Heidi S. Skinner/Coastal Review Online Often mistaken for moss, lichens are actually quite different. Like mosses, lichens are found all over the world, with somewhere between 12-18,000 known varieties. The number is probably way more, as new specimens are being discovered every year. America has 3,600 different named lichens, while...

Politico President Donald Trump reversed course in the global trade war he launched just a week ago, announcing in a social media post a 90-day pause on new tariffs against every country but China. That came just hours after Trump urged the country to “BE COOL” in another post that...

Gary D. Robertson/The Associated Press Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina announced on Wednesday his candidacy to try to unseat Sen. Thom Tillis in 2026, saying a “fighter for what’s right for our state” is needed and criticizing the Republican incumbent for backing President Donald Trump’s agenda....

Becky Johnson/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A triumphant victory in mining rock for Interstate 40 slide repairs from the nearby national forest was announced by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration two weeks ago — but the reality isn’t quite what was telegraphed by the agency. A press release declared that the federal...

Korie Dean/The (Raleigh) News & Observer The federal government has terminated the visas of half a dozen international students at UNC-Chapel Hill, according to the university’s media relations office. According to a statement from the office provided to The News & Observer, the university’s International Student and Scholars Services office...

Andrew Beaton/The Wall Street Journal Florida just came back from a double-digit deficit to stun Houston and win the NCAA tournament. But while the Gators can call themselves national champions, they still can’t claim to be the most valuable program in college basketball. That distinction belongs to a team that...

Rachel Hagan & Archana Shukla/BBC US President Donald Trump says he will soon announce “major” tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, a move that could end decades of low-cost global trade in medicines. For years, most countries, including the US, have imposed few or no tariffs on finished drugs, thanks in part...

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily One New Hanover County Schools board member is facing an impending censure vote, yet the reasoning behind it has remained under wraps. He is now considering litigation over improper procedure and defamation. Tim Merrick found out Saturday night that his colleague, chair of New Hanover County...

Rebecca Noel/The Charlotte Observer The federal government has terminated the student visas of six international students at UNC Charlotte, a university spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer Wednesday. The affected students are citizens of India and Nigeria, university officials said, and all of the terminations took place over the last week....

Amy Diaz/WFDD Radio  About 50 educators gathered in the parking lot across from the Guilford County Board of Education building, chanting and holding signs — many of which said “One Job Should Be Enough.” Rondeshia Wallace, the cafeteria manager at Peck Elementary School, was one of several speakers. “When I...

James Farrell/WFAE Radio Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has adopted its 2026-27 academic calendar. The school year is set to start Tuesday, Aug. 25. But some local and state leaders continue to call for a change in state law to allow schools to start sooner. A bill to that effect has been introduced...

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi/The (Raleigh) News & Observer It’s been more than six months since Helene tore through Western North Carolina, and five people are still missing — lost in the floodwaters that swept through the mountains in September 2024. The families of those missing still face bureaucratic hurdles to...

Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline The chair of the Republican National Committee said Monday evening he believes recent chaos in global stock markets was an “overreaction” to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. “I think there’s a lot of false equivocation that the market equals the economy,” argued Michael Whatley, who was elevated...

Iris Seaton/Asheville Citizen Times The cost of gasoline is a common source of anxiety among Americans – but where are average prices resting? An online auto retailer American Trucks study found that roughly 22% of U.S. citizens consider gas their most worrisome household expense. Additionally, 58% of Americans reported driving...

David Beasley/The Center Square Prohibiting hostile foreign governments such as China or Russia from purchasing farmland and property within 75 miles of a miliary installation has cleared a committee in the North Carolina House of Representatives. N.C. Farmland and Military Protection Act, or House Bill 133, would bar governments designated...