Saleha Mohsin/Yahoo!Fiance Donald Trump pioneered new ways to use tariffs as a weapon of statecraft in his first presidency. He’s promising to go full-bore next time – and even deploy a jumbo version to protect the US dollar. The GOP candidate is signaling he’ll ramp up America’s economic arsenal if...

Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News  The old paper mill in the heart of Canton will have a new owner by the end of the month — if everything remains on track — according to a three-page letter filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 30. “We have become aware...

Morgan Casey/CityView White hard hats donned and shining silver ceremonial shovels in hand, officials from Methodist University, Cape Fear Valley Health and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners marked on Tuesday the official start of construction on the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine. “Today, we’re celebrating...

Gerard Albert III/Blue Ridge Public Radio With Transylvania County school board leaders saying they will share responsibility for spending tens of millions of dollars on school repair construction projects, county commissioners have agreed to consider a new intergovernmental agreement. In a unanimous vote this week, county commissioners directed their county...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online A proposed draft rule outlining health standards for PFAS in groundwater, which supports about 50% of drinking water in North Carolina, is heading for public comment. The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission on Thursday morning unanimously waived a 30-day public notice, a move that expedites the...

Grace Vitaglione/NC Health News The state legislature approved funding Wednesday to meet higher costs for NC Medicaid in the current fiscal year. But their number came in below what state health officials had been asking for — by about $81 million. The state Department of Health and Human Services had...

Gary D. Robertson/The Associated Press The Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature passed a supplemental spending bill Wednesday that eliminates a large waitlist for private school vouchers and also directs sheriffs to assist federal immigration agents seeking jail inmates. While Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper almost assuredly will veto the measure, it’s still...

Dan Kane/The (Raleigh) News & Observer Since 2020, state lawmakers have spent millions to put a private company’s science-based video game in North Carolina public schools even though few students are playing. Demand for the Plasma Games product has remained low, state education officials say, even after the company dangled...

Bill Stephens/Trains Norfolk Southern today terminated the contracts of embattled CEO Alan Shaw and the railroad’s chief legal officer, Nabanita Nag, for having a consensual relationship in violation of company policy. The NS board unanimously named Chief Financial Officer Mark George as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately, the...

Sarah Honosky/Asheville Citizen Times The city’s newly released 113-page Affordable Housing Plan doesn’t mince words when characterizing the crisis: Today, it says in the opening paragraphs, more than a third of all Asheville households are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their incomes on housing costs. Between 2015 and 2021,...

Emily Mikkelsen/WGHP News The Republican candidate for North Carolina lieutenant governor gave an impassioned and conspiratorial speech at a religious gathering over the weekend. Republican Hal Weatherman, former chief of staff for past Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, now lieutenant governor hopeful, spoke at Parks Crossroads Church in Ramseur on Sunday...

Gerard Albert III/Blue Ridge Public Radio Hundreds of investors – hoping to become U.S. residents by funding expansion of one of Western North Carolina’s largest sports facilities – may miss out as a key entity wrangles with immigration officials over an unpaid annual fee. A local economic-focused group, called the...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Lawmakers in North Carolina’s House of Representatives took the final step to immediately make law a proposal on building codes and regulatory reform over the objection of the governor. Another bill vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper on court-filed documents was scheduled for the first week of...

Justin Welch/Technician NC State has revised its anti-discrimination policy following a settlement with the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law. Some experts believe the obligations in the agreement could challenge freedom of speech on campus. The settlement arose from a Title VI complaint alleging the University failed to...

Celeste Gracia/WUNC Radio A constant stream of 18-wheeler trucks file into the Sampson County landfill, located next to a small, historically-Black community named Snow Hill. The front of the facility is adorned with lush landscaping. From afar, it looks like a large hill of dirt. “I call it a toxic...