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Whitewater rafters with differing politics aim to bridge the partisan divide on Nantahala River trip
On the western edge of the battleground state of North Carolina cuts the Nantahala River and an unlikely spot for an experiment in reconciliation.
About 30 Americans went there to navigate the Nantahala on rafts while probing the limits of political estrangement. They are liberals and conservatives, independents and libertarians — sure to oppose one another on all manner of ideas and issues.
But they’re also willing to talk and paddle together toward something deeper.
Ken Powley, an experienced rafter who worries deeply about American alienation, organized the trip as part of R.A.F.T. for America, a movement that brings people who have different perspectives together on rafting trips. Its parent organization, Team Democracy, was co-founded by Powley with the aim of countering political polarization and encouraging civility.
“As Americans we really are in the same boat together,” Powley said. “I’m the guy that always thought of democracy like the air you breathe. It’s always gonna be there.”
Powley set about this work the day after the Capitol insurrection, when he decided to devote his retirement years to binding our political wounds — or at least trying to.
The essence of the experiment?
“Bringing people together with different points of view has become difficult. What we’re finding is what unites us is a lot more powerful than what separates us,” Powley said.
The Rev. Rodney Sadler, a self-described liberal from Charlotte who’s “not fond of Trump at all,” came along for the ride. He landed in the same boat as conservative Lance Moseley, a traveling public relations professional who lives out of an RV.
“I don’t understand why everybody’s so afraid of Trump. He’s better for the country. That’s my view,” Moseley said.
Lance and Sadler found things chilly at first, and so did everyone on their boat.
The rafts made their way down the rapids of the Nantahala with teamwork and enthusiasm. Along the way, attitudes found new ways around the rocks and turbulence, both real and metaphorical.
“Everybody’s closer to each other than we think,” Moseley said.
Sadler responded, “No matter who we might vote for or anything else, I think this is a great first step.”
Near the end, choppy waters tossed one rafter harmlessly overboard. A day on the river ended up bringing Sadler and Moseley closer together.
“I think we are so divided that we don’t get to spend the time to get to know people as human beings,” Sadler said.
“By the end of the trip we were finally talking deeper politics,” Moseley said.
Perhaps cynics will find this all a bit too tidy, but Powley says, “This is not about unity.”
“This is not about changing people’s positions, trying to get them to agree. It’s about managing those differences in a reasonably responsible way,” Powley said. “This isn’t really about rafting. The point of it is when we play together, it allows us to form relationships we would otherwise never even consider.”
For Powley, a river runs through that noble pursuit.
“It does touch me, because it’s so crystal clear that we are so much better than what we’re showing,” he said.
CBS News
Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.
TRENTON, N.J. — Democratic Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver has defeated Republican small businessman Carmen Bucco in a contest in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District that opened up because of the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in April.
McIver will serve out the remainder of Payne’s term, which ends in January. She and Bucco will face a rematch on the November ballot for the full term.
McIver said in a statement Wednesday that she stands on the “shoulders of giants,” naming Payne as chief among them.
She cast ahead to the November election, saying the right to make reproductive health choices was on the ballot as well as whether the economy should benefit the wealthy or “hard working Americans.”
“I will fight because the purpose of politics and the purpose of our vote is to give the people of our communities and our nation a bold voice,” she said.
Bucco congratulated McIver on the victory in a statement but said he’s looking forward to the rematch in November.
“I am not going anywhere,” he said in an email. “We still have a second chance to make district 10 great again!”
Who are LaMonica McIver and Carmen Bucco?
McIver emerged as the Democratic candidate in a crowded field in the July special election. A member of the city council of New Jersey’s biggest city since 2018, she also worked for Montclair Public Schools as a personnel director and plans to focus on affordability, infrastructure, abortion rights and “protecting our democracy,” she told The Associated Press earlier this summer.
Bucco describes himself on his campaign website as a small-business owner influenced by his upbringing in the foster system. He lists support for law enforcement and ending corruption as top issues.
The 10th District lies in a heavily Democratic and majority-Black region of northern New Jersey. Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.
It’s been a volatile year for Democrats in New Jersey, where the party dominates state government and the congressional delegation.
Among the developments were the conviction on federal bribery charges of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who has denied the charges, and the demise of the so-called county party line — a system in which local political leaders give their preferred candidates favorable position on the primary ballot.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who’s running for Menendez’s seat, and other Democrats brought a federal lawsuit challenging the practice as part of his campaign to oust Menendez, who has resigned since his conviction.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Wagon rolls over at Wisconsin apple orchard injuring about 25 children and adults