The National Park Service is seeking tips from the public to aid in the ongoing investigation of an assault that occurred in the Deep Creek area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On Dec. 22, 2025, at approximately 5:40 p.m., an individual approached two vehicles believed to have been involved in a motor vehicle collision near the Deep Creek Picnic Area.

In recent years, the phrase “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers” has evolved from its originally earnest and spiritual meaning to an ironic online take on the resiliency needed, given the current state of affairs, to maintain day-to-day existence. It’s a rebuke of the idea that if bad things come into our lives, it’s because we know how to handle them — or that we must suffer immensely, with a brave face, in order to grow. 

To the Editor:

The elections last November ushered in a new wave in American politics with speeches and assurances of lower food and housing prices, the elimination of inflation, dramatically reducing the federal deficit, real government transparency and efficiency, a better healthcare system and a safer, wealthier America. Heck yeah! Who’s not in favor of helping all working people get ahead and keeping family safe? 

For nearly two decades, a self-styled reformer with no law enforcement experience who toppled a longtime sheriff and rode a rising red tide to four reelection victories enjoyed his unusual transformation from outsider to one of the most powerful law enforcement figures in rural Western North Carolina, but it came with a growing cost — budget troubles, payroll strife, political grudges and ultimately a cascade of criminal charges that would chase Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran from office, leaving behind an unanswered torrent of questions. 

To The Editor:

Ashley Babbit! Remember that name. The Trump administration Department of Justice just awarded her family $5 million in a wrongful death suit. This shows how corrupt this administration really is and how it caters to those with loyalty to Donald Trump rather than loyalty to our country. 

At odd hours of the day and night, Maggie Valley resident David Crane grabs a cup of coffee, meanders to the basement of his mountain cabin and speaks with the members of the high-level international workgroup he chairs. The aim: Establish a court through which to try Vladimir Putin and others for crimes of aggression against Ukraine. 

To the Editor:

Dear Rep. Chuck Edwards. It's been a little while, and your defense of the tariffs still has no legs. But that's not why I'm emailing you again. Your president is violating the Constitution. And you know it.

To the Editor:

It has been hard to keep up with the news cycles during the first week of President Trump’s administration, but a few things deserve public ridicule. In his infinite wisdom, Trump pardoned and released about 1,500 January 6 criminal defendants into our communities to do violence and organize their militias.

To the Editor:

Among the multiple insults Donald Trump is hurling at Vice President Kamala Harris (other than purposely mispronouncing her name) is labeling her “the worst vice president ever.”  This is laughable coming from a guy that 154 members of the American Political Science Association ranked as the worst president.

Members of the public interested in Western North Carolina court cases now have better access than ever to criminal and civil files.