U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC 2) and officials with Wake County Smart Start toured a child care and learning center in southeast Raleigh Wednesday morning to raise awareness of imperiled federal programs supporting early childhood education. Ross visited a classroom at Wanda’s Little Hands in Raleigh and read “Sheep in a Jeep” to a group ..read more

A day after it was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee, members of the North Carolina Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday swiftly approved a bill to allow North Carolinians 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. The bill, which has the backing of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, now moves ..read more

  For elected leaders interested in improving the efficiency of government, a recent pilot health program managed by the state Department of Health and Human Services provides a powerful lesson. The program — known as Healthy Opportunities — was implemented in three mostly rural regions to see if the physical health of people enrolled in ..read more

A Senate bill would provide patients with more up-front information about hospital charges and would fine hospital CEOs whose facilities do not report their prices.  The Senate Health Committee on Wednesday approved Senate bill 316, called Lower Healthcare Costs. “This bill is an attempt to shine a light on every part of the health care ..read more

Dr. Devdutta Sangvai received unanimous support Wednesday to run the state’s health care agency from a key state Senate committee.  Sangvai is Gov. Josh Stein’s choice to run the state Department of Health and Human Services. His nomination will eventually move to a vote of the full Senate.  Sangvai was sworn into office in January ..read more

The North Carolina House Agriculture and Environment Committee approved on Wednesday a bill to regulate labels for meat alternatives, moving it to the House Rules Committee. HB 134, “Prohibit Misbranding of Certain Food Products,” requires manufacturers to mark alternative protein products differently from meat. Specifically, a label for a “manufactured-protein food product” with an “identifying ..read more

For the sixth year in a row, Rep. Julie von Haefen has filed a bill to fully fund the state’s Leandro education plan, a landmark court-ordered initiative to provide every child in North Carolina with a sound basic education. And for the sixth year, the Democratic lawmaker says her bill has been ignored by the ..read more

Gov. Josh Stein outlined his request for North Carolina’s two-year budget on Wednesday, asking lawmakers to fund pay raises for teachers and law enforcement, an expansion of child care and new affordable housing. Stein’s budget proposal, the first of his term, outlines a plan to fund the state’s programs and services through 2027. But many ..read more

North Carolina stands at a precipice. Our state government is no longer a part of a functioning democratic system—rather, it is becoming an electoral autocracy and falling prey to fascism. Since 2010, our state’s Republican-controlled legislature has aggressively consolidated power, deploying a range of calculated maneuvers designed to undermine the freedoms of everyday, working-class people ..read more

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins was peppered with questions Tuesday about widespread layoffs at the federal agency during a press conference at the Asheville VA Medical Center. Collins has said the VA will lay off as many as 80,000 staffers as part of President Donald Trump’s controversial strategy to streamline the federal ..read more