N.C.
North Carolina Budget Makes Statewide Highway License-Plate-Reader Program Permanent
A provision in the state budget signed July 7 authorizes the SBI and NCDOT to run automatic license-plate readers on state-maintained roads permanently, prompting objections from the ACLU of North Carolina over data safeguards.
North Carolina Cyclosporiasis Cases Pass 300 as Investigators Search for a Food Source
State health officials report the parasitic-illness outbreak has exceeded the past two years' totals, with a source not yet confirmed and officials saying it appears separate from a national outbreak tied to Taco Bell lettuce.
North Carolina Elections Board Adopts New Mail-Ballot Rules in 3-2 Party-Line Vote
The Republican-majority State Board of Elections approved rules letting county officials reject absentee ballots for sealing and envelope errors; in a separate party-line vote days earlier, it also lowered the vote threshold for rejecting voters' photo-ID exemption requests from unanimous to majority. The envelope rules await Rules Review Commission approval.
Severe Storms Cause Flash Flooding, Downed Trees and Power Outages Across Central North Carolina
A multi-day round of thunderstorms hit the Raleigh-Durham region in July 2026, with the National Weather Service warning of continued risk; the local damage sits inside larger national disputes over climate attribution and federal disaster funding.
NC Attorney General Files Testimony Opposing Most of Duke Energy Progress's Proposed Two-Year Rate Increase
Jeff Jackson's office asks state regulators to cut the utility's requested return on equity and shift more grid costs onto data centers; the Utilities Commission will decide this fall.
North Carolina's Driest Year on Record Prompts Mandatory Water Restrictions Across Triangle and Charlotte Regions
State officials report all 100 counties in drought as reservoirs including Falls Lake sit below normal, and more utilities move to enforceable conservation rules.
Nippon Electric Glass to Close Shelby, N.C. Fiberglass Plant, Ending 282 Jobs; Sells Lexington Plant to Saint-Gobain
The Japanese company says it is exiting North American glass-fiber production; workers face an Aug. 31 shutdown as the sale of a sister plant transfers about 90 jobs to a French rival.
NASCAR Cup Series Returns to North Wilkesboro Speedway After State and Federal Money Helped Rebuild the Track
The historic North Carolina short track hosted its first Cup Series points race since 1996, drawing fresh debate over the roughly $18 million in COVID-relief funds and a state MEGA Fund grant used to revive it.
North Carolina Budget Provision Authorizes Placement of License-Plate Reader Cameras on State Roads
A section of North Carolina's new state budget lets the State Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Transportation put automated license-plate readers along state-maintained roads statewide, extending a pilot that privacy groups across the political spectrum oppose.
North Carolina Reports 300-Plus Cyclosporiasis Cases, Centered in Wake County; State Says It Is Separate From Taco Bell Lettuce Outbreak
State health officials report over 300 cases and 13 hospitalizations of the parasitic illness since May, and say the source remains unidentified and distinct from a larger multistate outbreak tied to Taco Bell lettuce.
North Carolina Elections Board Votes to Let County Boards Reject Photo-ID Provisional Ballots by Majority Instead of Unanimous Vote
The state board's 3-2 party-line vote heads to the Rules Review Commission and could take effect before the November 2026 midterms.
North Carolina Reports More Than $1 Billion Awarded for Post-Helene Water Repairs, With $750 Million in Needs Still Unfunded
Gov. Josh Stein and state environmental regulators marked a funding milestone in Burnsville, as debate continues over the pace of the broader Hurricane Helene recovery and how much of the money is state versus federal.