David Boraks

The Catawba Indian Nation plans to break ground Wednesday morning for a proposed casino and resort off Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain. Local officials like the idea, but the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina has gone to court to stop the project. 

Protests for racial justice this spring and summer have prompted a related movement: Black people and other people of color have been sharing their stories of injustice and everyday racism in public ways. Davidson College students and alumni have been using an Instagram page to collect their stories - and to demand change. 

Cal Cunningham easily won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate Tuesday, beating four other Democrats for the right to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis in November.

Solar advocates and dozens of consumers are asking state regulators to investigate after Duke Energy's online system for solar rebates crashed shortly after applications opened Jan. 2. 

With the federal government's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, state and local governments in North Carolina have set their own ambitious goals for addressing climate change. Now, they're puzzling over how to carry out the big changes needed to reach those goals - such as switching to electric vehicles and shifting to more renewable energy. At least for now, it's still mostly data-gathering and discussion. 

Federal housing secretary Ben Carson unveiled plans Tuesday in Charlotte to roll back an Obama-era rule aimed at preventing racial segregation in housing. Carson announced a new rule that he says would increase housing choices for families. 

Duke Energy says 2020 rebates for new residential and commercial solar installations in North Carolina were taken up quickly after applications opened on Jan. 2. But there's still money left for nonprofits and local governments.

State regulators have scheduled public hearings in January on Duke Energy's request to raise rates an average of 6% in its western Carolinas territory, which includes Charlotte. 

The Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Ron Rivera, the team announced Tuesday. Secondary coach Perry Fewell will take over head coaching duties on an interim basis for the final four games of the season, with offensive coordinator Norv Turner shifting to special assistant to the head coach.

  A big change in North Carolina's criminal justice system takes effect Sunday. Sixteen and 17-year-old will no longer automatically be considered as adults when they're charged with crimes. Their cases will be handled by the juvenile justice system.

The final stretch of the Interstate 77 Express toll lanes opened over the weekend, but that doesn't mean the $800 million project is finished. Work is continuing and the North Carolina Department of Transportation is still penalizing the contractor for missing the Nov. 1 deadline. 

Gov. Roy Cooper says it's time to end legislative battles over wind energy and make sure it's part of a future clean energy system in North Carolina.

A Duke University scientist says new data shows dangerous levels of a cancer-causing heavy metal occur naturally across North Carolina, and can be a concern in drinking water wells.

The head of Major League Soccer says the league will announce its 30th team in the coming months, and Charlotte is the frontrunner. 

Duke Energy has asked state regulators to approve an average 12.3% rate increase for its division serving eastern North Carolina and the Asheville area. 

The Duke Energy division that provides electricity for Charlotte and much of western North Carolina has asked state regulators to approve an average 6% rate increase.

For years, guides at the Fort Dobbs historic site in Statesville have tried to tell the fort's story without an actual fort. This weekend, a replica of the 18th century structure opens to the public, after three years of construction and an even longer campaign of preservation and fundraising.

Duke Energy is rolling out a new program that clears the way for large customers to buy solar or wind energy from independent power producers.

Thousands of visitors will be uptown this weekend for the annual Charlotte Pride LGBT festival and parade. Organizers say they expect to match or top last year, when 165,000 people attended the Saturday-Sunday event.

It's hurricane season and government forecasters last week said they're now expecting above-normal activity, with five to nine Atlantic hurricanes, including two to four major storms with winds over 110 miles an hour. A conference at Duke University Wednesday looked at North Carolina's ongoing recovery from past hurricanes and what needs to happen to make the state more resilient in the face of stronger and slower moving storms. 

One day in the not-too-distant future, drivers of electric cars could pick charging stations the same way owners of gas guzzlers choose pumps now - by price. New rules being adopted around the country, including North Carolina, are clearing the way.

The Carolinas have not been hit by a hurricane so far this year, but researchers at N.C. State University are predicting a normal year with five to seven big storms in the Atlantic.

Back in March, students at UNC Charlotte began organizing a chapter of the nationwide youth movement March for Our Lives. On Friday, they held their first rally against gun violence, prompted by something none of them expected - a deadly shooting on their own campus.

Updated: Friday at 2:45 p.m.

Friends and family members remembered the two students killed in Tuesday’s shooting UNC Charlotte – 19-year-old Ellis Reed Parlier of Midland, and 21-year-old Riley Howell of Waynesville.