October 7th, 2025

North Carolina

Charlotte Stabbing

• The Assembly NC: JD Vance Blames Democrats for the Fatal Charlotte Stabbing

Climate Change

• Chapelboro: Town of Carrboro Argues Case in Duke Energy, Climate Change Lawsuit’s Initial Hearing

• IndyWeek: Is Duke Energy Liable for Climate-Related Property Damage?

• Inside Climate News: In Its New Carbon Plan, Duke Energy Gambles on Coal as a Shorter-Term Fix for Powering Data Centers

• WRAL: Duke Energy ‘2025 Carolinas’ Plan Includes More Gas, Delayed Coal Retirements

Economy

• Carolina Forward: First in Flight: Greensboro?

Education

• Carolina Public Press: Why is Enrollment Booming Across UNC System Schools?

• The Assembly NC: This Faculty Advocacy Group Has Doubled Under Trump 2.0

• The Assembly NC: The Politically Connected Law Firm Leading Civics School Investigation

Elections

• Carolina Public Press: Accountability and Growth Among Top Issues in NC Municipal Elections

• The Assembly NC: Democrats Are Losing Members in N.C. But Are the Republicans Gaining?

• The News & Observer: NC Auditor Hires Former GOP Director in New ‘Election Integrity’ Oversight Role

FEMA

• The Assembly NC: Lawmakers Worry Shutdown Will Delay FEMA Funds to North Carolina

Gerrymandering

•  Associated Press: Judge Rejects Claims of Racial Gerrymandering in North Carolina State Senate Districts

•  Carolina Public Press: Appetite for Even More Gerrymandered District Maps Surfaces in NC

•  The Assembly NC: Where’s the Line?

Government Shutdown

• Cardinal & Pine: What Would a Federal Government Shutdown Mean for North Carolina?

• Cardinal & Pine: ‘Pawns in a Political Game’: Federal Workers in Western Carolina Frustrated By Government Shutdown 

• IndyWeek: What the Federal Shutdown Means for Triangle Residents

• NC Health News: NC Aging Advocates Warn What Federal Shutdown and Proposed Cuts Could Mean for Seniors

• The News & Observer: The Government Shutdown is Here. How Will North Carolinians Be Impacted?

  
  

Governor Stein

• The Assembly NC: Crime Bill, Chantal Relief on Stein’s Desk

• The News & Observer: How North Carolinians Rank Gov. Josh Stein in New High Point University Poll

  
  

Health Care

• Chapelboro: North Carolina Medicaid Patients Face Care Access Threat as Funding Impasse Continues

• NC Health News: Medicaid Standoff Could Put Health Care for Many North Carolinians at Risk

• NC Newsline: NC State Health Plan To Help Members Find Alternatives to Duke Doctors

• NC Newsline: Gov. Josh Stein Calls for Red Flag Law, Says NC Must Fix ‘Broken’ Mental Health Care System

• The Assembly NC: Stein’s Medicaid Cuts Deadline Arrives as Legislative Gridlock Continues

• The Assembly NC: Duke Health and Aetna Reach Contract Agreement

Hurricane Helene

•  The Assembly: Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene

•  The Assembly: Josh Stein on ’24 Hours of Rainfall That Changed the Region Forever’

•  The Assembly NC: Bruised, Not Broken

Redistricting

• Axios Raleigh: Redistricting North Carolina could give Republicans an extra seat in the U.S. House

• NC Newsline: NC Senate President indicates Republicans Could Re-draw Congressional Maps Ahead of Midterms

• The Assembly NC: One Redistricting Battle After Another

• The Charlotte Observer: NC Gov. Stein: Redrawing 2026 Maps Would ‘Destroy the Politics of This Country’

• WUNC: What more NC gerrymandering might look like

Republican Crime Bill

• Carolina Forward: Iryna’s Law

• WRAL: Stein Signs Crime Bill, Potentially Restarting Death Penalty in NC After Charlotte Stabbing

Senate Race

• The Daily Tar Heel: A Decade After ‘Bathroom Bill,’ Former N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper’s Next Campaign Walks the Line

Southport Shooting

• Cardinal & Pine: What Happened in Southport, NC? Everything To Know About This Weekend’s Mass Shooting

Tariffs

•  Axios: Why Tariffs May Not Save Furniture Manufacturing in North Carolina

United States/International

Agriculture

• Politico: Trump making plans to send billions in cash bailouts to farmers with taxpayer money

  
  

AI

• NOTUS: California’s AI Law is Setting the Tone for Democratic Party Policy — And Gavin Newsom’s Future

Cartels

•  Associated Press: US is in 'armed conflict' with drug cartels, Trump says

•  NY Times: The Evening: Trump’s ‘Armed Conflict’ Against Cartels

•  NY Times: The Morning: War on Cartels

Civil Rights

• The Guardian: A 160-Year-Old Campaign Against Civil Rights Heads to the Supreme Court

Climate Change

• Associated Press: Trump Administration Cuts Nearly $8 Billion in Clean Energy Projects in States That Backed Harris

• BBC News: Pope Leo Condemns Climate Change Critics

• NPR: EU Climate Commissioner Says the World is Moving on Climate Goals Without the U.S.

• NPR: The Energy Department Canceled Billions in Funding. Democrats Say Its Retribution.

• Politico: Energy Department Adds ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Emissions’ to Banned Words List

Colombian President

• Associated Press: US Revokes Visa for Colombia’s President After He Urges American Soldiers To Disobey Trump

Comey Indictment

• NBC News: Sen. Chuck Schumer Says He Has ‘No Faith in Trump’s Judicial System’ After Comey Indictment

Democratic Party

• NBC News: With a Democratic Party Leadership Vacuum, Obama Steps Up His Criticism of Trump

Economy

• NOTUS: Monthly Jobs Reports Are on Hold During the Shutdown

• USA Today: Where’s the Prosperity? Middle Class Americans Aren’t Feeling It.

Education

• NY Times (Gift Article): Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

• Washington Post (Gift Article): Colleges Weigh Whether To Sign on To Trump Plan or Forego Federal Benefits

Emergency Food Assistance Program

• ProPublica: Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.

Federal Reserve

• Politico: Supreme Court will hear arguments over firing of Fed’s Lisa Cook — but allows her to stay on the job for now

FEMA

• The Assembly NC: Lawmakers Are Now Debating Making FEMA a Cabinet-Level Agency

First Amendment

• NOTUS: Reagan-Appointed Judge Gives Trump a Lecture on the First Amendment 

• NOTUS: Trump’s Directive on ‘Organized Political Violence’ Could Lead to Increased Surveillance of His Critics

Government Shutdown

• Associated Press: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Says Trump is Marching the Country Into a Government Shutdown

• Axios: House GOP Cancels More Votes in Escalation of Shutdown Strategy

• BBC News: Are Democrats Really Pushing for Free Healthcare for Undocumented Migrants

• CNBC: Trump Threatens Mass Firings of Federal Workers if Government Shutdown Isn’t Averted, NBC News Reports

• CNN: Why some Republicans are getting cold feet about Trump’s shutdown layoff threats

• CNN: GOP Leaders Say They Will Not Give Into Democratic Demands on Funding Bill as Government Shutdown Looms

• CNN: Obamacare is Back as the Fulcrum of a National Political Showdown

• NBC: Schumer Says ‘We Need a Serious Negotiation’ With the GOP To Keep Government Open

• NBC: Education Department Employees Surprised To Find Their Email Automatically Changed To Blame Democrats for Shutdown

• NBC: What the Shutdown Means for Medicare, Medicaid and Other Health Programs

• NBC: What the Early Polls Say About the Shutdown: From the Politics Desk

• NBC: A Majority of Trump Supporters Back Extending Obamacare Subsidies, Poll Finds

• NOTUS: Democrats Finally Have the Base’s Praise. Can They Keep It?

• NPR: What Will Congress Do After the Shutdown? We Asked a Republican and a Democrat

• NY Times: The Evening: Hours To Shutdown

• NY Times: The Morning: The Shutdown Begins

• NY Times: The Evening: A Stalemate on Capitol Hill

• NY Times: The Morning: The Shutdown, Explained

• NY Times: On Politics: The Be-Careful-What-You-Wish-For Shutdown

• Politico: Capitol Agenda: Senate Talks Sputter, White House Aides Prep ACA Plans

• Politico: Trump To Talk With Vought About Which ‘Democrat Agencies’ Should Be Cut

• Politico: Congress Just Created a New Reason To Worry About Air Travel

• Politico: Capitol Agenda: Thune Insists There’s Only One Way Out of the Shutdown

• Politico: Farmers, a Key GOP Constituency, Hit Hard By Shutdown

• Politico: Vance Says He’ll Talk Obamacare Premiums With Schumer – But Only With Government Open

• Politico: Who Trump Officials Deem Essential in Shutdown Raises Eyebrows

• Politico: Trump turns shutdown into weapon against blue America

• Politico: This Shutdown Won’t Be Like the Others

• Semafor: Trump causes bipartisan alarm by turning shutdown into DOGE 2.0

• The Hill: Johnson Pushes Back on Jeffries: ‘There is Nothing Partisan About This  Continuing Resolution’

• The Hill: Cole Says Democrats Attempting ‘To Blackmail’ Trump, Republicans in Shutdown Fight

• The Hill: More Americans Blame Trump, Republicans for Shutdown Than Democrats: Survey

• The Hill: Speaker Johnson Defends Agencies Blaming Democrats for Shutdown

• The Hill: Johnson: Shutdown ‘Ultimately Could Be a Benefit’ if Trump Administration Eliminates Programs

• The Hill: 5 Senate Democrats the GOP is Trying To Flip on Government Funding

• Time: Here's Why Both Sides Expect to 'Win' the Shutdown

• Washington Post (Gift Article): Trump Administration Seeks To Exert Control Over Government Shutdown

• Washington Post (Gift Article): Senior Government Officials Privately Warn Against Firings During Shutdown

Health Care

• KFF: KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Weighs Political Consequences of Health Policy Legislation

Immigration

• Associated Press: Trump taps Army Reserve, National Guard for immigration judges

• Chicago Sun Times: Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling

• CNN: Trump Says He’s Sending Troops To Portland To Protect ICE Facilities

• NBC News: Supreme Court allows Trump to revoke protected immigration status for thousands of Venezuelans

• NPR: DACA Has Bipartisan Support in Congress. Still, Republicans Are Following Trump’s Lead

• NY Times: The Evening: Troops Head to Chicago

• Politico: Gavin Newsom Hopes To Beat Trump at His Own Game

Israel/Gaza

• NY Times: The Evening: Trump’s Plan for Gaza

• NY Times: The Morning: Israel’s Standing

• NY Times: The Evening: Trump Says Hamas is Ready for Peace

January 6

• Politico: How House Republicans Plan To Rewrite History of Jan. 6

Jobs

• Newsweek: America’s Pay Gap Going in Wrong Direction

Law Enforcement

• NY Times: The Morning: Trump’s Law Enforcement

LGBTQ Rights

• NBC News: Justice Samuel Alito Says He Is Not Calling for Same-Sex Marriage Ruling To Be Overturned

Middle East

• Politico: An Entire Generation of Americans Is Turning on Israel

NY Infrastructure Funding

• CBS News: Trump Administration Freezes $18 Billion in Infrastructure Funding to New York, Home of Schumer and Jeffries

Pentagon

• Axios: Trump’s MAGA-fied Military Prepares for “War from Within”

• Axios: Hegseth’s War on Military ‘Beardos’ Stirs Religious, Health Concerns

• Cardinal & Pine: ‘The Highest Male Standard’: Here’s What Pete Hegseth Had To Say To American Military Leaders

• Politico: Hegseth uses rare meeting of generals to announce new military standards

• Time: Trump Warns of ‘War From Within’ in Speech to Top Generals

• Washington Post (Gift Article): Military Leaders Voice Concern Over Hegseth’s New Pentagon Strategy

Political Violence

• NPR: Poll: More Americans Now Agree Political Violence May Be Necessary To Right the Country

Polling

• CBS: Trump Approval Slipping Among Latinos, But Democrats Haven’t Made Major Gains

• Pew Research Center: Trump, Vance and top congressional leaders viewed more negatively than positively

• Politico: ‘Underwater’: Young Voters, Black Americans Sour on Trump as Job Market Struggles

Project 2025

• Axios: Trump Embraces Project 2025 After Disavowing It During 2024 Campaign

Redistricting

• NY Times: On Politics: Republicans’ Borrowed Message on Redistricting

• Politico: Wes Moore Calls Donald Trump-led Redistricting ‘Political Redlining’

Reproductive Rights

• NOTUS: Anti-Abortion Leaders Blast FDA’s Quiet Approval of a New Abortion Pill 

Successful Opposition Movements

• NY Times (Gift Article): Opinion | How to Beat an Autocrat at the Ballot Box

Supreme Court

• NY Times: The Morning: Trump and the Court

Tariffs

• The Conversation: Tariffs May Bring a U.S. $50 Billion Monthly Boost to the US Government. But Ordinary Americans Won’t Feel the Benefit.

Trump Presidency

• NY Times: The Morning: Trump the Sports Fan

Trump Prosecutions

• The Hill: Judge Sets 14-Day Deadline for New Prosecutor in Trump Georgia Case or It Will Be Dismissed

Ukraine-Russia War

• CNN: Putin Praises Trump But Warns Supplies of US Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine Will Badly Hurt Ties