Hundreds of people fill a downtown street for a protest, waving signs and chanting as they march past businesses and government buildings. Overhead, a police drone records video of the crowd. Nearby traffic cameras and license plate readers capture faces, vehicles and movements along the route.
The North Carolina House of Representatives is expected to vote on a hotly contested election reform bill next week after it passed the powerful House Rules Committee on Wednesday. House Bill 958 passed the committee by a margin of 14-9, becoming one of the rare bills to not receive the support of all Republicans on […]
The Lumbee Tribe voted in a tribal election Tuesday against constitutional amendments that would have paved the way for the tribe to build a casino in southeastern North Carolina. The amendments failed with about 62% of the nearly 9,000 tribal members that voted weighing in against them. The vote marks the first major election since […]
In May, over 353,000 North Carolina households received notices from their electricity provider that they were at risk of disconnection. Sen. DeAndrea Salvador (D-Mecklenburg) said that figure underscores how many families are struggling this summer to cover rising energy costs.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans walked into a lunch with the president on Wednesday looking for ways to unify, but they left the closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill as fractured as ever about policy goals. President Donald Trump said after the huddle that he was “very proud of the party” but didn’t offer any concrete […]
Gerry Cohen, a member of the Wake County Board of Elections, said he cried in November 2024 when he heard family members testify about people who cast ballots before the general election but died before Election Day. Cohen, who spent decades as a top staffer in the state legislature, said Wednesday he cried again when […]
After a spirited debate Wednesday, the North Carolina Senate approved a bill that would require local governments to regulate and police homeless camps and make homeless shelters drug-free zones. Critics say it amounts to criminalizing homelessness. Sen.
North Carolina House Republicans overrode key vetoes by Gov. Josh Stein on bills requiring greater law enforcement cooperation with ICE and banning diversity, equity, and inclusion practices from state government agencies, K-12 public schools and public higher education. Senate Bill 153, titled “The North Carolina Border Protection Act,” Senate Bill 227, “Eliminating ‘Diversity, Equity and […]
A bill that would change the list of North Carolina counties subject to a moratorium on property tax revaluation this year hit a snag Tuesday in the state Senate. Senate Bill 474 would make changes to a bill signed into law by Gov. Josh Stein last Friday.
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led U.S. Senate served up a rare public check on President Donald Trump’s agenda Tuesday when it voted to approve a House-passed War Powers Resolution to end hostilities in Iran. Senate approval marked the first time both chambers have agreed in a rebuke of Trump over his war in Iran.
In 2006, Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour hoisted the Stanley Cup in the chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly after leading the team to their first championship. Twenty years later, he returned to Jones Street to bring it back — this time as head coach. “What I witnessed on Saturday at the parade was […]
WASHINGTON — An appeals court Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to use fast-track deportations within the interior of the country and not just at the Southern border, a key pillar in the president’s mass deportation campaign. The 2-1 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia means the […]
Students from across North Carolina gathered at the General Assembly on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to invest more in public schools. The students were participating in a Youth Advocacy Day organized by Every Child NC and partner organizations. They raised concerns about mental health services, school discipline policies and the impact of immigration enforcement on […]
By Kaitlin Bender-Thomas/Medill News Service WASHINGTON — Even with a valid driver’s license, Maryse Balthazar knows she lacks protection from what she dreads most: deportation back to Haiti. Balthazar, a nursing assistant, often hesitates to leave her home in South Florida, worried that something as simple as a broken taillight could upend the life she’s […]
Mylissa McNeill never expected to be a mother. But when she learned she was pregnant in the spring of 2022, at age 41, she and her partner were happy and excited at the prospect of parenting a little girl they planned to name Maeve. On June 24, 2022, about one month after McNeill discovered she was pregnant, the U.S.
For many residents of western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene, it’s been 20 long months of waiting and wondering — when will things get back to normal? And just how much more funding is coming from the government? Sen.
Orange County residents are mourning the death of longtime county Commissioner Jamezetta Bedford, who died unexpectedly Sunday. Bedford was 67. According to multiple media reports, Bedford died from complications following hernia surgery at UNC Hospital.
The Trump administration illegally overhauled a U.S. Department of Homeland Security computer program in its hunt for noncitizen voters, a judge ruled Monday in a stinging decision that laid into federal officials for violating the privacy of millions of Americans. The ruling struck at the core of President Donald Trump’s project to assert authority over […]
  With a new state government fiscal year set to commence on July first, North Carolina state legislators have still yet to pass a budget for the year that’s coming to an end on June 30th. We’re the only state in the union in which this is the case. While the state has continued to […]
  When a utility company like Duke Energy plans for the future, it tries to predict how much electricity its customers will need a decade from now. Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, much of that process amounts to a guessing game in which utility company profits often play a much bigger role than keeping ratepayer bills […]
For some teenagers across the country, the summer is the first opportunity to gain work experience for their nascent resume. In a handful of states, however, teens who find jobs will find fewer protections under child labor laws. Four states — Indiana, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia — enacted laws this year that weaken child […]
We, the North Carolina chapter of the National Union of the Homeless, condemn the legislature’s proposed camping ban bill as dangerous to our lives and an affront to our human rights. Rather than providing housing we can afford, or unlocking the vast amount of vacant corporate real estate being held hostage, this bill makes us […]
States and cities are loosening building code requirements in an effort to lower construction costs and boost affordable housing. Some of these changes include allowing low-rise apartment buildings to have just one stairway, reducing how often building codes are updated and rolling back specific electrical or fire safety standards. But critics have raised safety concerns, […]
A half dozen Republican governors are pushing alternative labels for June, which is widely recognized in the United States as Pride Month. Without explicitly tying their efforts to a replacement of Pride Month — which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community — GOP governors in states including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee and Utah have labeled June […]
North Carolina state lawmakers are weighing the repeal of a ban on seawalls and jetties as a coastal erosion mitigation strategy, but the state's top scientists have urged caution, recommending careful consideration before permitting new hardened structures along the coast.
Senate Republicans passed a long-in-the-making revenue bill on Thursday despite controversy that it walks back a Trump administration research and development tax break. It now heads to the House for a final vote. “The long saga of this bill is hopefully coming to an end,” said Sen.
The U.S. Department of Education is launching an investigation into Buncombe County Schools over its policy on restroom use by transgender female students. The Department of Education announced the Title IX investigation on Wednesday, based on a parent’s claim that girls in the district were being “forced to share their female-only restrooms with biological men,” […]
WASHINGTON — When the overhead lights turn off at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, it not only means that night has arrived for Aliaksei Scharbachenia, but that panic attacks will soon follow. The attacks, which started after his detention began last August, he said, have only grown worse, stemming from the fear that he […]
Forty-six percent of U.S. adults — regardless of insurance type — reported struggling to afford healthcare last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research think tank. The report analyzed findings from a December 2025 survey of 10,000 working-age adults across the nation.
A federal poverty-fighting program focused on reducing unintended pregnancies is about to undergo a major overhaul. Reproductive health clinics use Title X federal grant money to provide birth control, cancer screenings and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections to people with little or no health insurance. Title X money cannot be used for abortions.
U.S. Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Thursday to require Congress to sign off on any deployment of federal troops to the polls, as President Donald Trump and his administration refuse to rule out the idea. Fears of troops or other federal agents at voting sites have long loomed over the approaching midterm elections in November.
The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance House Bill 1094, a collection of changes to transportation laws, without debate on Thursday.
Democrats are growing hopeful they can recapture the U.S. Senate in this fall’s midterm elections amid President Donald Trump’s plummeting approval ratings. But they still need nearly everything to break their way against a map that put them at a starting disadvantage, analysts and campaign officials say.
Two statewide coalitions opposed to House Bill 437 have teamed up to urge homeless service providers, local elected officials and others to share their concerns about the bill with state lawmakers. H437 would ban homeless encampments outside of official city-maintained sites and establish that facilities that provide services for people experiencing homelessness are drug-free zones. […]
As the country recognizes Gun Violence Awareness Month in June, we want to highlight the work of NC S.A.F.E., a statewide initiative that is saving lives through the adoption of safe firearm storage practices. This month is also a painful reminder for many North Carolinians, a reminder of the loved ones who were lost far […]
WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday read to reporters a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran to stop the ongoing war and allow for further negotiations, but did not release the exact text. The 60-day MOU outlines the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and reconstruction funds for Iran, and the promise […]
Republican leaders are working through the final disagreements between the House and Senate on the way to legislative approval of a state budget. House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) and Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) met to talk about the budget on Wednesday. Discussions between the chamber leaders are typically the final step before an agreement […]
A new bill proposed by North Carolina Senate Democrats would put constitutional amendments to legalize recreational and medical cannabis on the ballot. But its odds of getting a vote in the Senate are not high, Republican leadership says. Senate Bill 1072 would put two separate amendments on the ballot in November, asking voters to legalize […]
State and federal Medicaid spending on applied behavioral analysis therapy, known as ABA, surpassed $505 million in 2025.
Voting rights advocacy groups warned Wednesday that a North Carolina House bill proposing extensive changes to state election laws is “harmful” to voting rights. Representatives from Common Cause North Carolina, Democracy North Carolina, Forward Justice, North Carolina Asian Americans Together, and North Carolina Black Alliance gathered outside the state Legislative Building at the hour state […]
North Carolina’s longstanding prohibition of hardened structures like jetties and seawalls to control coastal erosion appears to be washing away in the waning days of the 2026 legislative session. On Wednesday, members of the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment committee advanced legislation that would eliminate the ban on such structures, and require the North Carolina […]
In the fall, the legislature approved “Iryna’s Law,” a judicial reform package keeping more suspects in custody before their trials.
June is a heartbreaking month for my family. On June 5th my stepson, Solomon, would have turned 18 years old. On June 6th he should have graduated from New Hanover High School alongside his friends and classmates.
The Robeson County Landfill is infiltrating the county’s public water system with PFAS, or forever chemicals, according to the lawsuit.
A North Carolina House committee advanced an elections bill that would change a range of election laws, with some Democrats objecting to provisions expanding the window for challenging voters, granting the state Auditor new powers, and allowing the state elections board to shroud its legal hiring in secrecy. The bill was set to speed through […]
A bill that would establish minimum standards of care for domestic dogs and cats unanimously passed the North Carolina House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, but its future is uncertain as the session moves toward its end. House Bill 657 would require owners to provide care, exercise, food, shelter, space, water, and veterinary treatment for “companion […]
North Carolina House Republicans have pushed to legalize happy hour promotions and allow canned cocktails on grocery store shelves. So far, the state Senate is not partaking. Instead, senators are moving forward with House Bill 198, a much leaner omnibus bill than the House proposal, House Bill 921.
Long before Rep. Allen Chesser (R-Nash) was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, he was a member of the U.S. Army National Guard.
A Senate committee on Tuesday advanced a bill that would prohibit local governments from adopting a property tax rate exceeding the revenue-neutral tax rate after a tax revaluation unless they publicize their intent to do so. To avoid raising property owners’ tax bills after a tax reappraisal, local governments can lower their overall property tax […]
Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a teacher pay bill that would give larger raises to veteran educators, arguing that North Carolina has spent years recruiting new teachers while doing too little to keep experienced ones in the classroom. House Bill 1130 would overhaul North Carolina’s teacher salary schedule, restore extra pay for teachers with master’s […]