Adam Wagner/WUNC Radio North Carolina regulators have formally denied a Mitchell County quarry’s effort to obtain a permit after it operated without one for months. Earlier this month, a Mitchell County Superior Court judge issued an injunction directing mine operator Horizon 30, LLC, to cease digging at the Carter Quarry...

Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio A contentious 2024 Hurricane Helene relief bill shifted the balance of power in the regulatory body that oversees Duke Energy’s carbon plan — giving Republicans greater influence over the commission. State Treasurer Brad Briner appointed commissioner Donald van der Vaart, a vocal proponent of fossil fuel expansion,...

Laura Leslie/WRAL News North Carolina state lawmakers didn’t take any votes at their scheduled work session Tuesday. The veto overrides that were on the House calendar for Tuesday will be rescheduled for September. No override votes were taken because some House and Senate Republicans were absent, and Republicans need all...

David Beasley/The Center Square The aircraft manufacturer that made a record job-creation commitment for a new plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport has informed the state that more than 2,000 of those jobs may be contractors rather than permanent employees. A state board approved that on Tuesday. JetZero Inc., a...

Regan Butler, Caleb Herrera & Alice Scott/The Daily Tar Heel  Without warning or departmental consultation, University facilities workers boarded up a student-created mural depicting Palestinian resilience, following orders from Chancellor Lee Roberts and Interim Provost Jim Dean. The artwork, which hung in the Hanes Art Center lobby for over a...

Catherine Kozak/Coastal Review Online In the sadder, more gruesome labor of wildlife conservation, a new count of dead wildlife on the asphalt of two strips of highway within Alligator River Wildlife Refuge continues to reflect the merciless decimation of living creatures by vehicular traffic. A new report, “US 64 Roadkill...

Morgan Casey/CityView Community leaders opened the Greater Fayetteville Chamber’s 2025 State of the Community event with an optimistic picture of Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s economy. Fayetteville’s housing market is moving faster than other metropolitan areas in the state, David Zeitz, president of the Longleaf Pine Realtors, told about 600 attendees...

John Boyle/Asheville Watchdog In the immediate aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene’s destruction last year, business owners’ optimism about rebuilding ran high in Asheville, even in the face of the enormity of the task ahead. But 11 months later, that optimism has evolved into tempered determination for many, and a realization...

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press East Carolina University is officially pursuing the idea of reopening Martin General Hospital, the shuttered hospital in Eastern North Carolina. But first, it needs $220 million — and for cuts to Medicaid to stop coming. That’s starting to seem increasingly unlikely. The uncertainty around the...

Kim Jarrett/The Center Square  North Carolina far exceeded its projected revenues of $64 million in its first year of legal gaming, bringing in $116 million, a Georgia House committee studying the legalization of sports gaming in Georgia was told Monday. Former North Carolina Rep. Jason Saine touted the benefits legalized...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News Changes to federal benefit programs will likely mean a loss in free school meals for some students, advocates warn. The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, tightens eligibility for the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (SNAP) and Medicaid programs. Two airstrikes...

Nicholas Ragone & JD Franklin III/WXII News Hundreds of students at multiple Winston-Salem/Forsyth County high schools are holding walkouts Monday to protest the planned job cuts for educators around the district. Glenn High School held its protest around 9:30 a.m. Similar demonstrations are planned at other schools around the district...

Analisa Sorrells Archer/Education NC As students return to school in Jackson County, they will all receive school breakfast and school lunch at no cost. Now in its second consecutive year of operation, these no-cost meals are funded by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, which provided more than $500,000 last...

Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio Congress has cut federal funding for public media — an $800,000 loss for WFAE. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism. The next leg of the 2025 legislative session begins in Raleigh this week, though...

Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise Budget records show how a state-funded project to restore John Coltrane’s childhood home in High Point fell short of completion. The High Point Preservation Society provided the Enterprise summaries of how it disbursed $250,000 that it was awarded by the N.C. General Assembly in 2022...