The North Carolina Beat

A Memphis mother is facing first-degree murder charges after she allegedly shot and killed a 20-year-old man she caught hiding under her daughter’s bed. Kendra Scott, 36, was arrested after the deadly confrontation in the 3000 block of Travis Road in Southwest Memphis early Thursday morning.

North Carolina is dealing with a full-blown surge of cyclosporiasis — the parasite that causes violent, watery, “exploding diarrhea” that hits so hard and fast people are running to the bathroom with no warning. As of mid-July 2026, more than 240 cases have been reported statewide since May 1. Wake County is getting hit the hardest with 186 confirmed cases, including 13 hospitalizations, according to a press release from NCDHHS. No deaths reported yet, but this thing is no joke.

A 5-year-old boy named Khalil Ali Echoles was fatally stabbed inside his own home after his father allegedly kicked down the door and stormed into the child’s bedroom. The boy’s mother made a 911 call as the situation happened, and young Khalil was later pronounced dead at the hospital despite desperate efforts by police to save him. Smiling portrait of 5-year-old Khalil Ali Echoles, the young boy tragically killed in the Pineville, North Carolina apartment incident on July 9, 2026.

What started as a search for a missing 30-year-old mother has turned into a homicide. On or around June 26, 2026, Jordan Elaine Wishon was reported missing from the South Church Street area of Mooresboro in Rutherford County, North Carolina. The 5’2″, 170-pound mother with dark brown hair and brown eyes vanished — and within days, the case turned deadly. Investigators executed a search warrant at a residence on Pebblestone Lane in Rutherfordton.

Jamel Hines, now 18, has been charged with the murder of 16-year-old Ladarrius “D’Baby” Simmons in Wilson. A Wilson County arrest warrant obtained by The North Carolina Beat has now identified the alleged shooter in the June 23, 2026, killing of 16-year-old Ladarrius “D’Baby” Simmons. Ladarrius Simmons Jamel Hines, who turned 18 on July 7, 2026, faces a Murder charge in the targeted shooting inside a home at 616 Spruce Street in Wilson’s Whitfield Homes subdivision.

The Oak Island Police Department has issued a public statement criticizing The NC Beat’s reporting on the death of Patrice Jones Bass — while acknowledging they never informed the public that a 40-year-old woman had died at a popular 4-story beach condominium complex, Ocean Walk Condominiums. The Oak Island Police Department has come under scrutiny for its lack of public communication regarding the May 17, 2026 death of Patrice Jones Bass.

Devian Blount Charged With First-Degree Murder After Shooting Friend Jaydon Williams in Hollywood Airbnb According to Hollywood Police and the arrest affidavit, the shooting happened just after midnight on July 4, 2026, at a short-term rental on Funston Street in Hollywood, Florida. Williams, also 21, was on FaceTime with his girlfriend back in North Carolina when the argument turned deadly.

The search for promising young athlete Nolan Wells has ended in absolute heartbreak. On Monday, July 6, 2026, a park ranger discovered a body matching the 18-year-old’s description washed up on the northwest end of Horn Island, Mississippi. The family has now confirmed it’s their son — the Ocean Springs teen and Southwest Mississippi Community College wide receiver who vanished during a Fourth of July boating celebration just two days earlier.

Tasha K Just Got Hit With Another $60K Bill From Cardi B The messy YouTuber Tasha K is once again reaching deep into her broke pockets for Cardi B. In a  June 30, 2026, court order from a Florida bankruptcy judge, Tasha agreed to find and pay up an extra $60,000 because she just had to run her gums about Cardi’s business, specifically dragging Offset and Stefon Diggs into her tired content.

58-year-old Paula Marlowe has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after allegedly slashing her husband’s throat while he slept A 58-year-old North Carolina woman, Paula Marlowe, allegedly crept up on her sleeping husband and slashed his throat in the middle of the night — then confessed she planned to finish him off, burn the house down, and take her own life because of money troubles.