Bailey Stamos/WRAL News Rocky Mount police responded to a fight at city hall on Thursday morning after an argument escalated during a city council meeting. Witnesses talked with WRAL News about the heated discussion leading up to the fight and the moments the committee room went under lockdown. Witnesses said...

Becky Johnson/The Waynesville Mountaineer Haywood County taxpayers can thank Washington and Raleigh for at least part of next year’s tax increase, according to county commissioners. “I’ve likened this budget to being a plumber. Stuff runs downhill,” Commissioner Tommy Long said. “It runs downhill to the people in Fines Creek and...

Katie Myers/BPR News A year and a half after Helene flooded the IPEX plastic plant, there’s still a lot of PVC pipe in the French Broad River. On Tuesday, residents, officials and advocates gathered in the town of Woodfin to discuss the longstanding problem. At the Riverside Rhapsody brewery, debris...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro The UNC Board of Trustees picked a master plan designer for Carolina North on Wednesday, taking another step toward developing the vision and layout of the satellite campus project. The board — which met in a remote capacity for the final time in the fiscal year —...

Hannah Vinueza McClellan/Education NC During a State Board of Education meeting last week, Board members discussed data showing how many recipients of private school vouchers previously attended public schools in North Carolina and estimates of the cumulative financial impact on public schools. In 2023, the Republican-led General Assembly expanded funding...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News A bipartisan bill filed in the state Senate would crack down on fraudulent ticket resellers. The “Real Tickets, Real Fans Act” would ban speculative ticket sales, where the website sells tickets it doesn’t actually have. Musicians and event venues say they’re seeing fans showing up with fake...

Jennifer Fernandez/NC Health News The first thing Genevieve Traversy does when she takes in a new foster child is show them where the food is. “Most children that come into foster care are food insecure. I know I was,” said Traversy, who was in foster care as a child and...

Port City Daily The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board approved the organization’s 2026-2027 operating budget on Wednesday; it $140.8 million, an 8.1% increase over the FY26 budget. As a result, a residential customer’s monthly bill for combined water and sewer services will increase by 6.65%, or $5.31, for services...

Deana Harley & Matthew Sockol/WNCN News  A Superior Court judge made a ruling against a North Carolina-based wedding photography company accused of misleading engaged couples, scamming them out of nearly a million dollars, and never delivering wedding photos and videos. Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins Jr. issued a...

Elena Marsh/The Southern Pines Pilot With one-third of the way left to go on its funding goal, the Moore County Airport has one final piece of the commercial flight puzzle left to fall into place. This spring, the airport applied for $1 million from the Small Community Air Service Development...

Kate Santaliz/Axios  Rep. Chuck Edwards told a 20-something female staffer it was “disappointing to feel something that used to be easy has gotten complicated” after she did not want to have dinner with him in May 2025, according to a text exchange reviewed by Axios. Why it matters: The female...

Laura Hackett/Blue Ridge Public Radio The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved 142 buyouts in Buncombe County on Friday, bringing the total number of approved properties up to 189 in the county. The agency allocated a total of $59 million, which will also support the acquisition of 11 properties in Haywood...

Bill Moss/Hendersonville Lightning Democratic nominee Jamie Ager looks to be on strong financial footing as the campaign for the 11th Congressional District seat enters the summer, outraising incumbent Rep. Chuck Edwards and emerging from the first quarter with more cash on hand. It’s one more sign that the congressional race...

Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer After years of public backlash over high-density development in Waynesville, a recommendation to lower the allowed number of units per acre town wide is on the table. A divided Waynesville Planning Board recommended Monday that town council adopt a new set of zoning rules that would...

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News Tribal council on May 7 took multiple steps to protect Qualla Boundary rivers and forests, both through supporting land management practices and standing against environmental harm. Among those was a resolution “supporting the removal of Ela Dam and the restoration of Longperson” — which called the...