Starting Thursday, North Carolina Medicaid will cover weight loss medications like Wegovy and Ozempic. Known as GLP-1s (Glucagon-like Peptide agonists), they’ve become the world’s best-selling prescription medications, but they’re also some of the most expensive. Kody Kinsley, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, says people...

Democrats hope a Kamala Harris presidential campaign will reach the voters who helped flip North Carolina blue in 2008 but who have tended not to vote as much since then. Young people and Black voters, particularly in rural areas, are at the top of the list of people who have...

North Carolina agriculture is bouncing back thanks to recent rain after a drought devastated crops earlier this summer, though one county — Yadkin County, in the northwest Piedmont — remains in a severe drought. Drought conditions lifted just as suddenly as they started, with many counties, particularly in the eastern...

Past and present community leaders, residents, and even theme park actors gathered for Maggie’s 50th birthday party on July 19, though one political figure declined his invitation, claiming town leaders had lied about him. N.C. House Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, declined the town’s invitation to the celebration. “Thank you for...

New federal funding will move forward a Graham County highway project – originally promised almost 60 years ago. Construction is underway on a 12-mile stretch of the Appalachian Development Highway System, dubbed “Corridor K.” However, the project’s mission to make travel and commerce more accessible in the region still hasn’t...

The Justice Department needed to file a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern for its poor handling of Amtrak’s Crescent because Class I railroads routinely ignore the law that gives passenger trains preference over freight traffic, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Trains on Wednesday. The suit, filed Tuesday, July 30, in the...

A rabid raccoon attacked Durham resident Christine Houghton in broad daylight in May when she was running on a trail at Eno River State Park. Houghton escaped by drowning the animal in nearby water, even as its teeth were still sunk into her calf. She left its carcass behind as...

The effects of deadly flooding in 2021 are still being felt in the town of Canton, but thanks to a federal funding request from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), the town is poised to take another huge step toward recovery. According to a document from the Transportation, Housing and Urban...

The North Carolina Department of Air Quality determined the state can meet federal air requirements without annual vehicle emission inspections for 18 counties, including New Hanover, but environmentalists argue the change will harm public health even if air pollution levels remain under legal limits. The 1970 Clean Air Act gave...

Kane Realty, one of Raleigh’s most influential developers, is investing heavily to turn a once industrial corner of downtown into its next residential and retail destination. The intrigue: It’s dubbing the area — bordered by Boylan Heights to the west, the Warehouse District and the railroad to the north, and...

As Outer Banks communities face a critical shortage of housing for workers, two projects moving forward with an assist from the Outer Banks Community Foundation will help Hyde and Dare County school systems hire and retain teachers. On Ocracoke, the Hyde County Education Foundation (HCEF) has plans to renovate a...

Those looking to purchase recreational marijuana in North Carolina might not have to wait much longer. The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. in Cherokee announced on social media Aug. 1 that they will soon open adult-use recreational marijuana on Sept. 7, making it the first recreational marijuana dispensary to fully open...

An assistant district attorney pressed upon the New Hanover County Board of Education Tuesday problems she’s seeing with minors taking and sharing nude photos amongst themselves. Ashton Herring, New Hanover County assistant DA overseeing juvenile court, told the board three cases, considered child pornography, have come to light in the...

As a child, Gina Upchurch would sit in her grandfather’s lap and count pills at his pharmacy in Smithfield, North Carolina. He was beloved in the community, and people often asked his advice, she recalled. When she was in high school, Upchurch watched her grandmother undergo horrible side effects from...

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction took a first pass Wednesday at telling state lawmakers how much it would cost to fully protect students from the risks of carbon monoxide and radon gas in classrooms. The answer: $85 million, though school facilities director Nathan Maune told the state Board...