Mary Helen Moore/Axios Raleigh An experiment underway in Raleigh aims to protect 911 callers in mental health crises from unnecessary interactions with police by having them speak directly with a clinician. Why it matters: Sending police to calls they’re unequipped to handle can be dangerous for everyone involved. By the...

Mackenzie Thomas/Carolina Public Press District Attorney Jeff Cruden faces a defamation lawsuit filed last month in Pasquotank County for statements he made in memos regarding an alleged sexual assault case. Melissa Nicholson, the plaintiff, claims in the lawsuit that Cruden made defamatory statements in August 2025 regarding a 2020 Dare...

Rachel Crumpler/NC Health News Brentley, a woman incarcerated at Western Correctional Center for Women in Black Mountain, is nearing her release from prison in June 2027. She’s nervous about starting over from scratch. One question had been weighing on her: How would she rebuild her life with a suspended driver’s...

April Laissle/WFDD Radio Frustration boiled over at this week’s Davidson County commissioners meeting, where citizens spoke out against plans for a new $61 million sports complex. The 125-acre facility is set to include multiple sports fields, a community center and a pool. Several residents sharply criticized the proposal during the...

Emma Dill/WilmingtonBiz Wilmington International Airport officials are laying the groundwork for future growth, with plans for a terminal expansion, an expanded baggage area and airfield improvements slated for the coming years. The proposed capital projects, along with planned private investment in the airport’s adjacent business park, are expected to result...

Port City Daily New Hanover County Board of Education member David Perry has announced his decision to switch from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party. “Unfortunately, the Republican Party has changed dramatically,” Perry said in a press release. “While most rank-and-file registered Republicans are good people, the party establishment...

Dan Kane/The Raleigh News & Observer For the 2024 election, North Carolina’s youngest Republican state senator pulled off a rare fundraising triumph for a lawmaker who had only served one full term. Sen. Dave Craven, 36, represents Senate District 29, a rural expanse stretching south from Asheboro to the North...

Bill Moss/Hendersonville Lightning The developer whose plans for a 180-unit rental community on Haywood Road near Blythe Street was denied by the Hendersonville City Council in a unanimous vote is suing the city, claiming the decision was arbitrary and capricious and unsupported by state law. “A lawful business or use...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online In a matter of weeks, more than 20 North Atlantic right whale mothers and their babies will begin swimming hundreds of miles up the East Coast to their feeding grounds. Their offshore route from the northern Florida and Georgia coasts north to New England slices through...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro North Carolina House Rep. Renée Price is joining the local push to succeed outgoing state Sen. Graig Meyer, with the Hillsborough resident publicly entering her name into discussions. The District 50 representative, who serves rural Orange County and all of Caswell County, shared a release on Wednesday...

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer After months of due diligence and negotiations, Canton inked a deal to buy 52 acres of former paper mill property to build a new flood-proof and town-owned sewer treatment plant. The purchase allows Canton to bring sewer treatment in-house. The town historically relied on the mill,...

Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio Mecklenburg County’s environmental committee on Tuesday discussed the negative impact of the proposed Interstate 77 toll lanes on county parks, streams and air quality. Commissioners were angry that the North Carolina Department of Transportation didn’t disclose the impacts until after the state said it was too late...

Jaymie Baxley/NC Health News North Carolina’s new Medicaid plan for children in the foster care system has enrolled more than 32,000 young people, and state and health plan officials told lawmakers Tuesday they’ve cut the average time to arrange a child’s placement from 45 days to 16. The update came...

Willie Daniely/WRAL News Wake County residents gathered on Tuesday night to weigh in on a proposal to build new mountain biking and hiking trails near Lake Crabtree County Park. County leaders say the project, called Haley Branch, would span about 400 acres and could help replace trails that were lost...

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily A proposal to convert a Market Street motel into affordable housing units received the go-ahead from the Wilmington Planning Commission last week despite staff’s disapproval, raising questions over the city’s ability to accommodate adaptive reuse cases. Premier Hotels LLC is requesting a rezoning of the property...