News

State Supreme Court backs bars, restaurants in COVID-related insurance dispute

A unanimous North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in favor of bars and restaurants that sued their insurance company over a refusal to cover losses linked to COVID-19 shutdowns. In a separate case, the court unanimously rejected a COVID-related insurance claim from clothing retailer Cato.

CJ Staff
News

State Supreme Court sides with Philip Morris in fight over $8.7 million tax bill

The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Philip Morris in the tobacco company’s legal battle with the state Revenue Department over an $8.7 million tax bill. The decision Friday split the court, 5-2, along party lines. The dispute involved export tax credits Philip Morris claimed on tax returns dating back a decade.

CJ Staff
News

State Supreme Court issues ruling favoring Orange school impact fee challenge

The North Carolina Supreme Court will allow plaintiffs challenging school impact fees in Orange County to move forward with their pursuit of refunds. The decision Friday reverses a split Court of Appeals, which delivered a less clear-cut result in 2023 for plaintiffs challenging the fees.

CJ Staff
News

Amgen announces $1 billion expansion in North Carolina

Amgen, a biotechnology company, announced last week that it will invest $1 billion in expanding its manufacturing facility in Wake County’s Holly Springs. This project is a recipient of taxpayer-funded county incentives and a state Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG). “North Carolina’s reputation as one of the world’s leading centers for biotechnology soars even higher with...

Katherine Zehnder
News

Study: NC at elevated risk of blackouts as strained infrastructure faces peak winter demand

According to a report from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NREC), North Carolina is at an elevated risk blackouts this winter as a damaged and vulnerable electric grid faces the high-energy demands of winter weather. The study finds Hurricanes Helene and Milton have left poles, transformers and substations battered, and extreme cold could push...

Jeff Moore

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

The Debrief: Remaining Covid Lawsuits + Sam Hayes Interview

This week on The Debrief, Mitch Kokai and Donna King discuss the remaining covid lawsuits and other court cases in North Carolina. Plus, North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes sat down with Carolina Journal’s Theresa Opeka to talk about his first year in office, including his accomplishments and what’s on the...

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