State Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby has begun staffing up a new family court modeled on North Carolina’s Business Court. On Friday, he announced that he’s appointed Smithfield-based lawyer Marci Armstrong to become the first chief judge of the Complex Family Financial Court. The post entails administrative duties, including decisions about which cases the […]
North Carolina’s maritime sector is a considerable economic asset, but it could benefit from a more cohesive strategy and, in any case, an approach leavened with a healthy dose of realism, the NC Chamber says. There’s opportunity there “wider than finding new uses for idle infrastructure,” it says in the latest in its series of […]
Budget problems in Columbus County’s government are traceable in part to the loss of about $2.6 million in potential yearly property tax revenue, largely thanks to cutbacks at a paper mill there. Production cuts in 2023 at the former International Paper mill in Riegelwood not only cost about 200 jobs, but led to the county receiving […]
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating whether East Carolina’s Brody School of Medicine’s admissions practices amount to racial discrimination. ECU’s is one of five medical schools targeted by the department, and one of 20 the broader Trump administration has begun probing this summer. The U.S. Department of Justice is handling 15 investigations as part of a […]
Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be reopening a for-profit prison in Winton, North Carolina, as one of the largest immigrant detention facilities on the East Coast, according to reports from the New York Times. The report cited internal ICE documents showing plans for a mass detention center in the former Rivers […]
Alan Wooten/The Center Square Carolina and Virginia Tech have succeeded Ivy League institutions War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth says are “woke breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination” in being chosen for a fellowship program for senior military officers. The 10-month professional military education program, known as the Senior Service College Fellowship, is an alternative to education […]
Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog A report from the independent monitor tasked with supervising Mission Hospital has found two areas of “potential noncompliance” with the agreement HCA Healthcare signed when buying the hospital in 2019. The potential violations were a warning from federal regulators in October 2025 that Mission stood to lose Medicaid and Medicare funding due […]
Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News Nearly all counties in The Smoky Mountain News coverage area have fewer childcare facilities than just several years prior, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Haywood and Swain counties experienced a 10-19% net decline between July 2024 and January 2026. For Macon, among a handful of hardest-hit […]
Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio North Carolina Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson told community leaders last week that Interstate 77 toll lanes could provide more community benefits to west Charlotte, so long as local governments reverse an earlier decision and back the project. One possible community benefit would be two new grocery stores to address food deserts on […]
Cece Nunn/WilmingtonBiz Three of the defendants in a lawsuit filed by a Wilmington-based luxury homebuilder are seeking a motion to dismiss the case, according to court filings entered this week. In June, attorneys for Mark Batson, owner of Tongue & Groove, filed a complaint in New Hanover County Superior Court alleging that he was the […]
Paul Specht/WRAL News The state government is taking over a program designed to protect North Carolinians from people charged with sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and other offenses. The $34 billion state budget, signed into law July 7, eliminates the North Carolina Criminal Justice Information Network, or CJIN, a quasi-governmental group that oversees technology that […]
Kate Denning/Carolina Public Press The University of North Carolina System Board of Governors approved UNC-Chapel Hill’s plan to offer a Bachelor of Social Work degree during its meeting Thursday. The degree expands UNC’s School of Social Work, which currently offers master’s and Ph.D. programs. UNC System leaders hope it will help address workforce shortages. The […]
Claudia Zamora/CityView Covered in mud, climbing obstacles, crawling across unforgiving terrain, and pushing her body through exhaustion while protecting the life growing inside her, Yeniz Parton was not simply participating in a Spartan Race. Without necessarily intending to, she was quietly challenging many of the traditional ideas surrounding age, illness, pregnancy, and what wellness means […]
Will Atwater/NC Health News & WUNC News At Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex, students are learning that what they leave on their lunch trays can help feed someone else. Since joining SHARE — Stop Hunger and Restore Earth — in 2025, the Wake County public school has turned food waste into a hands-on lesson in […]
Jonathan Lowe/WSOC News The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education entered a closed session yesterday to discuss findings from an ongoing investigation into Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill. Hill has been on leave and under investigation for five weeks. The special virtual meeting of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, held Wednesday, lasted just under 5 minutes before cutting […]
