Bradley George/WUNC Radio The commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles urged flyers to get a Real ID before a new fee comes into effect February 1. “For those who don’t yet have a Real ID, the easiest way to avoid the new verification process and fee is...

Sergio Osnaya-Prieto/Education NC A new Department of Public Instruction (DPI) report says that 100% of traditional public school districts currently have a 1-to-1 digital device-to-student ratio, though many districts are struggling to replace old or damaged devices due to a lack of funding. Dr. Ashley McBride, a digital learning initiative...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Proposed rules that would require hundreds of industrial manufacturers and public sewer plants across the state to test the wastewater they discharge into rivers, creeks and streams for three types of PFAS and 1,4-dioxane will go out for public comment next month. The North Carolina Environmental...

Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer A commercial development with up to four retail spaces has been proposed for a vacant 1.3 acre lot on South Main Street in Waynesville. The proposed development would be located between O’Reilly Auto Parts and the Papa’s and Beer Mexican restaurant. A disco may have once...

Paul Specht/WRAL News North Carolina leaders last year approved new rules for handling criminal suspects who may need psychiatric care — prompting a dispute between hospitals and law enforcement groups over a new requirement for mental evaluations. The rules were designed in part to restrict judges from releasing repeat violent...

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press If a family member is committed to a North Carolina state psychiatric hospital in 2026, that facility will be facing serious staffing shortages. Each of North Carolina’s three psychiatric hospitals closed out last year with staff vacancy rates at or above 20%. North Carolina still...

Jennifer Allen/Coastal Review Online The two agencies that enforce the Clean Water Act have proposed changes to the waterbodies considered jurisdictional, or under federal protection, and the deadline for the public to comment is here. The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published on Nov. 20 in the...

Analisa Sorrells Archer/Education NC On Wednesday, new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) were released by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). Updated every five years, the guidelines help determine what food is served in schools and at child care centers, among other things. The...

Adam Wagner/NC Newsroom & WUNC Radio North Carolina is working to map areas that are particularly susceptible to landslides in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The storm triggered hundreds of landslides in western North Carolina, including this one near Vilas, N.C. Heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene...

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra/WUNC Radio Two U.S. citizen brothers say Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers racially profiled and assaulted them in Salisbury, N.C., as federal agents continue heightened immigration arrests across the country. On Monday, ICE officers pulled over Edwin Godinez, 29, and his stepbrother, Yair Napolés, 22, in an unmarked vehicle...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily A proposed 355-home single-family subdivision in Hampstead won approval from the Pender County Planning Board in a 5–2 vote on Jan. 6. Board members said they were legally bound to approve the project because it meets county zoning rules, despite public opposition centered on traffic congestion,...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro The Town of Hillsborough resolved one of the impacts of July’s Tropical Depression Chantal still affecting its operations before the start of 2026. Significant damage from the historic flooding of the Eno River during the storm forced the River Pump Station to use rental and temporary equipment...

The Associated Press South Carolina’s measles outbreak exploded into one of the worst in the U.S., with state health officials confirming 99 new cases in the past three days. The outbreak centered in Spartanburg County grew to 310 cases over the holidays, and spawned cases in North Carolina and Ohio...

Matt Lamb/The (Southern Pines) Pilot In what seemed like an all-but-done deal — the Board of Education contracting with BWP & Associates for superintendent search services — two board members sought to put the brakes on the process earlier this week, challenging the need for consulting services at this juncture....

Analisa Sorrells Archer/Education NC On Wednesday, new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) were released by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). Updated every five years, the guidelines help determine what food is served in schools and at child care centers, among other things. The...