Nick Fogleman/The Watauga Democrat In a major shift for local emergency services, Watauga County announced that it will transition from a privately contracted ambulance provider to a fully county-operated emergency medical service. The Watauga County Board of Commissioners approved a purchase of Watauga Medics, Inc. for $1.7 million at its...

Aarik Long/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A rockslide and flooding struck Interstate 40 when heavy rain pelted the Pigeon River Gorge on Wednesday, once again closing the interstate. The I-40 washout occurred just over the state line from Haywood County in Tennessee. Luckily, transportation officials expect a much quicker fix than the...

Jack Hagel & Paul Specht/WRAL News Dan Forest’s term as North Carolina lieutenant governor ended like an episode of “This Old House.” An architect by trade, Forest took great pride in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in private donations to painstakingly renovate and refurnish the 140-year-old Hawkins-Hartness House, which...

Paul B. Johnson/The High Point Enterprise The announcement last week that the region has recruited the lucrative JetZero aircraft manufacturing project carries far-reaching implications beyond the borders of the development. JetZero plans a factory that itself would employ more than 14,000 workers and carry an investment of $4.7 billion over...

Lucille Sherman/Axios Raleigh North Carolina House Rules Chairman Rep. John Bell, who is also the president of a hemp manufacturing and distribution company, has been the point person in his chamber on several proposed bills making their way through the legislature that could impact his company. He also has the...

Geoff Hing/The Marshall Project Wilkes County, North Carolina, has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic, but local officials have been open to approaches for making the crisis less deadly. They recently embraced a new strategy: a recovery court offering services, treatment and the potential to avoid prison. But, just...

The Associated Press North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed his first bills on Friday, blocking for now Republican legislation that would let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and make state agencies and local sheriffs more active in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Stein, who took office in...

Liz Schlemmer/WUNC Radio New research shows that many North Carolina private schools accepting vouchers significantly increased their tuition after the state expanded funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program. Starting this past school year, any North Carolina family could apply for a state-funded scholarship to attend a private school, regardless of...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily Beneath North Carolina’s vibrant blueberry fields, a hidden pest poses a long-term threat. Scientists are now working to uncover its secrets and protect the state’s valuable crops. For North Carolina’s multi-million blueberry industry, a new threat is emerging: the prionus beetle. The long-lived larvae of this...

Robert Sullivan/The Salisbury Post     On Tuesday, June 24, the political party affiliations of about 34,000 North Carolina voters registered with four parties — Constitution, Justice for All, No Labels and We the People — will be moved to unaffiliated status in the state’s voter registration database. When the 2024 general...

Michael Koh/WCHL Chapelboro The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded $28 million by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The money will be used to develop a new clinical trial for breast cancer which has spread to other part of the body. The trial, “Translational Breast...

Becky Johnson/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A section of Interstate 40 just over the state line from Haywood County has washed out due to localized heavy rain in the area — prompting a closure of I-40 in both directions. In Haywood County, the interstate is closed west of exit 20. Extent of...

Jordain Carney & Robert King/Politico Senate Republican leaders are working to assuage a group of key megabill holdouts — “the Medicaid moderates” — as they try to lock down votes next week for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and Finance Chair...

David Beasley/The Center Square The University of North Carolina at Asheville plans to lease some of its land for a $250 million mixed-used development that will include student housing, a soccer stadium and retail space, the university said Wednesday. The project, which will create 300 jobs, will not cost the...

Makiya Seminera/The Associated Press A panel of North Carolina judges dismissed one of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s cases against Republican legislative leaders Monday, upholding part of a power-shifting law that prevents Stein from selecting the State Highway Patrol commander. Three Superior Court judges made the decision unanimously. The judges’ decision...