News

State high court will consider New Bern eye surgeon’s CON challenge

More than a year after a New Bern eye surgeon asked North Carolina’s highest court to take up his challenge of the state’s certificate-of-need law, the court has answered yes. An order issued Friday confirms that the North Carolina Supreme Court will hear Dr. Jay Singleton’s challenge to state CON restrictions. Singleton had appealed to the high court in August 2022.

CJ Staff
News

NC Symphony, NCDNCR being sued over COVID vaccine mandate

Three former members of the North Carolina Symphony are suing their past employer to reinstate their jobs after being fired for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate because of their religious beliefs. Chris Caudill, Rachel Niketopoulos, and David Friedlander (also known as Dovid Friedlander) filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the NC Symphony; the North Carolina Department of...

Theresa Opeka
News

Morgan upholds death penalty, dissents in castle doctrine case, in final Supreme Court rulings

Outgoing state Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan delivered a 183-page ruling upholding a death penalty verdict, dissented in a case involving the castle doctrine, and joined Republican colleagues to uphold a mining quarry’s challenged environmental permit during his last day on the bench.

CJ Staff

Opinion

Elections

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
News

Federal judge allows challenge of 225,000 NC voter registrations to move forward

A federal judge will allow state and national Republican groups to move forward with their lawsuit challenging 225,000 voter registrations in North Carolina. An order issued Friday denied requests from the State Board of Elections and Democratic National Committee to have the case dismissed.

CJ Staff

Videos

Video

The Debrief: Tackling tariffs’ costs + NC lawmakers look past November

President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have returned to the headlines because of a recent spat with Canada. Carolina Journal published this week the first in a series of articles about tariffs’ real-world impacts in North Carolina. We chat with the series author about her findings. State legislators are gone from Raleigh for the summer but...

Katherine Zehnder, Andrew Pomeranz, Andy Jackson
Video

The Debrief: Summer’s bringing the heat now, but NC campaigns will soon heat up

We’re just two weeks away from the absentee ballot deadline in North Carolina’s general election. Early voting is less than two months away. Political columnist, author, and John Locke Foundation board member John Hood joins us to discuss the hot topics in the state’s election season. Does Republican Michael Whatley have a shot against Democrat...

John Hood
Video

America 250 and The Battle of Moore”s Creek Bridge

In this special episode of The Debrief, Jeff Moore sits down with Bob Rosser to discuss Running the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge and the Revolutionary War history behind one of North Carolina’s most important early battles. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, this conversation explores the people, places, and legacy of Moores Creek —...

Culture

Civil Society