Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Beams of sunlight broke through dark gray storm clouds suspended in the sky above this historic city on a recent August morning. The local forecast was calling for rain, the kind of weather that drives tourists from area beaches to explore other experiences the area has...

Will Doran/WRAL News A powerful state lawmaker whose campaign took thousands of dollars from lobbyists during this year’s legislative session is giving the money back, after drawing concerns over the legality of those transactions. Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) has spent years as a top member of House Republican leadership in...

Michelle Crouch/NC Health News & Charlotte Ledger Mecklenburg County commissioners chair Mark Jerrell said he is confident that Atrium Health will share data with him on the racial and ethnic makeup of the first class on the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Charlotte campus — but he doesn’t have...

Michelle Chapman/The Associated Press Gildan Activewear is buying the struggling HanesBrands for $2.2 billion in a deal that gives the basic apparel maker access to household name brands like Hanes and Maidenform. The companies put the transaction’s valued at about $4.4 billion when HanesBrands’ debt is included. Gildan, in addition...

Mebane Rash/Education NC Yesterday, the Trump administration published a report, America’s Talent Strategy: Equipping American Workers for the Golden Age, which details the federal government’s cross-agency approach to workforce development. The report was required by President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Prepare Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,”...

Lucas Thomae/Carolina Public Press A lawsuit alleging that the Moore County Department of Social Services unlawfully institutionalized two siblings with intellectual disabilities will move forward, a federal judge in Winston-Salem has ruled. Disability Rights NC filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of Moore County mother Rumina Slazas and her...

Shea Carver/Port City Daily With a few boos from the audience following a tight vote, a site plan to bring almost 1,700 homes to Brunswick County passed earlier in the week. On Monday, the Brunswick County Planning Board voted 4-3, with Chair Clifton Cheek having to weigh in to break...

Sarah White/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Helene didn’t help Haywood’s declining property tax collection rate. The county’s tax collection rate dropped for the third consecutive year in 2024 since rookie Tax Collector Sebastian Cothran took over, despite ramping up more aggressive enforcement actions. The rate fell from 98.19% in 2023 to 98.04%...

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News Cannabis regulation was again debated by Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ leadership on Aug. 7 as tribal council considered two resolutions — in both instances, council representatives overwhelmingly favored the status quo. Nonetheless, a few questions were raised in the process. First on the cannabis docket...

Hendersonville Lightning Lynne Russo on Wednesday launched her campaign for the North Carolina House of Representatives in District 117. Touting a platform built around public-school funding, rural recovery, disaster relief and veteran support, Russo, a Democrat, promised leadership focused on action, not partisanship. “There’s too much talk in Raleigh and...

WUNC Radio & The Associated Press A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina next year said Friday that he’s ending his bid now that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley has entered the race with President Donald Trump’s support. Several months ago, Andy Nilsson revealed his candidacy for...

Jane Porter/IndyWeek The City of Raleigh has been struggling with regulating noise since you could buy a cup of coffee for a dollar at the Morning Times—or even before. And last week, a Wake County Superior Court judge ruled that parts of the city’s nightlife permit ordinance—a separate but related...

Felicia Sonmez/Blue Ridge Public Radio Small businesses in Western North Carolina are still feeling the impact of the tourism downturn caused by Hurricane Helene, according to the latest regional survey by the nonprofit Mountain BizWorks. Among the roughly 700 small business owners surveyed across 23 counties, more than four-fifths said...

Will Atwater/NC Health News & WUNC As the Trump administration keeps pushing to change the focus of scientific research and roll back environmental regulations — moves that critics say favor industry over public health — members of North Carolina’s scientific and environmental communities are speaking out. They’re raising alarms about...

Elena Marsh/The (Southern Pines) Pilot Moore County is still in the process of developing a partnership with Southern Pines for the county’s future water source, but details of that partnership might take time to fully form. At a Wednesday meeting of the county’s Water and Sewer Task Force, County Public...