☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. An Extraordinary Exoneration
2. A Contaminated Creek Tests Trump EPA
3. What We’re Reading
4. Our Recent Stories

For more than 20 years, brothers Nathaniel Cauthen and Rayshawn Banner, along with Christopher Bryant, Jermal Tolliver, and the late Dorrell Brayboy, claimed they were innocent.

On Friday, a judge believed them. 

Robert Broadie, a Superior Court judge from Davidson County, exonerated the men in the 2002 death of Nathaniel Jones, the grandfather of NBA star Chris Paul.

The decision came three years after a three-judge panel upheld their convictions. That followed an investigation by the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission, which found that a key witness had recanted, and new DNA testing bolstered their innocence claims. Michael Hewlett has more on the historic ruling.

An Extraordinary Exoneration

In a stunning ruling, a judge overturned the convictions of four men accused as teenagers of murdering NBA star Chris Paul’s grandfather in 2002. The judge cited a key witness’ recantation as a factor.

“It’s a 1-in-1,000-type ruling, maybe even a 1-in-10,000-type ruling,” said attorney Mark Rabil, who represented Tolliver. “You just never see rulings like this.”

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

Two years ago, the city of Durham fenced off a creek near a a predominantly Black neighborhood after a chemical distribution company detected high levels of acetone, toluene, and ethanol half a mile upstream. 

Early this year, the city contacted the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Atlanta for help. Initially, the EPA expressed alarmed. But two days later, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced mass layoffs at the agency. Within a month, Zeldin had eliminated the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

As Lisa Sorg reports, the creek will be an important test of the EPA’s willingness to hold polluters accountable under the Trump administration, especially as they impact environmental-justice communities. 

A Test for Trump’s EPA: A Creek That Smells Like Death

The agency expressed alarm at contamination near a predominantly Black Durham neighborhood. Then the EPA eliminated its civil-rights office.

What We’re Reading

Miner Infraction: The state Department of Labor busted an illegal mining operation in Mitchell County, per WUNC.

Data Down: For the New York Times Magazine, an Asheville writer recounts how losing power and phones during Hurricane Helene helped him reconnect with the analogue world.

Shiver Me Timbers: CBS reports that a team of archeologists from East Carolina University found four shipwrecks this spring, including what they believe to be the remains of La Fortuna, a Spanish privateer sunk in 1748.

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Our Recent Stories

Rallying for the Rails

A project evaluating new intercity passenger rail lines across North Carolina is igniting new passion for an old form of transportation.

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.

The Rapid Rise and Fall of N.C.’s Proposed Shrimp Trawl Ban

A last-minute change to legislation prompted a swift rebuke from the state’s shrimpers and their allies. Will it make a comeback?

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