Sabrina L. Greene/The Waynesville Mountaineer Before the sun came up on primary day, a generator was already humming on Panther Creek Road. The zero tape was signed before most people rolled over and went back to sleep. A miscommunication between the electric company and the election board had left the...

Will Doran/WRAL News North Carolina elections officials on Wednesday rejected a request by state Senate leader Phil Berger to adjust rules for the state’s recount process, as he seeks to defend the seat he’s held in the state legislature for nearly three decades. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page challenged Berger...

Emily Peck/Axios Even for those accustomed to the indignities of air travel, it’s clear that right now is a particularly terrible time to fly. The big picture: The Iran war is creating major travel headaches on top of an already chaotic situation at airports in the U.S., raising the prospect...

Cierra Noffke/WilmingtonBiz Amazon’s robotics fulfillment center is slated to open by the third quarter of this year, said Holly Sullivan, vice president of worldwide economic development at Amazon, during the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Power Breakfast on Wednesday. The facility, situated on U.S. 421 in Pender Commerce Park, is expected...

David Lightman/NC Newsline Sure, Sen. Thom Tillis has become the most visible, outspoken Republican insider critic of the second Trump administration. But don’t mistake Tillis for a maverick. The North Carolina senator is being who he’s long been, the sort of GOP stalwart known as an establishment Republican. A Republican...

Tammy Grubb/The Raleigh News & Observer Orange County could put the brakes on big data centers in April, even though there are no proposals yet and very few places with the water and electricity to power them. The Orange County commissioners voted Tuesday to hold an April 21 public hearing...

Michelle Crouch/NC Health News & Charlotte Ledger Two years after North Carolina legalized mobile sports betting, counselors say they are seeing the fallout: drained bank accounts, strained relationships and young people — especially young men — spiraling into anxiety and depression after losing more than they can afford. A young...

Katie Myers/Blue Ridge Public Radio & Grist New data from a national insurance-comparison platform, Insurify, shows that homeowner’s insurance rates are rising across the nation – in many cases, due to climate risk. Insurify projects North Carolina’s insurance premiums to rise only by about 5% in 2026, and have risen...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily A legal investigation into Councilmember Frank Pendleton’s attempt to expedite a town-purchased laptop has concluded no laws were broken, though official Leland town policies were violated. Detailed in a legal advisory opinion by Town Attorney Stephen Coggins, the investigation determined Pendleton bypassed standard procurement procedures in...

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News Former Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Patrick Lambert and Beloved Woman Myrtle Driver proposed a resolution renaming the tribe the “Eastern Cherokee Nation” and later encouraged tribal council to withdraw it. In those 30 minutes between Resolution 147’s introduction and withdrawal, tribal council and...

Julian Berger/WFAE Radio CVS Health announced Tuesday it will invest more than $2.2 million to expand access to community-based health care and healthy food in Charlotte’s Historic West End. The funding will support a new CVS Health “Health Zone” in west Charlotte, with the investment going to the Westside Wellness...

Ashley Murray/NC Newsline Electricity rates “increased significantly” in nearly every U.S. state in 2025, with residents in a dozen states seeing at least a 10% jump, according to a congressional report released by Democrats Tuesday. Minority members of the Joint Economic Committee released state-by-state figures from monthly utility bill data...

Kelly Kenoyer/WHQR The legal memo related to Leland’s laptop dust-up in February is out, and indicates that the efforts to circumvent city staff to procure a laptop were potentially unlawful. But, intervention by the town manager to stop that process prevented any illegal action from occurring, the memo notes. That...

Annie Dance/The Carolina Journal Leaders guiding long-term recovery efforts for western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene are exploring a sweeping strategy to attract private investment, rebuild infrastructure, and strengthen the region’s workforce pipeline as communities continue to recover from storm damage and economic disruption. Members of the Governor’s Recovery Office...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Voter registrations in North Carolina remain down for a fourth consecutive week, according to the State Board of Elections. The trend includes each of the major voting blocs. Because of work for the county boards of election leading up to the primary and coming out of...