Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press Don’t fear the smoke machine. Wave of NC elections lawsuits may be more about misdirection than credible threats. In the past month, five lawsuits have been filed against the North Carolina State Board of Elections highlighting alleged issues with the state’s voter rolls and absentee ballot...

Peter Castagno/Port City Daily   Prominent state firefighter organizations are raising concerns over a new building code law that could increase fire risks for homeowners. Firefighters and other critics argue the law demonstrates a broader issue caused by the disproportionate influence of the North Carolina Home Builders Association in the...

John Barr/ESPN.com Two of the more vocal critics of the sports betting industry on Capitol Hill outlined legislation Thursday, which if passed into law would put into place sweeping new federal regulations on gambling companies, including requiring them to set limits on what amount sports bettors wager and how often...

Chase Pellegrini de Paur/IndyWeek Anyone strolling through Raleigh this weekend may hear the voice of Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson blasting from an electronic billboard on the side of a truck. “MLK was a communist,” Robinson’s voice says, speaking over an image of himself pointing into the face of the revered...

Brianna Atkinson/WUNC Radio In the aftermath of the UNC Board of Governors DEI repeal, chancellors have closed at least seven central DEI offices, eliminated 59 DEI-related positions, and redirected nearly $17 million to “student success initiatives.” Out of all the institutions that gutted DEI programs, UNC-Chapel Hill’s administration cut the...

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,...