Dan Kane/The Raleigh News & Observer The State Bureau of Investigation has launched a probe into trips sponsored by a nonprofit with ties to a former powerful lawmaker that took state legislators and lobbyists on distillery tours in Kentucky in 2022 and 2024. The investigation will specifically look for violations...

Bob Hall/NC Health News Where is all the money coming from for the high-stakes Republican primary fight between state Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page? The candidates have raised over two million dollars for their campaigns; it’s a lopsided split, with Berger so far raising 53...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News Soil contamination from long-ago trash incinerators has prompted Durham to close five of its parks for the past two years, and they’re still not close to a final solution to the issue. Soil testing in 2024 found potential lead contamination in the parks, and the city closed...

Jacob Biba/NC Health News Amid rising costs and the expiration of enhanced subsidies, fewer North Carolina residents enrolled in health coverage under the Affordable Care Act for 2026, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Signed into law in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama,...

Sergio Osnaya-Prieto/EducationNC The State Board of Education’s task force to redesign North Carolina’s school accountability system kicked off its work Thursday with a discussion of the new model’s theory of action. The Board voted to create the Task Force on Accountability last October in line with the joint strategic plan...

The Southern Pines Pilot An armed man reported missing earlier this weekend in Moore County was shot and killed by U.S. Secret Service agents Sunday morning after driving into the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Resort, according to authorities. The man was identified as Austin Tucker Martin, 21,...

A.P. Dillon/North State Journal The Local Government Commission approved Raleigh’s requests to issue $221 million in bonds for a 17-story City Hall and public safety buildings during its monthly meeting on Feb. 4. The Local Government Commission (LGC) voted to approve $120 million in limited obligation bond anticipation notes for...

Julian Berger/WFAE Radio U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying warehouses across the U.S. to turn them into detention centers, and is reportedly looking at a warehouse in Concord. According to the New York Times, ICE is seeking to purchase a 414,000 square foot Concord warehouse, which will hold 1,500...

WRAL News The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will review how Cary police handled a drug investigation where evidence shows the car of the then-town manager was present. The Wake County District Attorney’s Office asked the SBI to review documents about a 2016 incident at the Harrison Motel in...

Dasia Williams/CityView Concerned parents, educators, and community leaders filled Cliffdale Community Church on Thursday for a town hall focused on one issue: Cumberland County Schools’ decision to end year-round education at E.E. Miller Elementary. The gathering—organized by families and community advocates—came in response to a February 9 Cumberland County Board...

Evan Halper/The Washington Post The GW Ranch project approved on 8,000 windswept acres of West Texas will look like many of the other data centers that have sprung up across the country to support Silicon Valley’s ambitions for artificial intelligence. Dozens of airplane-hangar-size warehouses packed with computing hardware will consume...

Mark Jurkowitz/Outer Banks Voice On Tuesday, Feb. 17, the North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments in the long-running legal battle between Currituck County and the Corolla Civic Association (CCA) over how the county spends occupancy tax money. The CCA plaintiffs contend that the county has improperly used those funds to...

Renee Spencer/Wilmington StarNews After a report showed a 17-year gap in life expectancy rates between two Wilmington neighborhoods, local officials have expressed concern about the disparity. While some say they are not surprised, others question the data. The data comes from the U.S. Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (USALEEP) —...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online More people moved to North Carolina last year from different parts of the country than any other state in the nation. North Carolina’s population grew by almost 150,000 people, trailing behind only Texas and Florida, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released last month. As political...

Lucas Thomae/Carolina Public Press A jury trial for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ prosecution of former Swain County sheriff Curtis Cochran won’t be scheduled until at least this summer, according to the latest tribal court filings. Cochran, 73, had been set to appear in tribal court in Cherokee on...