sunday
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Town of Franklin Asks Residents to Observe Voluntary Water Restrictions [Macon Media]
• Nine N.C. counties in exceptional drought as statewide drought continues [Macon Media]
WEATHER OUTLOOK
1. A Marginal Risk of severe thunderstorms for late afternoon and evening, with damaging wind gusts the main concern. Otherwise, mainly isolated to scattered diurnal convection will continue each day through the week, with some potential for isolated pulse severe storms that produce damaging wind gusts and localized excessive rainfall.
2. Hot and humid for at least the next seven days, with temperatures peaking by Thursday and Friday.
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SPONSORSHIPS
WEATHER SPONSOR
This space available
DAY SPONSOR
This space available
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FORECAST
(since this is a quick forecast intended to cover the whole county, bear in mind that higher elevations may experience cooler temperatures than this and the lower elevations may experience higher temperatures than those in the forecast)
.TODAY....Sunny. Patchy fog this morning. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
..TONIGHT....Partly cloudy. Patchy fog after midnight. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times after midnight. Lows in the mid 60s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..WEDNESDAY....Patchy fog in the morning. Partly sunny in the morning, then mostly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times in the morning. Highs in the mid 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.
..WEDNESDAY NIGHT....Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..THURSDAY....Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..THURSDAY NIGHT....Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER
An active, northwest flow pattern will continue through late this week. This pattern has the potential to produce several rounds of showers and thunderstorms. While widespread severe storms aren't likely, some damaging winds could occur with the stronger storms.
POLLEN REPORT
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (7.5 out of 12) today with Grasses and Nettle being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the medium-high range (7.4 out of 3.0).
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MACON CALENDAR
(send your event to editor@maconmedia.com)
Friends of the Greenway would like to invite you to our Christmas in July sale, July 22-25, 9-2 each day. Do some Christmas shopping early with 20% off everything in the Gift Shop. On Saturday, July 25th, have a Christmas cookie and enjoy great music from 11-1. Greenway Visitor Center/FROG Quarters, 573 E Main St, Franklin.
The many ways you can connect to Mountain Findings to arrange donation pick-ups, drop-off location, shopping hours, volunteering, and to learn more on our community grants programs and graduating seniors scholarships.
Facebook: @MountainFindings
Phone: 828-526-9929
Email: MountainFindings1@gmail.com
Webpage: MountainFindings.org
Location: 452 Spruce St, Highlands, NC
LIVE SATURDAY MIDDAY MUSIC CALENDAR FOR JUNE/JULY 2026
11a to 1p at Friends of the Greenway, Inc.
573 E Main St, Franklin, NC 28734
contact: frog28734@gmail.com; 828-369-8488
To find out more about the Greenway and our organization, our website is: littletennessee.org.
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WEATHER ALMANAC
Record Weather Events for this date in Macon County (1872-2025)
Highest Temperature 93°F in Franklin in 1957
Lowest Temperature 46°F in Highlands in 1989
Greatest Rainfall 3.10 inches in Highlands in 1919
Record weather events for August in Macon County
Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin on Aug 9, 1980
Lowest Temperature 40°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Aug 29, 1968
Greatest Rainfall 9.68 inches in Highlands on Aug 13, 1940
Greatest Snowfall no measurable snowfall has been recorded since records started being kept in 1873
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for the month of August
Highest Temperature 110°F Fayetteville, Cumberland County Aug 21, 1983
Lowest Temperature 31°F Banner Elk, Avery County Aug 23, 1930
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 12.43 in Morehead City, Carteret County Aug 12, 1955
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WNC News
Jackson County commissioners vote to send $105M bond application in for review | WLOS-TV Asheville, NC
• Jennifer Balkcom picked as Rep. Edwards' replacement in North Carolina congressional race [WLOS-TV Asheville, NC ]
• Learning about night creatures [The Franklin Press]
• More Macon moves to tighten data center rules, Highlands weighs moratorium [Macon Sense]
Republicans pick ballot replacement for Rep. Chuck Edwards in NC-11 Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC) ]
• Balkcom gains NC-11 GOP nomination [Smoky Mountain News]
• In cringeworthy detail, House Ethics panel urges censure of Chuck Edwards for sexual harassment of 2 female staffers [Asheville Watchdog ]
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NC News
Healthy midlife habits could delay dementia by up to 13 years, study finds | WTVD-TV (Durham, NC)
• NC public safety boss is out as Stein, GOP lawmakers spar [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• NC legislators sent 6 bills to Gov. Josh Stein. How state laws could change [Raleigh News & Observer]
• NCGOP selects Balkcom as NC-11 candidate after US Rep. Edwards’ withdrawal [NC Local]
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National News
Deadly quake collapses buildings: ABC World News Tonight with David Muir - Aug. 10, 2026 | ABC News
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas Full Episode - Aug. 10 | NBC News
Trump reportedly used catering truck to sneak off Air Force One amid Iranian threats | ABC News
Lectures in History: Why Did America Declare Independence? | C-SPAN
• The picture that spells trouble for Trump [UK Telegraph]
• What to know about Trump’s vaccine executive order [The Hill]
• Trump signs order calling for spacing out childhood vaccines, against medical groups’ guidance [AP News]
• RFK Jr. is targeting a decades-old loophole allowing chemicals in food supply [Yahoo News]
↑ Back to Top
World News
How Kim Jong Un "Accidentally" Fixed North Korea's Economy | Economics Explained
UN warns drone strikes worsen in Sudan | FRANCE 24 English
• Germany news: Low water on Rhine could sever freight route [DW News]
• Bashar al Assad sentenced to death in absentia by Syrian court for war crimes [Sky News]
• S. Korea to upgrade key battle tank, anti-ship missile programs: arms agency [Yonhap News Agency]
• Austria breaks up sanctions-evasion scheme supplying Russian arms industry [TVP World]
• NHuge fire breaks out at Libya’s Zawiya refinery after drone attack [Al Jazeera]
• Colombia searches for its missing after a powerful earthquake kills more than 100 [AP News]
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Financial News
WTF Is Happening To The Economy? | GEN
Iran War: Trump's Sweeping New Demands Dim Hopes of Deal | Daybreak Europe 8/11/2026 | Bloomberg Television
• Bessent’s Whatever-It-Takes Yen Pledge Masks Limited Firepower [Yahoo Finance]
• Nvidia lines up $500 billion in financing as CEO Jensen Huang tells CNBC his chips are ‘investable asset’ [CNBC]
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Science News
New Antimatter Discovery in the Milky Way Challenges Known Physics | Anton Petrov
• August 2026: What’s in the sky this month? Solar and lunar eclipses, plus the Perseid meteors [Astronomy Magazine]
• Interstellar Travel: The Space Age and Nuclear Rockets [Universe Today]
• 567-million-year-old fossils rewrite the dawn of animal life [ScienceDaily]
• This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 31 – August 9 [Sky & Telescope Magazine]
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Technology News
China's Rocket Literally Bent Under Pressure! | Scott Manley
• Trump signs bonkers order that cuts vaccines, promotes ones that don’t exist [Ars Technica]
• Mark Zuckerberg’s Answer to Growing AI Safety Concerns Is to Just Trust People to Do the Right Thing [Gizmodo]
• Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/10/2026 [Torrent Freaks]
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Interesting Videos
I Bought a Ghost Town 6.5 Years Ago. Here’s What It’s Become. | Ghost Town Living
How Taiwan is Preparing to Get Invaded | Wendover Productions
Janissaries: The Child Levy That Built an Empire | Kings and Generals
Is America prepared for biological war? | PBS NewsHour
↑ Back to Top
CRYPTO & AI NEWS
Gold Path for 2026 [Update] | Benjamin Cowen
• Meta Debuts AI Coding Agent Muse: Here’s How It Compares to Claude Code and Codex [Decrypt]
• AI credit bubble could fuel Bitcoin ‘crack-up boom’ past $1M: Hayes [Coin Telegraph]
• Mastercard Closes $1.8B BVNK Deal in Stablecoin Payments Bet [Bitcoin.com]
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Flock Cameras and Constitutional Rights
We Hacked Flock Safety Cameras in under 30 Seconds. 🫥 | Benn Jordan
• Brickbat: Unlicensed Search [Reason Magazine]
• Police say Flock cameras help solve crimes, but critics call them an invasion of privacy [PBS News]
• Schmidt v. Norfolk [ACLU]
• Chatrie v. United States [SCOTUSblog]
• Under Surveillance: Constitutional Concerns Surrounding Flock Cameras [North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology]
• Research Report on Automatic License Plate Readers: Legal Status and Policy Recommendations for Law Enforcement Use [Brennan Cebnter for Justice]
This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers | Benn Jordan and 404 Media
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Support Macon Media
• You can now support Macon Media with a $1.99 monthly Facebook subscription at Facebook Subscription
• Become a Patron: patreon.com/MaconMedia
• PayPal: paypal.me/MaconMedia
Published at 6:00am on Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Author: Bobby Coggins
font-size: medium;
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Town of Franklin Asks Residents to Observe Voluntary Water Restrictions [Macon Media]
• Nine N.C. counties in exceptional drought as statewide drought continues [Macon Media]
WEATHER OUTLOOK
1. A Marginal Risk of severe thunderstorms for late afternoon and evening, with damaging wind gusts the main concern. Otherwise, mainly isolated to scattered diurnal convection will continue each day through the week, with some potential for isolated pulse severe storms that produce damaging wind gusts and localized excessive rainfall.
2. Hot and humid for at least the next seven days, with temperatures peaking by Thursday and Friday.
↑ Back to Top
SPONSORSHIPS
WEATHER SPONSOR
This space available
DAY SPONSOR
This space available
↑ Back to Top
FORECAST
(since this is a quick forecast intended to cover the whole county, bear in mind that higher elevations may experience cooler temperatures than this and the lower elevations may experience higher temperatures than those in the forecast)
.TODAY....Sunny. Patchy fog this morning. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
..TONIGHT....Partly cloudy. Patchy fog after midnight. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times after midnight. Lows in the mid 60s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..WEDNESDAY....Patchy fog in the morning. Partly sunny in the morning, then mostly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times in the morning. Highs in the mid 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.
..WEDNESDAY NIGHT....Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..THURSDAY....Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..THURSDAY NIGHT....Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER
An active, northwest flow pattern will continue through late this week. This pattern has the potential to produce several rounds of showers and thunderstorms. While widespread severe storms aren't likely, some damaging winds could occur with the stronger storms.
POLLEN REPORT
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (7.5 out of 12) today with Grasses and Nettle being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the medium-high range (7.4 out of 3.0).
↑ Back to Top
MACON CALENDAR
(send your event to editor@maconmedia.com)
Friends of the Greenway would like to invite you to our Christmas in July sale, July 22-25, 9-2 each day. Do some Christmas shopping early with 20% off everything in the Gift Shop. On Saturday, July 25th, have a Christmas cookie and enjoy great music from 11-1. Greenway Visitor Center/FROG Quarters, 573 E Main St, Franklin.
The many ways you can connect to Mountain Findings to arrange donation pick-ups, drop-off location, shopping hours, volunteering, and to learn more on our community grants programs and graduating seniors scholarships.
Facebook: @MountainFindings
Phone: 828-526-9929
Email: MountainFindings1@gmail.com
Webpage: MountainFindings.org
Location: 452 Spruce St, Highlands, NC
LIVE SATURDAY MIDDAY MUSIC CALENDAR FOR JUNE/JULY 2026
11a to 1p at Friends of the Greenway, Inc.
573 E Main St, Franklin, NC 28734
contact: frog28734@gmail.com; 828-369-8488
To find out more about the Greenway and our organization, our website is: littletennessee.org.
↑ Back to Top
WEATHER ALMANAC
Record Weather Events for this date in Macon County (1872-2025)
Highest Temperature 93°F in Franklin in 1957
Lowest Temperature 46°F in Highlands in 1989
Greatest Rainfall 3.10 inches in Highlands in 1919
Record weather events for August in Macon County
Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin on Aug 9, 1980
Lowest Temperature 40°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Aug 29, 1968
Greatest Rainfall 9.68 inches in Highlands on Aug 13, 1940
Greatest Snowfall no measurable snowfall has been recorded since records started being kept in 1873
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for the month of August
Highest Temperature 110°F Fayetteville, Cumberland County Aug 21, 1983
Lowest Temperature 31°F Banner Elk, Avery County Aug 23, 1930
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 12.43 in Morehead City, Carteret County Aug 12, 1955
↑ Back to Top
WNC News
Jackson County commissioners vote to send $105M bond application in for review | WLOS-TV Asheville, NC
• Jennifer Balkcom picked as Rep. Edwards' replacement in North Carolina congressional race [WLOS-TV Asheville, NC ]
• Learning about night creatures [The Franklin Press]
• More Macon moves to tighten data center rules, Highlands weighs moratorium [Macon Sense]
Republicans pick ballot replacement for Rep. Chuck Edwards in NC-11 Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC) ]
• Balkcom gains NC-11 GOP nomination [Smoky Mountain News]
• In cringeworthy detail, House Ethics panel urges censure of Chuck Edwards for sexual harassment of 2 female staffers [Asheville Watchdog ]
↑ Back to Top
NC News
Healthy midlife habits could delay dementia by up to 13 years, study finds | WTVD-TV (Durham, NC)
• NC public safety boss is out as Stein, GOP lawmakers spar [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• NC legislators sent 6 bills to Gov. Josh Stein. How state laws could change [Raleigh News & Observer]
• NCGOP selects Balkcom as NC-11 candidate after US Rep. Edwards’ withdrawal [NC Local]
↑ Back to Top
National News
Deadly quake collapses buildings: ABC World News Tonight with David Muir - Aug. 10, 2026 | ABC News
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas Full Episode - Aug. 10 | NBC News
Trump reportedly used catering truck to sneak off Air Force One amid Iranian threats | ABC News
Lectures in History: Why Did America Declare Independence? | C-SPAN
• The picture that spells trouble for Trump [UK Telegraph]
• What to know about Trump’s vaccine executive order [The Hill]
• Trump signs order calling for spacing out childhood vaccines, against medical groups’ guidance [AP News]
• RFK Jr. is targeting a decades-old loophole allowing chemicals in food supply [Yahoo News]
↑ Back to Top
World News
How Kim Jong Un "Accidentally" Fixed North Korea's Economy | Economics Explained
UN warns drone strikes worsen in Sudan | FRANCE 24 English
• Germany news: Low water on Rhine could sever freight route [DW News]
• Bashar al Assad sentenced to death in absentia by Syrian court for war crimes [Sky News]
• S. Korea to upgrade key battle tank, anti-ship missile programs: arms agency [Yonhap News Agency]
• Austria breaks up sanctions-evasion scheme supplying Russian arms industry [TVP World]
• NHuge fire breaks out at Libya’s Zawiya refinery after drone attack [Al Jazeera]
• Colombia searches for its missing after a powerful earthquake kills more than 100 [AP News]
↑ Back to Top
Financial News
WTF Is Happening To The Economy? | GEN
Iran War: Trump's Sweeping New Demands Dim Hopes of Deal | Daybreak Europe 8/11/2026 | Bloomberg Television
• Bessent’s Whatever-It-Takes Yen Pledge Masks Limited Firepower [Yahoo Finance]
• Nvidia lines up $500 billion in financing as CEO Jensen Huang tells CNBC his chips are ‘investable asset’ [CNBC]
↑ Back to Top
Science News
New Antimatter Discovery in the Milky Way Challenges Known Physics | Anton Petrov
• August 2026: What’s in the sky this month? Solar and lunar eclipses, plus the Perseid meteors [Astronomy Magazine]
• Interstellar Travel: The Space Age and Nuclear Rockets [Universe Today]
• 567-million-year-old fossils rewrite the dawn of animal life [ScienceDaily]
• This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 31 – August 9 [Sky & Telescope Magazine]
↑ Back to Top
Technology News
China's Rocket Literally Bent Under Pressure! | Scott Manley
• Trump signs bonkers order that cuts vaccines, promotes ones that don’t exist [Ars Technica]
• Mark Zuckerberg’s Answer to Growing AI Safety Concerns Is to Just Trust People to Do the Right Thing [Gizmodo]
• Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/10/2026 [Torrent Freaks]
↑ Back to Top
Interesting Videos
I Bought a Ghost Town 6.5 Years Ago. Here’s What It’s Become. | Ghost Town Living
How Taiwan is Preparing to Get Invaded | Wendover Productions
Janissaries: The Child Levy That Built an Empire | Kings and Generals
Is America prepared for biological war? | PBS NewsHour
↑ Back to Top
CRYPTO & AI NEWS
Gold Path for 2026 [Update] | Benjamin Cowen
• Meta Debuts AI Coding Agent Muse: Here’s How It Compares to Claude Code and Codex [Decrypt]
• AI credit bubble could fuel Bitcoin ‘crack-up boom’ past $1M: Hayes [Coin Telegraph]
• Mastercard Closes $1.8B BVNK Deal in Stablecoin Payments Bet [Bitcoin.com]
↑ Back to Top
Flock Cameras and Constitutional Rights
We Hacked Flock Safety Cameras in under 30 Seconds. 🫥 | Benn Jordan
• Brickbat: Unlicensed Search [Reason Magazine]
• Police say Flock cameras help solve crimes, but critics call them an invasion of privacy [PBS News]
• Schmidt v. Norfolk [ACLU]
• Chatrie v. United States [SCOTUSblog]
• Under Surveillance: Constitutional Concerns Surrounding Flock Cameras [North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology]
• Research Report on Automatic License Plate Readers: Legal Status and Policy Recommendations for Law Enforcement Use [Brennan Cebnter for Justice]
This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers | Benn Jordan and 404 Media
↑ Back to Top
Public Records Request for Macon County Flock Safety Cameras
As an independent citizen journalist covering local government in Macon County for over 16 years, I have submitted a public records request to the Macon County Sheriff’s Office for documents related to the Flock Safety automated license plate reader system. This request seeks contracts, board approvals, usage policies, camera locations, performance data, and related correspondence to promote full transparency and public accountability in how this surveillance technology is funded, deployed, and operated with taxpayer resources. By making these records available, we can separate facts from myths, address community concerns about privacy and effectiveness, and ensure informed civic dialogue about tools that impact public safety and individual rights in our rural mountain community.
| from: | Bobby Coggins robertcogginsjr@gmail.com | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| to: |
| ||
| cc: |
| ||
| date: | Jul 11, 2026, 2:13 AM | ||
| subject: | Public Records Request – Flock Safety Cameras / ALPR / License Plate Reader Contract & Related Documents – Macon County Sheriff’s Office | ||
| mailed-by: | gmail.com |
Sheriff’s Office Public Records Custodian,
Pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. Chapter 132), I request the following records related to Flock Safety (or any automated license plate reader/ALPR system):
- All contracts, agreements, amendments, proposals, invoices, payment records, and correspondence between Macon County Sheriff’s Office (or County) and Flock Safety (or Flock Group, Inc.), including any subscription, installation, maintenance, or data access terms.
- Board of Commissioners agendas, minutes, resolutions, motions, or approvals authorizing the purchase, funding, or use of Flock cameras (including budget line items from FY 2023–2024 onward).
- Policies, procedures, manuals, training materials, or guidelines for use of the Flock system by Sheriff’s Office personnel (including access controls, data retention, audit logs, and privacy protections).
- Any usage statistics, reports, or summaries on camera performance, alerts generated, cases assisted, or data shared (redacted as necessary for law enforcement sensitivity).
- Location list or map of all deployed Flock cameras in Macon County.
- Any privacy impact assessments, legal opinions, or correspondence regarding compliance with NC law or data sharing.
Preferred format: Electronic copies (PDF/email) where possible. I am willing to pay reasonable costs; please notify me in advance if fees will exceed $50.
Please provide these records as soon as practicable. If any portion is denied, please provide a written explanation with the specific legal basis and contact information for appeal.
Thank you for your assistance. I can be reached at robertciogginsjr@gmail.com.
Sincerely, Bobby Coggins, Publisher Macon Media [robertciogginsjr@gmail.com]
↑ Back to TopSupport Macon Media
• You can now support Macon Media with a $1.99 monthly Facebook subscription at Facebook Subscription
• Become a Patron: patreon.com/MaconMedia
• PayPal: paypal.me/MaconMedia
Published at 6:00am on Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Author: Bobby Coggins
Posts
