Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline On the week that North Carolina senators were busy rolling out a $32.6B spending plan, it was difficult to gain attention for legislation that some consider a longshot this session. But Senator Natalie Murdock (D-Chatham, Durham) refused to allow budget week to shift her focus from what...

Liz McLaughlin/WRAL News A hiker’s recent death along the Blue Ridge Parkway is raising new concerns about staffing shortfalls and public safety on one of the country’s most visited national park units. Jie Huang, 40, of Plymouth, North Carolina, died April 18 after falling into water near the Boone Fork...

Will Thomas/WTKR & The Outer Banks Voice The only way to get to Ocracoke is by boat or plane, with most people taking the hour-long or so ferry ride from Hatteras for free. North Carolina State Senators are now seeking to toll this route and all ferry routes in the...

WCHL Chapelboro Broadcaster Jim Lampley, who went to UNC and is a former WCHL staffer, returned to live in Chapel Hill after a long career of working at the height of sports television. His decades-long career spanning a variety of sports and major historical moments led to him embarking on...

Ben Humphries/Education NC The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission announced this month that it selected a record 530 teaching fellows for the 2025-26 academic year, continuing a trend of growth since the program was reinstated. The NC Teaching Fellows program originally ran from 1986 to 2015, when state funding for...

Jacob Hancock-Hernández/WFDD Radio The High Point Public Library unveiled its new sensory garden on Wednesday. The goal of the garden is to appeal to the senses of sight, sound, touch, and smell. One of the most popular features is the Kugel fountain, a sculpture with a sphere that sits on...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily A North Carolina Senate bill seeks to define and regulate e-bikes, though some advocates say it raises more questions than answers. E-bikes are defined in N.C. general statute under vehicle definitions, but there aren’t regulations for them, meaning no helmet, age, speed limit or license rules....

Sydney Lupkin/WFAE Radio President Trump signed an executive action Tuesday intended to lower prescription drug prices for Americans. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters ahead of the signing that the move would include “delivering lower prices to seniors” and improve the Medicare drug price negotiation...

Hannah Vinueza McClellan/Education NC The North Carolina Senate released its 2025-27 budget proposal on April 14, allocating approximately $73 million over the biennium for Propel NC, the N.C. Community College System’s (NCCCS) new funding model that was first unveiled in Jan. 2024. This long session, the system asked lawmakers for...

Zachery Eanes/Axios Raleigh The Raleigh City Council appears ready to support using toll lanes to speed up the expansion of Capital Boulevard into a six-lane highway between Raleigh and Wake Forest. Why it matters: The section of Capital Boulevard, also known as U.S. 1, is among the region’s most congested...

Marc Sallinger/NBC News The U.S. Air Force has removed certain articles about a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and the first female Thunderbird pilot from military websites, stating they were taken down in compliance with the Trump administration’s directives to eliminate content related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Retired...

Andrew R. Jones/Asheville Watchdog The list includes people who died of gunshot wounds, drug overdoses, choking and falling bricks. Some of the bodies had to be returned to the hospital from funeral homes as far away as Georgia. Some were already buried. Buncombe medical examiners shared their list of morgue...

Jennifer Fernandez/NC Health News A bill that would further shorten the practice period for young drivers stalled Wednesday in the Transportation Committee of the N.C. House. Sponsors of House Bill 584 asked to rescind a motion that would have pushed it closer to a final vote in the House of...

Monica Casey/WRAL News North Carolina Central University Chancellor Karrie G. Dixon responded to those who rallied on campus Wednesday with three words: “We hear you.” Dixon said, in a message sent to students, staff and faculty Thursday morning, that she and other NCCU leaders were off campus when police detained...

Vicki Hyatt/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer What makes Haywood County a special place to live — and visit — comes from its rural character, pastoral scenes and fertile agriculture land. It is an attraction that’s disappearing fast, warned speaker after speaker at the Haywood County Farm Bureau Legislative Breakfast on Monday. Don...