News & Views

  Tectonic. Generational. A Blue-nami. A bloodbath. Just a few of the terms out there today as people in North Carolina, around the country — and around the world — try to make sense of what just happened in American politics. North Carolina had arguably one of the biggest shifts in the country — our […]

Months of campaigning and endless political commercials draw to a close Tuesday as voters cast their final ballots in the 2026 midterm elections. Thirty-six percent of North Carolina’s registered voters cast ballots before Election Day. New records were also set during the early voting period, with more than 2.7 million people voting in person by […]

One of the most successful public economic development projects in modern American history is North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Nearly 70 years ago, when a collection of public officials, academics and business leaders unveiled their vision for RTP, the undeveloped region found between the towns of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill was characterized as one […]

The latest public opinion survey shows generally strong support amongst voters for a trio of proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the North Carolina ballot this fall that address incomes taxes, property taxes and voter photo ID. However, Alexandra Sirota, the executive director of the nonprofit North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, says while […]

President Donald Trump created a new task force last week focused on artificial intelligence, which he has renamed “super intelligence.” Tech leaders have called repeatedly called on Washington to create guardrails for the industry, with Anthropic warning its own investors that the rapidly advancing models could pose “existential risks to humanity.” But even with that […]

It’s been two years now since Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Helene devastated a large swath of the southeastern United States, including much of western North Carolina. But as anyone paying even a little attention is painfully aware, Helene was just one of a growing array of weather-driven disasters to impact our world in recent years. What’s more, […]

It was two years ago this past week that Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Helene inundated and devastated large swaths of western North Carolina with unprecedented rainfall and flooding. All tolled the disaster took more than 100 lives, inflicted more than 60 billion dollars in damage and wrecked many significant segments of the region’s economy. For Gov. Josh […]

We’re now several years, thankfully, past the COVID-19 pandemic, but as even a casual glance at daily news headlines reminds us, the challenge posed by infectious diseases is not going anywhere anytime soon. And with the arrival of fall weather and the holiday gatherings that will soon be right around the corner, it’s an excellent […]

One of the most important and worrisome threats to our natural environment and human health to emerge in recent decades is a group of chemicals commonly referred to as PFAS. Also known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are especially pernicious because they’re toxic, cause all kinds of health problems, and don’t break down in the environment. […]

  The fall midterm elections are just six weeks away and that means that North Carolinians will soon cast their ballots in an array of races that will both help determine the makeup of the next Congress and General Assembly, and whether future legislatures and governors will have two the most important tools they use […]

  The latest public opinion survey shows generally strong support amongst voters for a trio of proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the North Carolina ballot this fall that address incomes taxes, property taxes and voter photo ID. However, Alexandra Sirota, the executive director of the nonprofit North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, says […]

  Thanks to soaring prices and big cuts to federal food assistance, hunger is quickly growing worse across North Carolina. The latest conservative estimate is that one out of seven North Carolinians is “food insecure” – a number that’s way up in just the last five years and now even higher than during the pandemic. […]

One of the big problems confronting law enforcement departments in these politically charged times is the simple failure to communicate. And one of the main sources of this problem according to former Chapel Chief of Police Chris Blue is that law enforcement agencies often aren’t doing enough to affirmatively earn the trust of the communities […]

  As the cost of living continues to soar across the country and worsen the growing divide between the wealthy and everyone else, a major contributor to this troubling trend is the cost of energy and public utilities. Indeed, as North Carolina State Senator Natalie Murdock of Durham and Chatham counties has recently highlighted in […]

  Each year around the Labor Day holiday, the international nonprofit, Oxfam, conducts and releases a study in which it ranks the best and worst states in the U.S. to work. The researchers preparing the report examine a long list of indicators – more than three dozen – that help them determine how well average […]

  With Labor Day right around the corner, it means that the fall election season is upon us, and this year, there’s another development that’s heralding its arrival – controversy surrounding voting rules. Republican officials at both the state and local level have been acting in recent weeks to erect new hurdles for voters to […]

  Despite the efforts of the Trump administration and climate change deniers, solar energy continues to make enormous strides around the world and is quickly becoming our most efficient and affordable source of power generation. Simple economics are making it so. That said, there are still many things that our elected leaders can and should […]

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the last time the state North Carolina put a person to death in punishment for a crime. And despite the many deep flaws in the death penalty – huge costs, systemic racism, convictions of innocent people — and fact that this moratorium has not led to any increase […]

  If you pay any attention to politics and elections you know that the coming weeks will feature an avalanche of so-called horse race polls that test and report on the strength of various candidates as we head toward the fall midterm election. At such a time it becomes easy to think of North Carolinians […]

If there’s a branch of North Carolina state government that’s undergone the largest transformation in recent decades – both in its role and its make-up – it’s likely the state courts. Thanks in large part to an aggressive effort spearheaded by Republican legislators and funders, a combination of law changes and the dedication of millions […]

As anyone who’s watched a college or professional sporting event in recent years is well-aware, the rapid spread of online gambling has brought transformative – and many would say deeply troubling – change to what has long been one of the most important social institutions in our country. In just a very few years, sports […]

  All across North Carolina, students, parents and teachers are preparing for the start of a new school year and, unfortunately, one of the most vexing challenges that’s accompanied this time of year for the last several is the struggle many public school teachers face in properly equipping their classrooms. Thanks to the state legislature’s […]

One of the most worrisome challenges to human health to emerge in recent decades has been the growing environmental omnipresence of a class of chemicals known as PFAS. Often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally and can remain in soil and water indefinitely, PFAS are used in countless consumer products. […]

With the 2026 midterm elections less than 100 days away, it a great time to check in with one of the state’s foremost experts on politics and elections, Western Carolina University Professor of Political Science, Chris Cooper. This past week, Newsline got a chance to catch up with Cooper for an extended conversation in which […]

One in four Americans is 60+ and one in two lacks the income to pay for basic needs. That’s where “Meals on Wheels” makes a difference serving 13 million seniors nationwide. Recently, NC Newsline sat down with two staff members from the Wake County operation: Director of Development and Communications Sara Walker and main office […]