The Fayetteville Observer
Dubai’s safe-haven status put to the test
DUBAI – For decades, Dubai’s sales pitch featured gleaming skylines, taxfree salaries, ease of doing business and something far more intangible: the unspoken promise that whatever was happening elsewhere in the Middle East, this city was different. The...
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Whitted’s legacy lives on in Fayetteville and HBCU sports
I ran into Fred Whitted most often in the Headquarters Library on Maiden Lane in downtown Fayetteville. He was never without a satchel or a bag or books or something else that denoted serious research. The public library was one of his offices — as it...
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Iran air strikes mark Trump’s biggest gamble
WASHINGTON – With his large-scale attack on Iran, President Donald Trump has seized a legacydefining moment to demonstrate his readiness to exercise raw U.S. military power. But in doing so, he is also taking the biggest foreign policy gamble of his...
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Vitriol. Profanity. Politics. Experts warn about role social media has played
WASHINGTON – Most of this story isn’t fit for a family newspaper. The country’s political discourse has deteriorated to the point – or become so robust – that the president can drop an f-bomb and get one lobbed back in return. Of course, caustic...
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Foster hometown pride to grow civic engagement
Eileen Higgins won a historic victory in December. She became the first woman ever elected mayor of Miami, as well as its first Democratic mayor since 1997. h Although the stakes in the city’s Dec. 9, runoff election were high, interest was not − 4 in...
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Trump presents Fort Bragg pilot with Medal of Honor
A special operations pilot who was involved in the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro was presented with the Medal of Honor during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Feb. 24. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during U.S....
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Trump touts economic gains
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump declared the country is booming, his opponents are “crazy” and his administration is engaged in unprecedented levels of “winning” in a marathon State of the Union address that comes as polls showed deep skepticism of...
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NC electricity bills could jump
With rising affordability concerns, especially surging electricity bills, a growing political hot potato in North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein in August 2025 formed a task force to “develop recommendations for how to manage increasing electricity demand...
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Cumberland forum heats up as differences emerge
Mario Benavente, a former Fayetteville City Council member known for shaking things up on that body, indicated he would pursue a similar path if elected as an at-large Cumberland County commissioner, as he turned an otherwise low-key candidates’ forum...
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Adoption pause extended
Cumberland County said the animal shelter will continue its now-monthlong pause on owner surrendersand adoptions amid an outbreak of an upper respiratory illness. This is the third time the pause has been extended since it took effect Jan. 17, after...
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J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off ’ is a love letter to Fayetteville
J. Cole’s latest project, “The FallOff,” is an “if you know, you know” album. The 24-track project is a collection of stories from in and around Fayetteville. From the beginning to the end, the Terry Sanford graduate displays his pride for the...
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Alleged trade leaks led to Andrew’s arrest
WASHINGTON – It wasn’t Jeffrey Epstein’s illicit past that led to the stunning arrest of Andrew MountbattenWindsor on Feb. 19. It was the alleged leak of confidential information from the former prince to the convicted sex offender while Andrew acted...
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STUDY: PLANET IS IN WATER BANKRUPTCY
The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back from frequent water shortages. h About 4 billion people – nearly half...
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Salvation Army shelter reopens after closure
Amid negotiations with the county, the Salvation Army decided to open the doors to its shelter on Alexander Street ahead of unseasonably cold January nights when ice hit the area and as much as 6 inches of snow fell Jan. 31. Some eight months earlier,...
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Civil rights icon ‘kept the dream alive’
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases and shamed corporations for their lack of diversity and failure to support voting rights, died on Feb. 17. He...
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National Guard fully withdrawn from 3 cities
National Guard soldiers have fully withdrawn from Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon, military officials said, ending federalized troop operations in half of the cities where the Trump administration launched them last year. The troops competed...
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AI COMPANIES GEAR UP TO SELL ADS
Eighteen months ago, it was plausible that artificial intelligence might take a different path than social media. Back then, AI’s development hadn’t consolidated under a small number of big tech firms. Nor had it capitalized on consumer attention,...
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‘Unmatched bravery’
FORT BRAGG — Speaking to hundreds of soldiers at Fort Bragg on Feb. 13, President Donald Trump’s nearly 30-minute speech touched on renaming Fort Bragg, political endorsements and the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump spoke...
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Student informants spur academic freedom debate
Texas A&M University told philosophy professor Martin Peterson in early January that he could not teach some of Greek philosopher Plato’s writings that touch on “race and gender ideology.” The university’s local chapter of the American Association of...
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Deadline looming for DHS reforms
WASHINGTON – Congress and the White House are locked in negotiations over potential reforms to the Department of Homeland Security as a deadline to shut down the agency approaches. Lawmakers have until the end of Feb. 13, to reach an agreement or risk...
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Barber rallies crowd with a call to ‘love forward’
Social justice advocate Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and his Repairers of the Breach movement are touring North Carolina with a message of love, timed to Valentine’s Day — and the election primaries. At Crossroads Church of Fayetteville on Feb. 5,...
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Elections board: Clerk may have affected Godwin race
The Cumberland County Elections Board unanimously ruled Feb. 6 that an elections law violation by the Godwin town clerk may have affected the town commission race and sent its findings to the state board — which could order a new election. The hearing...
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Residents challenge data center push
Fayetteville residents Jan. 29 were confirmed in what many of them have already seen: Data centers, the powerhungry facilities that fuel Artificial Intelligence and other online activity, are closely eyeing our city and region. Robert Van Geons,...
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MAGA vs. Bad Bunny splits Super Bowl
Sen. Tommy Tuberville was thrilled to attend the Super Bowl in 2025 when he hitched a ride on Air Force One, joining President Donald Trump and several other Republican lawmakers for the big game. “Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” the Republican senator for...
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MLK Ride hopes to bring youthful energy to park
Joe McGee wants young people to embrace Fayetteville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Park. He believes getting young people invested in the park will help safeguard the future of the site, which is anchored by a statue of the Civil Rights icon and has been...
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Pedestrian deaths by trains persisting
In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to West Palm Beach was extended to Orlando in 2023. h Unfortunately, the southern end of...
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Who should control no-parking zones
Having children means their social calendar is your social calendar. That means parties, among other commitments. A common text exchange between parents who otherwise might not have ever met is: “What would he (or she) want for his birthday?” meaning...
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Spring Lake residents work, play through rare snowfall
SPRING LAKE — It may have been five hours later than the regular start time, but Charity Geiger and one other employee managed to open 7 Brew in Spring Lake by 10 a.m. Sunday. Despite the nearly 4 inches of snow a winter storm dumped on the...
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Media advocates decry Lemon’s arrest
Press advocacy groups criticized President Donald Trump’s administration over its arrests of former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort in connection with a Minnesota church protest, calling the moves unconstitutional. Lemon...
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Meet this year’s Future Black History Makers
I’ve spent the past few weeks learning about a group of exceptional young people. Today, on the first day of Black History Month 2026, I am honored to introduce them to you. They are the 28 Cumberland County Schools students who make up The...
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Consumer-driven future seen for GLP-1 drugs
LONDON – Ask executives in the health care industry about the future market for weight-loss drugs and the analogies are telling: monthly GLP-1 medicine subscriptions like a streaming video membership; dose decisions managed on a smartphone app; access...
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Can ‘Trump Accounts’ help boost savings ?
NEW YORK – “Trump Accounts” are tax-advantaged investment accounts designed to boost the savings of U.S. citizens under the age of 18. More than 500,000 families have signed up for the program. The government will launch the program in July. The U.S....
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Neighbors urged to seek help through Fayetteville sign program
Maybe your neighborhood entrance sign has seen better days. Out-of-control vehicles seem to love them, as discovered by neighbors in Loch Lomond and Glenn Reilly. Both neighborhoods are on Reilly Road, and sports utility vehicles damaged signs at...
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Judge orders ICE director to court
MINNEAPOLIS − Minnesota’s chief federal judge ordered the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in court over what he says is the Trump administration’s repeated failure to grant detained immigrants bond hearings despite judicial...
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‘They didn’t leave us anything at all’
DEIR DIBWAN, West Bank – The Jewish settler outpost of Or Meir is small. A handful of prefabricated white shelters, it sits at the end of a short dirt track on a hill leading up from Road 60, a major route that dissects the Israeli-occupied West...
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Is ICE violating Fourth Amendment?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing scrutiny over its assertion that federal officers can forcibly enter a home without a judicial warrant – a move constitutional scholars, immigration experts and a federal judge say is a clear violation of...
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‘It’s an honor to serve with you and for you’ 82nd Airborne names new command sergeant major
FORT BRAGG — Since he was 13 years old, Command Sgt. Maj. Randolph Delapena knew he wanted to serve in the 82nd Airborne Division, after meeting paratroopers when his hometown was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. Delapena has served with the division...
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U.S. faces ‘human rights emergency,’ group says
One year into the second Trump administration, the United States has quickly eroded human rights safeguards, according to Amnesty International. The nonprofit released a report Jan. 20, the anniversary of President Donald Trump retaking office, saying...
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Trump says Ukraine deal is ‘coming soon’
President Donald Trump joined world leaders for a signing ceremony in Switzerland on Jan. 22 for his Board of Peace and said it has the potential to be “one of the most consequential bodies,” though it wasn’t clear what specific function the board will...
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3 Fayetteville rallies protest Trump administration, ICE
Rallies in Fayetteville on Tuesday protested President Donald Trump and his administration, with two of the rallies focusing on the Trump administration’s large-scale deployment of armed federal immigration agents into U.S. cities. A noon protest on...
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DOJ investigating MN demonstration
The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into a Minnesota demonstration that interrupted a church service Jan. 18. A group of protesters entered Cities Church in St. Paul, alleging that Pastor David Easterwood serves as the acting...
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‘ABOVE AND BEYOND’
Beaver Dam Elementary School is located in a close-knit, mainly rural community. Although a part of Cumberland County Schools, it has a mailing address in Roseboro, in neighboring Bladen County. School ties go back generations. Take, for example,...
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Fayetteville MLK parade fallout raises questions
The city of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Cumberland County MLK Committee have been partners for many years, most prominently over the MLK Park, which is in line for a dramatic expansion, eventually. But Fayetteville officials are scratching their...
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Secretary of Education visits Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE — Amid efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, a move its leader says would restore education decisions to the states, Education Secretary Linda McMahon made a stop in Fayetteville this week on a history tour. Dubbed the...
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Local businesses organize cleanup of Cape Fear River
A local business owner has partnered with Deep Creek Outfitters to highlight the Cape Fear River’s importance to Cumberland County by gathering volunteers for a cleanup in February. Aaron Sweat, who operates Bottom Feeders Fishing Club with his friend...
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FIGHTING THE CLIMATE
WAWANESA, Manitoba – When farmer Simon Ellis first drove his combine into his 2025 crop, he expected “catastrophic failure,” after a season of flooding followed by a long drought. But instead of shriveled kernels, plump seeds of wheat, oats and...
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AI frenzy driving supply chain crisis
An acute global shortage of memory chips is forcing artificial intelligence and consumer-electronics companies to fight for dwindling supplies, as prices soar for the unglamorous but essential components that allow devices to store data. Japanese...
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Fayetteville mainstay BJ’s Used Books has reopened
After more than a year away, BJ’s Used Books is back in business at a new location off Bragg Boulevard. Owner, Rudy Edwards, said Jan. 2 that the bookstore reopened Christmas Eve at 2636 Bragg Blvd. Suite 100, within the Eutaw Village Shopping Center....
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U.S. interventions differ in major ways
Gunfire in the streets of a Latin American capital. U.S. military troops swooping in by helicopter. A foreign leader, accused of drug trafficking, hauled off to America in handcuffs. The Trump administration’s Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan President...
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RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
A District New Year’s Eve Spectacular at downtown Fayetteville’s Festival Park on December 31.
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What’s next for the Lumbee tribe?
Nearly 140 years after first seeking federal recognition, an act of Congress has recognized the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The Pembroke-based tribe says it has about 60,000 members and is the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi...
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‘Made in USA’ gets boost from tariffs
Forty-one years ago, when Sara Irvani’s grandfather launched a footwear company in Buford, Georgia, half the nation’s shoes were made in America. Today, the figure is down to 1%. “From the late 1890s through the 1970s or so, there had actually been...
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Toddler critical after mother dies from apartment fire
Authorities have identified the woman who died in a Yadkin Road apartment fire Dec. 29 and revealed that her 1-yearold daughter was critically injured. According to the Fayetteville Police Department, Porsha Quarles, 35, and her toddler were rescued...
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Big events on calendar for 2026
As a new year dawns, many Americans are reflecting on 2025, a year marked by historic events including the inauguration of a president, the appointment of the first American pope, and major pop culture moments like the release of “Wicked: For Good” and...
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AI to review Medicare claims in pilot program
A new Medicare program that uses artificial intelligence to review medical claims is set to launch in six states. Critics worry it will lead to patients being denied necessary care and more red tape for providers. The controversial new six-year pilot...
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‘The freedom to be unkind’
Alley Mills Bean approached the podium at a Los Angeles City Council meeting alongside council member Traci Park on a June day in 2024, Emmy in hand. She’d won it the previous year for her role as the hook-wielding serial killer Heather Webber on...
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Meet the missing person cases police investigator
The Fayetteville Police Department has created a new position in 2025, entrusting an experienced detective with overseeing missing person cases. Holly Vernon, 33, said she was promoted in May to a new role, allowing her oversight of all missing...
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‘DEEP CONNECTION’
The places Indigenous peoples call home have intertwined with their ways of life for millennia. Their stories, foodways and cultures relate directly to their homelands. Lands, waters, plants and animals, the creatures that inhabit the waters below and...
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‘Help’s farther away’
In the 1960s, doctors believed heart muscle died instantly during a heart attack, like throwing a light switch, according to the American Heart Association. Dr. Eugene Braunwald’s research proposed a heart attack was more like a dimmer – the damage...
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New Epstein files spotlight Trump
WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton had his moment in the spotlight on Dec. 19 when the first batch of the Epstein files were released. On Dec. 23, it was sitting President Donald Trump’s turn. His name surfaced repeatedly in a new tranche of...
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A ‘strong work ethic and passion for students’
Kaitlyn Shepard is in her first year teaching first grade at Warrenwood Elementary School and has already been recognized with a Beginning Teacher Spotlight Award in Cumberland County Schools for the first quarter. This new teacher can say she...
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Turning Point USA gains ground on campuses
Apair of students stood in the Indiana University Indianapolis student center asking a simple legal question: “Is ‘hate speech’ protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution?” Students slowed to read the white board, and many shuffled toward...
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Inside how ICE operates in Trump’s America
KANSAS CITY, MO – Inside an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in a suburban office park hangs a printed-out text message that immigration officers feel is aimed at them: “Get a gun and shoot them in the streets.” It’s tacked on a...
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States take up conservation goals terminated by Trump
WASHINGTON – With a snappy title and a laudable goal, “30 by 30” was a landmark plan hatched to help save at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. Alongside this multinational push, the United States had its own trailblazing version of...
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‘Reminder to never let your guard down’
Overall, a bit slower than expected − and a lucky one for U.S. coastal residents. That pretty much sums up the 2025 hurricane season, which wrapped Nov. 30. While the somewhat uneven season eventually produced a pretty normal number of storms, and...
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Bondi suspect charged with 15 murders
SYDNEY – A man who allegedly opened fire on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach has been charged with 59 offenses, including murder and terrorism, police said on Dec. 17. The alleged father-and-son perpetrators opened fire on...
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Justices could buck Trump on Fed
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices appear ready to endorse President Donald Trump’s power to fire a regulatory agency official despite job protections given by Congress. But they have signaled reluctance to give him similar...
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County finds short-term use for lot
Cumberland County officials plan to turn a former county parking lot, intended to be the site of the Crown Event Center, into a temporary green space until deciding long-term plans for the spot. The county broke ground for the Crown Event Center...
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‘I encourage us to be bold’
A consulting firm hired by Cumberland County Schools earlier this year to evaluate all of the district’s buildings is recommending multiple school closures and consolidations while building a few new schools and renovating E.E. Smith High...
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EPA rule could curb protections for wetlands
Following a trend that started in 2023 with a U.S. Supreme Court decision, it’s been a rough few years for North Carolina’s wetlands and their supporters. Now an announcement by the Trump administration that it could further water down federal...
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Private firms snap up mobile home parks
One of America’s most affordable paths to homeownership is slipping away. At manufactured home parks – sometimes called trailer parks or mobile home parks – rents are rapidly rising due to large-scale buyouts by private equity firms. Although private...
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Fayetteville State competing in HBCU Band of the Year
The Fayetteville State University marching band is preparing for its biggest performance in school history at the Red Lobster Band of the Year National Championship this month. The Marching Bronco Xpress is performing Dec. 12 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium...
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Defense tech firms face growing pains
SIMI VALLEY, CA – U.S. defense technology companies have roughly doubled their share of Pentagon contracts over the past year, but they face growing pains as they try to evolve from hot startups into heavyweights capable of building weapons at...
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Comparing Fayetteville’s vacancies to U.S. trends
Fayetteville’s vacancy rate for commercial buildings is below the national average, according to a fourth-quarter report released by the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation. The report released Nov. 14 states that the retail...
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