Environment

The Contested Swamps of Robeson County

A behemoth natural-gas facility, sitting atop a disrupted archeological site, represents the latest environmental challenge for one of the state’s most diverse yet burdened counties. But the debate over history, benefit, and protection is far more complicated than it first appears.

BY Barry YeomanSeptember 22, 2021

Trending Topics

Politics

Searching for Mike Easley

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Police Informants, Unchecked

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The Making of a Mask Mandate

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The Forgotten Lessons of the Hamlet Fire

Higher Education

Art, Power, and Profit at Duke University

Short Form

Politics

Searching for Mike Easley

He was once one of the state’s most popular politicians, and remains perhaps the most idiosyncratic governor North Carolina has ever had. Since he left office and was convicted of a felony, he’s hardly been heard from. We went looking for him. // AP Photo, Karen Tam

BY Jim MorrillSeptember 19, 2021

Foreign Affairs

The Afghanistan Papers

Craig Whitlock got his start scouring North Carolina for stories. Today, his seminal work on Afghanistan is a must-read for a nation trying to understand what went wrong in its twenty year war some seven thousand miles away.

BY Kevin MaurerAugust 22, 2021

Long Form

Environment

The Contested Swamps of Robeson County

A behemoth natural-gas facility, sitting atop a disrupted archeological site, represents the latest environmental challenge for one of the state’s most diverse yet burdened counties. But the debate over history, benefit, and protection is far more complicated than it first appears.

BY Barry YeomanSeptember 22, 2021

Policing

Police Informants, Unchecked

Last month, prosecutors indicted a Raleigh police informant for fabricating drug trafficking cases. His story raises questions about how the police department manages its confidential informants, and why its officers have escaped accountability.

BY Jeffrey BillmanSeptember 17, 2021

Education

The Making of a Mask Mandate

A fight over school mask mandates in a GOP county lauded for its high vaccination rate shows just how tough it is to lead a public institution in the midst of a fast-changing pandemic // Photos by Cornell Watson

BY Emily CataneoSeptember 09, 2021

Politics

The Forgotten Lessons of the Hamlet Fire

Thirty years ago, a deadly fire at a chicken-processing plant in a poor North Carolina town prompted a push for employee safety. Now, workplace fatalities in the state are rising, and an Assembly investigation shows a federal agency involved in the tragedy failed to keep its promise // Photos by Logan Cyrus

BY John DrescherSeptember 01, 2021