Families in the Triangle face $800-plus back-to-school bills — and North Carolina has no tax-free weekend to ease the pain. Community drives like Tools4Schools are stepping in.

Rep. Chuck Edwards and his wife sold their McDonald's restaurants in Western North Carolina to Asheville franchisees Christine and Chris Nevant. The family says the move will free them to focus more on public service.

FEMA Region 4's Rob Ashe met with Sen. Ted Budd in D.C. as the agency signals new obligations for North Carolina recovery and local buyouts begin.

Sen. Thom Tillis met with Cameron Hamilton and pledged to support his FEMA nomination while pressing for faster aid for Helene-hit western North Carolina.

Kempower has asked North Carolina to cancel its job-creation incentive after saying it won’t hit the roughly 300 jobs promised for its Durham plant. The state’s committee agreed to end the JDIG after the company paused hiring amid weaker U.S. EV demand.

A published 4th Circuit opinion says CBP officers may manually inspect phones at U.S. ports of entry without a warrant, while forensic extractions remain limited. The ruling will bind courts across the circuit.

Sen. Woodson Bradley is drafting a domestic violence offender registry after a fatal Pineville case and says she’s using Tennessee’s new system as a model. Lawmakers will debate scope and safeguards.

Sen. Sophia Chitlik joined her husband in lobbying for American Efficient in 2024 while FERC later ordered $722M in penalties; state disclosure and donation rules are now in focus.

A Wilmington family will move a $1M scholarship endowment off UNCW rather than remove language supporting African American students. The decision spotlights fallout from the UNC System’s equality policy.

A federal review finds North Carolina behind on special education: slow evaluations, staffing holes and a push to study weighted funding.

Gov. Stein signed Executive Order No. 39 to create a Health Care Affordability Commission co‑chaired by Brad Briner and Dev Sangvai, charged with lowering costs and improving access.

Gov. Stein signed HB1104 to change how North Carolina handles involuntary psychiatric commitments, ordering telehealth pilots, data upgrades and studies.

Durham approved a comprehensive update to its Minimum Housing Code, the first major rewrite since 2016. The changes add clearer standards for drainage, pests, walls and AC and strengthen enforcement tools.