Judith Retana/WNCN Mahogany Newkirk accepted her Associate in Arts degree from Central Carolina Community College. Next week, she’ll receive her high school diploma. “It was like a surreal moment. I was proud of myself,” Newkirk said of her accomplishments. She is enrolled at Harnett County Early College, where she earned...

Dennis Bright/WBTW A North Carolina business hired to perform work for the town of Surfside Beach confirmed Thursday that it hasn’t received payment for work done in the town because of what the town has called a “potential cybersecurity incident” involving its email. “We are still owed money for work...

Kate Denning/Carolina Public Press After a series of amendments that North Carolina lawmakers have made over several years to the charter school review and approval process, stand-alone remote charter schools are on the rise. The Charter School Review Board approved several new institutions earlier this year that will be started...

Amy Diaz/WFDD The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is launching a bioindustrial manufacturing workforce training and research program next January. It’s called NC BioMISSION. The program is designed to prepare students to enter the growing field of biotechnology, which centers on converting organic materials into things like textiles, bioplastics...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News A Wake County principal is North Carolina’s newest principal of the year. Mariah Walker, principal of Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy in the Wake school system, was named the winner Friday during a luncheon at Umstead Hotel in Cary. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction hosted...

Bailey Stamos/WRAL News Rocky Mount police responded to a fight at city hall on Thursday morning after an argument escalated during a city council meeting. Witnesses talked with WRAL News about the heated discussion leading up to the fight and the moments the committee room went under lockdown. Witnesses said...

Becky Johnson/The Waynesville Mountaineer Haywood County taxpayers can thank Washington and Raleigh for at least part of next year’s tax increase, according to county commissioners. “I’ve likened this budget to being a plumber. Stuff runs downhill,” Commissioner Tommy Long said. “It runs downhill to the people in Fines Creek and...

Katie Myers/BPR News A year and a half after Helene flooded the IPEX plastic plant, there’s still a lot of PVC pipe in the French Broad River. On Tuesday, residents, officials and advocates gathered in the town of Woodfin to discuss the longstanding problem. At the Riverside Rhapsody brewery, debris...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro The UNC Board of Trustees picked a master plan designer for Carolina North on Wednesday, taking another step toward developing the vision and layout of the satellite campus project. The board — which met in a remote capacity for the final time in the fiscal year —...

Hannah Vinueza McClellan/Education NC During a State Board of Education meeting last week, Board members discussed data showing how many recipients of private school vouchers previously attended public schools in North Carolina and estimates of the cumulative financial impact on public schools. In 2023, the Republican-led General Assembly expanded funding...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News A bipartisan bill filed in the state Senate would crack down on fraudulent ticket resellers. The “Real Tickets, Real Fans Act” would ban speculative ticket sales, where the website sells tickets it doesn’t actually have. Musicians and event venues say they’re seeing fans showing up with fake...

Jennifer Fernandez/NC Health News The first thing Genevieve Traversy does when she takes in a new foster child is show them where the food is. “Most children that come into foster care are food insecure. I know I was,” said Traversy, who was in foster care as a child and...

Port City Daily The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board approved the organization’s 2026-2027 operating budget on Wednesday; it $140.8 million, an 8.1% increase over the FY26 budget. As a result, a residential customer’s monthly bill for combined water and sewer services will increase by 6.65%, or $5.31, for services...

Deana Harley & Matthew Sockol/WNCN News  A Superior Court judge made a ruling against a North Carolina-based wedding photography company accused of misleading engaged couples, scamming them out of nearly a million dollars, and never delivering wedding photos and videos. Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins Jr. issued a...

Elena Marsh/The Southern Pines Pilot With one-third of the way left to go on its funding goal, the Moore County Airport has one final piece of the commercial flight puzzle left to fall into place. This spring, the airport applied for $1 million from the Small Community Air Service Development...