Thug allegedly uses baseball bat to fracture skull of female DoorDash driver — after she honked at him at green light



A 44-year-old male allegedly fractured a female DoorDash driver's skull with a baseball bat earlier this month in Jacksonville, North Carolina — after she honked at him at a green light when he wouldn't move his vehicle in front of her.

Around 1:20 a.m. Aug. 1, 34-year-old Christen Phillips was making a delivery when she stopped at the intersection of Western Boulevard and Gum Branch Road, WITN-TV reported.

'It's a miracle that I woke up.'

Phillips told deputies with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office that the car in front of her did not move when the light turned green, so she honked her horn, the station said.

Deputies told WITN the driver moved out of Phillips' way — then began following her.

After Phillips dropped off food in the Shamrock Drive area, deputies told the station the man she honked at hit her in the head with a baseball bat as she walked back to her car.

Deputies said Stanley Shockley is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury, WITN reported.

Phillips was able to get to a hospital soon after the attack and suffered severe injuries, the station said.

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Phillips told WCTI-TV she was knocked unconscious during the attack.

"When the guy hit me in the head, and I was knocked out, I believe he thought I was dead, left me for dead," Phillips noted to WCTI. "It's a miracle that I woke up."

Phillips added to WCTI she suffered multiple skull fractures and a fractured cheekbone and underwent brain surgery.

Investigators on Monday searched the home on Shamrock Drive where Shockley lives, WITN reported, adding that investigators said the search helped them connect Shockley to Phillips’ assault.

During a court appearance Tuesday morning, a prosecutor accused Shockley of wiping his Ring camera footage clean, WITN said, adding that Shockley lives six doors down from where the crime occurred.

A judge ordered Shockley to be held without bond, WITN noted.

Sheriff Chris Thomas said tips from the public and the work of detectives helped investigators make the arrest Monday, WCTI reported.

"We appreciate the number of tips and leads the public provided us," Thomas said, according to WCTI. "Our detectives follow every lead, carefully work through the evidence, and continue to pursue answers even when the investigation presents challenges."

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Baby Found In Toilet At 31 Weeks Was Likely Victim Of Loosely Enforced Abortion Pill Laws

A woman in North Carolina and her boyfriend were arrested last week after she allegedly took the abortion pill while 31 weeks pregnant and gave birth to a baby in a toilet. 18-year-old Syeisha Johnson and 19-year-old Elijah Speight face a charge of negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. Johnson also faces two other […]

'I Hope You End Up Kirked': North Carolina Lawmaker Gets Death Threats After She Complains About Transgender Music Teacher at Elementary School

A Republican lawmaker in North Carolina has received death threats after raising concerns about a pentagram-skirt-wearing transgender music teacher who has been hired by an Apex, N.C., elementary school.

The post 'I Hope You End Up Kirked': North Carolina Lawmaker Gets Death Threats After She Complains About Transgender Music Teacher at Elementary School appeared first on .

Former HS counselor arrested for allegedly 'abusing her position' to gain 'inappropriate relationships' with students



A former high school counselor in North Carolina is facing serious charges after she allegedly sent sexual content to multiple teens, police said.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that 37-year-old Lesli Bryant turned herself in to authorities at the magistrate's office on July 2, one day after she was charged with two counts of indecent liberties with students and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

'It is a felony under NC law for a school employee to engage in sexual activities with a student.'

North Carolina law states that indecent liberties with students is a felony charge:

If a defendant, who is a teacher, school administrator, student teacher, school safety officer, or coach, at any age, or who is other school personnel and is at least four years older than the victim, takes indecent liberties with a victim who is a student, at any time during or after the time the defendant and victim were present together in the same school but before the victim ceases to be a student, the defendant is guilty of a Class G felony, unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing for greater punishment.

A Class G felony is punishable by 10 to 31 months in prison.

Bryant posted a $50,000 secured bond.

WRAL-TV reported that a judge ordered her to have no contact with two alleged victims and to be restricted from entering Orange County Schools property.

The sheriff's office noted that Bryant resigned from her counselor job at Orange High School on June 12.

A school system spokesperson told the Raleigh News & Observer that Bryant resigned after the district suspended her with pay.

Bryant is not listed in the staff directory for Orange High School or on the website for Orange County Schools.

Police said, "After school administrators notified a school resource officer of allegations of misconduct by Bryant with multiple students, deputies opened an investigation."

The Raleigh News & Observer obtained the police report that said a teacher notified school administrators about "a possible student-teacher relationship" after a student informed them that Bryant was sending nude photos to another student.

The assistant principal of Orange High School alerted a school resource officer of the allegations on June 4, according to police.

WRAL obtained the arrest warrant stating that Bryant was using the Snapchat app to send nude photos and videos with sexual content.

Bryant, of Hillsborough, asked three teens to send her nude photos of themselves, court documents stated.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Bryant at least once allegedly convinced a minor student to send her a nude photo of himself.

A sheriff's deputy wrote in a supplemental report obtained by the Raleigh News & Observer, "During the process of examining the Snapchat search warrants, it was observed that Lesli had distributed illicit material to at least three different males outside of the victims discussed in this case."

The officer added, "It should be noted that of these males in question, they appeared to be younger adult males."

"The situation created by these events brought to light that Lesli was abusing her position within the school to create inappropriate relationships with both current and former students," according to the supplemental report.

Prosecutors said the alleged incidents began in November 2025 and were as recent as April 2026, and the involved teens were ages 17 and 18 at the time.

RELATED: Video allegedly shows female HS teacher wearing 'Jesus Loves You' shirt while having sex with student: Warrants

The North Carolina School Boards Association previously released a guide titled: "Boundary Invasions and Sexual Grooming: What Every School Employee Must Know About Avoiding Inappropriate Staff-Student Relationships."

"It is a felony under N.C. law for a school employee to engage in sexual activities with a student," the guide warns. "Consent is not a defense."

"Sexual misconduct/sexual harassment is a violation of the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Conduct for North Carolina Educators," the guide reads.

The guide also points out that federal law forbids school systems from assisting any school employee who is convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in finding another job.

The New York Post reported that Bryant is married with two children.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigator C. Tapp at 919-245-2964.

Bryant is scheduled to appear in court on July 20.

Neither the Orange County Sheriff's Office nor Orange County Schools immediately responded to Blaze News' requests for comment.

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Exclusive: Wisconsin ‘Loophole’ Imperils Secret Ballots

In the swing state, a little-known election law could turn the private act of absentee voting into a very public matter.

Inmates overpower guards and take 2 hostage at NC jail — until officers storm the facility



Law enforcement officials ended a hostage situation at a jail in North Carolina hours after the inmates were able to overpower guards.

The inmate takeover began at about 5 a.m. at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor.

'The perpetrators must be held accountable for this horrifying action.'

Three guards were accosted and two were taken hostage, while the third was able to escape, according to police.

Hours later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Charlotte announced that an FBI hostage team and a SWAT team helped clear the facility.

"All inmates and staff are safe and accounted for, and those who sustained injuries received treatment," the FBI statement reads. "Inmates were transferred to other facilities for housing, and the detention center will remain secured while personnel assess the extent of the damage."

There were 88 inmates at the detention center, which has about 90 beds. The facility houses pretrial detainees and short-term inmates for Bertie County and Martin County.

Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said the two released guards were being treated for injuries, but he did not elaborate on the nature of the injuries.

Ruffin did not answer questions about the cause of the takeover.

"Right now we have a lot going on that we're trying to get under control," he added. "I will release that information to the public as soon as I can."

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"The perpetrators must be held accountable for this horrifying action," Gov. Josh Stein (D-N.C.) said on social media.

"We also must do everything in our power to ensure this doesn't happen again — and that includes doing more to recruit, retain, and compensate the county and state officials who are charged with keeping our jails and prisons safe," he added.

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Democratic Senate Hopeful Roy Cooper Hosted Imam Closely Tied to Hamas at Secret ‘Iftar Dinner’ at NC Governor’s Mansion: Muslim Soiree Kept Under Wraps for Weeks

Former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper quietly hosted a controversial imam with deep ties to Hamas at the North Carolina governor's mansion in 2018 for a dinner where the imam led a Muslim prayer, mingled with fellow Muslim leaders, and posed for pictures with Cooper and his wife.

The post Democratic Senate Hopeful Roy Cooper Hosted Imam Closely Tied to Hamas at Secret ‘Iftar Dinner’ at NC Governor’s Mansion: Muslim Soiree Kept Under Wraps for Weeks appeared first on .

Platner’s Top Strategist Morris Katz Once Denounced a Democrat for Sexual Misconduct, Defended His Client Who Endorsed a Republican: Why Is He Still Backing Sex-Pest Platner?

It’s a Katz-22

The post Platner’s Top Strategist Morris Katz Once Denounced a Democrat for Sexual Misconduct, Defended His Client Who Endorsed a Republican: Why Is He Still Backing Sex-Pest Platner? appeared first on .

Muslim, pro-Palestine HS valedictorian blasts ICE in graduation speech — which school official cuts short: 'I feel oppressed'



A Muslim, pro-Palestine valedictorian from a North Carolina high school blasted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during her commencement speech last week, which a school official is seen on video cutting short.

During the graduation ceremony for Clayton High School last Thursday, Leen Hijaz delivered the welcome speech, WRAL-TV said, adding in its video report that Hijaz is the valedictorian of the graduating class.

As Hijaz reached the closing remarks of her speech, she began commenting about ICE and Palestine, the station said. The following is the transcript of Hijaz's final words based on a video recording:

Before I leave the stage, I have one last thing to say. Every single person here has a voice, and we are privileged to have the freedom to use it when so many people around the world are struggling and suffering to be heard. Whether it's the millions suffering in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan, and so many other countries around the world, or the families being torn apart by ICE, these are not distant issues; they are happening right now as I speak. My point is, we're not given a voice to stay silent.

Then what appeared to be a school official approached Hijaz at the podium and cut off her speech, after which Hijaz turned and sat down in her seat onstage.

Nevertheless, the crowd gave Hijaz a big round of applause.

Below is the clip of her off-script words:

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The moment was captured on video as Clayton High School live streamed the commencement ceremony on the school's YouTube page, WRAL reported.

What's more, Hijaz on her TikTok account the day after the graduation ceremony said her diploma was being withheld due to her words in her speech, the station said.

"What I focused on throughout my entire life was my education, and for something so important to me, something that I worked hard for 12 years of my life to get taken from me, I feel oppressed," Hijaz said, according to WRAL.

Hijaz in her TikTok video also identified herself as a Muslim and added that she was the graduating class' valedictorian even though she was technically a junior, noting that she graduated early.

Hijaz added that for six months she did "a lot of fighting to get on that stage" before the school "gave in and they said that I could do the welcome speech."

"The only reason why I wanted to go on that stage is because I wanted to say something,” Hijaz said in her TikTok video. “And I really think that somebody had to say something because nobody else is going to speak up. Nobody."

Hijaz added in her TikTok video that when the high school principal approached her at the podium, the principal said that "if you don't stop speaking right now, you're not graduating."

What's more, Hijaz said in her TikTok video that her diploma was going to be "withheld for a week."

RELATED: 'Substantial risks': USC releases outside commencement speakers just days after axing Muslim student's valedictorian speech

The News & Observer said the school's principal didn't respond to an email requesting comment on the incident.

In a statement provided to WRAL, Johnston County Public Schools said students were required to submit their remarks well in advance of graduation and that a student deviated from what administrators preapproved.

"School administrators intervened in order to maintain the integrity and focus of the program in real time," the district said, according to the station. "This action was not about limiting a student’s voice but about ensuring that a school-sponsored event remained consistent with its intended purpose."

In her TikTok video, Hijaz said she didn't submit the end of her speech as part of her official speech because she said the school would've denied it "immediately because of how racist they are."

"I was extremely scared to say something and really wasn't planning on doing it, but I had so much support from my friends and family around me, and they really encouraged me to say something," Hijaz said in her TikTok video, adding that "I didn't get the chance to say everything I wanted to say, but I said enough that the word went out."

Hijaz added in her TikTok clip that her principal was yelling her name and making her feel "uncomfortable" — and that later the principal said that she was "so disappointed" in Hijaz and that the valedictorian "made this all about" herself and "abused" the "privilege to speak."

The school district told WRAL that while it respects students' right to express their views and encourages important conversations concerning their views, they also have "a responsibility to ensure that official school events remain inclusive, respectful, and focused on celebrating all graduates."

"We remain committed to supporting student expression while upholding the structure and expectations of school-sponsored activities," the district said, according to WRAL.

WRAL added that the school district has given Hijaz's diploma to her.

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North Carolina Rep. Ben Moss Pulls Name From Bill Classifying Abortion As Murder

'Capital punishment'