NC Primaries, USS Gerald R Ford serves in war, 6 US service members dead in Iran: Sunrise Brief

TOP STORIES: NC Primaries, USS Gerald R Ford serves in war, 6 US service members dead in Iran

1. North Carolina primary elections will be held on Tuesday, meaning voters will decide on which candidate they want to represent their party ahead of the midterm elections later this year.

   NC primaries: Voters to decide on Senate, redistricted House candidates

   This election comes after the successful GOP redistricting effort in the Tar Heel State in 2025. Polling locations will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Any voter in line at their assigned polling place by 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote. Click here to find a polling place in your area.   A dozen candidates – six Republicans and six Democrats – are running to succeed Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. This race will be key for either party as Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate, meaning Democrats only need a net pickup of four seats to win back the chamber.

   Congressional primaries will be held based on new district boundaries drawn in 2025 as part of Trump’s push to gain House seats, with North Carolina's 1st Congressional District redrawn to favor the GOP. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis is seeking to defend his seat despite the successful redistricting effort. Five Republicans are running to challenge the sitting Democratic lawmaker. Laurie Buckhout — who narrowly lost to Davis in 2024 — is running for the seat again. Other GOP primary candidates include Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, State Sen. Bobby Hanig, Lenoir County Commissioner Eric Rouse and attorney Ashley-Nicole Russell.

   In Dare County, the Tuesday republican primary for Dare County Sheriff will decide the office's next law enforcement leader. Northeast North Carolina voters will also decide who will be the next republican nominee for District One State Senator. 
   

2. Sailors aboard USS Gerald R. Ford are continuing their deployment now in the Middle East amid the war with Iran.

   USS Gerald R. Ford sailors serve in Middle East amid US war with Iran

   The Defense Department released photos this weekend of Sailors at work aboard the Norfolk-based carrier. The photos' captions do not reveal the exact location, but the DOD says they are in support of the ongoing U.S. military operation against Iran. U.S. Central Command says the Ford has been launching aircraft from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

   The Ford Strike Group departed Naval Station Norfolk last June for Europe and was then sent to the area around Venezuela in the fall, when the U.S. later launched a military operation to capture the country's president. Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner have been tracking the Ford and its deployment. Concerns have been raised about the length of the deployment and the strain it places on families. "We're putting such incredible additional stress, and Hampton Roads is ground zero since the majority of those sailors deployed out of Norfolk," said Warner.

   The exact amount of time the ship will spend in the region remains unclear, but Kaine said its deploying is approaching the longest for an aircraft carrier since the Vietnam War. President Trump told CNN he thought the war would last four weeks but said things are ahead of schedule, while thousands of local sailors continue to answer the call from the Middle East.
   

3. Six U.S. service members have now been killed as fighting in the Middle East intensifies, with Iran and its proxy forces launching retaliatory strikes against Israel and Arab states while U.S. and Israeli forces continue targeting sites inside Iran.

   U.S. Central Command said Monday afternoon that two previously unaccounted-for service members were confirmed dead after their remains were recovered from a facility struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region. Earlier, officials had announced that a fourth service member had succumbed to injuries sustained in the attacks. Iran's death toll from U.S.-Israeli strikes in the war now has climbed to 787, according to state media citing the Iranian Red Crescent. The organization had put the number at 555 on Monday.

   Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital with a drone early Tuesday, following an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait on Monday, AP reports. The U.S. State Department urged U.S. citizens to leave six nations, ordering the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, which has long been considered a safe corner of the Middle East, has been dragged into the Iran war with interceptions and attacks.

   The conflict has spread to Lebanon, where the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate. The Israeli military said it has sent additional troops into southern Lebanon and took new positions on several strategic points close to the border, while Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border.

This morning's weather: Clearing skies this afternoon, Warming to the 70s to end the week

Meteorologist Myles Henderson says watch out for clouds, fog, and showers this morning. Skies will start to clear this afternoon with temperatures warming into the 50s, near normal for this time of year.

For the latest weather updates, watch Myles live on News 3 This Morning here.

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