Langston Wertz Jr./The Charlotte Observer North Carolina’s public school athletes can monetize their NIL rights now that a Wake County judge has signed the order making that possible. Earlier this month, Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley ruled in favor of a motion submitted by the family of Greensboro Grimsley quarterback...

Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson sued CNN and a former clerk at a porn store in Greensboro on Tuesday, alleging that they defamed the Republican candidate for governor in news reports about him. A CNN investigation published last month found that an account tied to Robinson had made...

Katie Myers & Lilly Knoepp/Blue Ridge Public Radio Helene caused catastrophic flooding across the region, particularly in the French Broad and Toe Rivers. The floodwaters washed across businesses, roadways and homes taking debris, chemicals, oil and more downstream. Some posts online and conversations in the community suggested that the floodwaters...

Emma Dill/WilmingtonBiz Land once eyed for a minor-league baseball stadium development could now officially become part of the town of Leland. On Thursday, the Leland Town Council is set to consider directing town staff to investigate the annexation of more than 1,100 acres owned by Jackeys Creek Investors LLC. The...

Tom Murphy/The Associated Press Walgreens is planning to close around 1,200 locations, as the drugstore chain and its rivals struggle to define their role for U.S. shoppers who no longer look to them first for convenience. Drugstores that once snapped up prime retail space in towns and cities across the...

Jaymie Baxley/NC Health News The staff of the Asheville-based Manna Foodbank tried their best to prepare for Hurricane Helene. Workers at the nonprofit’s primary distribution site just feet from the Swannanoa River moved tens of thousands of food items onto tall shelves ahead of the storm’s arrival. The shelves, they...

Liz Schlemmer/WUNC Radio On the day before Helene hit, the last thing McDowell County Schools’ Superintendent Tracy Grit did was visit Old Fort Elementary. He walked the perimeter in the rain and stood outside where it overlooks Mill Creek. The school was built only five years ago, on a berm...

Kara Fohner/USA Today Network Reports of more than 160 missing children in Spruce Pine are not true. In fact, there is only one person who first responders have not managed to locate since Tropical Storm Helene, according to the Mitchell County Manager Allen Cook. Cook told USA Today on Oct....

Pat Kimbrough/High Point Enterprise The City Council has chosen the top priorities to implement from the One High Point Commission report. City-hired consultants will work with staff on policies that address “housing disparities,” “access to transportation” and “economic opportunities.” The city-commissioned 245-page “Reparations and Reconciliation Report,” which was completed in...

Ryan Kelly/Mount Airy News Those affected by Hurricane Helene have been on the receiving end in the past two weeks of donations and supplies from residents in this community and across the state meant to help them through a challenging time. Not everyone is sending care packages, water, socks, and...

Moss Brennan/The Watauga Democrat The Watauga County Board of Education has approved a Valle Crucis School relocation plan for students and staff after Hurricane Helene severely damaged the current school. The approved plan — which gives BOE Chair Gary Childers and WCS Superintendent Leslie Alexander the authority to execute any...

Christina A. Cassidy & Nicholas Riccardi/The Associated Press The latest method of voting to fall into the political crosshairs is the way overseas voters — including members of the military stationed abroad — cast their ballots. The process is governed by federal law and implemented by states. In recent weeks,...

Brianna Sacks & Dan Lamothe/The Washington Post Federal emergency response personnel directed employees operating Saturday in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., to stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over “armed militia” threatening government workers in the region, according to an email sent to federal agencies helping...

Victoria A. Ifatusin/Asheville Watchdog Buncombe homeowners hit hardest by flood damage from Hurricane Helene will likely face enormous costs to rebuild with limited options to pay for it. Fewer than one percent of Buncombe structures, including homes and businesses, are covered by flood insurance, according to an Asheville Watchdog analysis...

Grace Vitaglione/NC Health News With the end of pandemic-era federal supports for child care centers earlier this year, many centers across North Carolina faced a funding “cliff” that threatened their stability, and for some, even their survival. State lawmakers extended funding in June, so child care centers across North Carolina...