ON EARTH DAY, DURHAM MAYOR STEVE SCHEWEL CONCERNED ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING: In the summer of 1969, oily debris in Cleveland’s Cuyahoga burst into flames, searing the scourge of pollution into the public consciousness. “I remember Duke students beginning to talk about the environment in a new way,” Durham Mayor Steve Schewel said. Schewel thinks back to that first Earth Day, when his classmates rallied on the Duke University quad 10 months after the Cuyahoga combusted. “Well, I think we need it a lot more than we did when it began in 1970,” he said. Schewel says a warming world lends urgency to the Earth Day cause. “You and I are going to be fine, but our children and grandchildren, they won’t be unless we can change the way in which we interact with our environment,’ he said.
http://www.wral.com/-we-need-it-a-lot-more-durham-celebrates-significance-of-earth-day/17503822/

Not sure if this is even legal, but it's definitely unethical:

Independent N.C. House candidate Ken Fontenot should have enough signatures to see his name on the ballot in November, but supporters aren’t counting electoral chickens before they hatch. “Because they’re not verified, I’m not claiming victory,” said Christy Fyle, chairwoman of the Wilson County Republican Party.

The N.C. Republican Party is also backing Fontenot. State party officials paid for mailers that include a detachable petition signature form with a postage-paid return label to be distributed to 6,000 Wilson County homes. Rep. Susan Martin, R-Wilson, recorded a robocall urging Wilson voters to sign the petition.

Bolding mine, because it takes a special kind of idiot reporter to crank out such nonsense. You're either independent or you're not, and this candidate is not even close:

ICE AGENTS USE LIES AND PRETEXT TO ENTER IMMIGRANTS' HOMES: “They give a typically Hispanic name, like Francisco or José, and show a picture,” he said. “And in the course of speaking they ask for identification.” That’s what happened to Edwin Enamorado, one of the two men arrested in Hillsborough last week. His wife, who asked that her name be withheld, said ICE agents tricked her daughter in order to enter her home. The couple’s 18-year-old daughter, who was born in Durham, opened the door, the wife said. Five policemen — only a few with the word ‘ICE’ on their vests — showed her a picture of the man they were looking for. It wasn’t Enamorado. The agents asked to enter the house, promising her they wouldn’t ask for anyone elses's identification. “After verifying and looking in every room, and [realizing] the person they were looking for wasn’t there, they proceeded to ask for documentation of the family and arrested the husband,” Posada said.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/orange-county/article209495499.html

Because they are doing what you have failed to do:

High school principals made a robo call to parents this week telling them the event planned by CHC Enough, a student-led anti-gun violence organization, would be viewed as a school disruption and violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

"We fully support student voice, however it must be done in a way that is safe and doesn’t negatively impact education," the principals said in their call. "The April 20 walkout as currently promoted is a disruption to the school day, and a violation of the student code of conduct - which will be enforced."

This isn't just a local thing, the entire world is watching. It's the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, which took place 19 years ago, and should have been a catalyst for changes to laws surrounding the purchase of deadly weapons. Yet we still have loosely-regulated gun shows and pretty much no control over the sales of "long guns." In a word, nothing happened. It's that failure of society and the government it relies upon that has brought this about, and punishing those students for what amounts to protecting their own lives would be shameful. And if you want to see the quintessence of hypocrisy, check this out: