CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – It’s the hottest ticket in town.

“Mr. Newton, welcome again!,” mentioned Blair Richardson, proprietor of Ticket Reserve. He says selling prices have soared.

“A relatives of four now heading to the game as opposed to $100 overall, now, you happen to be wanting at $500 as well as service fees, so major financial effects.” So when Sarah Rowe identified a pair of tickets on Craigslist for $300, she jumped on them. The tickets were being for her 16-yr-previous son and his buddy to go to their initially sport solo.

“We have been so thrilled that Cam Newton is again. Things are heading fantastic. I was going to splurge,” she described.

But she promptly acquired the offer was also fantastic to be genuine. “We despatched him the funds, and he reported he failed to get it. We reported, ‘are you heading to email us the tickets? What is the electronic mail you’re working with to ship us so we can look in junk mail. We’re not receiving everything and all of a sudden, there was no reaction.”

$300 down the drain. “I’ve emailed Venmo. I haven’t listened to back, and it does say in their often asked questions that there is certainly no way to get refunded once you’ve despatched it.”

Rowe suggests they’re looking for one more pair of tickets, but they now splurged for the ones they hardly ever finished up acquiring.

“It just will make me angry that another person would choose benefit of your contentment. I know instances are hard and individuals will need employment, but there are a great deal of positions out there. There is no explanation to consider anything absent from a 16-12 months-aged.”

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(FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) — Strolling into the Humane Culture of York County, you might be certain to see a combine of employees and volunteers caring for the cats and puppies that appear by means of their doorways. Volunteers have extensive been a part of the Humane Society’s framework, but now it is an even more substantial aspect because of to personnel shortages.

“Our regular and pleased position would be 12 to 14 employees,” claimed Mary Beth Knapp with the Humane Modern society of York County. “Right now, we’re at 8.”

One particular may perhaps see the use of volunteers as a great factor, but Knapp reported the non-gain organization has to stroll a high-quality line with the pandemic. They even now need assistance, but they also have to be protected, so they have constrained the range of volunteers they have inside of their doorways at a person time.

“We restrict who we can deliver in to take care of the area a little little bit, trying to keep them extra distant than what they commonly would be,” claimed Knapp.

Staffing shortages may be a fact for corporations and non-financial gain businesses, but not for volunteers. FOX 46 attained out to quite a few businesses and discovered that volunteerism is both at or higher than preceding many years.

Having said that, in distinction to those former a long time, these corporations are only letting so quite a few to interact with the group at once because of COVID-19 security issues, and the exact same is real for rescue organizations of all varieties, for both equally animals and individuals.

“We restrict the number of volunteers we have for inside of activities to involving 4 and six when persons come to serve for foods,” mentioned Donnie Shell, Jr. with the Charlotte Rescue Mission. “When we have our company initiatives outdoor, it makes it possible for for 10 to 12.”

Shell said the Charlotte Rescue Mission would generally have far more men and women serving to out for their large Thanksgiving meal at the conclusion of the thirty day period, but social distancing and masking protocols are continue to in put.

Getting that meal structured, nevertheless, has fulfilled with its have set of problems thanks to the present-day offer chain shortage, which led to the Charlotte Rescue Mission arranging out the occasion more in progress.

“We start out the system in the summertime,” claimed Shell.

Even with the provide lack and economic uncertainty, people today continue to want to enable how they can. Knapp explained men and women have pitched in with payments for needed supplies for the Humane Society, even though Shell explained the utilization of their volunteer pool will likely remain distinct than former several years for the foreseeable long run.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A 911 caller in-depth and confirmed why he pulled the result in on two Fayetteville, N.C. teenagers who broke into his dwelling past month.

“I killed equally of them,” the caller mentioned 22 seconds into the 911 simply call with the unexpected emergency dispatcher. “I never want to go to jail, I was defending my home…they came by means of the front door.”

WNCN attained the 911 phone calls from an Oct. 23 crack-in that happened shortly soon after 5 p.m.

The caller claimed they “do not know how quite a few rounds I shot” when he took goal at 19-yr-aged Hunter Markham and a 17-calendar year-aged, whose id was not introduced due to them remaining a insignificant.

In accordance to the simply call, the burglars also had weapons.

The caller explained soon after they shot the teens he set his gun on the counter of the household and went outside the house to support tend to his nephew who experienced been shot in the leg.

The 911 dispatcher sent officers to the scene quickly, for which the caller claimed he was grateful, but was worried he was on the way to jail, the connect with revealed.

“I you should not want to go to jail nowadays…they were being in my dwelling,” the caller reiterated.

Law enforcement mentioned the night time of the incident that “the preliminary investigation has disclosed that two topics have been shot and killed immediately after forcing entry into the residence,” and that officers were uncertain or not if the crime was random.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina choose on Monday set a trial day upcoming summertime for a political operative accused of ballot fraud relationship to 2016, together with a 2018 congressional election whose final results in the end received tossed out.

Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. appeared in Wake County courtroom, in which he faces 13 felony counts linked to functions from the 2016 and 2018 elections, together with fees of obstruction of justice, possessing absentee ballots and perjury. He pleaded not responsible to the fees through his legal professional and turned down a plea agreement supply.

Top-quality Courtroom Choose Keith Gregory scheduled demo for Aug. 29, after the defendant completes a federal prison sentence expected to commence Dec. 1. Dowless pleaded responsible in June to getting unlawful Social Protection gains when concealing payments for political perform he carried out. The charges are tangentially relevant to the ballot fraud accusations.

In Monday’s court docket overall look, Dowless declined to settle for the plea arrangement made available by District Lawyer Lorrin Freeman. She stated it would have expected him to serve 6 further months behind bars following he accomplished his federal jail time period.

She claimed the offer on the election-similar counts would continue being on the desk till Nov. 30 really should Dowless transform his intellect. After that date, Gregory informed Dowless, he risked substantial prison time if he have been to be convicted at demo, introducing, “Your exposure is sizeable.”

Freeman stated soon after the hearing attended by Dowless and his law firm that he would have had to plead guilty to 12 of the 13 charges in accepting the plea give.

Dowless and some others were billed in 2019 on condition rates related to the 2016 typical election and the 2018 key and basic elections.

Dowless labored in 2017 and 2018 in section for 9th Congressional District candidate Mark Harris. Witnesses instructed condition officials that Dowless, with enable of his assistants, collected hundreds of absentee ballots from Bladen County where by he lives. Those people employees testified they ended up directed to collect blank or incomplete ballots, forge signatures on them and even fill in votes for local candidates.

Harris appeared to get the most votes in the November 2018 race, but the Point out Board of Elections ordered a new election. Harris did not operate in the subsequent race, which was received by his successor as the GOP nominee, Dan Bishop. No rates were being filed in opposition to Harris.

Dowless legal professional Drew Sprague instructed Gregory he was worried about conference trial deadlines for the reason that of Dowless’ professional medical ailment. Dowless, who arrived in court docket utilizing a cane, experienced a mini-stroke a short while ago, and he learned that some places on his lung may well be most cancers, in accordance to Sprague.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WNCN) – A Raleigh 15-year-old is dead following an assault in Greensboro Friday evening that is now being investigated as a homicide, Greensboro police said.

At 5:55 p.m. Friday, Greensboro police responded to a shooting in the 3800 block of Central Avenue and found Christian Anthony Jamal O’Neal, 15, suffering from a gunshot wound.

O’Neal was a freshman at Millbrook High School and had been on the JV football team until last month when he was moved off the team because of “attendance issues,” school officials said.

Greensboro police said Sunday afternoon that O’Neal had been in Greensboro for at least a couple of weeks.

Officers did not say if O’Neal died on-scene or if he was transported to a local hospital.

However, just after midnight, Greensboro police said the assault is now being investigated as a homicide.

Police originally closed Central Avenue between Franklin Boulevard and Lowdermilk Street, but lanes have been reopened despite the ongoing investigation.

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Following the incident, O’Neal’s cousin released the following statement to CBS 17: “He was a great son and big brother. He was raised by a single mom, he’s the oldest out of 5. His grandparents and uncles helped raise him. He was an all-around sportsman and he loved football, basketball and he was a very responsible, respectful, quiet type of person. He avoided fights at all cost.”

No other information is available at this time.

Lori Denberg of WGHP contributed to this article.

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WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Practically 20 folks have been sentenced in a multi-yr drug investigation focusing on gang users in North Carolina, according to federal prosecutors.

Throughout a information convention Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Jap District of North Carolina explained a gang-linked heroin/fentanyl conspiracy.

The investigation, dubbed Procedure Tiny Toons, commenced in 2017 and focused on the Gangster Disciples, together with a single person described as of the largest suppliers of heroin and fentanyl in the Wilmington region.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo, the direct prosecutor, in-depth drug-relevant criminal activity in excess of the decades, including the murder of one of the targets of the investigation in Greensboro in May perhaps 2017, a higher-speed chase in Wilmington in March 2017, and an incident where a helicopter tracked a suspect making an attempt to flee on a motorcycle.

Amid the 18 people today sentenced was Darion Graham, 31, of Wilmington, who investigators say flushed a large quantity of heroin down the bathroom and was detained leaving the rest room. Graham was sentenced to about 30 a long time in jail.

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IREDELL COUNTY, NC (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – A Stony Position person has been charged with human trafficking and statutory rape of a minimal underneath the age of 15 adhering to an investigation, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Business office mentioned on Monday.

Investigators responded to reviews in September relating to two women who were being sexually assaulted by Stony Position resident William Byard, 30. One particular of the victims was a minor.

Proof was collected and warrants were being issued for Byard’s arrest. He was taken into custody November 10th and faces various rates including human trafficking, kidnapping, and felony statutory rape of a insignificant. Detectives acquired supplemental information and facts from a formerly closed case in 2019 and dependent on new evidence collected billed Byard with felony sexual action by a substitute mum or dad, according to the sheriff’s report.

Byard is remaining held on a $1.3 million secured bond. He has a prison history that contains assault on a feminine, resisting, and larceny.

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KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Lawyers ended up established to produce closing arguments Monday at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial in the shootings of three guys during street unrest in Kenosha, the previous term just before jury deliberations in a scenario that has underscored bitter division in the U.S. above guns, protests and policing.

Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch, Illinois, faces charges ranging from intentional murder — punishable by everyday living in jail — to an underage weapons charge that could indicate a several months in jail if convicted.

General public interest in closing arguments was evident Monday morning, when a lot more folks than common stood in a line outside Courtroom 209 to get a seat. The to start with just one in line was a gentleman in a crimson hat and pink coat bedecked with silver glitter. Exterior, anyone erected a cutout of Rittenhouse, and a guy stood on a corner waving an upside-down American flag.

Rittenhouse, 17 at the time, traveled the couple of miles from his household to Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, as the town was in the throes of detrimental protests that erupted just after a white law enforcement officer’ shot and wounded Jacob Blake, a Black guy.

Bystander online video captured the important minutes when Rittenhouse, with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 28.

Rittenhouse is white, as are the 3 guys he shot. The case lifted concerns about racial justice, vigilantism, the Second Amendment correct to bear arms, and white privilege that polarized individuals considerably further than Kenosha.

Rittenhouse has argued self-defense in the shootings, leaving prosecutors with the load of proving that his concern for his safety and his use of deadly power were unreasonable. Some lawful industry experts observing the trial said the prosecution struggled to do so.

Perhaps in recognition of that, prosecutors asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to enable the jury take into consideration a number of lesser expenses if they acquit him on the initial counts. Schroeder indicated on Friday that he would let some of what prosecutors sought when he gave the jury guidance on Monday.

Prosecutors, led by Thomas Binger, sought to portray Rittenhouse as the aggressor the night of the shootings. Binger also highlighted Rittenhouse’s youth and inexperience, noting to jurors that of all the persons armed in Kenosha that night, only Rittenhouse shot men and women.

But some of the prosecution’s personal witnesses seemed to reinforce Rittenhouse’s self-protection promises.

Videographer Richie McGinniss testified that Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse and lunged for his rifle right just before Rittenhouse shot him. Ryan Balch, a navy veteran in Rittenhouse’s team that night, testified that Rosenbaum threatened to get rid of Rittenhouse and others if he acquired them by yourself.

Grosskreutz, the only guy shot who survived, acknowledged that he experienced a gun in his hand as he approached Rittenhouse and that it was pointed at him.

Amongst the trial’s most compelling times was Rittenhouse’s have testimony. In some 6 hours on the stand — most of it poised and make a difference-of-fact — he claimed he was fearful Rosenbaum would consider away his gun and shoot him and other folks. He said he never ever desired to destroy any person.

“I didn’t do just about anything completely wrong. I defended myself,” Rittenhouse reported.

Just after closing arguments, names were being to be drawn to figure out which 12 of the 18 jurors who listened to testimony will deliberate, with the rest dismissed as alternates.

With a verdict in the vicinity of, Gov. Tony Evers claimed that 500 Countrywide Guard customers would be prepared for obligation in Kenosha if regional regulation enforcement requested them.

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — It’s a concealed disaster that has existed for years within just one of the most effectively-funded establishments on the earth and has only worsened in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. As numerous as 160,000 active-obligation armed forces associates are having hassle feeding their families.

That estimate by Feeding The usa, which coordinates the perform of more than 200 meals banking companies around the state, underscores how extensive-time period foodstuff insecurity has extended into every single part of American everyday living, including the military.

The precise scope of the difficulty is a matter of debate, owing to a lack of formal analyze. But activists say it has existed for decades and primarily affects junior-stage enlisted support members — ranks E1 to E4 in army parlance — with children.

“It’s a shocking truth which is known to quite a few food banking companies throughout the United States,” explained Vince Hall, Feeding America’s authorities relations officer. “This must be the cause of deep embarrassment.”

The group estimates that 29% of troops in the most junior enlisted ranks faced food insecurity in the course of the previous calendar year.

“It is what it is,” reported James Bohannon, 34, a Naval E4 (petty officer 3rd class) in San Diego who relies on food support to preserve his two daughters fed.

“You know what you are signing up for in the military,” he mentioned, soon after emerging from a travel-via food distribution organized by the neighborhood Armed Providers YMCA department. “But I’m not going to lie. It is truly difficult.”

In addition to modest pay back for junior enlisted ranks, the recurrent moves inherent to army life make it tough for armed service spouses to come across constant function. Also, the internal army society of self-sufficiency leaves a lot of hesitant to speak about their complications, for panic they will be regarded as irresponsible.

The difficulty is exacerbated by an obscure Agriculture Division rule that stops 1000’s of needy military services family members from accessing the SNAP government aid plan, frequently recognised as food stamps.

“It’s just one of these factors that the American folks really do not know about, but it’s a make a difference of course amid military users. We know this,” stated Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and former Blackhawk pilot who missing the two legs in a helicopter crash in Iraq. “We’re the mightiest military on the facial area of the earth and still individuals who are on the reduced rung of our armed forces ranks are — if they are married and have a child or two– they are hungry. How can you target on carrying out the mission and defending our democracy. If you are anxious about irrespective of whether or not your kid receives evening meal tonight?”

Meredith Knopp, CEO of a food financial institution in St. Louis and an Army veteran, said the dilemma cuts throughout all branches of the military. She recalls remaining a younger officer in Texas when she was approached by a new private with a child.

“They were having all set to switch off his electric power since he couldn’t pay back his expenses,” she said. “It was shocking to me.”

Maybe the very best sign of how entrenched the dilemma has come to be is that a robust community of navy-adjacent charitable companies this sort of as the Armed Products and services YMCA and Blue Star Family members has produced an infrastructure of foodstuff financial institutions close to most main domestic bases.

San Diego may perhaps be a single of the epicenters of the phenomenon, with higher housing expenses and many military services bases in just driving length. For Brooklyn Pittman, whose partner, Matthew, is in the Navy, the move to California from West Virginia this 12 months was a economical shock.

“We had a nice discounts created up and then we moved out below and it was rough,” she claimed. “We even now had university student loans and anything on major of anything else.”

Their savings quickly disappeared and the small income she earns from puppy-sitting down didn’t arrive close to masking the shortfall. For a while, the few deemed sleeping in their automobile on the foundation grounds right until the following paycheck.

Pittman was 1 of 320 households taking part in the Armed Services YMCA’s late October drive-thru food stuff distribution. The organization had been internet hosting activities like this for a lot more than 10 a long time, but when the pandemic struck, expanded operations from six web pages to 11 all-around the state and doubled the frequency of the San Diego-space gatherings.

There’s a variety of viewpoint as to how substantially of a stigma the concern carries inside of armed service communities.

Kelly Klor, who performs on meals insecurity problems for Blue Star Households, recollects a period of time of economic hardship 13 decades back as a youthful mom in Texas whose husband experienced just enlisted. The relatives pinched pennies at every opportunity, hardly ever consuming out and relying on the regional public library for amusement. But they however depended on WIC — a identical application to food stamps that serves mothers and little ones — in order to pay for pricey child system for her infant daughter.

“I felt humiliated pulling out my vouchers,” she claimed. “But at the identical time, I was wondering ‘Should it be this challenging?’ ”

Klor remembers dealing with her money issues as a taboo subject matter, even by means of she suspected many households about her ended up in the same circumstance.

“It appeared like it wasn’t anything that you share with other people,” she reported.

But Maggie Meza, a Blue Star Family members consultant in San Diego, remembers the communal poverty as prevalent know-how and a bonding element amongst families.

“It was like ‘Your husband’s a sergeant, my husband’s a sergeant. We’re both broke. Let’s go uncover some free of charge things,’ ” she reported.

One of the strangest features of the difficulty is a mysterious Agriculture Department regulation that helps prevent hundreds of needy armed service family members from receiving foods stamps. Households residing exterior the foundation grounds obtain a Standard Allowance for Housing to enable include most of their expenses.

But the 2008 Food and Diet Act dictates that the allowance counts as profits in calculating eligibility to obtain SNAP positive aspects, and that finishes up disqualifying thousands of armed service families. The allowance doesn’t depend as money for tax factors or for WIC benefits.

Meals protection activists say they’re bewildered by each the authentic rule and the fact that it has endured for additional than 12 a long time.

“No just one appears to know why it can be nevertheless a law,” explained Hall, the Feeding America official.

Dorene Ocamb, main growth officer for the Armed Products and services YMCA, speculated that the regulation is “just a circumstance of unintended outcomes.”

Included Sen. Duckworth: “I couldn’t tell you the place it will come from. I can only explain to you that they won’t adjust it.”

A spokesman for the USDA stated in an electronic mail reply that the office is “taking a clean glimpse at our authorities with regard to this coverage.”

The problem is a lot more than just a humanitarian trouble. It specifically impacts countrywide security, claimed Josh Protas, vice president of community plan for MAZON, an business that has finished substantial research on military starvation.

Armed forces members enduring foodstuff insecurity are a lot more likely to be distracted in the discipline and fewer most likely to re-enlist, he mentioned. That expertise reduction may possibly be generational simply because army provider tends to operate in family members.

“We’re executing a disservice to foreseeable future recruitment attempts,” Protas mentioned. “We could be shedding excellent individuals because they won’t be able to aid their family members.”

Many folks included in the difficulty criticized the Pentagon for turning a blind eye to the challenge.

“The denial by the Pentagon has been disheartening,” Protas claimed. “It’s embarrassing for our leaders to acknowledge the problem.”

Colleen Heflin, a professor of public administration at Syracuse University, claimed the lack of Pentagon desire has led to a important scarcity of appropriate study or data. “In my experiences, it truly is tough to explain this to Department of Defense officers,” she said. “They obtain it uncomfortable and some thing they would not like to acknowledge.”

But Ocamb pushes back again against the criticism that the military services is burying the problem.

She acknowledges that there are “some optics that persons are hoping to function around” but states most foundation commanders welcome the assistance and factors out that the Navy literally owns the San Diego house in which the ASYMCA food items distributions just take place.

“I assume the armed service knows this is a advanced difficulty and they rely on companions like us,” she claimed. “This strategy that the armed service wishes to sweep this beneath the rug … then why do they enable us hold performing this on Navy-owned floor?”

Some of these who had complained about Pentagon reluctance to facial area the challenge say the perspective has improved in latest months under the administration of President Joe Biden.

Shannon Razsadin, president of the Navy Household Advisory Network, suggests she has felt a alter in frame of mind from the Pentagon this 12 months, and partly credits first lady Jill Biden for publicly championing the issue.

“They are targeted on being familiar with it in the Pentagon,” she reported. “Six months back, I wouldn’t have stated that.”

Attempts to secure Pentagon comment on this concern were unsuccessful. But a Pentagon formal explained to The Linked Push that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would be publicly talking on the issue in the in the vicinity of foreseeable future.

There are fresh attempts by Congress to tackle the trouble. Duckworth has sponsored a invoice that would build a Standard Demands Allowance payment for navy families in require. Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., has appealed for a significant Pentagon analyze of the challenge and a repeal of the USDA’s Standard Allowance for Housing regulation.

“At this stage, there is no justification for everyone in the best echelons of the Pentagon to say they don’t know this is a dilemma,” McGovern said. “It’s not rocket science. This is solvable … someone take obligation and remedy it.”

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Get in the holiday spirit and save some money with a great Christmas tree

There’s something about a brightly lit Christmas tree that instantly gets you in the mood for the holidays. Real trees certainly look and smell great, but it can be a pain to look after them. On the other hand, if you opt for an artificial tree, you’ll have a picture-perfect Christmas tree you can use year after year without any real maintenance.

If you go a step further and opt for a pre-lit tree, you can also save yourself serious time and frustration, because you won’t need to untangle and hang all the strings of lights yourself. 

Unfortunately, pre-lit Christmas trees can be pretty pricey unless you score one during a sale. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are an excellent time to find a great price on a pre-lit tree, allowing you to start your holiday season as soon as possible. 

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals aren’t available just yet, shoppers can get a pretty good idea of this year’s sales by looking at previous years’ discounted items. Check out some of the pre-lit Christmas trees that are sure to brighten up your home and are likely to be discounted this year. 

How to find the best deal on a pre-lit Christmas tree

While you often score some early deals on items like computers and TVs, you usually won’t find the best price on an artificial Christmas tree before Black Friday or Cyber Monday. If you see a sale for a tree you have your eye on before those major shopping days, you must jump at the chance, rather than waiting in hopes of a better deal. 

Start your shopping now, identifying pre-lit trees you like and noting their regular price. That makes it much easier to figure out how good a deal is when you see a tree on sale. If you find a sale that fits your budget, grab it while you can or you might miss out due to supply issues. 

You can keep up to date on can’t-miss deals by signing up for the BestReviews email newsletter. All the information is delivered right to your inbox, so you don’t have to go hunting for sales yourself.

Best pre-lit Christmas trees

National Tree Company 6.5 ft. Multicolored Lit Artificial Christmas Tree

With 1838 individually crafted branch tips, this lush artificial tree looks just like the real thing. It also features 650 multicolor lights for a bright, festive appearance. Best of all, its 6.5-foot height and 53-inch diameter easily fit in most rooms while still having an impressively full look.

Sold by Amazon

Puleo International 7.5 Foot Pre-Lit Pencil Fraser Fir Christmas Tree

This unique tree looks like a Fraser Fir, but with a pencil shape, so it has a tall, thin appearance. The white needles give the tree a magical look, and its pre-strung white lights contain 250 incandescent bulbs for a soft, warm glow. It’s easy to assemble too.

Sold by Bed Bath & Beyond

Balsam Hill 6-foot Premium Artificial Classic Blue Spruce Christmas Tree with Clear Lights

This stunning, full artificial tree features light blue-green needles to mimic the look of a Blue Spruce. It features 1644 PVC branch tips and 500 incandescent lights to give it a truly impressive appearance. The hinged branches fold outward for quick set-up, and all the materials are flame-retardant too.

Sold by Amazon

Home Accents Holiday 7.5 ft Wesley Long Needle Pine LED Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree with Color Changing Mini Lights

If you have trouble deciding what color lights you want on your Christmas tree, you’ll love this 7.5-foot model with more than 500 color-changing lights. The lights are controlled by a user-friendly foot pedal too. The tree also comes with a folding stand that makes it easy to put together and store.

Sold by Home Depot

National Tree Company Pre-lit 9-ft. Artificial Dunhill Fir with White Lights

This 9-foot Christmas tree is the perfect centerpiece for a room with tall ceilings. It has a sturdy metal base and 900 white lights that remain lit even if one bulb burns out. The needles are fire-resistant, non-allergenic materials, so it’s safe for use around children and pets too.

Sold by Amazon and Bed Bath & Beyond

Puleo International 7.5 Foot Pre-Lit Slim Flocked Aspen Fir Artificial Christmas Tree with Clear Lights

With its flocked branches, this thin artificial tree has a snow-kissed look that’s perfect if you like rustic holiday decor. It’s quick and easy to assemble and includes a sturdy metal stand that keeps the tree stable. A 2-year warranty also backs the 450 clear lights.

Sold by Amazon

Hykolity 7.5 ft. Prelit Christmas Tree

With a durable metal stand and PVC needles, this artificial Christmas tree can last for years. Its 7.5-foot height and 52-inch diameter give it an impressive, full appearance and the 400 incandescent lights provide a warm, white glow. All of the tree’s limbs hinge around the center pole, making it easy to set up and take down for storage.

Sold by Amazon

Home Accents 7.5 ft. Sparkling Amelia Pine LED Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree

This realistic-looking artificial tree features 600 white fairy lights that give it a soft, warm color. It’s equipped with an on/off pedal for easy operation and a quick-set assembly that allows you to set it up in a matter of minutes. Its 7.5 feet height is perfect for an entryway or foyer too.

Sold by Home Depot

HOMAKER Pre-Lit 6.5 ft. Artificial Christmas Tree with Clear Lights

With individually crafted branched tips, this artificial tree has a full, natural look that can hold plenty of ornaments. The 400 warm white lights, snow flocking and pine cones can also help reduce the time required to decorate it. The tree is protected by a 3-year warranty too.

Sold by Amazon

OasisCraft 6.5 ft. Prelit Christmas Tree

If you’re looking for a super realistic tree, this Carolina Pine is definitely worth considering. It features individually crafted branches, different colored needles and pine cones to help give an authentic look. The 550 clear lights offer a cozy glow and are highly durable too.

Sold by Amazon

National 9 ft. Jersey Fraser Fir Artificial Christmas Tree with Multicolor Lights

This large 9-foot tree features 1500 multicolor lights for a truly bright, festive glow. The lights remain lit even if one bulb goes out, so the tree is easy to maintain. For a more realistic look, it features Feel Real branch tip technology too. It also comes in four sections, making the setup extremely easy.

Sold by Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Depot

Puelo International 7.5-Foot Douglas Premier Pre-Lit Christmas Tree

This elegant artificial Christmas tree has 800 warm, clear lights to illuminate any room with a soft glow. It features flame-resistant PVC construction to allow for safe operation and can plug into any standard outlet.

Sold by Amazon and Home Depot

Home Accents 7.5 ft. Jackson Noble Fir LED Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree

With 1200 lights, this artificial tree has a bright, eye-catching look that’s the perfect centerpiece for any holiday decor. The sparkling Micro Dot LED lights also change color so that you can choose the perfect option for any mood. The tree’s wires are also extremely thin too, giving it a highly realistic look.

Sold by Home Depot

National Tree Company Pre-Lit Artificial Mini Christmas Tree

If you have limited space, this mini Christmas tree is an ideal option. Measuring just 4 feet tall and 31 inches in diameter, it can fit on most table or desktops. It features 150 white lights and can even work well as a centerpiece for your holiday dinner.

Sold by Amazon

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Jennifer Blair writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.

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