Vance touts $858M in Helene relief funding for Western North Carolina
Vance’s event is part of the White House’s push to encourage GOP turnout this election cycle in what polls show is a challenging political environment for Republicans.
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Floundering North Carolina fisheries agency endangers workers and wildlife
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. On a misty and breezy morning last fall, Marc Hamric, a North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries veteran, and two other technicians…
Trump heads to Greenville as NC Republicans struggle with early voter turnout
President Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally Tuesday in Greenville, following an appearance Monday by Vice President JD Vance at the other end of the state in Hendersonville. They’re aiming to increase Republican voter turnout in two key Congressional races and North Carolina’s Senate contest. The high-profile…
Bear killings skyrocket as garbage, bird feeders draw them into conflict
Bears are having a very bad year. Across much of the United States, a warm winter and persistent drought have decimated the natural foods that black and brown bears rely on. With nearly every station at the buffet in short supply, the adaptable eaters are turning to human food. From California to Connecticut…
Ukrainians and Sudanese with temporary legal status will keep protections for now
WASHINGTON — Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend. More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese with Temporary Protected…
Data centers are now the largest financial bet in US history
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures. Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the…
NC Budget and Tax Center’s Alexandra Sirota on a trio of proposed constitutional amendments
The latest public opinion survey shows generally strong support amongst voters for a trio of proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the North Carolina ballot this fall that address incomes taxes, property taxes and voter photo ID. However, Alexandra Sirota, the executive director of the nonprofit North…
A tale of two farmers: Ager, Balkcom compete for NC-11 seat
The contest could play a pivotal role in the control of the U.S. House.
New group seeks to help US small towns lead the clean energy transition
As the mayor of tiny Enfield, North Carolina, Mondale Robinson has huge clean energy ambitions. Among them: building a solar farm to power the entire town of about 2,000, replacing the town’s decrepit substation to distribute those renewable electrons, and building a thermal energy network to provide heating and…
Last-minute Trump DOJ suit in California targeting noncitizen voters alarms advocates
After the U.S. Department of Justice sued California over its refusal to remove voters the federal government alleges are noncitizens, voting rights advocates fear the Trump administration is violating a court order blocking it from rooting out noncitizens with states’ voter data. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan…
From protest to the polls, No Kings organizers make push for early voting in NC
Under gloomy skies and light rain, a crowd gathered outside Wake Forest Town Hall Saturday, holding homemade signs and occasionally erupting with applause as speakers urged them to turn their opposition to the Trump administration into action at the ballot box. “Do we believe in the power of the people? Do we believe…
Stein says NC counties will shoulder costs of new Medicaid rules, urges Congress to reverse cuts
Gov. Josh Stein says North Carolina counties will face more administrative costs and staffing pressures as they prepare to implement new federal Medicaid requirements, after the General Assembly rejected his request for the state to help cover those expenses. Stein made the comments earlier this week in Fayetteville…
Immigrants from Ukraine, Sudan could soon lose protected status
WASHINGTON — More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese immigrants are bracing for the possibility they’ll lose their humanitarian protections by Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has not indicated if he will renew protections for Ukrainians, who first received Temporary Protected…
Trump back on the road as analysts see more congressional races shifting in Dems’ favor
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has a flurry of travel on deck in the final frantic weeks leading up to the end of the midterm elections, in which the GOP is vying to maintain its control of both the U.S. House and Senate. But that outlook looks increasingly less favorable for Republicans, as analysts say
NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding
Three North Carolina legal aid organizations are suing state legislative leaders over a budget provision that redirects millions of dollars from programs that provide low-income residents with free civil legal services to attorneys who represent people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases. “The $15 million per…
Clearing of Durham’s homeless encampments tests NC community’s resolve
Tito Husband began his first week as store manager of the Food Lion on the corner of Fayetteville and Pilot streets about a week after Durham police launched “Operation Safe Passage” to remove a nearby homeless encampment, which allegedly doubled as an open-air drug market. Husband told NC Newsline that he was already…
New polling site puts NC State students farther from the ballot box
For N.C. State senior Joshua Ni, voting early meant fitting a ballot into the rhythm of campus life. But earlier this year, the polling place he used in 2024 was moved from the Talley Student Union, making the trip less convenient for Ni and other students who might otherwise walk to the polls. Talley Student
Civil rights leader William Barber stops at NCCU to encourage early voters
Civil rights leader and Repairers of the Breach President Bishop William Barber led multiple marches to the polls across North Carolina on Thursday to mark the first day of early voting, which ends Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. At North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, Barber said the march was meant to inspire…
The next act for the No Kings movement: Early voting in the midterms
WASHINGTON — The No Kings movement that has brought millions to the streets across the United States three times since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term is staging its next event at the polls. Organizers across hundreds of advocacy groups will pull together thousands of events nationwide Saturday to…
NC officials express confidence in election integrity as early voting begins
Early voting is off to a strong start for the 2026 midterms with more than 27,000 ballots cast before noon Thursday, the first day of early in-person voting, according to North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes. Seventy-four percent of North Carolina voters cast their ballots early in the…
NC Republicans Tillis, Moore prepare for GOP losses in upcoming election
Recent polls have shown a tough political climate for the GOP.
Trump: Execution of Fort Hood shooter will not be livestreamed
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Thursday announced that the execution of a man convicted of the Fort Hood shooting will not be livestreamed, a reversal after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that Nidal Hasan’s death by firing squad would be public. “I think streaming the execution for all to see might…
Duke’s fixation on dirty energy is costing you
When an unusual heat wave hit North Carolina on September 18, millions of residents turned on the AC to escape the high temperatures. This unexpected demand strained the electric grid, jeopardizing the ability of homes and businesses to keep power on and stay safe. In a warming world with increasingly extreme weather…
A former school finds new life as affordable housing for NC seniors
YANCEYVILLE — When Cassandra Henderson returned to Dillard Junior High School, memories from her time there decades ago came roaring back. She remembers the school bus dropping her off at the front steps, the hallways with metal lockers lining the walls and the auditorium where students gathered. Even the small church…
Ten endangered red wolves exchanged between NC and NY in conservation effort
Ten endangered red wolves were transported between North Carolina and New York Tuesday as part of a coordinated effort to preserve the critically endangered species. Pilots to the Rescue — a nonprofit that uses volunteer pilots to transport animals — flew three red wolves from the Wolf Conservation Center in South…
Calls mount for NC attorney general to review ‘rushed’ WakeMed-Atrium merger
Three weeks after a divided Wake County Board of Commissioners gave its approval for Atrium Health to merge with WakeMed, a coalition of health advocates, state employees and nonprofit groups says there are far too many unanswered questions. Wednesday’s news conference took place just hours before state Treasurer Brad…
Powered by spikes in energy prices, inflation surges to 3.7%
Inflation grew to a 3.7% annual rate in September, according to an Oct. 14 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.4% in August. In the last consumer price inflation report before midterm elections, with voters already fed up with higher prices, September’s number was the highest since May, when it…
Trump’s DOJ demands California halt ballots to suspected noncitizens
The U.S. Department of Justice is demanding California not count ballots from voters it says are suspected noncitizens, a move by the Trump administration to apply last-minute pressure as voting begins in the midterm elections. The Justice Department on Tuesday gave California election officials 48 hours to remove…
Unearthing North Carolina’s past while planning for its newest monument
At first glance, you might mistake the freshly dug hole on the State Capitol grounds in Raleigh for a shallow grave, especially so close to Halloween. But David Cranford, an assistant state archaeologist with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, assured passersby Tuesday it was nothing so ghoulish…
Social Security benefits increase will hit 3.6% in 2027
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday that recipients will receive a 3.6% increase in benefits in 2027. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, will begin for 72 million Social Security beneficiaries in January. It will apply for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, recipients…
NC’s Duke Health and CaroMont Health propose expansion into Mecklenburg County
Duke Health and CaroMont Health are planning to work together to open two hospitals in Mecklenburg, health system officials said, adding 200 hospital beds to the state’s second-most populous county. The two hospitals would be owned by a new company that the health systems would equally own and operate. The partnership…
With fewer public defenders, indigent defendants pay the price
AUSTIN, Texas — It was a good day for the defense. Standing in front of a judge in Austin’s Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, attorney Matthew Shrum secured a ruling that spared his client from serious punishment on a shoplifting charge. In the hallway immediately afterward, the defendant thanked Shrum with…
Trump administration appeals judge’s order blocking White House ban of 3 news outlets
WASHINGTON — A federal judge late Tuesday extended a block on a Trump administration ban of press passes for three news organizations, which will allow them to continue to enter the White House grounds while a legal challenge to the ban, including a Wednesday appeal filed by the administration, plays out. U.S…
Students to compete in civics bee championship in nation’s capital Wednesday, carried on C-SPAN
WASHINGTON — As partisan tensions rise in advance of the fast-approaching midterm elections, students will test their knowledge Wednesday in a field that’s long enjoyed bipartisan support: civics. Fifty-two middle school students hailing from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and American Samoa, will compete at the…
NC elections board to notify 1,392 voters flagged as potential noncitizens
The North Carolina State Board of Elections will begin sending letters this week to 1,392 registered voters flagged by the federal SAVE database as potential noncitizens. The letters will explain how recipients can verify their U.S. citizenship or request removal from the voter rolls if they registered to vote by…
Trump pressed states for info on millions of voters in the midterms. It’s mostly failed.
Three weeks before Election Day, the Trump administration’s sprawling project to send sensitive personal information on millions of voters to the Department of Homeland Security has been declared illegal by a federal judge. The blistering court decision comes after the Department of Justice pressured or sued states…
NC attorney general creates new complaint tool for gas tax cheats
Days after Gov. Josh Stein signed legislation to suspend the state’s 41-cent per gallon gas tax, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson put gas stations on notice to pass the savings along to consumers and not try to pad their own pockets. The North Carolina Department of Justice has launched a new online…
Trump immigration policies could turn away much-needed foreign doctors, critics say
As the nation’s physician shortage worsens, some fear the Trump administration’s immigration policies will dissuade or prevent doctors who earned their medical degrees in foreign countries from practicing in the United States. Among all U.S. doctors, an estimated one quarter were educated abroad. But they make up an…
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County and NC pastors strike deal on ‘deeply affordable’ housing
After 18 months of sometimes uncomfortable conversations about race, a group of Orange County pastors and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County have reached agreement on a plan to help 10 low-income families buy homes in Habitat’s new Auman Village townhome community under construction in Hillsborough. The pastors…
Access to rural healthcare is bigger than hospitals – and North Carolina is leading the way
A lot of people hear the phrase “rural health” and automatically think about hospitals. They think about how North Carolina facilities are struggling to keep their doors open or about maternity wards shutting down. Widespread shortages of physicians and nurses, or the long drives to see a specialist, probably come to…
Will AI make work easier or workers obsolete? A new NC survey looks at what workers think
There have been many predictions about how artificial intelligence will impact the way in which people work, and a new report by Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center takes a deeper dive into how workers are adapting. The national survey of 775 adults employed full- or part-time found that large…
US senators from both parties blast Trump order to import Russian diesel as illegal
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Following an Oct. 9 call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S…
NC counties prepare for Thursday start of in-person early voting
Elections officials across North Carolina are preparing for the 17-day early voting period that starts Thursday, Oct, 15. Citizens are able to vote in-person at locations in their counties. Those who missed the regular voter registration deadline are able to register or update their registration and vote at the same…
Measles cases reach 4,080 for the year — the highest in decades
Measles cases for the calendar year surpassed 4,000 for the first time in decades, with as many as five deaths in Pennsylvania, as the federal government steps in with financial help for states but also fans vaccination fears and skepticism. A weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed…
Federal hemp restrictions poised to upend NC’s $3.2 billion industry
Chris Karazin started Carolindica with his brother and a friend in 2019, making homemade CBD products in a kitchen while working other jobs to pay the bills. “I didn’t even get a paycheck until three years ago,” Karazin said. Seven years later, the Raleigh-based company has grown into a multi-store hemp business with…
Data center backlash set to sway midterm elections
In the course of a single election cycle, the backlash against data centers has grown from an issue at local planning commission and city council meetings to become a flashpoint in state and federal races across the country. Candidates who once touted data centers as an economic boon have backtracked, and voters in at…
Lee Rainie, director of the Imagining the Digital Future Center, on AI and the future of work
President Donald Trump created a new task force last week focused on artificial intelligence, which he has renamed “super intelligence.” Tech leaders have called repeatedly called on Washington to create guardrails for the industry, with Anthropic warning its own investors that the rapidly advancing models could pose…
North Carolina Muslims have spent decades building political power. What has it produced?
On a blistering Friday morning at a Durham mosque, Nigel Edwards sets up a table with voter registration materials that include buttons, signs, posters and flyers. “Are you registered to vote?” he asks those filing past as sweat drips down his chin. Some are already registered, others are noncitizens, and a few say…
NC’s State Health Plan moves to block Atrium program it calls an ‘unlawful pricing scheme’
North Carolina’s State Health Plan announced Friday it had requested a temporary restraining order in Wake County Superior Court to halt Atrium Health’s new “affordability program.” State Treasurer Brad Briner, whose office oversees the State Health Plan, said while Atrium’s new program could lower out-of-pocket costs…
Cornell case highlights the patchwork of state laws governing intoxication, sexual consent
A former Cornell University student’s allegations of gang rape in 2024 have renewed attention on a difficult area of sexual assault law. A person can be awake, responsive and even able to move during a sexual encounter while still being so intoxicated or impaired that they cannot understand what is happening or make…
Election betting is booming as the midterms near. Do states have the power to curb it?
On Friday morning, the prediction market platform Kalshi gave the Democratic candidate in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race an 87% chance of winning. The volume of trading on the outcome exceeded $1.8 million. This is exactly the type of activity Minnesota and numerous other states want to shut down. “They jeopardize…
Trump appoints committee to revive quest to remove Lisa Cook from Fed board
President Donald Trump has formed a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating even further a lengthy feud with the Federal Reserve Board member. The three-member committee will seek evidence that Cook made false statements in obtaining a mortgage and will hold a closed-door…
NC Gov Stein signs gas tax holiday into law
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein Friday signed a bill to suspend the state’s 41-cent per gallon gas tax until the end of November. State lawmakers approved it nearly unanimously Wednesday. The measure also extends a waiver for the on-road use of dyed diesel until the end of the year. Farmers can buy red-dyed diesel…
North Carolina records first reported flu-related death of the season
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday its first reported flu-related death of the 2026-2027 flu season. The case involved an adult in the central part of the state who died due to complications of the virus during the first week of October. “This is a heartbreaking reminder…
‘We are seen as disposable’: Rural residents fight a proposed gas pipeline
This story was produced by KFF Health News. CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Despite being in one of the nation’s fastest-growing states, this rural county of roughly 85,000 people is still brimming with red foxes, coyotes, white-tailed deer, and wild turkeys. But in recent months, Enbridge Gas North Carolina’s proposed plans…
Racial disparities persist in North Carolina schools, new report finds
Black students in North Carolina were 3.7 times as likely as their white peers to receive a short-term suspension during the 2024-25 school year, even as the overall number of suspensions continues to decline, according to an analysis of state education data by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. The disparity…
Judge extends temporary access to White House for news organizations Trump banned
WASHINGTON — A federal judge will rule in the coming days on whether the Trump administration can legally rescind White House press passes for journalists at three news organizations, or if those reporters will be able to continue accessing the grounds while the case continues. U.S. District Judge for the District of…
Democrats see opening in NC as Whatley campaign pauses ads
North Carolina has some of the country’s most expensive media markets in Charlotte and the Raleigh-Durham area.
Would your campus host credit card companies or Big Tobacco? Then why Big Tech?
Last week, my university held a wellness day for students: a day without tests, homework, or classes. Introduced in 2022 in response to campus mental health challenges (including the COVID-19 pandemic), wellness days are held once a semester “to provide staff, faculty and students an opportunity to reflect on their…
Aging workforce, immigration crackdown are depleting skilled workers
A perfect storm of harsh immigration enforcement, aging journeymen and a building boom for data centers is wreaking havoc on the nation’s supply of skilled trade workers. Automakers and construction contractors say they need more access to workers through accelerated training, steady immigration and a cultural shift…
As early in-person voting approaches, North Carolina election officials seek to ease fears
Beaufort County Board of Elections Director Kellie Hopkins has been involved in North Carolina elections for 28 years. She’s learned firsthand that you can’t procrastinate. “Election preparation started months ago,” Hopkins said in a Wednesday briefing on election procedures hosted by Keep Our Republic, a nonpartisan…
Voters in midterm elections identify a culprit for rising cost of living: Trump’s tariffs
WASHINGTON — Rebecca Myers lives in one of the nation’s most hotly contested congressional districts, and tariffs were on her mind as she voted early and in-person in Suffolk, Virginia in late September. The 44-year-old trained social worker said she and her husband, who recently retired after 25 years in the U.S…
NC legislators can’t say how much of the gas tax cut will trickle down to drivers
North Carolina lawmakers voted nearly unanimously Wednesday to pass legislation suspending the gas tax until the end of November. But it’s unclear when prices at the pump will actually drop, or by how much. The House approved the bill 111-1 Wednesday afternoon, sending it over to the Senate. Rep. Pricey Harrison…
US Senate candidates in 9 key races quiet about Social Security benefits cliff
WASHINGTON — Nearly all of the U.S. senators elected this year will be in office when Congress debates how to restructure Social Security to prevent an automatic drop-off in retirement benefits in 2032. Very few candidates in competitive races, however, have policy proposals on their campaign websites and many, when…
Documents show DHS probed nonprofits, obtained millions of records in hunt for noncitizen voters
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of unspecified records as part of a sweeping nationwide effort to find voter fraud, according to internal DHS reports, and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. The reports from May and June by…
NC Republicans tout a gas tax cut that Democrats call an election-season desperation move
As lawmakers gathered in Raleigh Wednesday to debate temporarily suspending the state gas tax, Republicans and Democrats both said they supported the idea. But while Republican leaders touted the economic relief it’ll give North Carolina drivers and businesses, Democrats say GOP leaders are motivated by election…
‘Election Day gimmick’? As NC lawmakers eye gas tax cut, Stein questions timing
State lawmakers return to Raleigh Wednesday for a special session to address high gas and diesel prices. It’s unusual for legislators to summon themselves back to Raleigh so close to an upcoming election. So it was surprising to many when House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate Leader Phil Berger announced the session on…
Democrats more trusted on healthcare costs, survey shows
WASHINGTON — Democrats are more motivated to vote in November’s midterm elections than Republicans, potentially giving the party an advantage to flip at least one chamber of Congress, according to a poll released Tuesday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF. Democratic candidates also held an edge with voter…
Voting rights advocates organize volunteers to track potential intimidation at the polls
As President Donald Trump refuses to rule out taking extreme action in the midterm elections, voting rights advocates and civil rights leaders are bolstering their voter protection efforts in anticipation of possible federal interference. The focus by activists comes amid uncertainty among advocates and election…
North Carolina’s governor celebrates affordable housing project that could be model for state
For longtime residents of Southeast Raleigh, a lack of affordable housing and the threat of gentrification are growing concerns. But on Tuesday morning, residents were all smiles as Gov. Josh Stein visited a newly constructed home built in partnership with Southeast Raleigh Promise and the City of Raleigh. Yvette…
Americans’ water bills are growing faster than groceries, overall inflation
Household water bills are increasing faster than inflation and income, according to a new analysis. The environmental advocacy nonprofit Food and Water Watch analyzed water bill data among the nation’s 500 largest community water providers. Those systems serve a collective 155 million people — nearly half the nation’s…
NC Head Start programs could face major changes under proposed federal rules
For thousands of North Carolina families, Head Start is more than a preschool program. It can mean a safe place for children to learn, eat nutritious meals and a schedule parents can rely on while they work. But those services could look different under proposed federal changes that Gov. Josh Stein is urging the Trump
With election pressure mounting, states move to suspend fuel taxes
With Election Day less than a month away, lawmakers in several states are suspending gas taxes or rolling back regulations on diesel fuel as voters grow increasingly frustrated with rising fuel costs amid President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order to expand access to tax-free…
An assault on freedom and the Constitution in southeastern North Carolina
One of the most important distinguishing characteristics of a free society is what former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis described simply and eloquently nearly a century ago as “the right to be let alone.” Like a lot of Americans who came of age in the latter part of the 20th century, I remember absorbing this
The rocky road to more manageable healthcare costs in NC
As it seeks ways to make healthcare in North Carolina more affordable, a group of some of the state’s main decision-makers in medical care, payments, and policy highlighted the challenges of developing and agreeing on ideas that will lead to lower costs and better health. In on the discussions are the state’s big…
Don’t throw away your shot: How and when you can vote in North Carolina
If you are planning to vote in the midterm elections, there are some very important deadlines coming up. The first deadline is 5 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 9, which is the voter registration deadline. If you are eligible to vote, you can complete your registration online or in person at the N.C. Division of Motor
Federal funds for local police enforcement accelerated Trump immigration crackdown
WASHINGTON — This summer, arrests of immigrants in the United States soared to the highest levels since President Donald Trump returned to office. An unprecedented increase in cooperation between local and state law enforcement and federal immigration officers through collaborations known as 287(g) agreements helped…
Here’s what could happen if NC lawmakers pause the gas tax in a special session
Suspending state gas taxes in North Carolina could lead to delays in roadwork, according to a leading economist. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, announced over the weekend they plan to call lawmakers back to Raleigh for a special session on reducing gas prices. Both…
Prediction markets spend millions to influence state, federal governments
Kalshi, Polymarket and the Coalition for Prediction Markets have spent at least $3 million this year on lobbying and campaign contributions across the federal and state levels, according to a new report from the government watchdog group OpenSecrets. Prediction market platforms say they are like commodity markets that…
North Carolina’s Latino leaders celebrate heritage, focus on voter engagement ahead of midterms
Latino leaders gathered outside North Carolina’s legislative building Thursday to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and look ahead to the future. America Juarez-Maldonado with Carolina Migrant Network said it would be easy to feel anger and despair, especially at a time that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
Anxiety is growing Trump may try to disrupt the midterm elections. States are prepping.
When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared in September that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could serve warrants on individuals at polling places this fall, officials in Denver, a liberal city where roughly 14% of residents are foreign-born, quickly sued. “Every day we find new things to be…
Amanda Rosa of Extreme Weather Survivors discusses Helene recovery and weather-related disasters
It’s been two years now since Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Helene devastated a large swath of the southeastern United States, including much of western North Carolina. But as anyone paying even a little attention is painfully aware, Helene was just one of a growing array of weather-driven disasters to impact our…
A sad song for Whatley…
NC legislative leaders call for special session on high gas, diesel prices
North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, announced Saturday they’ve agreed to call the legislature into a special session to provide relief from high gas and diesel prices. The leaders did not announce a date for the special session or details on what measures…
NC counties now paying more to help feed hungry people
North Carolina counties are now paying more for a federal program that helps some hungry people eat, as a law shifting more of the cost of the nutrition assistance program to states takes effect. One of the changes in the massive tax cut and social services cut bill Congress passed last year, the One Big
NC residents flagged by a federal database will be asked to confirm citizenship before voting
The North Carolina State Board of Elections is planning to ask the 1,599 registered voters flagged by a federal database as potential noncitizens to either confirm their citizenship or ask to be removed from the state voter list. The letters will go out to those registered voters early next week, state elections board…
Republican super PAC pauses spending in North Carolina’s key US Senate race
Multiple media outlets reported Friday that the Senate Leadership Fund, a leading GOP super PAC, is diverting tens of millions of advertising dollars away from North Carolina’s closely watched U.S. Senate race between Republican Michael Whatley and former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The super PAC had pledged just six…
NC State Board of Education could take action against CMS over financial concerns
North Carolina education officials said Thursday they could take action against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools if an ongoing review finds financial irregularities in the district. The joint statement from Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green and State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis is the board’s first public…
NC election experts warn about voter trust as AI makes political misinformation easier to create
SALISBURY — Artificial intelligence is making it easier to create realistic political images, videos and audio, leaving voters with a new question as they head toward the midterm elections: How do they know what they are seeing is real? That question was at the center of a panel discussion at Catawba College’s…
National Dems expand US House battlefield, targeting Knott in NC-13
Cook Political Report rates the race as “solid Republican.”
Here’s what’s driving the Gen Z gender gap
Editor’s note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. Brenna Vandergeest was a teenager when her grandmother told her about Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court case that ended the federal right to an abortion. She said it lit a…
Don’t eat the candy!
Voters beware! At the end of your ballot, you’re asked to approve permanent changes to the North Carolina constitution that will harm families for generations. In particular, a proposed amendment to cap local property taxes looks appealing, but it’s really a gift to data centers, Duke Energy and Raleigh politicians…
Trump launches campaign tour in GOP-friendly states ahead of midterms
President Donald Trump is scheduled to kick off a month-long blitz of campaign stops with a Thursday rally in deep-red Oklahoma before heading to other states with strong Republican leanings. The first events in the closing stretch of the midterm election campaign suggest his strength with swing voters is limited, as…
NC voters want partisan politics out of election administration, poll shows
Even as partisan divisions on the state Board of Elections deepen, a majority of voters want an elections board that operates outside of party politics, according to a new poll sponsored by Common Cause North Carolina. Eighty percent of likely voters said the elections board should operate independent of party…
Judge blocks federal prosecutors from refiling charges in Reflecting Pool case
WASHINGTON — A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors cannot, for a second time, charge former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Judge Todd E. Edelman wrote in his ruling that “the observed damage to the Reflecting Pool was due to a contractor’s ‘rushed…
NC receives first $45.2M payout from Meta child safety settlement
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said Thursday the state has received its first $45.2 million payment from Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, as part of a multistate settlement over allegations that the company’s social media platforms harmed children. The payout is the first installment of a…
North Carolina cannabis council considers public consumption policy for THC products
North Carolina’s Advisory Council on Cannabis faces a December 31st deadline to issue final recommendations for a comprehensive cannabis policy to Gov. Josh Stein. While the legislature would have to agree to enact any changes in existing law, the council gave the public its first glimpse this week of how a public…
US Senate leaves nation’s capital in advance of midterms with much still undone
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators departed Capitol Hill on Wednesday night for their campaign break, leaving numerous policy disputes unresolved. The chamber won’t return until Nov. 9 for the five-week lame-duck session, when party leaders will have to decide which bills they want to negotiate during what could be the final…
Feds provide guidance on new federal K-12 scholarship tax credit program
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released new guidance Thursday for participating states, scholarship-granting organizations and taxpayers as the federal scholarship tax credit program prepares to take effect in January. Created through President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law in 2025, the Education…
Gen Z isn’t choosing a side. They’re choosing issues.
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. WINDHAM, Maine – As 24-year-old Maya Brooks walked winding roads in rural parts of Maine, a water bottle hooked to her fanny pack and a stack of “lit” on absentee voting and candidates her