Category Archives: State/Regional

North Carolina Senate Republicans pick Lee as next majority leader

North Carolina Senate Republicans pick Lee as next majority leader

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The next majority leader of the North Carolina Senate is a top budget-writer who has managed to keep his Senate seat by winning close swing district races. A news release says the Senate Republican Caucus elected Sen. Michael Lee of New Hanover County as majority leader by acclamation on Tuesday. He succeeds outgoing Sen. Paul Newton, who resigned from the Senate last week for a university job. The majority leader is considered a chief lieutenant to the chamber’s No. 1 leader, GOP Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger. Lee was first appointed to the Senate in 2014, lost his seat in 2018 but won it back in 2020.… Continue Reading

States sue Trump administration for rescinding billions in health funding

States sue Trump administration for rescinding billions in health funding

Attorneys general and other officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration for its decision to claw back $11 billion that went to public health departments for COVID-19 efforts and addiction and mental health programs. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Tuesday. The lawsuit says not paying the rest of the federal money will have a devastating effect on public health. Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact of the loss of funds.… Continue Reading

Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, appoints a new CEO

Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, appoints a new CEO

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority has promoted one of its top executives to CEO as President Donald Trump has begun turning his attention back to the nation’s largest public utility. The utility announced Monday that its board picked Moul as president and chief executive. He replaces Jeff Lyash, who is retiring. Moul has served as TVA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2021. He starts in the new role April 9. The move comes days after Trump removed one of the TVA board members appointed under then-President Joe Biden. Tennessee’s two Republican U.S. senators have criticized the board, saying it’s bogging down a proposed small modular nuclear reactor.… Continue Reading

First rain and then fire chase people from their homes in North and South Carolina

First rain and then fire chase people from their homes in North and South Carolina

At least a half-dozen large wildfires continue to burn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina. Nicole Taylor had to leave her home with the porch that overlooks Table Rock Mountain in South Carolina. She took video of the smoke pouring off the ridge until an evacuation order came Tuesday. She says she doesn’t know when she can go home. So far no one has been hurt in the fires that have burned more than 20 square miles of mostly rugged remote forests. The firefighting is slow. Water sources are scarce, so crews depend on building fire breaks.… Continue Reading

Chief lawyer’s position at alma mater prompted Newton’s departure from North Carolina Senate

Chief lawyer’s position at alma mater prompted Newton’s departure from North Carolina Senate

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A top lieutenant to North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger is resigning from the chamber. A statement released Tuesday from Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton says he’s retiring effective Wednesday evening “to pursue an opportunity outside of state government.” His specific plans weren’t immediately released. The 64-year-old is a former Duke Energy state president in North Carolina from Cabarrus County who joined the Senate in 2017. He was elected majority leader after the 2022 elections. Republicans in his 34th Senate District will choose someone to fill his two-year term. Senate Republicans also will have to meet to pick a new majority leader.… Continue Reading

More evacuations as wildfires burn in the Carolinas. Forecasts aren’t encouraging for firefighters

More evacuations as wildfires burn in the Carolinas. Forecasts aren’t encouraging for firefighters

More people have been asked to leave their homes in the North Carolina and South Carolina mountains as wildfires spread and the forecast for the rest of the week isn’t encouraging. A half-dozen large fires are burning in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Millions of fallen trees from September’s Hurricane Helene are both providing fuel for the wildfires and blocking the logging roads and paths firefighters use to fight the blazes and create fire breaks. The forecast for this week is dry and windy. There’s a chance of rain over the weekend, but forecasters say it isn’t likely to be the kind of downpour that can knock a fire out on its own.… Continue Reading

North Carolina government makes big tax revenues quickly from first year of sports betting

North Carolina government makes big tax revenues quickly from first year of sports betting

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina government cashed in early when it came to reaping fiscal benefits from authorized sports wagering in the ninth-largest state. Legalized online sports betting began in North Carolina in March 2024. A report Wednesday to a state commission says the state expects it will have collected over $131 million in taxes from the first full year of sports betting operations. An earlier estimate by state legislative researchers before the law was enacted in 2023 said taxes could reach $100 million annually within five years. The windfall is connected to big betting — the taxes are based on a percentage of betting revenue minus paid winnings.… Continue Reading

Wildfires in North and South Carolina fueled by drought, wind and fallen trees from Hurricane Helene

Wildfires in North and South Carolina fueled by drought, wind and fallen trees from Hurricane Helene

Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene are fueling wildfires in North and South Carolina. Officials say evacuation orders are in effect Tuesday in some parts of the states while they continue to monitor the blazes. Three fires are burning in a rural North Carolina county about 80 miles west of Charlotte. At least one of the fires was caused by a downed power line. In South Carolina, two fires are burning in a mountainous region and both have no containment so far. A forestry professor says trees downed during last year’s Hurricane Helene dropped tons of fuel on the ground for the fires.… Continue Reading

Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey crews contain a forest blaze

Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey crews contain a forest blaze

Firefighters in North and South Carolina are battling multiple wind-driven wildfires. The fires are burning in rugged terrain that is complicating efforts to contain them. North Carolina State University forestry professor Robert Scheller says millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last fall have dried out and are helping fuel the blazes. Burn bans remain in effect in both Carolinas and mandatory evacuations continue in parts of North Carolina’s Polk County. Hundreds of miles north in New Jersey, the state Forest Fire Service says a wildfire in the Pinelands region was 100% contained on Monday morning.… Continue Reading

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety issued a mandatory evacuation Saturday night for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina. The agency warns residents could be trapped, injured, or killed if they remain in the impacted areas. In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency as part of an effort to stop a blaze in Pickens County called the Table Rock Fire that started Friday in the Blue Ridge Mountains.… Continue Reading

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