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...

Will Hofmann/Asheville Citizen Times East Fork Pottery is suing Travelers Insurance after the company denied its business interruption insurance claim after Tropical Storm Helene. The nationally known pottery company is one of many in Western North Carolina still seeking insurance payouts almost a year after the storm, experts say. Among...

Jenna Fryer/The Associated Press The legal fight between NASCAR and two race teams, one owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, heated up Monday ahead of a critical court hearing as both sides filed new motions over antitrust claims. NASCAR said in its filing that it plans to issue...

Mebane Rash/Education NC The first day of school is full of wonder for me and for many of us. Seeing the big yellow buses hit the road. Hearing the banter about Friday night football. Seeing the students’ smiles, their eyes lit up, their double thumbs up, and their nervous anticipation....

Nick de la Canal/WFAE Radio North Carolina lawmakers return to Raleigh this week to continue hammering out the state budget, and one of the biggest questions hanging over them is the future of Medicaid expansion. Nearly 680,000 North Carolinians have gained coverage since the program launched in 2023. But President...

Leah Rosenbaum/The War Horse It’s been six months since a now-infamous email presented millions of federal workers with a pivotal decision: They could reply “resign” to give up their job and receive full pay and benefits through the end of September. Or they could stay in their positions and hope...

Brian Tress/Outer Banks Voice In the wake of Hurricane Erin, teams with N.E.S.T. (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) began assessing sea turtle nest damage along the Northern Outer Banks. Prior to the storm, a total of 29 nests had been laid — 18 remained intact in the ground, while 11...

Liz Schlemmer/WUNC Radio As many North Carolina students return to school Monday, they’ll have to get used to putting away their phones. A new state law aims to restrict cell phone use in schools statewide by requiring students to turn off their phones during class time. Many individual schools and...

The (Waynesville) Mountaineer The owners of the The Swag and Cataloochee Ranch have gifted $750,000 toward the restoration of Helene-ravaged Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through their nonprofit the Colquitt Foundation, David and Annie Colquitt gifted the funds to the Friends of the Smokies to help...

DJ Simmons/WFDD Radio The SECU Foundation is awarding a $300,000 grant to Legal Aid of North Carolina to expand services in rural areas. The funds will support software development and statewide implementation of Legal Aid’s Innovation Lab. The lab aims to foster collaborations between community partners, law schools and tech...

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...