The search for a suitable software program to verify absentee voters’ signatures has proven more difficult than expected, according to a North Carolina State Board of Elections official. The Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly passed sweeping elections legislation last year. One expansive law required a pilot program for signature verification,...

Voters in the 9th Congressional district will see an independent candidate on their ballots this fall. Shelane Etchison, a former Army officer with two graduate degrees from Harvard, has collected enough verified signatures to make it onto the ballot, according to the state Board of Elections website. She faces incumbent...

On Thursday, UNC Asheville announced layoffs in its Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and the Office of the Chancellor departments. The layoffs are part of a plan to address a projected $6 million budget deficit for the current fiscal year and an $8 million projected deficit for the following fiscal year,...

Duke is discontinuing its Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship Program, a program for “top applicants of African descent,” in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision that ended race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The announcement comes amidst a nascent national trend, with a number of public universities ending their...

Cumberland County and the Fayetteville Public Works Commission are partnering to bring public water to Gray’s Creek and two elementary schools where residents have used specialized filters and bottled water for years to avoid exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals. The news on Friday came two days after Michael Regan, the...

The Guilford County Republican Party has made a decision as to who it wants to fill the remaining term of NC Representative Jon Hardister, who announced recently that he was stepping down from his NC House District 59 seat. And the winner is, to little surprise of anyone, highly conservative...

As the debate over Medicaid expansion continues in Florida, lawmakers are turning their attention to North Carolina as a potential model. North Carolina, which recently expanded its Medicaid program despite initial resistance, has caught the interest of Florida legislators seeking insights into the process. Florida is one of only 10...

The dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at UNC-Chapel Hill could begin in earnest as soon as this month, say two members of the university’s board of trustees. Trustees will likely meet this month in a yet-to-be-scheduled special meeting, finalizing the campus budget before forwarding it to the...

Although UNC-Chapel Hill has released its admissions decisions, the university hasn’t been able to make any financial aid offers. Complications with the form college-bound students fill out to qualify for federal financial aid are delaying university financial aid packages. The U.S. Department of Education redesigned its Free Application for Federal...

An attorney representing Jordan Kita and Austin Wood says a Pender County jury ruled this week that a Washington, D.C. civil rights law firm published defamatory statements about the two men following an incident that made national headlines. Kita and Wood were acquitted in 2021 on charges related to the...

Divesting from F-15E Strike Eagles, which have a North Carolina home at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and purchasing F-15EXs and F-35s will generate a fighter gap with China, said U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C. His comments were directed to Gen. Charles C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of...

In recent years, more and more states have made the decision to legalize, regulate and tax recreational cannabis products — despite federal prohibition — but North Carolina isn’t one of them, and the General Assembly doesn’t appear to be favorably inclined to support such measures despite the filing of a...

UNC-Chapel Hill is rethinking campus security after the fatal shooting of Professor Zijie Yan last semester. The university has announced plans to install license plate readers on campus. The university recently entered a new contract with Flock Safety, a private company, to install 23 license plate reader cameras around campus....

Surry County Public Works Director Jessica Montgomery presented some of her top requests for the coming budget cycle Tuesday night in Dobson. She was ahead of the curve when she said policy changes regarding forever chemicals were on the way and her budget needed to increase to cover those costs....

The Henderson City Council met on Monday at a new spot — McGregor Hall. Executive and Artistic Director Mark Hopper gave a presentation and delivered a dire message — if the facility doesn’t receive financial help, it won’t survive past its 2025 loan service payment. Hopper requested $75,000 annually from...