State Board results as of 6:59 p.m. Tuesday. Look at these provisional ballots. Pitt County: Smith 507, Murphy 211. Wilson County: Smith 99, Murphy 53. Onslow County went the other way, Murphy 133, Smith 104.

Video shows Hoke County High principal Colleen Pegram-Wike on the ground in heels trying to break up a student fight at the new Raeford campus Monday. thencbeat.com/hoke-county-hi…

Colfax Mark Robinson bankruptcy: Former NC lieutenant governor and wife claim $766.98 in the bank and nearly $800k in debt in Nov. 3 Chapter 13 filing, court records show. Home valued at ~$437k. Lawyer declined comment. Full story: thencbeat.com/colfax-mark-ro…

A gun-toting 15-year-old boy called his mom on Halloween night to say he’d been shot. She thought he was joking. The next morning she tracked his phone to an abandoned Albany, Georgia, apartment and found him dead. 4 charged, 3 of them teens. Story: thencbeat.com/albany-teen-sh…

Pretrial motions started today in Gaston County for the former flight paramedic accused of slowly poisoning his wife with ordinary eye drops in 2018, then cashing in a $250,000 insurance policy. Prosecutors later accused him of staging his own kidnapping to frame her parents and of putting the same substance in his daughter’s drink. He’s pleaded not guilty and remains in jail. Full story: thencbeat.com/aston-county-e…

WSSU HOMECOMING SHOOTING UPDATE: Prosecutors say three men asked women behind Gleason Hall for their Instagram handles. When the women said no, one of the women was allegedly cursed at and pushed. Her brother stepped in, a fight broke out, and prosecutors say shots were fired. Peyton Patterson, 19, was killed. Ziyaire Spinks is charged with murder and held without bond. Full story: thencbeat.com/wssu-homecomin…

Two shootings during WSSU homecoming left Peyton Patterson, 19, dead and three others wounded, police say. Two men are charged in the first incident; no arrests have been announced in the second. Neither charged man is a WSSU student. thencbeat.com/wssu-homecomin…

BREAKING: Jeanetta and Ashley Brantley have filed a defamation lawsuit against Sarah J. Fields in Harris County, Texas District Court over alleged false statements connected to the Nolan Wells Sea Tow audio. The October 29 petition claims the posts damaged their reputations and businesses. Read the LAWSUIT HERE: thencbeat.com/houston-couple…

Yes. We need better days!

JUST IN: CBS News reports that President Trump has been calling advisers (in person and on the phone) to ask whether Hegseth should remain in his job following Republicans’ heavy losses Tuesday night. Multiple sources familiar with the conversations confirmed the outreach to CBS.