Habitat could open doors to more NC affordable homes, but obstacles limit reach
While NC boasts the 3rd-highest number of Habitat for Humanity homes built in the U.S., some counties lack the resources to address housing needs.
Muslim North Carolinians say they feel alienated by Democrats
Doha Hindi, 28, a North Carolinian of Palestinian origin, has spent the past two months aghast at the news coming out of Gaza, as Israeli forces inflicted catastrophic damage on the Palestinian territory…
A double-edged sword: North Carolina expands the fight against fentanyl
Under a state law that takes effect next month, anyone who provides certain drugs to a person who dies after taking them may be prosecuted for second-degree murder — whether they received money…
NC Connection:
Closing the News Gap
A special CPP research project on the news needs of rural North Carolinians
Keep up with what’s important
Keep up with all of our in-depth, investigative news and the public interest issues that matter most in North Carolina.
SPECIAL REPORTS
A multi-part series examining charge stacking in North Carolina and its role in plea bargaining and disparities in sentencing.
The uncertain future of old-growth forests in North Carolina
This four-part series focusing on the Southside Project, a recent initiative by the U.S. Forest Service, to make the national forest more resilient and sustainable.
Social services in NC may be in the hands of people who don’t meet minimum qualifications.
Why and how it happens, and how other states avoid the problem.
How climate change affects North Carolina’s fisheries
and the people who rely on them for a living.
The importance of sexual assault nurse examiners
and the difficulty of locating them in North Carolina
Justice elusive for NC sexual assault survivors
Climate change is causing erratic weather events and altering ecosystems in the forests of Western North Carolina’s mountains.
What these changes mean and the challenges they pose for managing the forests.
How and why North Carolina counties decide to build
or expand jails, the costs of those decisions
and possible alternatives.
Inconsistency and inequity in child welfare policies across NC
Struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic in state’s prison system
Is one of North Carolina’s main systems
for housing those with mental illness failing?
RECOMMENDED
MORE STORIES
How San Francisco is addressing the challenge of Trans homelessness
Municipal government and community partners have created programs to assist those in need.
NC Talks: The importance of active listening
In a recent discussion with Lori Gilcrist, the newest member of our inaugural Regional Advisory Council, we explored the misperceptions surrounding rural Western North Carolina.
Violence against doctors and nurses is rising. A new N.C. law aims to help protect them.
The new law was passed in the waning hours of the legislative session, but advocates worry it may go too far and hurt mental health patients.
NC increasingly funds crisis pregnancy centers, while advocates point to lack of accountability
Centers known for discouraging clients from accessing abortions continue to receive public money, despite media reports of taxpayer funds spent on religious material and what critics call little oversight.
State health leaders look to close digital divide for farmworkers
The National Institutes of Health is funding a state project to improve internet access for agricultural workers and their families.
New voter ID rule in North Carolina sparks worries about fairness for Black and Latino voters
The new requirement, considered part of a larger trend of voter suppression efforts in North Carolina, has drawn criticism from civil rights groups, experts, and nonprofit voting organizations in the state, as it is believed to make it more difficult for minority voters to cast their votes.
Crime & Justice
Residents grapple with endemic gun violence
Suicide rates in rural areas have long been higher than in cities. But nationwide, rural gun homicides have risen too, and, in some areas, outpaced their urban counterparts. From 2016 to 2020, 13 of the 20 counties with the highest gun homicide rates were in the rural South, according to a study.
Economy
Reclaiming Indigenous narratives in media and entertainment (video)
Four prominent voices discuss the importance of visibility and how to create more opportunities for Indigenous storytellers.
Education
The burden of student loan debt for Black women in North Carolina and prospects for relief
Black women have the highest average total of undergraduate and graduate student loan debt in the nation, according to a study. Black women on average leave undergraduate study with $30,400 in debt.
Environment
‘Nothing’s predictable’: Extreme weather is ruining farmers’ crops, and their finances
Natural disasters hit farmers with a $22 billion bill last year. Only half of that was covered by insurance.
Health
Throwing a financial lifeline to rural NC health care providers
Rural NC hospitals and health care initiatives to get a huge boost over the next couple of years.
Politics & Government
NC Judge Earls fights for job and free speech, challenges Judicial Standards Commission’s role in unprecedented state case
Judge Earls risks her job in a legal battle over free speech, earning bipartisan support and igniting debate over judicial oversight in North Carolina.