Kenneth Lee Jr./WFAE Radio A bipartisan effort to combat fentanyl and money laundering is being spearheaded by attorneys general in the Carolinas. At the Government Center in uptown Charlotte on Monday, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said Chinese messaging app WeChat is...

Eric Miller/WRAL News Knoxville natives Sherri Gibson and Marcia League call it their “backyard.” To everyone else, it’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The two women, both in their seventies, have grown up in and around the Smokies’ 522,000 acres. “I love peace and solitude, getting away from the city,”...

Port City Daily The Wilmington Planning Commission’s debate over special-use hearings turned into a proxy for how the public contributes in development decisions at the commission’s meeting last week. The commission voted 4-3 — Commissioners John Lennon, Richard Collier and Livian Jones dissenting — in favor of ridding its land...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Northeastern North Carolina customers served by America’s largest regional grid operator have been warned about potential summer power shortages. PJM, based out of Valley Forge, Pa., and serving 13 states, says it “should have adequate reserves to maintain reliability.” It also said a company first may...

Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Camp Restore Hope — the Helene relief organization located in downtown Clyde — has until late August to close its doors or move to a new location. Its organizers say the people of Clyde need ongoing support in Helene’s wake, while Clyde officials say Camp Restore...

Emma Cooke/WCHL Chapelboro The Chapel Hill Town Council recently unanimously approved a zoning application for a proposed affordable housing community close to downtown. The three acre property envisions being an attractive addition to town, while also allowing for more workforce housing. Hillside Trace plans to bring 190 affordable units to...

Amanda Seitz & Seung Min Kim/The Associated Press President Donald Trump on Monday signed a sweeping executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to electively lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. or face new limits down the road over what the government will pay. The order...

Will Atwater/NC Health News Allan O’Briant knows that providing clean drinking water to 125,000 customers can be a tall order. As the water treatment plant supervisor for Harnett Regional Water, he’s constantly balancing the need to disinfect the water supply with controlling potentially harmful byproducts. One of the challenges O’Briant...

Richard Craver/The (Greensboro) News & Record JetZero, a fledgling advanced aircraft manufacturer considering opening a plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport, confirmed that it is pursuing billions of dollars in private-equity funding. The company disclosed in April plans for a U.S. production plant with the potential for 10,000 employees. JetZero...

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press Summer tourism in Western North Carolina — hiking, fishing, driving up scenic mountain roads — is a perfect respite for many from the hot southern season. But those idyllic mountain scenes are competing in the public’s mind with images of Tropical Storm Helene’s aftermath: death,...

Matthew Dembicki/Education NC There are anecdotal stories about how wraparound services — from child care and transportation, to mental health and academic and career counseling — are helping to keep community college students enrolled and on a path to completion. Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Richmond Fed) wants...

Colin Campbell/WUNC Radio The N.C. House recently passed a bill to allow the state treasurer to invest a portion of state pension funds in cryptocurrency and other digital assets. First-term Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, made the case for the bill on the House floor, amid concerns from state employees and...

Zachery Eanes/Axios Raleigh Data analytics company SAS Institute is now using technology from the video game maker Epic Games to make “digital twins” for its customers. Why it matters: It’s the first time that Cary’s two largest tech firms, led by the state’s two richest residents, have ever publicly partnered...

William R. Toler/The Richmond Observer Esther Jones was wheeled into her new home late Friday morning by the man who saved her life: state Rep. Dean Arp. “This is beautiful,” she said as Arp pushed her through the two-bedroom, two-bathroom home built just a few miles south at the Cavco...

Becky Johnson/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Dueling civil lawsuits have landed Shining Rock Classical Academy charter school in the crosshairs of an emotional court trial in Haywood County. On one side, parents, former staff and a former board member have portrayed Head of School Josh Morgan as a controlling leader who is...