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Mark Meadows’ long and winding road
By any fair assessment, the past decade has been a remarkable period in the life of Mark Randall Meadows. In January 2013 – the first time Meadows was ever mentioned in a substantive NC Newsline report — he was a new and obscure congressman from western North Carolina’s 11th district. The story was entitled “U.S. […]
NC’s Health Director on an uptick in COVID cases and how to protect yourself from fall viruses
North Carolina State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson on where things stand with COVID-19, the virus’s latest variant, other worrisome respiratory infections impacting our state, and the steps you should take in the weeks ahead to protect yourself and your loved ones.
One on one with Dr. Betsey Tilson, North Carolina’s State Health Director
As students prepare to return to classrooms across North Carolina, health experts expect to see an uptick in respiratory viruses. Dr. Betsey Tilson, North Carolina’s State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer, says back-to-school preparations should also include staying up-to-date with vaccines. This includes talking with your doctor about getting a seasonal flu vaccine, a […]
Barb Walsh, founder and executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina
In the list of horrors that a parent might ever experience, losing one’s child because she unknowingly grabbed and drank a bottle of water laced with fentanyl has to be among the worst imaginable. And tragically, that’s what happened to a North Carolina woman named Barb Walsh in 2021 when her daughter Sophia died almost […]
Weekend reads: A week of veto overrides, sweeping election changes, and a scolding opinion
NC Republicans override vetoes of K-12 education bills By Greg Childress The Republican-led General Assembly on Wednesday overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 49, which has sparked controversy because it requires educators to alert parents if their child changes their name or uses a different pronoun at school. SB 49 also restricts instruction […]
Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer on the ripple effect of the Trump indictments
We are still in the dog days of summer 2023, but don’t look now – the 2024 presidential campaign is already underway. At last count, more than a dozen Republican candidates are attempting to unseat Donald Trump as the party’s standard bearer in hopes of taking on President Joe Biden next fall. And even as […]
Newsline reporter Greg Childress on the start of the new school year and the rise in book banning
We’re now six weeks into North Carolina’s new state fiscal year and across the state, public school students and teachers are preparing to return to class. Indeed, in some schools, they’re already back. Unfortunately, neither of these facts has served to spur Republican state legislative leaders to come to an agreement on a new state […]
A trio of Duke University experts discuss this summer’s extraordinary and deadly heat waves
Heat, humidity and the quest for air conditioning are a part of every summer in most places. But a trio of researchers from Duke University believe this summer should also be a wake-up call for many Americans. Ashley Ward and Jordan Clark of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University are joined by Emergency […]
NC State Board of Elections poised to decide future of ‘No Labels’ on 2024 ballot
The State Board of Elections will hold a rare Sunday meeting in Cabarrus County to discuss efforts by the No Labels Party to gain recognition and run a presidential candidate in 2024. Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, one of the co-chairs of the new political party, has said the organization has gathered enough signatures […]
Congresswoman Valerie Foushee on her efforts to combat gun violence and strengthen fair elections
The dog days of summer and the traditional August congressional recess have both arrived, but that isn’t preventing some lawmakers from continuing to work hard on an array of important issues that confront the nation. One of those lawmakers is North Carolina Fourth District Congresswoman Valerie Foushee. Recently NC Newsline caught up with Foushee and […]
Sen. Graig Meyer on the MVP pipeline dispute and the need for a sustainable energy future
For several years now, fossil fuel interests have been attempting to construct a pipeline that would transport fracked natural gas from West Virginia, down through Virginia, and possibly into North Carolina. And as NC Newsline has reported in depth, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (and the proposed North Carolina extension known as MVP Southgate) raise a […]
NC Child Executive Director Erica Palmer Smith on addressing the state’s ongoing childcare crisis
One of the most helpful steps taken by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic was the provision of aid to the nation’s childcare providers so that at least a significant percentage of them could remain in business. With federal aid now winding down and employers having trouble filling jobs throughout the economy, however, it’s […]