The Herald Sun
Davis out after five years as UNC’S head basketball coach
Hubert Davis will not return for a sixth season as North Carolina’s head coach, the program announced Tuesday night, marking the end of a five-year tenure defined by both historic highs and mounting inconsistency. Details of the separation were not...
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‘Fairy hair’ brings clients joy, but is she breaking a law?
State officials warned Leslie Stern with a letter. Then they sent inspectors to shops and events she was working at in Wilmington, Durham and Winston-salem. It wasn’t illicit contraband they were after. It was information about glittery threads of...
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Can Chapel Hill add housing density without losing its past?
Historic properties don’t always stay frozen in time, instead growing and changing to meet modern needs, a process that can lead to renovation and demolition. That means anything is possible with a 1.24-acre site composed of four lots and five homes...
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Wake County teachers, parents protest proposed special-ed cuts
Teachers and parents protested across Wake County Thursday morning against special education cuts that would lead to the elimination of 130 teaching positions. The Wake County school system plans to cut $18 million from the special education budget...
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Raleigh to place new stop signs intersections on Clark Avenue
The city will erect stop signs at three intersections on Clark Avenue near N.C. State University, including the one with Pogue Street where a biology professor was hit and killed in a crosswalk last fall. The signs, due to go up within the next week,...
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Wake County schools planning more budget cuts as costs go up
Wake County Superintendent Robert Taylor plans to ask for a local funding increase of around $25 million this year along with higher school meal prices and budget cuts in areas such as special education. Taylor will preview on Tuesday the budget...
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THE MADNESS OF MARCH BEGINS
Duke’s Nikolas Khamenia (14) and Dame Sarr (7) celebrate as time runs out in Duke’s 74-70 victory over Virginia in the finals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Saturday.
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How to feed and attract hummingbirds this spring
Migrating hummingbirds will soon arrive in North Carolina, to the delight of birdwatchers. In the coming weeks, you may see the fluttering creatures around your feeder or flower garden. If you want to attract the birds, now is an ideal time to get...
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Housing, transportation, school bonds on tap in Raleigh
Voters in Raleigh could see a trio of bonds totaling more than $1 billion on this fall’s ballot, forcing local leaders to balance how much household budgets can bear. The Raleigh City Council is weighing whether to ask for $203 million, split between...
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Why are so many homes getting torn down in Raleigh?
You’ve likely seen them: The orange silt fencing protecting a smattering of trees. First the red clay, then concrete. The dumpsters in driveways and yards. Modest, single-story ranch homes torn down to make way for massive towering new homes, doubling...
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RED SKY AT MORNING IN RALEIGH
A brilliant orange sky greets early risers in Raleigh on Tuesday morning as clouds over downtown are illuminated by light from the rising sun.
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Asylum seeker’s month in custody still weighs on her
During the week, Fatima Issela Velasquez-antonio gets up early, eats breakfast, and then it’s off to work. The location varies day by day, as Velasquez-antonio works for an HVAC company with projects across the Triangle. On Sundays — often her only...
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Growth in NC homeschooling leads to more programs for them
Bennett Place is often filled with school groups, but on Friday it was dozens of homeschool students who walked through the rural farm site to learn more about North Carolina history. More than 100 homeschool students and their parents visited the...
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Displaced NC families finally return home post Storm Chantal
Nearly eight months after tropical storm flood waters ravaged Carrboro’s Weatherhill Pointe neighborhood near Morgan Creek, Peter and Catherine Burke, both in their 80s, have finally returned home. Despite torrential rain, movrepair ers pulled up to...
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2 votes separate Senate leader Berger and Sheriff Page
It’s not over yet. In unofficial results with all precincts reporting, just two votes separate the leader of the North Carolina Senate, Phil Berger, and his challenger in the Republican primary election, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. “We are...
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NC’S voucher program changing how private schools operate
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program has exploded in growth with many private schools either encouraging or requiring families to apply for a taxpayer-funded voucher to help cover tuition costs. A News & Observer analysis of state data...
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UNC System’s new definition of academic freedom approved
The UNC Board of Governors authorized a new definition of academic freedom on Thursday, a move that enshrines an explanation of the concept into UNC System policy — but also places key limits on what kind of faculty activity it protects. Academic...
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FBI raises terrorism alert over fears of retaliation by Iran
FBI Director Kash Patel said he put the bureau’s counterterrorism and counterintelligence teams on high alert Saturday after the U.S. and Israel launched a sweeping military assault on Iran. Iran retaliated with strikes on U.S. military bases and...
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Mrbeast’s team stopped answering ECU emails, records show
East Carolina University appeared eager to keep the conversation going. In an email last March to a Mrbeast representative, school chancellor Philip Rogers requested they meet to advance the content creator training partnership that both sides had...
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Crews put people first during apartment fire, chief says
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of a fire that injured six people and displaced 70 residents at a Morrisville apartment complex Monday night, officials said at a news briefing Tuesday afternoon. The fire appears to have begun around...
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6 injured, dozens displaced in Morrisville apartment fire
person was taken to the hospital and five people were treated on the scene for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a Morrisville apartment complex on Monday night, Feb. 23. The three-alarm fire ignited around 6 p.m. at the Camden Westwood...
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No snow at RDU, but Northeast blizzard cancels 116 flights
The blizzard in the Northeast is causing travel problems in the Triangle, as airlines cancel flights and Amtrak cuts back on rail service. By 9 a.m., 116 flights at Raleigh-durham International Airport had been canceled Monday, most involving cities...
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New luxury hotel could block main street view
Twenty years ago, almost to the day, Raleigh blew up the hulking gray Convention Center at the south end of Fayetteville Street, bidding explosive farewell to a boxy eyesore that occupied downtown with the grace of a high school gym. And when the dust...
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NC forests to get $290 million for recovery, feds say
It takes a “geologic event” to reroute rivers, reshape mountains and alter ecosystems, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that happened when Hurricane Helene hit Pisgah and Nantahala national forests in 2024. The USDA won’t argue that the...
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A RIVALRY GAME FOR THE AGES
N.C. State’s Jordan Snell and Matt Able celebrate following the Wolfpack’s 82-58 win over North Carolina on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
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Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson dies at 84
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader, Baptist minister and two-time presidential candidate, died Tuesday morning, his family said in a statebecame ment. He was 84 years old. “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to...
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Judge allows protesters back on UNC campus
Hill banned four protesters from campus after they were arrested for refusing to clear out of a propalestinian encampment in April 2024. Last week, a judge ruled that this was likely a violation of their First Amendment rights, ruling against...
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NC State superfan Ketchie, 14, remained true to the end
N.C. State mascot Ms. Wuf sat on the edge of Grayson Ketchie’s bed Wednesday and held his hand as he lay with a wash cloth across his forehead. He curled up under a “Tuffy” blanket, surrounded by a stream of visitors — most of whom wore red — in his...
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Is there land for a Wake County landfill? Leaders weigh options
Could a new landfill be in Wake County’s future? It’s one option Wake leaders are considering as they try to figure out what to do with the county’s trash once the South Wake Landfill is full. “We fully expected there to be no land that met our...
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Defense points to acne medication in shooter’s hearing
Defense lawyers for the Raleigh teen who killed five people in a mass shooting began presenting their evidence in his sentencing hearing Tuesday, depicting a seemingly normal child subjected to a sudden mental episode brought on by his acne...
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Lawmakers bring local leaders to Raleigh for grilling
Local officials from across North Carolina are being called to Raleigh to be grilled by lawmakers on two state House committees. Contentious exchanges between local and state government officials in a hearing room in Raleigh have become more common in...
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ACC announces fine for UNC court storming
The ACC fined UNC $50,000 for violating the league’s event security policy after fans rushed the court following the Tar Heels’ 71-68 win over Duke on Saturday at the Dean E. Smith Center, the conference announced Sunday night. Blue Devils coach Jon...
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Farewell to whimsical N&O illustrator Grey Blackwell
In its final years in its old office on Mcdowell Street, The News & Observer occupied a dingy labyrinth of mostly empty rooms and dusty hallways where ghosts floated past with green eyeshades and inky finjoke gers, operating machines nobody had turned...
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Mother of confessed Hedingham shooter testifies at hearing
The mother of the confessed killer in Raleigh’s deadliest mass shooting took the witness stand Wednesday and testified that she “may never know why” Austin Thompson killed five people in their Hedingham neighborhood. “Austin,” she said, addressing her...
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Grant will allow removal of dozen abandoned boats in NC waters
The N.C. Coastal Federation has received a grant from a national boating organization to remove a dozen abandoned boats from waterways in five coastal counties. The money will help continue a years-long effort by the nonprofit, the state Wildlife...
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Cooper’s hurricane recovery record under scrutiny in Senate race
As former Gov. Roy Cooper campaigns for U.S. Senate, Republicans argue that hurricane recovery under his administration took too long for many families. The issue has taken on new political relevance as disaster response and recovery become a point of...
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Residents brave cold temps for Dix Park winter wonderland
With powdery snow underfoot and a bright sun overhead, hundreds of Raleigh residents flocked to Dorothea Dix Park on Sunday to enjoy the results of the second winter storm in as many weeks. At Harvey Hill, parents formed a line at the top of the hill...
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Picturesque, problematic: Snowstorm blankets NC
A winter storm moved across North Carolina on Saturday, crowning the landscape from the mountains to the sea in powdery snow nearly two feet deep in places, but also leaving thousands without power or stranded on unnavigable roads. High winds and...
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Vigil held at VA after Pretti’s death ‘hit home’ for nurses
When she watched video of the moments before a Border Patrol agent shot Alex Pretti, Libby Manly could see the nurse in him. Manly saw Pretti helping a woman after federal agents shoved her to the ground. She saw, true to the demeanor of a nurse, how...
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Budd joins Tillis in call for investigation of Minn. killing
U.S. Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina called for an investigation into the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federbut al agents in Minneapolis, saying his death was “a tragedy that should never have happened.” In a lengthy statement released...
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KEEPING A WINTRY WATCH
A bald eagle perches on driftwood in a pond near the Crabtree Creek Boardwalk in Raleigh on Jan. 27, 2026, as the morning sun begins to melt snow and ice from the weekend.
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Skies will clear, but travel remains iffy in Central NC
Many roads remain covered with snow, slush and ice in the Triangle and surrounding counties Monday morning. But with temperatures inching above freezing and the sun expected to return in the afternoon, road crews will make progress as the day goes...
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Winter storm brings slick roads, outages, picturesque views
As North Carolinians peered out frosty windows Sunday to see what was in their grab bag of winter weather, most found at least a crust of ice but fewer problems than expected. Describing the changing nature of the precipitation as the storm arrived in...
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Teen pleads guilty in Raleigh’s Hedingham mass shooting
Editor’s note: This story contains details of violence that some may find disturbing. Austin Thompson, still only 18, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the worst mass shooting in Raleigh’s history, killing five people and wounding two...
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UNC launches Carolina North plan for tech, housing, shops
The time is now to develop the Carolina North campus in ways that will benefit the university, Chapel Hill and North Carolina residents, Unc-chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts told UNC Board of Trustees members Wednesday. The announcement did not...
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Walk for Peace monks expected in Raleigh in coming days
A small procession of Buddhist monks — accompanied by Aloka the Peace Dog — is making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., and expect to arrive in the Triangle in the coming days. The Walk for Peace passed through Charlotte on...
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Hundreds honor Martin Luther King’s legacy in march
Hundreds of families, activists and politicians marched through downtown Raleigh on Monday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In a political era many attendees described as bleak and divisive, marchers looked to King and his teachings as an...
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New Alligator River bridge taking shape in Eastern NC
Workers will soon drive the last of hundreds of concrete columns into the bottom of the Alligator River that will hold up a new 3.3-mile bridge connecting the Outer Banks with the rest of North Carolina. Work on the new bridge began nearly a year ago,...
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Man accused in Orange County killings to claim self-defense
The attorney for an Alamance County man accused of fatally shooting two teenagers in Orange County in 2022 said in court Monday that he will argue it was self-defense when the jury trial starts later this week. Issiah Ross, 21, is accused of killing...
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Slain teacher Welsh’s house inspires tributes
Early Thursday, someone stopped outside Zoe Welsh’s house on Clay Street and dropped a bouquet of flowers on the curb, tucking a card behind a daisy: “So much love,” it read. Five days after the Wake County teacher died in her house while calling 911...
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Hundreds of teachers protest for more funding for schools
Hundreds of North Carolina teachers called out of work on Wednesday to participate in protests urging state leaders to provide more money for public education. Leaders of NC Teachers in Action say 650 to 750 educators at 52 schools, including 30 in...
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Teacher’s accused killer has violent history, schizophrenia
The man charged with killing Wake County teacher Zoe Welsh has a long history of mental health troubles, including being diagnosed with schizophrenia, and has bounced between homelessness and jail for over a decade, court records show. Ryan Camacho,...
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Maduro tells US judge he was ‘kidnapped’
Nicolás Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan president, and his wife pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges including drug trafficking and other crimes, two days after they were captured in a U.S. military raid in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital....
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New NC laws on gender identity, prescription drugs, pensions
Several new North Carolina laws take effect with the new year on Thursday. They include measures touching on sex and gender — echoing actions taken by President Donald Trump — changes aimed at reining in prescription drug costs, shifts in who makes...
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PASS THE PEAS AND CORN BREAD, PLEASE
Peggy Goodson purchases collards at the State Farmers Market on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C.
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Couple rescues NC modernist home, then restores it
When news went viral that the modernist house at 606 Transylvania Ave., built by NC State’s famed architect George Matsumoto, was slated for demolition, concerned residents fired off some 100 Facebook posts. Most condemned the decision. One...
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Bus driver turned award-winning teacher is changing lives
Shane Henderson doesn’t stop being an award-winning teacher when class ends at Pittsboro Elementary School. Henderson’s fourth-grade students are as likely to see their beloved teacher cheering them on at a weekend or afterschool event as they are in...
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Cary residents worry over mobile home park’s possible closure
In the middle of Chatham Estates Mobile Home Park, a little girl in a pink Bluey shirt spins herself around atop a concrete slab. She twirls with her blue backpack in her outstretched hand — bunny ears on the top and a mermaid stitched on the...
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Clyde Jones, critter-making Picasso with chain saw, dies
Clyde Jones, the self-taught folk artist who carved thousands of eccentric “critters” with his chain saw and found international fame as “the Picasso of driftwood,” has died. He was 86 or 87, depending on which year he was born, which he confessed...
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HOLIDAY LIGHTS MEET NATURE’S COLORS
A vivid winter sunset sets over downtown Raleigh on Dec. 22 as the low angle of the sun intensifies the evening light. The 538-foot-tall PNC Plaza rises above the skyline illuminated in red and green for the holidays. The winter solstice has passed,...
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Elephant C’sar, oldest of his kind in US, has died at NC Zoo
C’sar the elephant, the N.C. Zoo’s longest-tenured and one of its most charismatic residents, has died. The park announced C’sar’s passing on Monday, Dec. 22, saying he died peacefully on Dec. 19 under the care of a team of experts who had been...
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‘Iryna’s Law’ could increase strain on mental health system
A North Carolina law known as Iryna’s Law is expected to increase the number of people who need behavioral health services, adding pressure to an already strained mental health system, according to a top official with the North Carolina Department of...
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‘Stand your ground’ shooting led to conviction, prison, then freedom
The film begins with John Mcneil sitting on a stool in an empty room, staring into the camera, recalling the phone call that started his nightmare journey. As the camera rolls, Mcneil tells how his son called one day in 2005 from their home outside...
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UNC basketball connects with pediatric cancer patients
When 7-year-old Jude Rifkin woke up Sunday morning, he had one question for his mother. “Is today the basketball shoe day?” It was. Rifkin had been thinking about this day for a while. Rams and basketballs would go on the side of his sneakers....
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Cary town manager resigns amid scrutiny over spending
Cary Town Manager Sean Stegall has resigned, three weeks after he was placed on paid administrative leave and concerns were raised about the town’s questionable spending. His resignation, which occurred over the weekend, was announced late Monday at...
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Retired TV meteorologist recovers from kidney transplant
It’s not uncommon for the Triangle’s TV reporters and anchors to share personal anecdotes on air or online. But in his decades delivering weather forecasts to local viewers, Bill Reh didn’t talk about the diagit nosis that, just this year, had a...
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As he challenges Berger, sheriff faces investigation
The most powerful Republican in North Carolina is being challenged in his primary election by a longtime local sheriff, who is now facing a state investigation — over his handling of vending machine revenue. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger...
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TROLLING FOR SNOW IN DIX PARK
Sophia Ashe, 14, and her mother, Kim Zdanowicz, head back up the slope at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh while attempting to sled in a dusting of snow that accumulated overnight on Tuesday morning. A whimsical troll sculpture made from reclaimed wood by...
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Noncriminal ICE arrests rose in NC before Border Patrol surge
New federal data brings more evidence that immigration enforcement agents are not primarily targeting people with violent criminal records, despite recent messaging from the Department of Homeland Security. When Border Patrol agents rolled into...
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NC Christmas tree growers hope for a brighter season
In what might be counted as a generous gift, Christmas tree experts say it appears not a single North Carolina tree grower was put out of business by the remnants of Hurricane Helene that ripped through the mountains in September 2024. Flooding and...
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NC sees record number of jobs promises in 2025
by Jetzero’s historic hiring promise in the Piedmont, North Carolina has secured a record number of jobs commitments in 2025. Companies have pledged to create more than 33,000 jobs statewide, the most ever during a calendar year, with a few weeks left...
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Samaritan’s Purse rebuilt house destroyed by Hurricane Helene
It took just a few hours for Hurricane Helene to wash Bob Tatum’s home down the Toe River and smash it under a bridge. And it took Samaritan’s Purse only four months to rebuild it, top to bottom, free of charge. The Boone-based charity learned of Bob...
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