MORNING LINEUP
A rainbow shines above downtown Marshall on September 18, 2026, a week before the town marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene. (Photo: Courtesy of Sky Walsh)
By Clayton Henkel
Before there was Helene, there was Katrina.
The destructive Category 5 hurricane that devastated New Orleans in 2005 convinced Alex Webber to move from Louisiana to the mountains of western North Carolina.
Webber thought she’d found a climate-safe area in the picturesque town of Marshall until 2024, when Hurricane Helene brought catastrophic flooding and landslides to her backyard.
This weekend marks the two-year anniversary of Helene, and Webber brushed away tears as she recounted 24 months of trying to rebuild the life she had before the storm arrived.
Durham County Youth Home on Sept. 24, 2026. (Photo: Lynn Bonner/NC Newsline)
By Lynn Bonner
The juvenile detention center in Durham no longer confines youth to a solitary cell they called “the hole” for discipline or suicide watch, Disability Rights of North Carolina reports, but youth still spend almost all day on weekends alone in their cells.
The watchtower of CoreCivic’s former Prairie Correctional Facility, in Appleton, Minn., which will now be used as an ICE detention center, on Aug. 20, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Government investigators Thursday released a report that found the Department of Homeland Security wasted more than $20 million in federal funding in its rapid expansion of immigration detention, including warehouse purchases strongly opposed in numerous U.S. communities.
A Flock camera monitors passing traffic. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — A vast and growing network of artificial intelligence-driven Flock cameras could violate constitutional privacy rights, U.S. senators on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee said during a Wednesday hearing.
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, the chair of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, said the point of the hearing was to find out “what is going on with the expanding surveillance network that appears to be going coast to coast in this country.”
MORE NEWSLINE
| Jane Norman
US Senate Republicans spotlight trans athletes issue as midterms approach | Shauneen Miranda
Helene survivor: It’s time to move beyond market-based approaches to climate change | Sophie Loeb (commentary)
MORE HEADLINES
NEWS
Xi is wrapping his visit to Washington with a peek at the Constitution and Bill of Rights |APnews.com
In China, the summit is seen as projecting image of the country’s rise|
APnews.comTrump administration moves to limit fixes for systemic racism in schools|
APnews.comCDC vaccine recommendations are at a standstill, and unanswered questions are piling up|APnews.com
Federal judge blocks Trump-backed changes to food stamps that could've cut over $400M to NC|WRAL.com
NC candidate says she’s a victim of AI after losing support over social media posts |Raleigh News & Observer
State in 'drought within a drought' after recent heat|WUNC.org
$3.2M boosts workforce training at 11 western NC community colleges|
WLOS.comEnvironmental groups allege Chemours hasn't met PFAS limits agreement|WUNC.org
UNC chancellor backs Bill Belichick after investigation, says support comes with expectations|WRAL.com
COMMENTARY
Paige Masten: Republicans are already starting to give up on Michael Whatley in NC |Raleigh News & Observer
CMS board member: Why I voted to fire Superintendent Crystal Hill |
Raleigh News & Observer
States should adopt the federal rule that keeps junk science out of criminal courts |TheHill.com
Chris Brennan: Trump ruined his own media ban argument before lawyers could make it|TheHill.com
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