Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio On a warm, dry day last week, prescribed burn coordinator Zachary O’Donnell ignited his drip torch and passed it to the landowner. They stood on the edge of a forest, somewhere between Marion and Old Fort, North Carolina. The woods sloped downward, and prickly hollies hugged the...

Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman & Rob Gillies/The Associated Press President Donald Trump launched a trade war Tuesday against America’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin as the U.S. faced the threat of rekindled inflation and paralyzing uncertainty...

Shane Shoemaker/Sporting News On Tuesday, four ongoing lawsuits involving Florida State and Clemson battling their own conference, the ACC, were put to rest as a settlement was reached, according to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. All three parties agreed to terms that focused on two major objectives. The first involves a new...

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily A federal grant that is set to cover half of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge’s 135-foot replacement is now on pause, an NCDOT representative said — one day after agency workers told the Wilmington City Council the grant could be in peril if the council takes...

Catherine Muccigrosso/The (Raleigh) News & Observer The chief executive officer and board chair of The Kroger Co., parent company of grocer Harris Teeter, abruptly resigned Monday following an internal investigation into his “personal conduct.” The investigation began Feb. 21 into Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen’s conduct, and it was not related...

Paul Garber/WFDD Radio The union representing the faculty musicians of the Eastern Music Festival is filing an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Last week EMF’s board announced the cancelation of this summer’s event. The long-running classical music festival and education program was put on hiatus...

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra/WUNC Radio Ricardo Rossi — originally of Caracas, Venezuela — is the owner of BB’s Grill, a full-service food truck on Highway 70 in southeast Durham near the northwestern edge of Raleigh. As the Friday night rush begins in the Triangle’s unofficial Venezuelan street food corner, BB’s Grill owner...

John Staton/Wilmington StarNews These days, George Taylor answers to the inmate number 31663-511 at the Federal Correctional Institution, Williamsburg, a medium-security prison with an adjacent minimum-security facility in Salters, South Carolina, about halfway between Georgetown and Columbia. A Wilmington-based entrepreneur, Taylor is known for launching such successful start-ups as the...

Coastal Review Online Topsail Beach Mayor Morton Blanchard, a longtime resident and public servant of the Pender County town, died Sunday afternoon, according to a town release. “Mayor Blanchard leaves a huge voice in the Town of Topsail Beach,” the release states. “His leadership, wisdom, and compassion will be greatly...

Jennifer Fernandez/NC Health News As child advocates last week discussed the growing food insecurity among North Carolina’s children, the U.S. House of Representatives took steps to cut federal programs that help combat child hunger. The House on Feb. 25 narrowly passed a Republican-backed budget blueprint that includes potential cuts of...

Gwendolyn Glenn/WFAE Radio Rev. Dr. Nelson Johnson kneels over the body of a fallen marcher in the aftermath of the Greensboro Massacre in 1979. Five people who participated in an anti-Klan march were killed and 12 wounded, including Nelson. North Carolina and the country lost a legend last month with...

Felicia Sonmez/Blue Ridge Public Radio Buncombe County’s hospitality industry was hard hit by the drop in tourism after Hurricane Helene. But last month, hotels posted their best January ever — due in large part to long-stay corporate guests booking rooms as they work on disaster recovery and insurance claims in...

Sarah Honosky/Asheville Citizen Times Funding for several major Buncombe County road projects has been cut in the N.C. Department of Transportation’s draft 10-year plan, with final approval coming later this year, according to a presentation from the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization. NCDOT’s draft State Transportation Improvement Plan, or...

Chantal Allam/The (Raleigh) News & Observer Raleigh Country Club is suing the city and local businessman Mark Thompson in an attempt to reverse approval of a 16-unit townhome project adjacent to its property. In a petition filed in Wake County Superior Court on Jan. 8, the club argued the city...

Rachel Crumpler/NC Health News A handful of men in orange jumpsuits gather around tables in a specialized unit on the second floor of the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. They turn their attention to a whiteboard with the words “defendant,” “judge,” “defense attorney,” “district attorney,” “jury” and other legal terms written...