North Carolinians protest cuts to government services and the social safety net in the name of government efficiency. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)
Stein to Congress: Don’t cut Medicaid
By Lynn Bonner
Gov. Josh Stein sent congressional leaders a letter asking them to spare Medicaid from budget cuts. About 3.1 million North Carolinians use the government health insurance.
The U.S. House is considering Medicaid cuts that could reach $880 billion over 10 years. North Carolina Medicaid Director Jay Ludlam told legislators last week a cut of that magnitude would mean a possible loss to North Carolina of $27 billion over 10 years. [Read more….]
More than 20 government facilities in North Carolina on the chopping block amid DOGE cuts
As the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) works to slash contracts, grants, and leases around the country, North Carolina is set to lose more than 20 U.S. government facilities.
Those losses — largely in the form of leases DOGE says it has terminated — include Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service offices, court buildings, and environmental and agricultural posts around the state. While the agency lists some as transferred to federal spaces, others are described as permanently closed.[Read more…]
Researchers, students flood Halifax Mall to protest Trump administration cuts to science
Hundreds of scientists and students overtook Raleigh’s Halifax Mall Friday to call for an end to the Trump administration’s attacks on funding for the sciences and higher education, warning of calamity for North Carolina’s research economy.
Part of a nationwide “Stand Up for Science” protest that drew crowds from San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza to Boston Common — including a crowd of thousands outside the Lincoln Memorial — the demonstration at noon in Raleigh took aim at President Donald Trump’s cuts to cancer research, support of anti-vaccine activists, and threats toward universities around the country. [Read more…]
For NC’s Helene team, challenges begin: Slow-moving money, housing data and demanding lawmakers
State officials charged with leading western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene have warned that there are years of rebuilding ahead.
But top state lawmakers made their expectations clear Thursday: they want shovels in the ground, and houses under construction, as soon as possible. [Read more…]
Wives of NC men detained by ICE speak out against ‘Border Protection Act’
Women living in Winston-Salem whose husbands were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement visited the state Legislative Building in Raleigh on Wednesday to share their stories with lawmakers.
The visit comes a day after the state Senate approved and sent to the House a bill dubbed the North Carolina “Border Protection Act.” The legislation would require state agencies like the Department of Public Safety and Highway Patrol to enter agreements with ICE to assist with immigration enforcement.[Read more…]
In another blow for Saint Augustine’s University, accreditation board denies appeal
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has denied an appeal by Raleigh’s Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) to restore its accreditation. The historic HBCU was stripped of its accreditation by SACSCOC last December following a series of financial challenges. As NC Newsline previously reported, the college failed on multiple occasions to meet payroll, leaving faculty unpaid as they cancelled classes. [Read more…]