Keeping the Fire Alive
As Helene Survivors Await State Help, Some Victims of Earlier Hurricanes Are Still Out of Their Homes
North Carolina created a new housing recovery program to avoid the delays and cost overruns that plagued past rebuilding efforts. Similar problems are starting to surface.
Top Primaries to Watch in 2026
The showdown in Rockingham County has gotten the most attention, but there are a number of juicy intraparty battles.
UNC-Chapel Hill Sets New Policy on Recording Professors
The school aims to clarify guidelines after a secret recording controversy and growing fear of surveillance.
How Much Could Trump’s Cuts Cost Your College?
We crunched the numbers on five significant higher ed cuts from the Trump administration’s first year.
Politics
Transgender State Workers Are Facing Whiplash
The state’s health insurance plan no longer covers gender-affirming care, which has left some employees in limbo.
Democrats Are Trying to Court Rural America, Once Again
Democrats readily admit their reputation is poor in rural America. Will this time be different?
16 More Primaries to Watch in 2026
A handful of state legislative, judicial, and even congressional races haven’t gotten much attention but are worth tracking ahead of the March 3 primary.
Culture
Back to the Future With North Carolina’s Modernist Design Advocates
How the Tar Heel state came to shape the history of modernist architecture—and how local preservationists keep the dream alive today.
Lost and Found
Meet the teams working to reunite people with mementos they lost during Hurricane Helene.
North Carolina’s Snow Day Problem
Sprawling districts, a shortage of bus drivers, and painful memories of bad calls have made school leaders more likely to close for wintry weather.
Higher Ed
The Enduring Hazards of College Hazing
Administrators have worked for years to eliminate fraternity hazing. But we found more than 1,500 pages of records showing it continues.
Audit: UNC-CH Isn’t Meeting System’s Emergency Alert Training Requirements
The internal report found emergency alert authorities have not received training on federal requirements since November 2022.
Duke’s Engineering School Could Soon Admit Durham Tech Transfers
The initiative would be Duke’s first transfer program for community college engineering students.
From Our Network
The Democratic Primary for Wake County DA Hinges on Experience—and Perspective
A three-way primary will decide who succeeds longtime District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
911 Calls Record Chaos During Deadly Robeson County Party
Several weapons from the scene will undergo ballistic testing, the sheriff’s office said.
A Man and His Macaw: The Unlikely Duo Who Became Local Celebrities
Robert Lints brought Macy the Macaw home in 1991. Thirty-five years later, the colorful pair are mainstays in the Fayetteville community.
She Worked to Preserve Black History in the Sandhills. Now Her Legacy Continues.
Ammie McRae Jenkins, the first Black student to attend High Point University and an activist who dedicated much of her life to preserving land owned by Black families in the North Carolina Sandhills, died on October 25.
In New Exhibit, a Nuanced Look at the World of Teenage Boys
An conversation with photographer Bill Bamberger, whose portraits of students at Durham School of the Arts will be on display at the Ackland Art Museum through April 12.
Greensboro Responds to Potential ICE Detention Plans
Recently released documents include a proposal to use the site of the former American Hebrew Academy to detain immigrants. The city of Greensboro says it’s ready to push back.
Featured Stories
I’ve Seen How the Neo-Nazi Movement Is Escalating. You Should Worry.
A reporter gets a first-hand look at how the ‘militant accelerationism’ movement operates.
Former Hunt Institute Employees Describe a ‘Culture of Fear’
Ex-staffers say its leader has created a toxic environment that imperils the institute’s future—and former Gov. Jim Hunt’s legacy.
UNC’s Risky Belichick Math
UNC-Chapel Hill transferred $21 million to the athletic department last year–and that was before hiring Bill Belichick.
How a Widow’s Appointment to the State Dental Board Got Spiked
Shital Patel became a patient advocate after her husband died at the dentist. Then her appointment got mysteriously nixed.
The Disappearance of Julio Zambrano
The Venezuelan asylum seeker was living in N.C. legally. So why did the Trump administration send him to El Salvador?
Pride Cometh Before The Fall
After a two-year fight over LGBTQ books and displays, Yancey County is pulling its public library out of a regional system.
Voices in the Wilderness
A traditionalist religious order is building a new home in the woods of Western N.C. Not everyone is happy to see them.
Nine Years After HB2, Trans North Carolinians Wonder Who Is Looking Out For Them
The ‘Bathroom Bill’ sparked an outpouring of protest. But a new wave of attacks on trans rights has failed to generate the same response.
How the N.C. Legislature Bankrolls Anti-Abortion Centers
Over the past three years, the state legislature has given $30 million to crisis pregnancy centers, with little oversight or outcomes.
The Cattle Con
The recent sentencing of a Surry County man sheds light on how the shady world of fraudulent cattle traders operates.
What Remains of St. Andrews
Following the sudden closure of St. Andrews University, Laurinburg grapples with a now-empty campus at the heart of the community.
An Inmate’s Unlikely Ally
Charles McNeair has been in prison for more than 45 years. He has a surprising new advocate for clemency: the police chief.