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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This "long-shot" candidate in eastern North Carolina might actually have a chance. 👀 If he does, we could be heading for a "blue wave." Billy Ball Explains NC has the story. 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIOX...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

#BreakingNews in western NC, where local protesters are planning demonstrations to denounce the Trump administration's response to Helene. They're protesting during the Trump administration's G20 summit in Asheville—beginning Saturday.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Recently, the NC GOP posted an AI-generated image of Roy Cooper in a Bernie Sanders T-shirt. In a new Billy Ball Explains NC, we fact-check them and explain why Republicans are trying to create a "red scare" where there isn't one in North Carolina. Tap below 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK46...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

The Carolina Museum of the Marine was years in the making, but it's open now. We talked about it—and North Carolina's close history with the Marines—in a new Billy Ball Explains NC. 🔗 in the thread.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

NC leads the nation in people who lost their enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans. That's going to make health care more expensive for everybody, whether you have a plan or not. In a new Billy Ball Explains NC (🔗 in thread), we talk about why Republicans in Congress could have stopped this.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Today at 4:30 pm, Cardinal & Pine talks the 2026 elections with US Senate candidate Roy Cooper and NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. Register to attend this free virtual event 👇 us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Republicans don't have a lot of dirt on Roy Cooper, so they're just going to make some stuff up. In a new Billy Ball Explains NC, we break down the massive amount a GOP super PAC is spending to try to make Cooper look like a villain. 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Qf...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The Republican-dominated NC Supreme Court just dealt a devastating blow to public education in North Carolina. 🔗 below for this breaking news story cardinalpine.com/2026/04/02/n...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Get this: ICE has three of these "hold rooms" in North Carolina. To find out where they are, watch the new Billy Ball Explains NC at the 🔗 below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWso...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Phil Berger conceded, but the GOP still has a HUGE problem with election denial. Watch the new Billy Ball Explains NC at the link below. Make sure to like and subscribe so you never miss an episode! www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FH...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

One state senator reportedly even begged Page to stay out of the race.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

This year, Berger acted at Trump's request to gerrymander North Carolina again in order to make it easier to elect Republicans.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

President Trump and Berger's allies in the NC legislature have tried to get Page out of the race. So far, it's not working.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

The 2026 election is already looking like a wild one in North Carolina. Phil Berger, the NC Senate majority leader, is perhaps the most powerful Republican in the state. But he is being challenged in the 2026 primary election by the far-right sheriff of Rockingham County, Sam Page. Keep reading 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

The coalition of grassroots organizations behind the effort is encouraging consumers to support local small businesses in their communities for their Thanksgiving and holiday shopping instead.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Organizers pushing the boycott argue these companies have profited from the worst policies pushed by the Trump administration, stayed silent despite its attacks on immigrant communities, and followed along with its attempts to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

For 4 days from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the “We Ain’t Buying It” movement wants Americans to avoid shopping at Amazon, Home Depot, and Target. Here's what to know. 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Important thread alert, NC. Keep reading. 👇 Border Patrol says they’re targeting “the worst of the worst.” But the News and Observer reports that a woman they arrested in Raleigh, Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio, is 23, a high school graduate, a homeowner, with two traffic violations on her record.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

The bill faces another formal vote in the Senate, then must be approved by the US House and signed by President Trump. But Senate procedural rules were the only real option Democrats had to block a funding bill, so now that the party splintered, there is little they can do to stop final passage.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

The Democrats faced criticism for dropping the effort to protect healthcare subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Without subsidies, premiums will double or triple for tens of thousands of North Carolinians and nearly 160,000 people in the state could lose insurance entirely.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

The longest shutdown in US history seems close to an end. Seven Democrats and an independent who normally votes with Democrats broke from the party line to help pass an initial Senate bill that clears the way for the government to reopen. Keep reading. 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Over the next two election cycles, North Carolinians, including plenty of Trump voters, will continue to be hit hard by Trump’s SNAP cuts, Medicaid cuts, rising grocery costs, and soaring Affordable Care Act premiums. And then they will vote.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Local elections in North Carolina are non-partisan, meaning candidates don’t have party affiliations listed on the ballots. But both state parties made endorsements, and there’s little distance between local and national politics when the consequences of federal policies besiege communities.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Voters in Charlotte and Greensboro ousted the lone Republicans on their city councils, and several towns chose Democrats over longtime Republican mayors, including Burlington, Graham, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, and Wake Forest.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

North Carolina didn’t have any high-profile elections last week, but the results still offer a glimpse of how voters feel about the state of things during President Trump’s second term. Cardinal & Pine's Michael McElroy breaks it down. 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

In North Carolina, roughly 19,500 children are enrolled in Head Start. Working families represent the vast majority of children enrolled in Head Start.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Head Start is a federal program established in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty, and provides child care to children from low-income families.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

These providers have closed: 1. East Coast Migrant Head Start Project 2. Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency Inc. temporarily closed in Rowan, Davidson, and Cabarrus counties. 3. Southeastern Community Action Partnership closed locations and emphasized the shutdown would delay services.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Several child care centers closed this week. That's because federal funding for Head Start programs didn’t materialize due to the government shutdown. Keep reading. 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

While Republicans in D.C. are blocking renewed Affordable Care Act subsidies, NC is passing along steep rate hikes for health care coverage. 🔗below for the approved Affordable Care Act rate increases 👇 cardinalpine.com/2025/11/04/a...

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Who TF is Billy Ball (@billyball.bsky.social) and why is he trying to explain North Carolina? 🔥 For the full video series, click the 🔗 in the thread below.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

For more on this important, developing story, follow this account and share to keep your friends and family in the loop.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Here's what US Congressman Don Davis, a veteran of the Air Force from North Carolina, has to say about it.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Democrats are holding out their support on a new budget until Republicans extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that help tens of millions of Americans get health care.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

President Trump said the Pentagon would tap undesignated funds to ensure military members got their Oct. 15 paychecks, but it won’t be enough to cover Oct. 31 paychecks.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

The federal government shutdown is beginning to affect the public, but it’s also serious business for federal workers, who will go without paychecks for the duration.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Important 🧵 North Carolina, please share There are more than 91,000 active duty military members based in North Carolina, and they have more than 66,000 kids to feed and clothe. Keep reading 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

The program, which helps people with significant medical debt, impacts a quarter of NC residents and has surpassed expectations, says @joshsteinnc.bsky.social.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Important 🧵, North Carolina, please share 🙏 👨🏽‍⚕️⚕️Former NC Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled a first-of-its-kind program in 2024 that, as of today, has wiped out $6.5 billion in medical debt, state leaders say. Keep reading the thread to find out what to know. 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

More gerrymandering would likely guarantee more legal challenges to North Carolina Republicans' politically-motivated maps. So far, the GOP-dominated NC Supreme Court has taken a pass on gerrymandering.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

NC is widely considered to be one of, if not the most, gerrymandered states in America.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Many good government advocates are joining with Democrats to condemn the news. Gov. Josh Stein also spoke out.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

In a state that's evenly split by the left and the right, gerrymandering already landed 10 of 14 Congressional seats for Republicans in 2024. More gerrymandering would likely guarantee Republican victory in the only competitive Congressional district in North Carolina.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Berger and Hall said new maps were necessary to counter moves from Democrats in other states to gerrymander their districts. But Trump's push for a gerrymandered advantage in Texas is what prompted Democrats response, and NC Republicans already redrew NC maps to their advantage in 2024.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

It comes two weeks after multiple news outlets reported that Berger, a Republican facing a primary challenge in 2026, sought a Trump endorsement in exchange for redrawing the state’s Congressional electoral maps to ensure Republicans maintain control of the US House in 2026.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

On Monday, NC Senate President Phil Berger and NC House Speaker Destin Hall announced plans to redraw the state’s electoral maps to ensure Republicans maintain control of the US House in 2026.

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Important 🧵 alert, please share: An impasse among GOP leaders in the General Assembly has delayed passage of a formal budget and caused a Medicaid $$ shortfall, but NC GOP lawmakers say their priority when they return next week will be keeping Republicans in power in Washington in 2026. More 👇

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

NC Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton called on Brockman to step down immediately, saying "the profound seriousness of these criminal charges makes it impossible to represent his community."

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Cardinal and Pine @cardinalandpine.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

A Guilford County magistrate denied Brockman bond in the case. The magistrate also said that after the alleged rape, Brockman “attempted to use his status to gain information on the whereabouts of the victim,” and tried to contact the victim in the hospital.

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