A Rare Concession in a Murder Case

Programming Note: After today’s newsletter, we’re kicking off our annual summer publishing pause. Everyone deserves a break, and the July 4 holiday is always a good time to slow down a bit.

We’ll be back with new stories on July 14. In the meantime, I’ll be recirculating some of our best work from the past year. Catch you on the other side!

—Kate Sheppard

☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. Tillis to Retire
2. A Rare Concession
3. Battle on the Bridge at the USS NC
4. Around Our Network
5. What We’re Reading
6. Our Recent Stories

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Tillis to Retire

On Sunday, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis announced he would not be seeing reelection in 2026.

The move sent shockwaves through both the Senate and North Carolina, where both parties were gearing up for a major midterm fight. 

“As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term,” said the two-term senator. “That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home. It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.” 

Read more from our partners at NOTUS.

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A Rare Concession

Ruben Wright, 69, has been fighting for another chance to prove his innocence for 20 years, ever since he was convicted of murdering retired Marine James Patrick Taulbee.

Wright had been one of the Marines’ highest-ranking Black noncommissioned officers, third in seniority out of 50 gunners in the world and once part of a presidential honor guard. But prosecutors say that in January 2004, he shot and killed Taulbee, and that he had his friend and fellow Marine Randy Linniman modify a rifle and drive him to and from the house that day. It certainly didn’t help Wright’s defense that he was having an affair with Taulbee’s wife, Zenaida.

While Wright admits that the affair was a mistake, he says it doesn’t make him a killer. And his lawyers are arguing that key evidence used to tie him to the scene that day—video and still shots from gates at Camp Lejeune—didn’t actually show Wright at all.

And in a surprising concession, prosecutors admitted as much. Michael Hewlett has the story.

Prosecutors Made a Rare Concession in a Murder Case. But Will It Matter?

Ruben Wright was one of the highest-ranking Black Marines before he was convicted of murder in 2006. Now his lawyers say one of prosecutors’ main theories presented at trial has collapsed, and Wright’s case should get another look.

Battle on the Bridge

The Battleship North Carolina is facing a fight of a different sort as a behind-the-scenes conflict over a leadership changes has now spilled out into the public. 

Christopher Vargo, who served as the battleship’s assistant director for 12 years, was fired in a  unanimous vote of the Battleship Commission in January, without a public explanation. Vargo’s side of the story came out a few months later in the form of a wrongful termination lawsuit against Jay Martin, the battleship’s relatively new executive director; the commission; and the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Reporter Ben McNeely has more on the allegations and response.

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

Around Our Network

Now that Fayetteville has ended negotiations with the Salvation Army over a new homeless shelter, CityView reports that community advocates want to know what the fallback plan is for unhoused residents.

Our partners at WUNC’s The Broadside recently did an episode on efforts to save the Venus flytrap, which only grows in a small corner of the Carolinas. Sara Heise Graybeal, who wrote on the plants for us last year, was featured.

County election boards across the state flipped to Republican control last week as State Auditor Dave Boliek appointed new chairs. INDY covered what that looks like in Durham, while CityView reported from Cumberland.

The N.C. Highway Patrol has fired the state trooper who pursued Tyrone Mason and failed to render aid after his fatal crash, as well as the trooper’s supervisor, per INDY.

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What We’re Reading

Up in Smoke: Federal funding for tobacco prevention through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been wiped out, WBTV reports, pretty much killing N.C. Department of Health and Human Service programs to inform the public about tobacco-related risks.

What the Ctl+F: Among other cuts, the National Institute of Health has ended grants to Duke researchers that included the prefix “trans”—even in instances where it was on subjects like “disease transmission” or “translational studies,” the Chronicle reports.

A Lot to Offer: The state House unanimously approved a bill blocking local governments from forcing developers to build parking. As Axios notes, its backers say it makes both economic and environmental sense.

Rock On: On Friday, Gov. Josh Stein marked the reopening of Chimney Rock State Park nine months after Hurricane Helene by signing legislation that directs more money to the states’s relief fund, per WRAL.

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Our Recent Stories

An Inspirational Duke Professor’s Last Lesson

Tony Brown challenged his students with hard questions on life. Now 82 and facing Stage 4 cancer, he’s still pushing them.

UNC System President Unveils Plans for New Accreditor

President Peter Hans told The Assembly in an exclusive interview he aims to create a ‘streamlined, non-ideological’ accreditor with five other southern states.

5 Ways the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Could Make It More Difficult to Get Health Insurance in N.C.

While much of the debate focuses on Medicaid cuts, more than 1 million North Carolinians with private health insurance also would pay more.