It’s time for a fact check of North Carolina politics. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley is facing questions after a report that he appointed a convicted sex offender to state party leadership positions. The outlet Asheville Watchdog reports that Whatley made the appointments while he was chair of the state GOP between 2019 and 2024. Paul Specht of WRAL joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry for more.

The U.S. Department of Energy is offering 1.9 billion dollars in funding for transmission upgrades, including replacing conductors, installing better technologies to monitor the grid and transmitting power across regions.

It's not just schools that are banning cellphones. Some bars and restaurants are joining the offline trend. Nick de la Canal takes us to one right in Charlotte.

West Charlotte residents are angry and anxious over a plan that could bulldoze their homes and parks for new toll lanes on I-77 south. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has paused the project for three months to get more feedback, at a time when some residents remain skeptical whether their voices will be heard.

The project is already in the federal government’s pipeline. The big question now is how local governments will fund their part of it.

The state has added a number of retaining walls to mitigate impacts from the project.

The NCDOT opens its new community engagement center on West Morehead Street. State transportation officials roll out new designs for the I-77 toll lane project. Firefighters battle a growing wildfire near North Wilkesboro. Gaston County residents call for the dismissal of School Board member Tod Kinlaw following a social media post about the Islamic faith.