Recent scattered showers were a welcome relief for central North Carolina this week, but a newly released report from the U.S. Drought Monitor finds much of the state remains mired in a seemingly endless drought

Significant changes coming for the health insurance plan for NC teachers and state workers, including premium increases and a tiered system for hospital choices.

The language used in the White House report echoes arguments the second Trump administration has made against academic and cultural institutions the president has deemed too culturally liberal or “woke.”

The new definition is part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s sweeping overhaul of the federal student loan system stemming from the GOP’s 2025 “big, beautiful” law. Most provisions in the overhaul took effect July 1.

Household water costs could nearly double in some American cities, new research suggests, as climate change further stresses municipal water systems. Researchers at Stanford University and other institutions studied how a hotter, drier climate is poised to spike water bills for residents.

When North Carolina lawmakers went home for the Fourth of July, they left much unfinished business — a result of prolonged budget discussions. They could resume debates over elections law, hemp bans and constitutional amendments later this month.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro charged Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, with destruction of property of more than $1,000 for allegedly vandalizing the newly refinished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 19. Trump, who has closely overseen the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool, has blamed vandals for damage to it.

Republicans are campaigning to keep control of Congress for another two years, but their message about being the “grown-ups” in the room keeps getting overshadowed by public feuds that have sidetracked work on major legislation.

Upcoming funding shifts in the federal food stamp program are poised to cost states billions of dollars, heightening fears that more Americans will lose access to the nation’s largest food assistance program. Beginning in fall 2027, states for the first time must begin to fund some SNAP benefits themselves. Analyses of newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows states could be on the hook for more than $9 billion.

U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner dropped out of Maine’s U.S. Senate race after his support from Democrats tanked following an accusation of sexual assault.