The North State Journal

These celebrities have birthdays this week. Nov. 21 Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 90. Actor Marlo Thomas is 87. Actor Juliet Mills (“Passions,” “Nanny and the Professor”) is 83. Actor Goldie Hawn is 79. Director Andrew […]

General Assembly passes 3rd round of Hurricane Helene relief

RALEIGH — The General Assembly has passed a third round of Hurricane Helene relief funding totaling $252 million. The first two rounds of relief funding by the legislature totaled approximately $922 million. The latest round […]

Gable youngest elected to NCGA in 126 years

RALEIGH — Newly elected 22-year-old Rep. Wyatt Gable will be the youngest and first Gen Z member elected to the General Assembly House in modern history. Clyde R. Hoey, North Carolina’s 59th governor, was 21 […]

‘You’ve Got Mail’: Denver church delivers mailboxes to Yancey County

Former state Sen. Deanna Ballard has seen firsthand the devastation of Hurricane Helene and will be telling the recovery stories from western North Carolina for North State Journal. LINCOLN COUNTY — Bottled water, diapers and […]

MATTHEWS: Proof that social media is not real life

In the aftermath of then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Day, a lot has been said and written about what went wrong for her and what went right […]

Sen. Phil Berger (R-Eden) elected to another term as Senate leader Senate Republicans announce key leadership positions

November 20, 2024

RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly Senate has reelected Sen. Phil Berger (R-Eden) to continue to lead that chamber. “I’m thankful my colleagues have chosen me to lead the Senate for this upcoming biennium and look forward [...]
“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” Proverbs 12:25 The Word: Sunshine thieves

November 20, 2024

There was a certain kindergarten teacher who had one of her pupils mark on the blackboard each day to represent the weather. She had colored crayons, and different colors represented the different kinds of weather: [...]
Recounts include three House races, two Senate races and the Supreme Court race Here are the North Carolina races headed to recounts

November 19, 2024

RALEIGH — Multiple General Assembly races have come in with under a 1% margin separating candidates and are headed to a recount, as is the state Supreme Court race. “Recounts are a regular part of [...]
Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) is North Carolina's next speaker of the House House Republicans pick new leadership for 2025

November 19, 2024

RALEIGH — Elections were held to choose House leadership spots on Tuesday and were announced at a press conference following Republican caucus voting. Key positions announced included: AdvertisementsRep. Brendan Jones was named majority leader, replacing [...]
Shawn Mendes gave an intimate and heartfelt performance Taylor Swift wins big, Rita Ora, Pet Shop Boys pay tribute to Liam Payne at MTV EMAs

November 18, 2024

MANCHESTER, England — Taylor Swift came out on top at the 2024 MTV EMAs on Sunday, walking away with best artist, best U.S. act, best live act and best video for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone). [...]

HILL: Can Elon Musk really cut $2T out of the federal budget?

Elon Musk says he can cut $2 trillion out of the federal budget. We know he can catch returning booster rockets with iron arms at his SpaceX flight facility in Boca Chica, Texas, so maybe […]

Cooper grants 2 pardons, 6 commutations

RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has commuted what have been lengthy sentences served by six criminal offenders in state prisons — five of whom were convicted of murder — and granted pardons to […]

Senate Republicans announce key leadership positions

November 20, 2024

RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly Senate has reelected Sen. Phil Berger (R-Eden) to continue to lead that chamber. “I’m thankful my colleagues have chosen me to lead the Senate for this upcoming biennium and look forward […]

Could North Carolina produce a few mid-major surprises this season?

College basketball in North Carolina goes far beyond the ACC. Here’s a look at the top mid-major teams in the state this season. ECU The ECU Pirates are hoping to have a better showing this […]

College basketball preview: Colonial Athletic Association and MEAC

Only the ACC can boast as many teams from North Carolina as the Colonial Athletic Association. We take a look at the prospects for Campbell, Elon, UNCW and NC A&T, as well as the state’s […]

What it was, was football: Week 11

North Carolina’s college football teams broke even this week, at 14-14. The regular season is winding down as the race for best record in the state and the Mack Brown State Title race both come […]

Logano wins 3rd NASCAR Cup championship

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Joey Logano won his third NACAR Cup Series championship Sunday with a relentless drive at Phoenix Raceway that gave Team Penske its third major motorsports title in less than a month. Logano […]

Pest control: NHL agitators can be familiar

RALEIGH — On most game nights, an NHL player will look across the ice and see a familiar face: a former junior or college teammate, someone they played with on a national team, and probably […]

Coach hot seat report for NC CBB

November 10, 2024

Five years. That’s how long you get. Obviously, each situation is different, but when a college basketball team hires a new coach, the clock starts ticking. In general, the new guy gets five years to […]

Book Review: ‘Those Opulent Days’ is a mystery drenched in cruelties of colonial French Indochina

November 16, 2024

It’s not often that a historical novel is set in the Vietnam of the 1920s, a period when the land in Indochina was occupied and exploited by French colonizers. It’s also unusual that such a […]

The Stream: Tyson vs. Paul, Shawn Mendes drops ‘Shawn,’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ spice up Disney+

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman starring in “Deadpool & Wolverine” and James Patterson’s psychologist detective Alex Cross finally having his own thriller TV show are some of the new television, films, music and games headed […]

This week in history: Nov. 14-20

Nov. 14 1851: Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick; Or The Whale” was published in the United States. 1889: Journalist Nellie Bly began an attempt to travel around the world in 80 days; she would complete the […]

Birthdays this week: Nov. 14-20

These celebrities have birthdays this week: Nov. 14 Actor Kathleen Hughes (“Babe”) is 96. Guitarist James Young of Styx is 75. Musician Stephen Bishop is 73. Pianist Yanni is 70. Rapper Reverend Run of Run-DMC […]

Service-minded man finds fulfillment in helping community

Former state Sen. Deanna Ballard has seen firsthand the devastation of Hurricane Helene and will be telling the recovery stories from western North Carolina for North State Journal. MITCHELL COUNTY — Eighteen-year-old Brody Miller stood […]

The Word: Be Brave

Be brave. Only the brave are strong. The coward is a weakling; if he has strength, he dares not use it. We must be brave, for life is a battle. The forces of good and evil are […]

HUDSON: Taking care of our veterans

November 16, 2024

This past Veterans Day, we honored and recognized the best among us: our brave men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform. We owe endless gratitude to these heroes who willingly risked their lives […]

HARSANYI: Good news: Americans are no longer listening to mass media

November 16, 2024

If the 2024 presidential contest proved anything, it’s that the mass media no longer drive the national conversation. They can no longer stoke fear and outrage in average voters. They can no longer prop up […]

KRAWIEC: Election 2024 reactions

Election 2024 is over. Thank goodness. It seemed to be the longest election cycle in history, although it was probably the shortest. Since the Democrat candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, was only the candidate for […]

GOLSON: The Democrats forgot their own message; Donald Trump didn’t

In 2008, Barack Obama rode into Washington on the back of a multiethnic coalition promising hope, change and a post-racial America. He spoke of there being no red America or blue America, just the United […]

BARONE: What you didn’t hear about on election night: the other 43 states

Here are some observations on what you didn’t hear on election night. Most networks’ focus was, quite properly, on whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris would carry enough of the 93 […]

MATTHEWS: Ladies, Kamala Harris losing isn’t the end of the world