September 8, 2025
Alan Buis
Chatham/North Carolina
Agriculture
Carolina Public Press: Bountiful Harvest Expected for Many NC Crops, But Recovery from ’24 Still Lagging
AI
NC Newsline: Stein Launches AI Council, Paving Way for Wider Use of Technology Across NC Government
Big, Beautiful Bill
Cardinal & Pine: Trump Plan To Shift Cost of Health, Food Benefits to the States Will Cost North Carolina Billions
Broadband Access
WUNC: New NC Internet Grants Could Include Starlink, Amazon Satellite Services
Budget
WUNC: NC Democrats Blast Republicans’ Lack of Progress on a New State Budget
Civil Rights
WFDD: Civil Rights Icon Major General Joseph McNeil Has Died
Demonstrations
CBS 17: Hundreds Rally for ‘Workers Over Billionaires’ in Raleigh at NC State Capitol
Education
Chapelboro: Chatham County Schools Superintendent Details ‘Elevate’ Theme for 2025-26 School Year
NC Newsline: NC Falls Short in How It Serves Students With Disabilities
The Assembly NC: Lee Roberts’ Long Game
The Assembly NC: How State Funds Are Helping Private Schools Expand
The Assembly NC: How the UNC System Shaped a Controversial Plan to Revamp College Accreditation
Elections
Carolina Public Press: NC Elections Board Passes on Deal To Share Voter Rolls With Feds. For Now.
Carolina Public Press: Charlotte Primary Forecast: Expect Low Turnout, High Impact
Courthouse News Service: North Carolina reaches agreement over voter record violations
Environment
The Assembly NC: New Flood Maps Could Prevent Disasters. Why Are They So Outdated?
Gun Safety
CBS17: More Sheriffs Speak Out Against Permit-less Concealed Carry Bill as Republicans Try To Override Veto
Health Care
NC Health News: Medicaid Cuts Could Threaten Care for North Carolinians With Severe Disabilities
Hurricane Helene
WUNC: NC Gov. Stein Reiterates Call for More Helene Relief Money from Congress
Immigration
Indy Week: Inside the Movement To Teach ICE Defense to N.C. Business Owners
Jobs
Axios: North Carolina Is Stil the “Worst” State To Work, Oxfam Reports
Kash Patel
The Assembly NC: Kash Patel’s Krispy Crème Connection
Senator Tillis
NOTUS: Thom Tillis: I Won’t Consider a Replacement for Fed Governor Lisa Cook
State Supreme Court
The Assembly NC: Supreme Politics
The Assembly NC: A Batson Rejection
Tariffs
Carolina Forward: North Carolinians Hold Conflicting Views on Trump’s Tariffs
U.S. Senate Race
The Assembly NC: Michael Whatley is Throwing Out the Tillis Playbook
U.S./International
Big Tech
NPR: A judge lets Google keep Chrome but levies other penalties
China
NY Times: The Morning: Chinese Dissent
Climate Change
ARS Technica: GOP May Finally Succeed in Unrelenting Quest To Kill Two NASA Climate Satellites
Washington Post (Gift Article): Trump is Cutting Climate Satellites. That Could Affect Weather Prediction.
Washington Post (Gift Article): A Red State Community Bet on Carbon Capture. Trump is Blocking It.
Congress
NOTUS: ‘Long Past Time’: House Members Unveil Bipartisan Stock-Trade Ban
Politico: Stock trading, Jeffrey Epstein and a shutdown: Why this could be a tricky fall for Congress
Democratic Party
NBC News: Democrats Return to Trump’s Washington After Getting an Earful of ‘Do Something’ at Home
NY Times (Gift Article): Opinion | Stop Funding Trump’s Takeover
Department of Defense
NOTUS: Department of War: Trump Signed an Executive Order to Rename the Department of Defense
Economy
Associated Press: Trump’s Job Market Promises Fall Flat as Hiring Collapses and Inflation Ticks Up
Associated Press: US stocks sink under the weight of rising pressure from the bond market
NY Times: The Evening: Another Weak Jobs Report
NY Times: On Politics: Will Trump Have To Run From the Economy?
Politico: Trump's job market is struggling, building the case for steeper Fed rate cuts
Education
Education Week: Trump Cancels Dozens of Education Grants – With More Terminations on the Horizon
The Harvard Crimson: Judge Hands Victory to Harvard in Funding Lawsuit, Ruling Trump Administration’s Freeze Unconstitutional
Elections
NBC News: Trump Faces a Hurdle in Banning Mail-in Voting: His Own Republican Party
NPR: Young Democrats Want To Unseat Their Elders. Young Republicans Are Happy To Wait.
The Borowitz Report: How NOT to Stop Trump
Washington Post (Gift Article): Can Democrats Rebound? These Voters Aren’t So Sure.
Environment
NOTUS: GAO: Trump’s FEMA Cuts Are Likely To Harm Disaster Response
NOTUS: A Major Wind Project Is Suing the Trump Administration Over Its Stop-Work Order
Epstein Files
Axios: GOP Support Erodes for Epstein Files Petition
BBC: Three Ways Epstein Trial Could Go for Trump
NOTUS: Thomas Massie Says He’s Optimistic About Forcing a Vote on the Epstein Files
NY Times: On Politics: The Odd Couple Keeping Epstein in the Headlines
Federal Budget
Associated Press: Government Shutdown Looms as Congress Returns After Monthlong August Recess
NOTUS: Government Funding: Democrats Are Under Pressure to Hold the Line
The Hill: GOP Lurches Toward Shutdown as Democrats Vow They Won’t Be Rolled
Health Care
Axios: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family calls for his resignation
Axios: The Online Health Misinformation Machine
NOTUS: West Coast States Will Issue Their Own Vaccine Schedule, Breaking With CDC
NOTUS: RFK Jr.: Republican Senators Corner HHS Secretary on Trump's COVID Vaccine Push
NY Times: The Evening: Florida Plans To End Vaccine Mandates
NY Times: The Evening: Senators Grill R.F.K. Jr.
Politico: RFK Jr. Is Forcing Doctors To Make a Tough Choice
Politico: GOP discontent with RFK Jr. is growing
Reuters: US Senators Pit Kennedy Against Trump on Vaccine Policy
Reuters: Medical Groups Call on US Health Care Secretary To Step Down
Tallahassee Democrat: Florida vaccine mandates to end even though they're state law
Time: Senators Yelled at RFK Jr. They're Not Trying to Stop Him
Washington Post: NIH whistleblower complaints reveal vaccine resistance
Immigration
Associated Press: Trump Threatens Chicago With Apocalyptic Force and Pritzker Calls Him a ‘Wannabe Dictator’
Associated Press: US labor force lost 1.2 million immigrants, preliminary data shows
NOTUS: Trump Admin to Double Number of Immigration Judges by Using Military Lawyers
NY Times: The Evening: Trump’s L.A. Deployment Illegal, Judge Rules
Justice
NBC News: Judges push back on Trump's expanding power as 'unconstitutional' and 'unlawful'
Law Enforcement
Politico: Judge rules Trump can't act as national police chief
LGBTQ Rights
CNN Politics: Trump DOJ is looking at ways to ban transgender Americans from owning guns, sources say
North Korea Navy SEALS Raid
NY Times: The Morning: A Nighttime Raid
Polling
NBC News: Poll: Trump's job ratings stay negative; Americans express strong support for vaccines
Redistricting
Axios: Republicans Eye Kansas and Nebraska To Draw More House Seats
Politico: Democrats face an increasingly frustrated base over redistricting
Social Security
ABC News: Social Security Whistleblower Who Claims DOGE Mishandled Americans’ Sensitive Data Resigns from Post
Supreme Court
Axios: “Calvinball”: Judges Give Rare Public Rebuke of Supreme Court
NBC News: 10 federal judges criticize Supreme Court's handling of Trump cases in rare interviews
Politico: Trump Is Trying to Blackmail the Supreme Court
Washington Post (Gift Article): The Supreme Court Has Expanded Trump’s Power. He’s Seeking Much More.
Tariffs
Associated Press: Trump asks Supreme Court to quickly take up tariffs case
Axios: Blocking Tariffs Would Be “End of the United States,” Top Trump Advisor Says
Politico: ‘We’re at DEFCON 1’: India, bruised by US tariffs, cozies up to Russia, China
Trump Presidency
NY Times: The Morning: Trump’s Emergencies
Washington Post (Gift Article): Opinion: Trump Redefines Conservatism, Setting Up a Fight Over Its Future