Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online A proposed rule to establish monitoring and minimization requirements for PFAS dischargers in the state was crafted largely from input provided by a utility association. A draft of the rule was discussed last week in a meeting of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s Water Quality...

Sharryse Piggott/WUNC Radio The State Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services received a letter from the United States Department of Agriculture earlier this month stating it will no longer receive funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. The nonprofit Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is one...

Arthur Allen/KFF Health News National Institutes of Health officials have urged scientists to remove all references to mRNA vaccine technology from their grant applications, two researchers said, in a move that signaled the agency might abandon a promising field of medical research. The mRNA technology is under study at the...

Kathy N. Ross/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer  Maggie Valley aldermen have launched a response to N.C. House Rep. Mark Pless and his proposal to de-annex eight parcels of land from town limits, passing a resolution that called the bill a threat to local control. It was a 4-1 decision, with Pless’ perceived...

John Staton/Wilmington StarNews For decades, Southeastern North Carolina was known for its laid-back, sparsely populated beach towns, their sandy landscapes dotted by low-slung beach cottages with plenty of room between them. Of course, the above description of Wilmington-area beach towns hasn’t been true for many years now. Beach populations swelled...

Sarah Honosky/Asheville Citizen Times UNC Asheville Millennial Campus properties, a designation that includes 45 acres of wooded land on its south campus, will be developed, Chancellor Kimberly van Noort said in a March 7 letter to faculty and staff. Possibilities include affordable workforce and student housing, research industry collaborations and...

WFDD News Wall Street is panic-selling over President Trump’s chaotic new tariffs. Business executives are reportedly making frantic calls to the White House. And on Tuesday, the country’s top CEOs crowded into a closed-door meeting with Trump — setting a record for attendance. Yet in public, corporate America’s leaders are...

Peter Castagno/Port City Daily A federal agency is evaluating Castle Hayne firefighter health concerns after a local fire captain and the International Association of Fire Fighters alleged the county failed to address toxic hazards at a local station. Assistant county manager Lisa Wurtzbacher sent commissioners an email on Monday, March...

Jack Igelman/Carolina Public Press Dozens of wildfires are burning across the state following a stretch of unseasonably warm weather, high winds and low humidity. And just like in years past, the majority of blazes can be traced to be one source: people. Between Feb. 24 and March 3, the North...

Will Thomas/WTKR News Nearly 400 birds — mostly brown pelicans — were found dead from suspected highly pathogenic avian influenza, a strain of bird flu, in Hatteras, N.C. in late February, Miranda Turner the state wildlife biologist for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission confirmed to WTKR News 3 Friday....

Brian Murphy/WRAL News  For decades, the Atlantic Coast Conference was synonymous with college basketball excellence. The conference of David Thompson, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner and Tim Duncan, of Jim Valvano, Dean Smith, and Mike Krzyzewski produced basketball royalty and claimed a bonanza of national titles. Now the league is making...

Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News A bipartisan collaboration to bolster critical communication resources during natural disasters is gaining momentum in Congress after lessons learned during the devastation of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina last year. Called the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025, Senate Bill 315 mandates that...

Vicki Hyatt/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Western North Carolina residents presented a show of force at a town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards Thursday — from a deeply critical audience inside the venue to a massive protest outside. The auditorium at A-B Tech could fit less than 400 people, but...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online The cleanup of more than 7,000 tons of litter in North Carolina cost state agencies, local governments and nonprofits more than $56 million in 2023, according to a new report. Those figures highlighted in “The Cost of Litter in North Carolina,” a 14-page report created through...

Rodney Overton/WNCN News North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control officials said this week that more than 50 establishments were caught on various violations — facing more than $62,000 in fines or suspensions. The violations are for businesses that are licensed to sell alcohol across North Carolina — including bars, clubs, restaurants...