Evey Weisblat/CityView As local residents have turned to the legal system to seek compensation for damages caused by the “forever chemical” pollution of Chemours and its predecessor, DuPont, the companies have readily mounted a defense. Here’s the latest on the legal front: In two consolidated lawsuits since 2018, over 2,500...

Phil Galewitz/NC Health News Under President Joe Biden, enrollment in Medicaid hit a record high and the uninsured rate reached a record low. Donald Trump’s return to the White House — along with a GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives — is expected to change that. Republicans in Washington say...

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press Nearly half of North Carolina is experiencing a moderate drought, and in the coastal plains region, those exceptionally dry conditions have persisted since early October. But despite snow over the weekend, the region’s environmental experts worry about an increased risk of wildfires and parched soil...

Felicia Sonmez/Blue Ridge Public Radio The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it is sending an additional $353 million in relief funding to North Carolina and Tennessee to help rebuild their infrastructure in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The funding comes after an earlier $167 million that was sent...

Jessica Wakeman/Education NC Three weeks after Helene hit Western North Carolina, Marcia Whitney thought she was close to a breakthrough. The president of Verner Center for Early Learning was desperate to reopen and help their families and children return to at least some of their routines. Through her involvement in...

James Farrell/WFAE Radio The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education and Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners held a joint meeting, on Monday to discuss priorities and budget forecasts. They also talked about the future of the Charlotte area’s public pre-K options. While most of the 6,583 seats across those programs are...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Republican U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina will serve as chairwoman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Rules for the 119th Congress. Foxx, of the 5th Congressional District in the northwestern part of the state, won her 11th term on Nov. 5 – longest...

Mark Jurkowitz/Outer Banks Voice Nearly one year after it first met, the Dare County Housing Task Force issued a 35-page report (not including an Appendix) last month that includes a series of recommendations and priorities for easing the county’s housing crunch—ideas that range from Dare towns adopting new land use...

Mary Helen Moore/The (Raleigh) News & Observer A gun range and law enforcement training center costing over $18 million can be built in Durham, county commissioners decided late Monday night. The Durham County Sheriff’s Office staved off a push from anti-police activists and frustrated elected leaders to secure a 3-2...

Daniel Sheehan/Wilmington StarNews As Wilmington sees growth on the ground, traffic above our heads has also increased. Wilmington International Airport is currently undergoing a variety of expansion projects to accommodate the uptick in passenger travel.  New nonstop flights, a terminal expansion and an onsite hotel are all signs of the...

Sarah Honosky/Asheville Citizen Times Nonprofit BeLoved Asheville has purchased a roughly 8-acre parcel in Swannanoa with plans to build a new “village” of deeply affordable homes, replicating ongoing work at its East Asheville property where 12 tiny homes are awaiting final steps. It is their response to Asheville’s housing crisis,...

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press With the county’s supermarket, downtown restaurants, manufacturing sites and prisons struggling to reopen in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, Mitchell County now has the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina at nearly 9% — almost three times higher than roughly a year ago. Recovery...

Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio The town of Matthews isn’t going quietly in its fight to keep the Silver Line light rail. To counter the city of Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County — who want to run a bus rapid transit line to Matthews instead of a train — Matthews...

Spencer Kimball/CNBC Cleveland Cliffs is partnering with rival Nucor in a potential bid for U.S. Steel, whose takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel was blocked by the White House earlier this month, sources tell CNBC’s David Faber. Cleveland-Cliffs would purchase all of U.S. Steel for all cash and then sell off...

Miles Parks/WUNC Radio For Donald Trump and his supporters, concerns about election administration quickly dissipated once it became clear he would win the 2024 presidential election, and in surveys since, most Republican voters say the election was run well. But for the wing of the Republican Party that has been...