Michael Tomsic

A Gaston County plant where workers have manufactured tools for more than three decades is closing. The Apex Tool Group will shut its doors and lay off about 220 employees in Gastonia by June.

The name on the sign outside the plant has changed over the years. Since 2010, it’s been Apex Tool Group. One thing that hadn’t changed was the product – workers have built tools there since 1978.

Governor Pat McCrory said one of the first bills he plans to sign into law will overhaul the state’s unemployment insurance system. McCrory is in favor of a Republican legislative plan that cuts benefits and raises taxes on some businesses.

When the economy tanked, North Carolina’s unemployment insurance system got way out of balance. Businesses fund it, and they weren’t putting enough in to cover the massive demand for benefits as unemployment soared.  

A North Carolina legislative committee approved a plan Tuesday to cut unemployment benefits and raise taxes on some businesses. Republicans behind the plan say those are necessary steps to pay back more than $2.5 billion the state owes the federal government.

A doctor at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte was involved in a groundbreaking study on treating African-Americans who have Hepatitis C.

Tens of thousands of unemployed North Carolinians will run out of federal benefits at the end of this week.

On Saturday, the federal government will end its extension of unemployment benefits, which began during the recession in 2008. There are about 87,000 unemployed North Carolinians who are currently relying on federal benefits because they've already exceeded the maximum state benefits.

Governor Bev Perdue announced Tuesday a temporary stopgap to keep about 1,400 North Carolinians from potentially becoming homeless next month. Perdue is moving money around to allow people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities to continue receiving care in group homes.

As is often the case with disability issues in North Carolina, this one evolved from a lawsuit.