A 5-Decade-Long Friendship That Began With A Phone Call

In 1971, newly assigned to cover the Supreme Court, I was reading a brief in what would ultimately be the landmark case of Reed v. Reed . It argued that the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause applied to women. I didn't understand some of the brief, so I flipped to the front to see who the author was, and I placed a call to Rutgers law professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg. By the time I hung up an hour later, I was so full of information that I was like a goose whose innards were ready for foie...

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Robert Willett/The News & Observer / via AP, Pool

Coronavirus Live Updates: Week of Sept. 14

Side photo of a North Carolina Public Schools bus.
NCDOT Communications

NC Elementary Schools May Offer Full In-Person Classes

Ginsburg's Death Is A Major Cultural Moment That's About To Upend Politics Again

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a major cultural moment and has potential implications for the next generation of American society. Just look at the images of people who crowded the Supreme Court's steps Friday night after news of her death broke. The Supreme Court hasn't been this conservative in three-quarters of a century, and if President Trump nominates a replacement for her seat, and he or she is confirmed, it would move the court even further to the right and be difficult for...

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Explore our coverage as you prepare for this year's election in North Carolina.

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Fighting For The Right To Vote

By & • Sep 18, 2020
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When Lanisha Jones went to vote in the 2016 election, she didn’t think she was doing anything wrong. She thought she was simply exercising her right to vote. But in 2019, the district attorney in Hoke County charged her with voting illegally because at the time she was still on probation from a felony conviction.

Since then, Jones has been fighting the charges, and says she was unfairly targeted for unknowingly committing a crime when she voted.

Host Leoneda Inge joins Jeff Tiberii, host of WUNC’s Politics Podcast, to talk with Jones about the charges and how her experience fits into a larger history of disenfranchisement in North Carolina. Leoneda also speaks with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) about his North Carolina roots, the upcoming election and working to strengthen people’s right to vote.
 


Sen. Tillis Debates Cunningham, And Forest Vows To Lift Mask Mandates As Governor

By • Sep 18, 2020
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This week:  Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and his Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham had their first debate. The Democrat's answer to a hypothetical question about the COVID-19 vaccine caught some attention. 

On the reopening front, Gov. Roy Cooper announced elementary schools could welcome back all their students soon — as long as they wear masks and practice social distancing. Meanwhile Cooper's opponent, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, said face covering requirements would be dropped come January if he were to win the governor's race.

Offering insight and making their debut as our commentators are Aisha Dew of Higher Heights and Clark Riemer, former chair of the North Carolina Young Republicans and a staffer in the state House.
 


Despite The Pandemic, UNC System Enrollment Ticks Up

By • Sep 18, 2020
Liz Schlemmer

Despite the pandemic, the UNC System reached record-high enrollment this fall for the third year in a row —  and that's good news for the university system's bottom line.

Overall, the UNC System saw a 1% increase from last year's enrollment.

"In any other year, that might be a completely ordinary bit of news," said UNC System President Peter Hans, "And yet, in this year of unprecedent disruption across our state — across our world — I think that's an extraordinary achievement."

Gun Regulation Advocates Fear More Guns Sold To Prohibited Purchasers

By • Sep 18, 2020

Firearms sales have surged this year. That has led to a corresponding backlog of background checks, which gun regulation advocates worry will lead to more prohibited purchases.

Summer Of Racial Reckoning NPR Special: Part Two

By & • Sep 18, 2020
A large group of protesters kneeling in the street in downtown Greensboro.
Naomi Prioleau / WUNC

Months into a global pandemic, a loud cry for racial justice erupted around the country and the world. Protesters took to the streets demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism and repeatedly echoed the names of three recently-killed Black Americans: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

Alamance County Man Set Out To Mobilize Latino Voters In NC. Then The Virus Hit.

By • Sep 18, 2020
Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo

Like many Americans, Ricky Hurtado had plans for his summer.

He formally launched his first bid for public office in March and expected to spend sweltering days knocking on doors, clenching glossy campaign literature and making his case directly to voters. This summer, he was going to prove that a 31-year-old son of Salvadoran immigrants could give Latinos a say — even in North Carolina, even in part of Donald Trump’s America.

In Response To Vanessa Guillen's Death, Legislation Would Make Military Sexual Harassment A Crime

By Carson Frame • Sep 18, 2020

The newly introduced bill would make sexual harassment a crime under military law. The measure is a response to the killing of Fort Hood Army soldier Vanessa Guillen this summer.

How Many People In The U.S. Own Guns?

By Lisa Dunn • Sep 17, 2020

This article is part of the Guns & America explainer series. You can read other entries here.

UNC System President Gains More Power To Select University Chancellors

By • Sep 17, 2020
Courtesy of UNC System

The UNC System president will now have more say in choosing new chancellors when vacancies arise at the system's 17 campuses.

On Wednesday, UNC Board of Governors approved a major change to its policy on chancellor searches, at the request of Peter Hans, the UNC System's new president.

WATCH: State Officials Hold Coronavirus Briefing

By • Sep 17, 2020

Governor Roy Cooper and members of the state Coronavirus Task Force will deliver a public coronavirus briefing at 3 p.m., followed by questions from the media.

Watch live, beginning at 3 p.m.:

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Meet some of the North Carolinians calling for change in the wake of recent high-profile deaths of Black Americans and learn about their hopes for the future.

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NC Reckons With Racial Injustice

What you need to know about the protests and policies across the state.

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Tested Podcast

Tested is a hard look at how North Carolina and its neighbors face the day's challenges. Hosted by journalists Dave DeWitt and Leoneda Inge.

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Sex and relationships are intimate – and sometimes intimidating to talk about. Host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and our bodies that touches down in taboo territory.

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The State of Things

Headshots of Tessie Castillo, Lyle May and three other co-authors of "Crimson Letters"
Tessie Castillo

New Book Shares The View From Inside North Carolina’s Death Row

The criminal justice system puts prisoners out of sight and out of mind for the public. But the recently published book “ Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row ” (Black Rose Writing/2020) aims to draw back the veil on the people and realities that make up North Carolina’s death row.

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The 2020 Coronavirus Crisis

Everything you need to know about the outbreak and response – across the globe and in North Carolina.

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Education Stories

Despite The Pandemic, UNC System Enrollment Ticks Up

By • Sep 18, 2020
Liz Schlemmer

Despite the pandemic, the UNC System reached record-high enrollment this fall for the third year in a row —  and that's good news for the university system's bottom line.

Overall, the UNC System saw a 1% increase from last year's enrollment.

"In any other year, that might be a completely ordinary bit of news," said UNC System President Peter Hans, "And yet, in this year of unprecedent disruption across our state — across our world — I think that's an extraordinary achievement."

UNC System President Gains More Power To Select University Chancellors

By • Sep 17, 2020
Courtesy of UNC System

The UNC System president will now have more say in choosing new chancellors when vacancies arise at the system's 17 campuses.

On Wednesday, UNC Board of Governors approved a major change to its policy on chancellor searches, at the request of Peter Hans, the UNC System's new president.

Resident Advisors At NC State Say They Were Put On The Front Lines Of Reopening

By • Sep 14, 2020
Students sitting on the North Carolina State campus wearing masks and socially distanced.
N.C. State University

Students at universities across North Carolina are struggling to maintain a normal campus life. For one particular group of students, the pandemic has created some special challenges.

Tired And Stressed, UNCW Students Watch COVID-19 Cases Rise On Campus

By • Sep 11, 2020
Liz Schlemmer / WUNC

 

Walking through the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s campus, some things feel like a normal fall semester, with familiar sights like student volunteers running a voter registration drive.

Other things look very different.

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Reporting on the lives of American military personnel and veterans.

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