Ace & TJ return to Kiss 95.1 + New US poet laureate from Queens University of Charlotte

Hey folks! KJ here. Earlier this week, Gov. Roy Cooper announced North Carolina’s COVID-related state of emergency will end on Aug. 15, as another new subvariant becomes the dominant COVID strain in the United States.

What can you expect now? And how will it affect North Carolinians? Mary Ramsey goes into the specifics with this story.

Scroll down for the rest of your news this Wednesday afternoon.

1. Ace & TJ are returning to Kiss 95.1, but it won’t be quite like the show they used to do

After more than a decade away from the station, Ace & TJ will return next Monday morning to their original home in Charlotte — WNKS 95.1 FM.

The new show, set to air for three hours starting at 9 a.m. on weekdays, will sound a little bit different from the old one. With the new gig, David Cannon and and his on-air partner Ritchie “TJ” Beam will be “doing a variety of different shows every day now.”

“If you’re a fan or have ever listened to ‘The Ace & TJ Show’ and enjoyed it, it is exactly what you would expect,” Cannon said. “Just us, having fun, trying to entertain you every day, give you something to relate to, give you something to share later on in the day, and so we’re looking forward to it.”

Théoden Janes has a lot more from the dynamic duo.

2. Charlotte university instructor at ‘loss for words’: She’s the next US poet laureate

It started with a “mysterious Zoom call” at the start of June. A little over a month later, Ada Limón, a fine arts and creative writing instructor at Queens University of Charlotte, was officially named the nation’s 24th poet laureate.

“I was completely at a loss for words,” Limón told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “It was not on my radar. My first thought was, ‘Oh, are you sure? Did you get the right person?’ I was a little speechless and also — I don’t want to say in denial, but I had a hard time accepting it because it all seemed so surreal.”

Among Limón’s new duties: Initiating poetry projects, reading her work in the Coolidge Auditorium in Washington and opening the literary season on Sept. 29 before closing it in the spring.

Click here for the full story from Jonathan Limehouse.

3. Bank of America sued after Zelle money transfer service led to claims of surprise fees

Bank of America is being sued by a customer who claims the bank “misrepresented” its free money transfer service and failed to warn people about the fees it could cause, court documents show.

The recent Mecklenburg County Superior Court lawsuit alleges that the Charlotte-based bank marketed the pay network Zelle to customers without making it clear that using the service could incur “huge amounts” in overdraft and insufficient fund fees. The lawsuit alleges that Bank of America markets the services as “an effortless, totally free way to send money.”

Several other major banks offer Zelle to their customers, including Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Truist.

Hannah Lang has more from this lawsuit.

4. Court date delayed for Hornets player stopped with 3 pounds of marijuana

Montrezl Harrell’s arraignment hearing on drug charges has been pushed back another month. Harrell’s first arraignment hearing was set for June but pushed back to July 13. But on Wednesday, the hearing had been rescheduled for Aug. 10, a clerk said.

A Kentucky state trooper pulled over the 28-year-old forward on May 12, accusing him of following another vehicle too closely on Interstate 75, according to police records.

The trooper wrote in a citation that he smelled marijuana in Harrell’s 2020 Honda Pilot once he stopped the vehicle. Harrell admitted to having marijuana and “produced a small amount from his sweatpants,” according to the citation, but the trooper said he found three more pounds in the backseat.

Sara Coello has the latest.

5. Some more stories to read

• Downtown vibes: 55 best towns in the Carolinas and what to do at each, according to you

• Instagram’s newest ‘middle ground’ feature, Notes, explained by an engineer

• Karol Swiderski gets airborne to finally show Charlotte FC again what makes him valuable

• This Camp North End gourmet bakery now has more space — both indoors and outdoors

• Now is likely the time to get a 2nd COVID booster shot, Duke med school professor says

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