Month: August 2026

1. UNC System responds to McMahon’s ‘call to action’

Brianna Atkinson/WUNC News The UNC System has responded to a “national call to action” from the federal government. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a letter to universities across the country asking leaders to affirm their commitment to several principles of “academic excellence” to help “restore public trust in higher education.” […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

2. Lags in NC landfill site investigations by underfunded DEQ program pose risk to public health, audit says

Mackenzie Thomas/Carolina Public Press Within this enclosure and behind these vacant industrial buildings in northeast Raleigh sits the Old Raleigh Landfill #7, one of many similar sites across the state that DEQ hasn’t yet investigated. Mackenzie Thomas / Carolina Public Press A North Carolina audit released last month reveals a lack of progress in a […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

3. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board candidate faces felony charges

April Laissle/WFDD Radio A candidate for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education is facing two felony charges related to the alleged misuse of a company credit card. Ronald Jason Lucero, a Republican candidate for an at-large seat, was arrested last month and charged with two counts of obtaining property by false pretense. He was released […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

4. 92 new hospital beds up for grabs amid anger at HCA, distrust of state regulators

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog The hearing Wednesday at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College was a routine part of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) certificate of need process. It was an opportunity for state regulators to hear public comments and presentations on the competing proposals before them. But today, even routine administrative healthcare proceedings […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

5. 2026 US News rankings released for public high schools in North Carolina

Chantal Brown/Education NC The U.S. News & World Report released its updated rankings on Aug. 18 of public North Carolina high schools for the 2026-27 academic year based on several student performance indicators. The results come after evaluating about 27,000 eligible public high schools across the country, with nearly 18,000 ranked, U.S. News said on […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

6. As Meta faces trial for hooking kids on social media, NC’s attorney general offers parents advice

Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline “This is the big one.” That’s how North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson described the landmark federal trial that got underway Tuesday, in which Meta is accused of designing its platforms to be addictive to  children. Jackson and a bipartisan group of 28 other attorneys general allege the tech giant deceived the […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

7. U.S. lawmakers raise concerns at immigration detention center used for Charlotte-area detainees

Julian Berger/WFAE Radio A group of members of Congress, including two from North Carolina, are criticizing conditions at a Georgia immigration detention center where immigrants detained in the Charlotte area are frequently sent. Democratic U.S. Reps. Valerie Foushee and Deborah Ross of North Carolina toured the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, on Tuesday alongside […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

8. Cumberland Schools Approves $4.47 Million for Cops, Crossing Guards, Security

Dasia Williams/CityView Cumberland County Schools expects to spend nearly $4.5 million this school year to maintain a layered security network that includes school resource officers, traffic control officers, and unarmed security guards across the district. The Cumberland County Board of Education approved four school safety agreements on June 9 that are expected to cost approximately […]

Written by on August 19, 2026

9. North Carolina, NC State to hold 2nd game at neutral site

The Associated Press Atlantic Coast Conference rivals North Carolina and NC State will meet in a nonconference men’s basketball game in Greensboro on Dec. 15. The schools on Wednesday announced the scheduling of the neutral site Tobacco Road Classic several months after the ACC reduced its conference slate from 20 to 18 games. That, along […]

Written by on August 19, 2026

10. Raleigh to make safety changes for GoRaleigh buses and station

Ally Kadlubar & Amy Benkovich/WRAL News The City of Raleigh on Wednesday announced the closing of a breezeway near the downtown GoRaleigh bus station as it works to create safer public transit. According to Assistant Director of Transportation Het Patel, the city will install fencing next week at a breezeway on Wilmington Street that leads […]

Written by on August 19, 2026

1. Report weighs potential impacts from Cape Fear Memorial Bridge alternatives

Emma Dill/WilmingtonBiz A recently released environmental assessment of two alternatives for the replacement of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge outlines potential impacts on both sides of the bridge. The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) released the assessment, which details the anticipated impacts to natural, human, environmental, physical and biological resources for the proposed alternatives, late […]

Written by on August 18, 2026

2. The Phi Gamma Delta Fire at UNC: 30 Years Later

Henry Taylor/WCHL Chapelboro On Sunday, May 12, 1996, UNC’s Phi Gamma Delta house caught fire, leading to the deaths of students Ben Woodruff, Anne Smith, Joanna Howell, Josh Weaver and Mark Strickland. It was Graduation Day, and it was Mother’s Day. In the months and years that followed, some of the people impacted by the […]

Written by on August 18, 2026

3. New poll on MAGA, democratic-socialist identity underscores power of moderates in NC elections

WRAL News One-third of North Carolinians align themselves with President Donald Trump’s “make America great again” movement, and fewer than one-third of North Carolinians align with democratic socialists, according to the results of a new Elon University poll. The results, released Tuesday, underscore the power of moderates in statewide races, including the contest for the […]

Written by on August 18, 2026

4. The race to power AI could reshape North Carolina’s grid — and its communities

Will Atwater/NC Health News On July 24, nurses and environmental advocates gathered outside the General Assembly in Raleigh to protest the North Carolina AI Leadership Council’s new strategic road map for the state’s adoption and use of artificial intelligence. Protesters raised concerns, among other topics, about electricity costs and new energy infrastructure required to power […]

Written by on August 18, 2026

5. Residents in Chatham County organizing against planned pipeline

Celeste Guajardo/WUNC News On a windy and sunny afternoon in late July, Stephanie Davis was giving away T-shirts, buttons and yard signs showing opposition against the proposed 28-mile, 12-inch diameter pipeline from Enbridge Gas North Carolina. The company said the Chatham County System Expansion Project will serve more residential and commercial customers in growing Chatham […]

Written by on August 18, 2026