,1,An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said.
Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.
Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.
Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and begin “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle," a post that came after months of graphic online threats against several public figures, according to court documents. Robertson referred to himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, and also posted threats against top law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump. #WakeUpCLT #Politics #Biden
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/utah-man-killed-fbi-raid-made-violent-threats-to-biden/507-504825f1-0001-491b-b226-c26df8b29a2b
,1,American's continue to suffer from a problem unique to our country: gun violence.
Over the last two days in Charlotte, seven people have been shot.
MORE NEWS: https://www.wcnc.com/
,1,Donald Trump will be in Pickens, South Carolina on Saturday to celebrate the Fourth of July and speak to supporters.
MORE NEWS: https://www.wcnc.com/
,1,A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive search continued early Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.
On this episode of #WakeUpCLT To Go, we have the latest on the desperate search for the OceanGate Expeditions submersible in the Atlantic Ocean, about 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.
A statement from the U.S. Coast Guard did not elaborate on what rescuers believed the noises could be, though it offered a glimmer of hope for those lost aboard the Titan as estimates suggest as little as a day's worth of oxygen could be left if the vessel is still functioning.
Meanwhile, questions remain about how teams could reach the lost submersible, which could be as deep as about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) below the surface near the watery tomb of the historic ocean liner. Newly uncovered allegations also suggest there had been significant warnings made about vessel safety during its development.
Lost aboard the vessel are pilot Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company leading the expedition. His passengers are a British adventurer, two members of a Pakistani business family and a Titanic expert.
The Coast Guard wrote on Twitter that a Canadian P-3 Orion had “detected underwater noises in the search area.” Searchers then moved an underwater robot to that area to search. However, those searches “have yielded negative results but continue.” #WakeUpCLT #Titanic #Titanicsub
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/canadian-aircraft-underwater-noises-titanic-sub-search/507-e1f2f227-552a-49e3-9690-d93853da6e6b
,1,Bartholomy tells WCNC Charlotte this is most likely a scam, and the so-called buyer may actually be trying to take control of the seller's phone.
"They can then go in and set up a Google phone, and then that generates a code, and that goes to whoever has that phone number," Bartholomy said. "So that code would come to me. I see it on my phone and say, oh, that must be about the Facebook marketplace. I would go ahead and enter that code and provides it to that other person as well, and now they have your phone."
According to Bartholomy, that's when the scammer can make long-distance phone calls or even overseas calls without you even knowing.
"You won't find out about it until you get your next phone bill," Bartholomy said.
Under the Marketplace tab on Facebook, there are several tips and safety instructions for users. Under "Protect your privacy," Facebook states:
Don't respond to messages or emails that ask you to provide verification codes or account information, such as your email or password.
"Once you are not using the tools that are available on Facebook Marketplace, then this is when the scammers set in and take advantage of a bunch of folks," Bartholomy said.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/verify/verify-facebook-marketplace-scam/275-6c0282a5-dbcd-4a29-9103-7ea174907781
,1,The White House and House Republicans wrapped up another round of debt ceiling talks Sunday as Washington races to strike a budget compromise along with a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit and avert an economy-wrecking federal default.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke by phone Sunday while the president was returning home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. They plan to meet Monday at the White House.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/debt-limit-biden-mccarthy-negotiations/507-383b9f40-be62-493a-97dd-925002cfedd6
,1,As a convoluted and haunting story unfolds surrounding missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari from Cornelius, North Carolina, newly released arrest documents help outline the events leading up to her disappearance.
Chloe Leshner shares what we know now.
TIMELINE OF THE CASE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/missing-cornelius-11-year-old-madalina-cojocari-timeline/275-5a774a8b-e4b0-4f38-ae5b-387cf2e05626
,1,Search warrants connected to the disappearance of Madalina Cojocari, the 11-year-old from Cornelius, North Carolina, who has not been seen since November 2022, were unsealed for the first time Tuesday.
WCNC Charlotte obtained dozens of pages released by the judge Tuesday following an appeal to release the documentation last week. WCNC Charlotte journalists are poring through the documents to review the information and will update this story as more is discovered.
The search warrants were executed to search her family's home and review the cell phone records of both Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, and her stepfather, Christopher Palmiter.
WCNC Charlotte first reported on the then-sealed search warrants in December after obtaining initial court documents via a public records request.
"[The Cornelius Police Department] and [North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation] continue to conduct their investigation and has obtained search warrants for T-Mobile Call Detail Records associated with the defendants, search warrants for the defendant’s home, and a search warrant for Christopher Palmiter’s mobile device. The search warrant affidavits are extremely detailed and contain many facts not available to the public," the documentation reads. "Given the current level of media attention, release of the search warrants in the above-referenced matter at this time into the public domain could interfere with the rights of Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter to a fair trial. Furthermore, release of the Search Warrant affidavit into the public domain at this stage may interfere with the ability of detectives to recover additional untainted information from witnesses and could hinder the efforts to locate Madalina Cojocari."
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/judge-unseal-new-document-madalina-cojocari-disappearance/275-3f208da4-2a6f-40c6-8336-3da76c324b8b
,1,The Cornelius Police Department is asking for additional witness information in connection to the case of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari.
On Friday, investigators released a photo of a Toyota Prius. They said Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, may have been in Madison County, North Carolina sometime between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15.
The trip may be connected to the girl's disappearance as this is the three-week period between when Madalina was last seen and when she was reported missing -- a gap in the timeline that is critical to the ongoing investigation.
Madalina's mother Diana Cojocari remains in custody, charged with failure to report the young girl's disappearance.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/madalina-cojocari-case-madison-county-witnesses-toyota-prius/275-be2a8e4f-7c10-474a-8751-cac21084f8de
,1,The Cornelius Police Department is asking for additional witness information in connection to the case of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari.
On Friday, investigators released a photo of a Toyota Prius. They said Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, may have been in Madison County, North Carolina sometime between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15.
The trip may be connected to the girl's disappearance as this is the three-week period between when Madalina was last seen and when she was reported missing -- a gap in the timeline that is critical to the ongoing investigation.
Madalina's mother Diana Cojocari remains in custody, charged with failure to report the young girl's disappearance.
“They have some evidence that she was spotted, or her car was spotted in this area,” M. Quentin Williams, a former FBI agent who is not involved in this case said.
It was not immediately clear what the nature of the trip was.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/madalina-cojocari-case-madison-county-witnesses-toyota-prius/275-be2a8e4f-7c10-474a-8751-cac21084f8de
,1,The Cornelius Police Department is asking for additional witness information in connection to the case of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari. On Friday, investigators released a photo of a Toyota Prius. They said Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, may have been in Madison County, North Carolina sometime between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15. The trip may be connected to the girl's disappearance as this is the three-week period between when Madalina was last seen and when she was reported missing -- a gap in the timeline that is critical to the ongoing investigation.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/madalina-cojocari-case-madison-county-witnesses-toyota-prius/275-be2a8e4f-7c10-474a-8751-cac21084f8de
,1,A big challenge in the investigation into what happened to Madalina Cojocari is the lapse in time between when she was reported missing and her actual disappearance.
The 11-year-old North Carolina girl was last seen publicly on November 21. Recorded video shows her getting off the school bus at her stop. Her mother, Diana Cojocari told police the last time she saw Madalina was on November 23. However, she didn’t report her daughter missing for three more weeks.
That chunk of time allowed prosecutors to charge Diana Cojocari and her husband Christopher Palmiter with a felony crime of failure to report a missing child. This crime falls under what’s known as Caylee’s Law.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/caylees-law-search-madalina-cojocari-missing-girl-north-carolina/275-f01739ec-739c-410e-9c5c-558d23f18d31
,1,The Cornelius Police Department and the state and federal bureau of investigations continue the search for missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari.
It’s been more than 40 days since Madalina was last seen in Cornelius, North Carolina, and details on where the investigation stands have been limited. But on Tuesday, her mother and stepfather were indicted by a grand jury on felony charges of failure to report a missing child. As of Wednesday evening, they are both still in custody.
But what does it mean when a grand jury indicts someone? Chloe Leshner breaks down the latest information: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/madalina-cojocar-missing-what-does-a-grand-jury-indictment-mean/275-83ea5847-63d9-42e2-b47c-6d7effba77a6
,1,A grand jury has indicted the mother and stepfather of missing Cornelius 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari. The indictment is for the failure to report her missing to law enforcement. Madalina was last seen getting off a school bus in November.
Tonight the new Cornelius Police Chief says that under his leadership nothing will change about the way the department is investigating this case and police will continue to release information in the same way as before.
,1,The state of New York was hit hard with a brutal winter storm over Christmas weekend. The blizzard dropped more than 50 inches of snow. Sadly, more than two dozen people died because of it.
One of those who died was Anndel Taylor, a nursing assistant from Charlotte. Taylor was not born in North Carolina, but her family said she grew up in the Queen City.
Her family told WCNC Charlotte Taylor was on her way home from work Friday when she got stuck in the storm. Her family said she made several calls for help, but hours went by, and nothing came of it. She was found in her car the next day but it was too late, and she died just a month shy of her 23rd birthday.
Her mother, Wanda Brown Steele said she is struggling to cope with this tragedy.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/anndel-taylor-death-buffalo-ny-blizzard/275-30686999-9cfd-4b09-bd73-f2f4de0b667b
,1,The FBI released two new photos of Madalina Cojocari, the missing 11-year-old girl from Cornelius, North Carolina, on Friday.
In one of the photos, Madalina is seen with a horse during an apparent horseback lesson. In the other, she's on the beach with toy horses.
This week, European news outlet TV Nord heard from Madalina's grandfather in Moldova. In North Carolina, Briana Harper learns more about the girl from one of her childhood friends: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/new-photos-released-madalina-cojocari-fbi-charlotte-cornelius-north-carolina/275-0a4d1142-19df-4975-bfb5-b6fcaca914ac
,1,The mother of missing 11-year-old girl Madalina Cojocari told investigators that her husband "put her family in danger" before she was arrested in connection with her daughter's disappearance, documents revealed.
Wednesday afternoon, investigators returned to Cojocari's home. WCNC Charlotte is working to learn more information about the reason for the return.
Arrest records obtained by WCNC Charlotte show that Diana Cojocari contacted her family in Moldova about the girl's disappearance but did not call the police. The documents show more conflicting statements from Cojocari about the timeline of events surrounding the time of her daughter's disappearance.
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/madalina-cojocari-diana-cojocari-chrstiopher-palmiter-cornelius-north-carolina-true-crime-disappearance-mystery/275-ba210102-f107-4096-b3b9-d892a7d5e927
,1,With midterm elections heating up, so are attempts to shake voter confidence in the process.
The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are warning that "foreign actors," unlikely to see any notable success in hacking voting infrastructure, would be more inclined to sow the seeds of doubt via misinformation campaigns online.
According to an FBI alert, the attacks could take the form of spoofed websites (nefarious sites intended to appear like legitimate online news sources), fake social media personas, and dark media web channels.
Phil Napoli, a Duke University professor of Public Policy and director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy, said by spreading and amplifying false claims of a compromised voting process, these foreign actors are seeking to create distrust in the elections process itself.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/elections/fbi-election-interference-influencing-voters-concerns/275-a9d6d17c-da49-4131-b875-4362bb10bf06
,1,The first case of the BQ.1 subvariant of omicron was sequenced in Mecklenburg County. Researchers in the lab at UNC Charlotte regularly sequence a handful of positive tests, reading the viruses genetic code to determine which variants are spreading.
The case of BQ.1 was sequenced last week.
“BQ.1 is the one of most concern,” Dr. Raynard Washington, Mecklenburg County Health Director, said. “I think there’s still more to learn about how it behaves if it behaves any differently. It’s certainly causing an uptick in cases in other countries.”
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/bq1-covid-case-mecklenburg-county-booster-demand-low/275-3dc9e096-80cb-4591-9010-d236374595ec
,1,The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.
An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters to recover debris from the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and estimated to be about the size of three school buses. Ahead of the downing, President Joe Biden said: “We’re going to take care of it,” when asked by reporters about the balloon.
Here's a recap from Austin Walker: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/unconfirmed-sightings-of-chinese-spy-balloon-over-the-carolinas/275-46e49300-9a7c-4f0d-91ed-21df19ce7a00
,1,Millions of Americans could be losing Medicaid coverage this spring. Now some people are worried they could lose Medicaid benefits, even if they qualify. In this video, VERIFY reporter Meghan Bragg goes to the experts to find out who will keep their Medicaid coverage and what could disqualify certain recipients from keeping their health care access. #WakeUpCLT #verify
Millions of Americans could be losing Medicaid coverage starting in April. This is because states will now have to begin checking enrollees' Medicaid eligibility, a process that was put on hold due to the pandemic.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 15 million Americans are expected to lose Medicaid coverage. Many of those people won't be eligible for Medicaid, but there are now growing concerns that even people who do qualify will lose their coverage.
THE QUESTION
Could you still lose Medicaid coverage even if you do qualify?
THE ANSWER
Yes, you could still lose Medicaid coverage even if you do qualify.
WHAT WE FOUND: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/verify/verify-medicaid-coverage-eligible-americans-april-2023/275-f9199eb9-6f34-4442-ac21-56a5a6f71524
,1,Saturday, Jan. 21 marks two months since Madalina Cojocari was last seen on surveillance footage getting off her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina.
Diana Cojocari, Madalina's mother, first reported her daughter missing on Dec. 15, 2022, during a meeting with officials at Bailey Middle School. At the time, she maintained she had not seen Madalina since Nov. 23, 2022.
She and Madalina's stepfather Christopher Palmiter were indicted on a charge of failing to report the disappearance of their child. The North Carolina law was established in 2013 after the death of Caylee Anthony in Florida.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/madalina-cojocari-search-continues-two-months-after-she-was-last-seen/275-1c2ce57b-e9f0-4c83-ae0a-b80e94149703
,1,The search for missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari continues. Madalina was last seen publicly on Nov. 21 and wasn’t immediately reported missing. Her mother and stepfather were arrested in mid-December for failure to report a missing child and they’ve been in custody in Mecklenburg County ever since.
Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter have been in custody for a little more than a month now.
A Charlotte area forensic psychologist says that’s very likely taking a toll as investigators still work to get more information from them, especially on what happened in the three weeks Madalina was not reported missing.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/investigations/forensic-psychologist-weighs-investigation-madalina-cojocari/275-c76545e7-9291-456d-a3de-6c7fff4aa2c7
,1,The search for missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari continues. Madalina was last seen publicly on Nov. 21 and wasn’t immediately reported missing. Her mother and stepfather were arrested in mid-December for failure to report a missing child and they’ve been in custody in Mecklenburg County ever since.
Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter have been in custody for a little more than a month now.
A Charlotte area forensic psychologist says that’s very likely taking a toll as investigators still work to get more information from them, especially on what happened in the three weeks Madalina was not reported missing.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/investigations/forensic-psychologist-weighs-investigation-madalina-cojocari/275-c76545e7-9291-456d-a3de-6c7fff4aa2c7
,1,Lawyers for President Joe Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, than previously known, the White House acknowledged Saturday.
White House lawyer Richard Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Biden's private library. The White House had said previously that only a single page was found there.
The latest disclosure is in addition to the discovery of documents found in December in Biden's garage and in November at his former offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, from his time as vice president. The apparent mishandling of classified documents and official records from the Obama administration are under investigation by a former U.S. attorney, Robert Hur, who was appointed as a special counsel on Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-classified-documents-found-at-home/507-4dee8cb6-0b59-4767-9559-0dc3f58365dd
,1,This weekend marks one month since 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari was reported missing by her mother, Diana Cojocari, to a Bailey Middle School resource officer.
However, it's been longer than that, 53 days, since the last confirmed sighting of Madalina getting off the school bus in her neighborhood. Cornelius police haven't given any updates on the investigation this week. But Chloe Leshner learns the department is getting plenty of support from the community: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/madalina-cojocari-missing-cornelius-north-carolina-girl-community-brings-meals-to-police/275-3e663c50-cd73-406a-9746-50df76cfa5d3
,1,Search warrants connected to the disappearance of Madalina Cojocari, the 11-year-old from Cornelius, North Carolina, who has not been seen since November 2022, were unsealed for the first time Tuesday.
The search warrants were executed to search her family's home and review the cell phone records of both Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, and her stepfather, Christopher Palmiter.
The warrants give some more information on the timeline of this investigation and insight into what police were looking for when they searched Madalina’s house. As expected, portions of the documents are redacted and there is not a clear picture of everything investigators took from their searches.
Police had three search warrants for Madalina’s house in Cornelius. Two are from before Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter were arrested and the third is from December 21, when WCNC Charlotte saw investigators leave the house with several bags of evidence.
READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/judge-unseal-new-document-madalina-cojocari-disappearance/275-3f208da4-2a6f-40c6-8336-3da76c324b8b
,1,"You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."
The U.S. Food and Drug administration has issued a warning after health officials learned some people have been using drugs for livestock to try and treat COVID-19.
This time, the administration is advising against the use of ivermectin, a drug commonly used to treat parasites in animals.
It's become a problem in Mississippi, where coronavirus cases from the delta variant have skyrocketed over the last few weeks. The Mississippi State Department of Health issued a warning Friday, saying that the state's poison control center, "has received an increasing number of calls from individuals with potential ivermectin exposure taken to treat or prevent COVID-19 infection."
Specifically, the department says, Mississippians are purchasing the drug at livestock supply stores and using it to allegedly treat themselves. According to the MSDH, most of the incidents involved people with minor symptoms. #WakeUpCLT #COVID19 #Ivermectin
Keep Reading: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/fda-ivermectin-covid-19-warning/507-4a40fcb6-53c9-4063-9dc2-64a0db109203
,1,A Charlotte family visiting Downtown Asheville for the weekend say they were confronted by a women yelling racial slurs at them as they simply walked down the street.
Aisha Sabur says when she first heard the woman screaming she was in shock.