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N.C. residents react to ‘surge’ of Border Patrol agents

admin - Latest News - November 16, 2025
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Officials and community leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, have sought to reassure residents as immigration enforcement operations are being carried out by Customs and Border Patrol. NBC News’ Ryan Chandler reports from the region.



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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 16, 2025, 7:56 AM ESTBy Lindsey LeakeDo you know what your hormone levels are? Should you?Your body is home to more than 50 hormones — chemical messengers that compose the endocrine system — and hormonal changes may reflect any number of medical conditions. For example, low levels of the pancreatic hormone insulin may indicate diabetes, while high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can play a role in obesity.But some hormones such as melatonin, which is important for sleep, naturally fluctuate throughout the day. Other hormonal changes are normal at different phases of life, such as a woman’s drop in the reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone preceding menopause.Hormones are having a moment.The Food and Drug Administration announced Nov. 10 it was removing the black box warning on hormone replacement therapy for menopause. Agency leaders said the listed risks, including breast cancer, don’t outweigh the treatment’s long-term health benefits, such as reductions in bone fractures and cognitive decline.The news has sparked interest among women who may be candidates for the therapy. Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, joked that her patients have since been “going wild.”In an age when over-the-counter hormone tests are a dime a dozen and supplements boast of alleviating hormonal imbalances, it can be tough to know whether you may need hormonal testing and treatment or are falling prey to marketing schemes.Dr. Jan Shifren, director of the Midlife Women’s Health Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, said women experiencing perimenopause, the years leading up to their final menstrual period, are a prime target for such “meno-profiteering” or “meno-washing,” the practice of selling pseudoscience for women during menopausal transition.“I actually never use the words ‘hormone imbalance’ with my patients,” Shifren said. “There are a lot of people out there marketing very expensive hormone testing — often not covered by insurance — these very large panels of multiple hormones that essentially tell us nothing.”The U.S. endocrine testing market, which encompasses hormone tests, has flourished since the pandemic, according to Grand View Research, an international consulting and market research firm. Its market size was about $4.1 billion in 2022 and is estimated to soar at a 7.7% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2030, mirroring global projections.While hospitals commanded the global endocrine testing market in 2023, commercial laboratories are expected to see the fastest annual growth through 2030, projections show.In the U.S., commercial labs such as Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics offer prescription-free options ranging from a single $49 test measuring the luteinizing hormone, which helps regulate the menstrual cycle, to an in-depth hormone panel exceeding $500.Numerous telehealth companies sell similar tests, which may involve blood, urine or saliva collection, with some approaching $1,000 per panel. HealthLabs.com, for example, offers a “comprehensive female hormone panel” that measures hormones including estrogens, thyroid hormones, testosterone and human growth hormone. The panel, which also includes tests for cholesterol, folic acid and vitamin B12, has a list price of $1,598 but was on sale for $799 as of Nov. 13.“I see women in my practice all the time who have spent $600 for an online consult, they’re spending $600 or $700 every few months for a very large panel of unnecessary hormone levels,” Shifren said. “Then when they come to see me, I don’t want to look at any of those levels. I want to talk to them about what’s bothering them, what their symptoms are.”Follow the symptoms, not hormone levelsPerimenopause typically begins between the ages of 45 and 55 and can last up to a decade. Menopause marks a single point in time, 12 months after a woman’s final period, followed by postmenopause for the rest of a woman’s life.More than 1 million women in the U.S. reach menopause each year, at age 52 on average, according to the National Institute on Aging.“Half of all people on this planet will go through menopause if they’re fortunate enough to live long enough,” Shifren said. “That’s an important time of life.”Tired of Feeling Tired? Why You May Need a Cortisol Reset04:28It can also be a time when quality of life diminishes for women experiencing symptoms, which may include hot flashes and night sweats, brain fog, mood swings, weight gain, painful sex, breast tenderness, incontinence, insomnia, vaginal dryness and irregular periods.When Minkin sees a patient in her 40s or 50s with such symptoms, treatment is the goal — no hormone testing needed.“In general, I try to discourage people [from testing] as much as possible,” Minkin said. “Particularly in the perimenopausal situation, hormones fluctuate all over the place.”Not to mention, Minkin said, even a premenopausal woman’s reproductive hormones vary widely throughout her cycle.Minkin also advises patients against purchasing hormone panels on their own.“My standard example is, if I have a patient who’s 53 years old … hasn’t had a period for three months and she’s up every night, sweating and not sleeping and not feeling good, and she wants her hormone levels tested,” Minkin said. “[I’d] say to her, ‘Please, go out and buy a dress with that money. I can tell you you’re perimenopausal.’”Similarly, older women don’t often benefit from sex hormone testing, Shifren said.“There’s absolutely no reason to check estradiol [a form of estrogen] or progesterone in a postmenopausal woman,” Shifren said. “We can tell them — before they spend any money — that those levels are low.”Who would benefit from hormone testing?When it comes to perimenopausal symptoms, age matters, said Dr. Shamita Misra, a clinical professor of family and community medicine at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.Menopause occurring between the ages of 40 and 45 is considered early, while reaching the milestone younger than 40 constitutes premature menopause. Roughly 5% of women hit early menopause naturally, as opposed to the condition being induced by surgical or other medical interventions, according to the federal Office on Women’s Health.Because early or premature menopause is associated with a higher risk of conditions including heart disease and osteoporosis, a patient under 40 reporting perimenopausal symptoms may benefit from hormone testing, Misra said.“Are we suspecting premature menopause, or is there any other endocrine problem?” Misra said. “We have to be open and not just focus on perimenopause. We have to also get [the patient’s] history.”On the other hand, if you’re of normal perimenopausal age and dealing with symptoms, don’t shy away from discussing any hormonal concerns you may have with your health care provider, Misra said. Shared, informed decision-making is your safest option.“Some women don’t talk candidly about their symptoms,” Misra said.If your doctor does recommend hormone testing, keep in mind that some medications, including birth control, may affect your levels.“You would have to be off birth control for 90 days — minimum three months — before your hormones get back to being at their baseline,” Misra said. “When a person is breastfeeding, for example, when a person is on oral contraception or some hormones already, it’s impossible to check for hormone levels accurately.”Risks from unnecessary hormone testingIt’s natural to be curious about hormone levels — reproductive or otherwise — whether you’re symptomatic or not, doctors say. Some of Dr. Debra Bell’s patients have told her they need data to feel comfortable about their health, even when she doesn’t need data to treat them.“My approach is, How will this test help us in our decision-making for your situation?” said Bell, director of education at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “It doesn’t always help.”But just because hormone testing isn’t typically beneficial for peri- and postmenopausal women doesn’t mean it’s harmless, Bell said. Cost is one such harm.“I know people who have maxed out their credit card for these kinds of things,” Bell said.Not all over-the-counter menopause diagnostics are pricey. For instance, pharmacy chains and big-box stores sell rapid menopause test sticks hovering around $30, sometimes less.The questions then become: How accurate are the results and who’s interpreting them?“If [a patient has] done the test, then I will interpret it for them,” Bell said. “A lot of times, what the test shows is what we might already presume based on the symptoms they’re having and what’s happening with their menstrual cycle.”Another danger in self-testing is self-treating one’s perceived hormone imbalance, Bell said. Unlike prescription medications, the FDA doesn’t approve herbal and dietary supplements for safety or effectiveness before they hit store shelves.Last year’s global menopause market was nearly $18 billion, Grand View Research reports, with dietary supplements carving out a 94% share.As a practitioner of integrative medicine, Bell is hardly antisupplement. But be sure to discuss any supplements you’re considering with your doctor, she said. Even supplements marketed as natural may be toxic depending on your lifestyle, medical history and other medications you’re on.Hot flash treatments in particular have a high placebo effect rate in clinical trials, about 30%-35%, Minkin estimated. For that reason, she said she has no problem with patients who claim that home remedies such as evening primrose oil provide symptom relief.“As long as it’s something that I know is pretty safe,” Minkin said. “[If] she says it’s arsenic, I’d say, ‘Probably not a good idea.’ So I have to look at the potential toxicity of what she might be using.”Minkin is thrilled that menopause, once taboo, is not only making headlines but also being celebrated — an “estrogen festival,” she called it. However, she warned that some wellness companies are crashing the party, hoping to make money off women in midlife.“For 20 years, we could attribute nothing to menopause; it was a dirty topic,” Minkin said. “But at this point, I think we’re leaning toward saying that everything is perimenopause, because perimenopause is very amorphous.”“You can’t test for it, really.”Lindsey LeakeLindsey Leake is an award-winning health journalist and contributor to NBC News. She holds an MA in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University, an MA in Journalism and Digital Storytelling from American University and a BA from Princeton University.
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September 23, 2025
Sept. 23, 2025, 2:00 PM EDTBy Max GaoCanadian comic Mae Martin knows their new Netflix limited series — which blends light-hearted comedic elements with the anxiety-inducing horror and thriller genres — may feel like a dramatic departure for anyone who is familiar with their stand-up routines and their semi-autobiographical show, “Feel Good.”“It’s funny because it doesn’t feel like a departure for me,” Martin, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, told NBC News. “It feels thematically in the same universe as everything I do. It’s introspective, and there’s themes about processing adolescence and identity.”“Wayward,” which premieres Thursday, stars Martin as Alex Dempsey, a police officer who has just moved to the seemingly picturesque small town of Tall Pines with his pregnant wife, Laura (Sarah Gadon). During one of his first days in the city, where his wife grew up, Alex crosses paths with two students from the local academy for “troubled teens” who are desperately trying to plot their escape. As he begins investigating a series of unusual incidents, Alex suspects that Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette) — the school’s enigmatic leader who shares a troubling personal connection with Laura — might be at the center of all the town’s problems.“Alex is sort of the eyes of the audience and trying to piece it all together. It’s so seductive to be in a town that is so accepting and progressive on the surface and is offering him everything he’s always dreamed of,” Martin explained. But over the course of eight episodes, Alex, who is a transgender man, “is grappling with his moral compass and also his intense yearning to have that nuclear family and mainstream acceptance that he’s always wanted.”After Martin rose to fame internationally during the Covid-19 pandemic for co-creating the romantic dramedy series “Feel Good,” in which they played a fictionalized version of themselves, some viewers may have expected the writer to create a new project that would feel similarly autobiographical. But Martin said they have been wanting to make a show for decades set against the backdrop of the “troubled teen industry,” a term used for the broad range of controversial youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers.“My best friend Nicole got sent to a troubled teen institute in the States, and she was gone for about two years,” said Martin, who grew up in Toronto. “That sparked my interest in some of the shadier practices and the really strange origins of that industry, which all trace back to self-help cults in the 1970s and this really theatrical behavioral modification.”At first, Martin thought the series would be more of a classic, coming-of-age story in the vein of “Stand By Me” or “Holes.” But after hearing about their best friend’s harrowing experiences at one of those unregulated schools — where she recalled being starved, sleep deprived and forced to dig and stand in her own grave overnight — Martin could tell that a tale about troubled teens being held against their will would be much more in line with classic horror and thriller films such as “Fargo,” “Get Out” and “Rosemary’s Baby.”Over time, Martin said, they became more interested in looking “directly at how many young people are pathologized at such a young age, just for having a pretty normal reaction to a sick society.” “When you take kids who are in crisis and your reaction is punitive, you take away their opportunity to go through all the normal milestones of development, and you ascribe labels to them that really affect how they see their own potential,” they said. Mae Martin and Toni Collette in “Wayward.”Michael Gibson / NetflixMartin said they have found themselves increasingly thinking about “the state of the world that we’re passing down to young people, and about intergenerational conflict.”“As we get older, we suppress so much of our sensitivity and our critical thinking and even our empathy just in order to survive in the world,” Martin said. “So we can’t help but kind of gaslight young people out of their very correct observation that the world is insane, and that there’s a lot of hypocrisy out there.”From the outset, Martin said, they knew they wanted to play Alex. While his gender identity is only explored in passing, “a lot of his inner yearning is connected to that and how he sees himself and wants to be seen in the world,” especially as a husband and an expectant father, Martin explained.“The show’s set in 2003, and I think there wasn’t a lot of fluency around nonbinary identity then and not a lot of they/thems,” Martin noted, adding that playing a man “just made sense” to them. “Who knows where I’ll end up on that spectrum? But it felt pretty natural to me as an actor — more natural than it would’ve been to play a woman.”As the creator and co-showrunner of “Wayward,” Martin is one of the few LGBTQ writers in Hollywood who are shepherding their own mainstream projects. While they said they try not to think too much about their public profile when creating their projects, Martin said it is “scary” to be a queer creative at a time when President Donald Trump and conservatives have been actively targeting and rolling back legal protections for the queer community, especially trans and nonbinary people.Toni Collette and Joshua Close in “Wayward.”Netflix“What makes things difficult is when things are charged politically, like they are now, it makes it seem like even having a trans character or a gay character is a political statement and immediately puts your project in a niche category,” said Martin. “It’s crazy that your career can be affected by political swings like that.”Martin said they see their visibility as a prominent nonbinary comedian in the current climate as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they want to tell stories that will reach the widest audience possible and, hopefully, in turn, create more empathy for the LGBTQ community. But at the same time, Martin said, they know that their mere existence can be seen as a kind of political statement.They said they would welcome an environment where an LGBTQ character’s identity was “just incidental,” rather than a defining feature of the project, “and the focus is actually on these hugely universal themes and storylines.”In “Wayward,” for instance, “there are nuances that are specific to the queer experience that I think queer people will pick up on and relate to, but those things are pretty relatable to anyone who’s experienced any kind of otherness,” Martin said.Martin speculated that the heightened backlash against the trans community is connected to depictions of trans people that have disproportionately focused on transphobia, bigotry and trauma. “It is a part of the trans experience, but it’s just one small part of a human experience,” they said. “The more we can have diverse characters who are flawed, funny, weird and relatable, who make mistakes, who have relationships — I think that would be more helpful.”Martin acknowledged there’s been a contraction in the output of diverse stories, but they plan to keep “sneaking subversive things” into more mainstream projects.“I’ll just keep my head down, keep inundating people with scripts, and hope to ride it out and do my part,” Martin said.Max GaoMax Gao is a freelance entertainment and sports journalist based in Toronto. He has written for NBC News, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, The Daily Beast, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Men’s Health, Teen Vogue and W Magazine. 
October 13, 2025
Oct. 12, 2025, 8:19 PM EDTBy Rohan NadkarniLate in the evening on Sept. 27, the Penn State Nittany Lions were undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country and had a two-touchdown lead on then-No. 6 Oregon in the fourth quarter of a home game.Fifteen days after having lost that game in overtime — and then losing two more games in which they were favored by at least 20 points — the Nittany Lions are 3-3, and they have fired coach James Franklin despite owing him more than $49 million.“Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin who rebuilt our football program into a national power,” Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said in a statement. “He won a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year’s Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, we hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships.” Franklin’s firing is quite stunning even in the chaotic world of college football, both because of the money left on his contract and the team’s recent success.Franklin, 53, is the second winningest coach in Nittany Lions history, behind only Joe Paterno. Last season, he led Penn State to the semifinal of the College Football Playoff, and the team finished the season ranked fifth in the final Associated Press poll — the Nittany Lions’ best finish since 2005. Penn State entered August ranked No. 2 in the country by the AP, it and very likely could have been ranked first had it hung on to defeat Oregon instead of losing in overtime. After the loss to the Ducks, the Nittany Lions lost twice more — on the road against the UCLA Bruins as a 24.5-point favorite and at home to the Northwestern Wildcats as a 21.5-point favorite. The two losses came by a total of six points but weren’t close enough to save Franklin’s job.Penn State hired Franklin, who previously coached at Vanderbilt, ahead of the 2014 season, initially signing him to a six-year contract.In 2021, after Franklin had led the Nittany Lions to three 10-win seasons (and their first since 2009), the school signed him to a 10-year extension through 2031. Penn State will now pay Franklin the $49.7 million remaining on that deal to step away from the program, according to USA Today, only nine months after he was one game away from a national championship appearance.The buyout is the second richest in college football history behind the more than $76 million Texas A&M owed Jimbo Fisher after it fired him in 2023. More from SportsSuper Bowl contenders are falling apart. But Detroit isn’t.An NBA star’s family fought for years to help their brother. Now they want to help others.A quarterback’s old team dumped him. His new team is reaping the benefits.While Franklin delivered six 10-win seasons, including three straight from 2022 to 2024, he also struggled in marquee matchups. After the loss to the Ducks in late September, Franklin fell to 4-21 in games against opponents ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll, including 1-18 against Big Ten foes. “I get that narrative, and it’s really not a narrative — it’s factual. It’s the facts,” Franklin said after the Oregon defeat. “I try to look at the entire picture and what we’ve been able to do here. But at the end of the day, we got to find a way to win those games. I totally get it. And I take ownership. I take responsibility.”Two people who could be candidates for Nittany Lions job are two other Big Ten coaches, according to The Athletic: Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and Nebraska’s Matt Rhule. Whomever the school ultimately hires will be trying to lead Penn State to its first national championship since 1986.Rohan NadkarniRohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News. 
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