News

Private Colleges Take Aim At Spiraling Tuition Costs

RALEIGH — Under the “high tuition, high discount” model, colleges charge high prices to some students while giving large discounts to students they hope to attract — generally brighter or more diverse students — while also increasing revenues. The idea has been around since the 1970s, but there are growing signs that it is unsustainable, and some schools are reversing direction.

Duke Cheston
News

McCrory Names Six Top Aides

RALEIGH — Gov.-elect Pat McCrory has ordered an “immediate review” of North Carolina’s school safety measures in light of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., and said it will be accompanied by scrutiny of the state’s mental health programs.

Dan Way
News

Elected Council of State, While Unwieldy, Is Unlikely To Change

RALEIGH — Changing the method of selection for governor, lieutenant governor, and any of North Carolina’s other Council of State officials would require a constitutional amendment. Twenty-six states elect a joint ticket for governor and lieutenant governor, and most appoint leaders of education and agriculture policy.

Karen McMahan
Video

NFIB’s Gregg Thompson outlines concerns about federal government overregulation

Gregg Thompson, North Carolina state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, discusses NFIB’s concerns about federal government overregulation. Thompson offered these comments during an interview for Carolina Journal Radio (Program No. 500).

News

UNC Healthcare CEO Calls for Single-Payer Health Insurance

RALEIGH — Among the so-called myths Dr. Bill Roper attempted to debunk was the notion that “the American health care system is the best in the world” and President Obama’s promise that “if you like your health care the way it is, nothing about it will need to change.”

Sara Burrows

Opinion

Elections

News

Trump nominates Bishop to be deputy director for budget at OMB

"Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees," Trump said in a press release issued Tuesday night. "Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State."

Theresa Opeka
News

Democrats want federal court to address GOP challenge of 60,000 NC ballots

The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Friday to ensure challenges of 60,000 ballots in the state's latest election are addressed in federal court. Republicans filed the challenges with the State Board of Elections. The challenges could affect the outcome of the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin, along with a handful of state legislative contests.

CJ Staff
News

Griffin asks Appeals Court to order decision on election protests by Tuesday

Republican North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin is turning to North Carolina’s second-highest court for an order that would force state election officials to make a final decision about Griffin’s election protests Tuesday. The State Board of Elections had planned to hear oral arguments about the protests the following day, according to a document Griffin filed Friday with the state Court of Appeals.

CJ Staff

Videos

Video

Locke’s Donald Bryson discusses SCOTUS case dealing with Trump’s emergency tariffs

Donald Bryson, John Locke Foundation CEO and Carolina Journal publisher, discusses the US Supreme Court case addressing President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs. Locke filed a joint amicus brief challenging the constitutionality of emergency tariffs. Bryson offered these comments during the Oct. 28, 2025, episode of Spectrum News’ “Capital Tonight.”

Donald Bryson
Video

Carolina Journal’s Donna King analyzes NC congressional redistricting plans

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the North Carolina General Assembly’s plans to redraw the state’s congressional election map. King offered these comments during the Oct. 17, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Donna King
Video

Podcast: Revolutionary Roads

As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026, this podcast explores North Carolina’s pivotal role in the nation’s founding — from the War of Regulation to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and beyond. This 10-episode series, hosted by John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson, features guests with...

Video

The Debrief: Legislator arrested, Iryna’s Law aftermath, Oct. 7 remembered

This week on The Debrief, a Guilford County legislator’s arrest on sex-related charges prompts quick reaction from colleagues. Gov. Josh Stein chose an unusual way to signal his signing of Iryna’s Law. We discuss the governor’s video message and get expert analysis of the law’s potential impact. We also highlight a possible federal response. Lawmakers at the...

Video

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes congressional hearing in Charlotte after light rail murder

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the congressional hearing conducted in Charlotte in connection with the high-profile Iryna Zarutska murder. Kokai offered these comments during the Oct. 3, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai

Culture

Civil Society

Opinion

For healthy civil society, politics needs to stay in its lane

Political and cultural causes are important. They motivate us to make the world around us better and hone our sense of justice. Also, the excitement of fighting the good fight can be, for lack of a better word, fun. But everything has its time and place. And even if we think a particular political issue...

David Larson
Opinion

Flashback: North Carolina’s Easter Monday tradition forged on the baseball diamond

On Good Friday state offices will be closed in North Carolina for Holy Week, along with 10 other states. However, that has not always been the case in North Carolina. The Monday after Easter — rather than Good Friday — was a legal holiday in North Carolina for 52 years, and for many years before...

Dallas Woodhouse