Rachel Crumpler/NC Health News A law that took effect this month tightens North Carolina’s pretrial release rules, making it more difficult for people accused of violent offenses to be released before going to trial. The changes are expected to keep more people in jail for longer, which would add pressure...

Catherine Kozak/Coastal Review Online Genetic testing of purportedly wild-caught shrimp served earlier this month at dozens of Outer Banks restaurants found that 64% of the shrimp was actually imported. On behalf of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, SeaD Consulting collected and analyzed shrimp samples from randomly selected seafood restaurants in Duck,...

Kip Tabb/Outer Banks Voice After several years of wrangling over language, the Area of Environmental Concern (AEC) protections for Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head were reinstated by the North Carolina Rules Review Commission (RRC) at its Dec. 18 meeting. That RRC decision came about a month after the...

Emma Dill/WilmingtonBiz Brian Clark, executive director of N.C. Ports, led the port system through what he called a challenging 2025. Clark said he’s focused on diversifying the port’s operations. (Photo by Logan Burke) It’s been a challenging year for North Carolina’s ports in Wilmington and Morehead City, according to N.C....

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News Six months after the North Carolina General Assembly’s deadline to produce an annual budget, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee is left weathering the effects of this stalemate — and preparing for an uncertain future. At the Dec. 11 academic and student affairs subcommittee meeting, Provost and...

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer Candidate signups have ended, and the race for county commission is packed. Three seats are up for grabs with only two incumbents running, so at least one new face will join the county board. Six Republican candidates, including the two incumbents, have thrown their hats in...

Guy Lucas/The High Point Enterprise Two controversial proposals to expand natural gas pipelines, including one crossing the Triad, have received clearance from state and federal officials. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources announced Friday that it has issued air and water permits for Transcontinental Gas...

Bill Moss/Hendersonville Lightning While the developer hoping to build a Bojangles on Brevard Road in Etowah cleared a hurdle to win a zoning permit, the lack of sewer may mean it’s not Bo Time yet. Property owner Cold Steel & Sunshine LLC of Brevard wants to build a drive-thru only...

Allen G. Breed/The Associated Press With the blast of a shotgun, the Raleigh Moose Family Center Turkey Shoot is under way. But fear not: No gobblers were harmed in the making of this holiday fun. “The main misconception is, they think we shoot live turkeys out here,” says Glen Coplen,...

The Salisbury Post Real estate developer Jackson-Shaw recently announced the delivery of the first phase of Landis Ridge, described in a press release as “a modern, Class A industrial park” located on 150 acres off Old Beatty Ford Road in Landis. It is the first of two planned phases, which...

WWAY News North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has scheduled a public hearing to review a proposed 68.3% increase in dwelling insurance rates across the state. The hearing is set for May 4, 2026, and will begin at 10 a.m. in the second-floor hearing room at the Department of Insurance,...

Annette Weston/Public Radio East Late last week, the judges overseeing the Camp Lejeune Justice Act cases rejected the government’s attempt to block evidence from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). This evidence uses computer models to reconstruct how and when drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated,...

Brianna Atkinson/WUNC Radio The UNC System has officially adopted a policy to force all state university professors to publicly post their syllabi. System President Peter Hans approved the policy measure Friday evening, which didn’t require a vote from the UNC Board of Governors. The new regulation was posted on the...

Catherine Kozak/Coastal Review Online Faced with devastating destruction across a significant segment of its beachfront, this small Outer Banks village is seeking help for coastal solutions, including measures that could require potentially controversial legislative action by the state and federal governments. Since September, 15 houses have collapsed on a stretch...

WRAL News North Carolinians are breathing the cleanest air in decades, according to new state data from the Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). The NCDEQ released its updated Air Quality Trends in North Carolina report on Friday. The report attributes the decline in air pollution emissions to efforts by state...