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‘Quality work, fast’: NC gears up for homebuilding after Helene, trying to...
A storm-damaged home in western North Carolina. (Photo: North Carolina Department of Commerce HUD CDBG-DR Helene recovery Action Plan)As she briefed contractors about their upcoming bids to rebuild...
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NC Farm Bureau asks state Supreme Court to strike environmental protections...
A hog CAFO in eastern North Carolina. (Photo: Rick Dove)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the...
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N.C. Treasurer names conservative climate skeptic to state Utilities Commission
Image: NC Utilities Commission -https://ncuc.gov/This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment....
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Trump budget puts clean-energy spending in crosshairs
President Donald Trump's budget request, released on May 2, 2025, proposes slashing $21 billion in unspent funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for renewable energy, electric vehicle...
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States’ nuclear energy growth needs federal action to follow Trump’s vocal...
The shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, pictured on Oct. 10, 2024. The plant’s owner, Constellation Energy, plans to spend $1.6 billion to refurbish the...
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The NC Conservation Network’s Grady McCallie and Luna Homsi discuss State of...
NC Conservation Network's Grady McCallie and Luna Homsi (Courtesy photos) Few issues on the public policy agenda in 2025 are more urgently important than the health of the environment. Whether it’s...
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Inspired NC Republicans target environmental justice, clean energy jobs and...
(Photo: Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for...
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FEMA leader ousted, one day after publicly opposing agency’s elimination
Cam Hamilton, at the time senior official performing the duties of the administrator at FEMA, testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee on May 7, 2025. (Screenshot from House...
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One USDA staffer is handling all of western NC’s post-Helene farm loans after...
Flooding in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene. (Photo: David Davis, County Extension Director, N.C. Cooperative Extension) The Farm Service Agency has closed two local offices and cut five...
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Dozens of members of Congress from both parties plead with Trump to unfreeze...
A person uses a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)WASHINGTON —...
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NC Senate panels endorse van der Vaart for Utilities Commission slot
Donald van der Vaart addresses Senators during his confirmation hearing on May 14, 2025. (Photo: NCGA screengrab)The North Carolina Senate Select Committee on Nominations voted Wednesday afternoon to...
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Is Congress trampling on state laws protecting property rights against...
South Dakota state Rep. Karla Lems, R-Canton, speaks to hundreds of rally attendees at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre on Jan. 13, 2025, during an event highlighting opposition to a carbon dioxide...
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White House is evaluating the future of FEMA. After Helene, NC governor has...
Gov. Josh Stein signed the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 (Part 1) into law. (Photo via the Governor's Press Office)Under the Trump administration, the future of the U.S. disaster management agency is...
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Stein asks lawmakers for $891M in Helene relief, warning of increasingly...
A chainsaw operator cuts down debris collected from the bottom of Lake Lure in Rutherford County, North Carolina, on April 14, 2025, to make it easier to load into dump trucks for disposal. The...
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RFK Jr. insists upcoming ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report won’t target...
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Screenshot from committee webcast)WASHINGTON — U.S. Health...
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Environmental advocates urge lawmakers to remove pesticide section from Farm Act
(Photo: NC Department of Agriculture 2018 Pesticide Report)Leaders of the nonprofit advocacy group Toxic Free North Carolina held a virtual press conference along with community advocates on Wednesday...
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How a disaster recovery firm pitched itself to North Carolina, years after...
A storm-damaged home in western North Carolina. (Photo: North Carolina Department of Commerce HUD CDBG-DR Helene recovery Action Plan)The firm that will run North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene recovery...
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House swiftly passes $464M in Helene aid for business grants, WNC repairs
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors sort debris pulled from the bottom of Lake Lure in Rutherford County, North Carolina on April 14, 2025. Vegetative and man-made debris was washed into Lake Lure...
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U.S. Senate vote to nix California tailpipe emissions standard blocks 17...
Highway 170 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Trevor Srednick/Getty Images)The U.S. Senate voted early Thursday to prevent California from enforcing regulations on tailpipe emission from new...
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Stein: NC will carry on with Helene recovery work despite federal funding...
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors sort debris pulled from the bottom of Lake Lure in Rutherford County, North Carolina on April 14, 2025. Vegetative and man-made debris was washed into Lake Lure...
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NC firm says its bid to manage Helene homebuilding was improperly disqualified
Flood debris piles left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Bat Cave, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)A North Carolina-based firm that submitted a bid to manage the state’s...
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Advocates say US House budget cuts will harm NC’s electric vehicle industry
An EVgo fast charging station charges a vehicle. (Photo: Loren Elliott for CalMatters)Advocates for speeding the nation’s transition to electric vehicles have joined the list of groups and individuals...
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Stein calls on Congress to preserve electric vehicle industry tax credits in...
Gov. Josh Stein speaks with reporters after addressing attendees at the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum: "Future Forward Energy." (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on...
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Senate Agriculture Committee reviews zoning, excavation, wasterwater bills
(Photo: NC Department of Agriculture 2018 Pesticide Report)The Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee approved one bill and discussed two others during its hearing on Tuesday. Lawmakers...
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Senate Agriculture committee considers Wilson for DEQ secretary
North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)The North Carolina Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee reviewed Reid Wilson’s appointment as secretary of the...
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Funding shortfalls hamper North Carolina’s program to buy out hog farms in or...
A hog CAFO in eastern North Carolina. (Photo: Rick Dove)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the...
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NC environmental, labor advocates ask Tillis to back clean energy in GOP...
(Photo: Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom)North Carolina environmental and labor advocates held a press conference Wednesday to call on Republican Sen. Thom Tillis to preserve tax credits and jobs in the...
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Environmentalists say they’re cautious to adopt AI into their work
An Arizona State University climate tech project uses AI to provide water conservation information and suggestions for responsible water use via a simple, personable chatbot called “Blue.” (Screenshot...
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NC Senate uses Juneteenth holiday to advance numerous bills, including DEI ban
The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel) In a move that raised eyebrows and drew criticism from members of the public and Democratic lawmakers, the North Carolina Senate...
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Senate committee passes bill to temporarily stop surface water transfers
North Fork Reservoir provides 80 percent of Asheville’s water. After Helene washed out the two main transmission lines from North Fork and a backup bypass line, the city focused on restoring service as...
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Shrimp and grit: Commercial fishermen, coastal legislators vow to spike...
Advocates and businesses of the shrimping and seafood industry gathered at the North Carolina Legislative Building to protest a proposed ban on inland trawling. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)...
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Heat wave sends request for fans, air conditioning units surging
Children played in the heat Thursday at Forest Hills Park in Durham. The park has a "spray ground" to help visitors beat the heat. {Photo: Greg Childress) It was a scorcher Thursday in the Triangle,...
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Exploding bulbs and fridges on the fritz reveal NC town’s fraying electric...
The Town of Red Springs owns and operates it electric utility, which has fallen into disrepair. (Photo: Lisa Sorg/Inside Climate News)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a...
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Governor Stein vetoes three bills, including controversial Duke Energy...
Governor Josh Stein applies his veto stamp to a bill on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Screenshot from Governor’s Office X video.)Governor Josh Stein vetoed three bills Wednesday afternoon, including an...
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EPA employees placed on leave after calling on agency to stop undermining...
Firefighting foam, used at airports and military bases, has been identified as a source of toxic PFAS chemicals. More than 200 Environmental Protection Agency employees signed a petition dissenting...
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‘Cartoonish:’ Pushback on Everglades detention center extends to ‘Alligator...
Screenshot of AI-generated image posted on the official White House X account on July 1, 2025, promoting the “Alligator Alcatraz” name given to the immigrant detention center in the Everglades.Florida...
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Chantal wreaks havoc in NC as state lawmakers try to repeal an ambitious...
Chantal's floodwaters left significant damage to Camp Easter Rd. and N.C. 2 in Southern Pines, NC on July 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of NCDOT)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a...
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Federal disaster aid is uncertain for states even as Texas floods underscore...
Floodwaters left debris, including vehicles and equipment, scattered in Louise Hays Park on July 5 in Kerrville, Texas. Emergency managers say Trump’s cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency...
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MountainTrue, DEQ partner for river debris cleanup across western North Carolina
Image: https://mountaintrue.org/The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has partnered with nonprofit conservation organization MountainTrue to focus on cleaning up rivers after Hurricane...
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Before Tropical Depression Chantal swamped Hillsborough, the town had been...
The Eno River runs through west Hillsborough and along the River Walk downtown. (Photo: Lisa Sorg/Inside Climate News)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan...
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Jeff Jackson, 19 other attorneys general sue Trump administration over...
Chantal's floodwaters left significant damage to Camp Easter Rd. and N.C. 2 in Southern Pines, NC on July 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of NCDOT)North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined a...
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AI data centers are using more power. Regular customers are footing the bill
As power-hungry data centers proliferate, states are searching for ways to protect utility customers from the steep costs of upgrading the electrical grid, trying instead to shift the cost to AI-driven...
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After Chantal flooding, Governor Stein surveys damage in Chapel Hill, urges...
Camelot Village resident Shelton Stokes gestures to Governor Josh Stein to show the height of the floodwaters that swept through his community. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)A day after...
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NC counties get $200 million for repairs, renovations on water facilities
(Photo: Getty Images)Local governments across North Carolina are set to receive more than $200 million in loan money to repair and renovate drinking water and wastewater facilities, Gov. Josh Stein’s...
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Jeff Jackson blasts FEMA funding freeze at flooded Hillsborough facility
Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell look out at the Eno River after it was flooded with wastewater. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)Attorney General Jeff Jackson...
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Former EPA officials say Trump proposal will gut agency’s power to curb...
Heavy traffic moves along Interstate-395 on Nov. 22, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has submitted a proposal to scrap a years-old...
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NC lawmakers prepare to try and override Stein vetoes, while activists look...
It's expected that state Republican lawmakers will consider overriding Gov. Josh Stein's vetoes on July 29, 2025. (Photo of NC Legislative Building by Clayton Henkel) North Carolina lawmakers will...
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Should North Carolina create an all-in-one disaster response agency?...
Chantal's floodwaters left significant damage to Camp Easter Rd. and N.C. 2 in Southern Pines, NC on July 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of NCDOT)Before, during and after a natural disaster hits North...
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Trump’s EPA proposes rollback of basis for climate change rules, sparking Dem...
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, center, announces his agency's plans for deregulation from an Indianapolis trucking facility on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. At left is Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and at right is...
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NC lawmakers, frustrated by slow Helene money, call for urgency on debris...
Top lieutenants of Gov. Josh Stein's administration overseeing Hurricane Helene recovery testify in front of state lawmakers on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)North...
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