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Whether it was his intention or not, Donald Trump has undoubtedly caused more havoc in the first few weeks of his second administration than any president in U.S. history. The sheer volume of orders, directives, memos, and PR stunts — many of them contradictory and half-baked — has given rise to an atmosphere […]
Few political controversies in North Carolina loom larger right now than the effort of Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin to overturn the election he lost last fall to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs. Griffin still wants the ballots of more than 60,000 disproportionately Black and young voters thrown out on technical grounds and […]
At the start of the 2025 state legislative session, few needs in our state stand out as more obvious and dire than the ones we see in our public schools. From teacher pay to facilities to student well-being to the way we track performance in and demand accountability from the schools we fund, public […]
The big political story in North Carolina right now continues to revolve around the unsettled election for a seat on state Supreme Court. Multiple recounts confirmed that the incumbent justice, Democrat Allison Riggs, was the narrow winner over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin, but nearly three months after Election Day, Griffin has yet to concede. […]
Wind energy. Whether it’s offshore or on land, wind energy is a booming and enormously promising industry that can play a big role in ending our heroin-like addiction to fossil fuels. What’s more, because of its geography, North Carolina is extremely well-positioned to benefit from its growth. Tragically and bizarrely, however, the Trump administration is […]
As the North Carolina General Assembly prepares to begin its 2025 session in earnest this week, Senate Democrats have a new leader. After several years at the helm, veteran Raleigh lawmaker and former state House Speaker Dan Blue recently turned over the reins to another member of the Wake County delegation — State Senator […]
As everyone knows by now, Donald Trump is president of the United States again. And while there are obviously many Americans who welcome this news and see Trump as a victim, a hero, and someone who will somehow restore “greatness” to the nation, for millions of others, the chief emotions that Trump’s return has spurred […]
Few policy debates received more attention in last November’s election than reproductive freedom. Strangely, however, despite widespread evidence that significant majorities favor abortion rights and the right to contraception — see for example the results of numerous ballot initiatives — Republicans opposed to reproductive freedom managed to win the presidency and control of the new […]
The big political news story in North Carolina right now revolves around the yet unsettled election for a seat on state Supreme Court. Multiple counts confirmed that the incumbent justice, Democrat Allison Riggs, was the narrow winner over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin. But more than two months after Election Day, Griffin has yet to […]
Among the actions that the new Trump administration is expected to make a top priority in the coming days is an aggressive new mass deportation initiative targeting the nation’s millions of undocumented immigrants. It’s a plan that may sound superficially appealing to many Americans, but as we learned in a recent conversation NC Newsline had […]
For 30 years now, the nonpartisan North Carolina Budget and Tax Center has been our state’s preeminent research nonprofit in the fields of fiscal and economic policy, and in recent years one of its signature products has been the biennial Living Income Standard report. The report documents what it actually costs for families of various […]
As has been the case for several years now, at the start of 2025, no single issue poses a greater threat to the long-term well-being of North Carolinians – and indeed, all Americans — than the global climate crisis. From the economy to public health to natural disasters to immigration to species extinction, global warming […]
There are a lot of reasons that the death penalty is almost never imposed anymore. Not only is it hugely and uniquely expensive to apply and proven to be of no use in deterring crime, but stacks of evidence also confirm it has long been applied unjustly. Tragically, the death penalty is mostly reserved […]
Last week the nation paused to honor the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter. Carter died December 29, 2024 at the age of 100, and while opinions vary as to how successful his one term in the White House was, there’s a widespread consensus that no president in American history enjoyed a more […]
A new year is upon us and with it, some important changes in state government. As a result of the November election, North Carolina now has several new leaders serving on its Council of State – most notably a new governor. After eight years in the governor’s mansion and nearly 40 in elected office, […]
Gov. Roy Cooper’s second four-year term as our state’s chief executive has come to a close, and if there’s one accomplishment from that period that stands out above all others it was his tireless and ultimately successful campaign to expand the state’s Medicaid program – a move that has saved and will continue to save, […]
If there was one story that dominated the news this past year – aside from the election – and left a lasting imprint on North Carolina, it was Hurricane Helene. The storm ravaged western North Carolina in late September causing an estimated $58 billion in damage. Unfortunately, the Republican-controlled legislature passed only modest relief […]
The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina is rightfully provoking calls for more action than has been forthcoming from state and federal lawmakers, and one area in which one hopes such demands will bear fruit is in planning and prevention. Regrettably, state Republican legislative leaders have repeatedly blocked legislation and rules, […]
This year’s election may have come and gone, but one thing that hasn’t gone anywhere in North Carolina this year is hunger. Especially since congressional Republicans blocked the reauthorization of some key social safety net programs that led to great success during the pandemic, food insecurity has expanded to the point at which more […]
As the world races to reduce fossil fuel use and carbon pollution in order to combat the climate change crisis, one enormously promising source of non-polluting energy is offshore wind. Indeed, numerous East Coast states are counting on offshore wind projects to power tens of millions of homes and to help them transition to […]




