Big news out of Charlotte today, where the United Methodist Church voted to reverse its ban on gay clergy and lifted punishments for clergy who perform same-sex marriage. Assembly contributing writer Barry Yeoman is on the scene reporting for us and just posted this video from celebrations: Barry wrote about the split in the church for us in 2022, and how it was affecting members of churches here in North Carolina–which is home to 1 out of every 13 UMC members in the U.S. We’ll have more from Barry on the latest developments soon. Stay tuned! The post United Methodist Church Ends Ban on Gay C ..read more

“Why do they fear you? Why do they hate you, ma’am?” Steve Bannon asked Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s superintendent of public instruction, in an appearance on his podcast, War Room, last month. It’s a version of Meet the Press for the far right, with special caché because Bannon was one of former President Donald Trump’s closest advisers.  Three weeks earlier, Morrow had defeated incumbent Catherine Truitt in what was widely regarded as North Carolina’s most surprising primary result. The win drew national attention; CNN covered Morrow’s thoroughly archived ..read more

Veteran economics professor Larry Chavis was already worried about his future at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School when he discovered last week that school officials had secretly recorded his classes—apparently violating Kenan-Flagler policy in the process.  In February, Chavis had complained to Kenan-Flagler’s dean, Mary Margaret Frank, that he was paid less than new assistant professors; that some of his classes had been reassigned or canceled; and that his contract had been reduced from two years to one and was set to expire on June 30, according to emails reviewed by Th ..read more

An email invitation to the “Inaugural Kentucky Bourbon and Churchill Downs” event last weekend confirms some basic details provided by an anonymous Reddit poster who accused some North Carolina legislators of rude and drunken behavior.  The invitation, which was obtained by The Assembly, was sent by the group Greater Carolina and welcomed recipients to join the gathering from April 25 to 27 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Louisville. Sarah Newby, the finance chair for the North Carolina Republican Party, was listed as the contact person, although her job title was not given on the invitati ..read more

Jonathan Felts, a Republican political consultant based in Raleigh, is short on nuance and subtlety. He spices his official campaign messages with pop-culture references, schoolyard trash talk, and middle school humor.  He’s dropped ‘80s movie references in quotes, used Grandpa Simpson in an analogy, and called his old boss, former Gov. Pat McCrory, a “master debater.” During this year’s GOP primary for governor, he asked a poll question about a collection of Princess Diana dresses that belong to candidate Bill Graham’s wife and reported the results in a press release. Corey Friedman, th ..read more

There will be nudity, the workshop’s online description makes clear. Also touching—consensual, of course. And there will be information designed to enhance not only human pleasure, but connection. A sensual seminar with soulful intent.  Not surprisingly, the workshop billed as “Oral Grad School” is among the most buzzed about at the first ever Bliss Boogie festival, three days of music and interactive classes on everything from yoga and inner peace to the erotic uses of ropes, paddles, and kitchen utensils. All snuggled down a dirt lane in the swaying woods of a private campground in Cha ..read more

It was a front page that forever changed Wilmington: “Toxin Taints Tapwater,” splashed in fat, black font.  Little-known likely carcinogenic contaminants had been found in the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of people. The local utility knew about it, hadn’t alerted the public, and couldn’t filter the chemicals out.  Residents later learned Chemours, a spinoff of the chemical giant DuPont, had been dumping GenX into the Cape Fear River for decades.  Vaughn Hagerty, a former StarNews reporter then working as a freelancer, gave his old paper the story of a lifetime with h ..read more

This story was produced in partnership with The Chronicle of Higher Education. On a Sunday night in March, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Raleigh was late, but the delay didn’t diminish the spirits of a team of North Carolina State University students coming off a weekend victory. One student spotted the university’s chancellor, Randy Woodson, in the boarding area. After some hesitation the whole group crowded around him, snapping photos and filling him in on their recent win. Although the airport encounter coincided with the height of the March Madness basketball tournament, the teammates we ..read more

In the fall of 2001, police in New Jersey raided an Ocean County warehouse to break up an illegal dogfighting ring, acting on a tip from the advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They seized more than $30,000 in cash and four pit bull terrier dogs, two of which had serious wounds and were later euthanized, according to police reports.  More than 40 people were arrested in the bust and charged with crimes like criminal trespass, witness or paying admission to animal fighting, and gambling on the outcome of animal fighting—including Stoney Greene, a North Carolina Rep ..read more

A second 911 call raises additional questions about an accident that seriously injured a lobbyist at the December wedding of state Rep. Destin Hall, who’s in line to become state House speaker in January.  As The Assembly reported last week, Cory Bryson, 34, one of Hall’s groomsmen and a legislative liaison for the University of North Carolina-Asheville, fell from the tailgate of a 2023 Ford F-250 truck that was driving Hall to his wedding rehearsal at a country club in southwest Virginia on December 15.  The truck, driven by lobbyist and groomsman Zane Stilwell, didn’t immediately ..read more