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- Crews responding to wildfire in Boiling Spring Lakes
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The Late Show’s Colbert sends Hurricane Florence relief check to Gov. Roy Cooper

Hurricane Florence as seen from the International Space Station
Cameras outside the International Space Station capture views of Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic as the station passes over the storm at 8:10 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. (No Audio)
Cameras outside the International Space Station capture views of Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic as the station passes over the storm at 8:10 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. (No Audio)
RALEIGH
It started as a joke on late night television, but it turned into a real disaster relief effort.
“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert pledged the proceeds of the book “Whose Boat Is This Boat? Comments That Don’t Help in the aftermath of a Hurricane” to disaster relief in North Carolina and his home state of South Carolina.
Last week Colbert sent a check for $412,412 to Gov. Roy Cooper to help with disaster recovery in North Carolina.
“We all hope this will help the Carolinas recover from the disastrous weather of last fall,” Colbert said in a letter.
Cooper thanked Colbert on his Facebook page, displaying the check and a copy of the book.
“All barbecue jokes aside, a huge thank you to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for donating a portion of the proceeds from his book to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund,” Cooper’s post said.
Cooper and Colbert have had a minor barbecue feud since the comedian ridiculed North Carolina barbecue in January, saying it was for “flavor-deprived bastards.” Cooper fired back, saying South Carolina barbecue had a mustard problem. The spat was re-ignited recently when actor Zach Galifianakis, who is from Wilkesboro, N.C., appeared on The Late Show. Galifianakis defended North Carolina barbecue.
Hurricane Florence struck North Carolina on Sept. 14, a few miles east of Wilmington, and caused billions of dollars in damage across both states.
Colbert and his writing staff composed a book of quotes from President Donald Trump’s visit to North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence last fall.
The 24-page faux-children’s book was inspired by Trump’s question about a yacht that landed in a New Bern resident’s yard.
The book was released Nov. 6, the day of the mid-term elections. Pre-orders on Amazon.com made it the top-selling book on the site Sept. 30, according to a Colbert Tweet. The book’s list price from Simon & Schuster is $14.99.