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On the Local News Roundup: CMS started back to in-person learning this week. The waiting list for COVID-19 vaccinations grows. The Tent City of homeless people with us since last year is ordered to close. And this fall’s election for City Council and mayor may be delayed because of the census.

On the Local News Roundup: Vice President Kamala Harris comes to Charlotte to talk about the new infrastructure law. There are new goals to close the racial achievement gap at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and there are accusations of abuse of power over new school board voting maps. State Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen announces she’s leaving. Mike Collins and local journalists cover those stories and more.

Gasoline is in short supply in Charlotte due to a ransomware attack. City Council is split on zoning aspects of the 2040 plan, and the county budget became controversial. We'll talk about those stories and more on the Local News Roundup.

The replica opens in Williamstown, Ky., this week. The group behind Ark Encounter and many local officials say it will be an economic boon to the area, but some locals are skeptical.

A bill filed Monday in the N.C. General Assembly would allow Mecklenburg County voters to raise the sales tax by a penny to pay for a multibillion-dollar transportation plan. Cannabis advocates ask N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson for clarity on the state's enforcement of laws surrounding smokable hemp products. Matthews approves plans to build a Discovery Place Kids museum.

Charlotte celebrates the Juneteenth holiday. The state Senate votes to add age restrictions for help and T-H-C products. Employees at N.C. private schools could soon be allowed to carry concealed handguns. FIFA's Club World Cup soccer tournament hits Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. Dangerously high temperatures linger over the region.

Coca-Cola Co.'s recent announcement that it will start producing the soft drink Sprite in clear instead of green bottles will make recycling easier. But climate groups say it's not enough.

NPR's Alison MacAdam tells the story of getting in touch with her best friend from kindergarten, Scott Hoffman, who is now a sensation in a disco-rock band called The Scissor Sisters. Hoffman explains how he uses music to fill the voids he felt growing up in Lexington, Ky.

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Pamela Kielty from Bowling Green, KY. She listens to Weekend Edition on member station WKYU in in Bowling Green.)

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Maj. Blain Reeves of the 101st Airborne Division, who was executive officer in charge of 700 troops in Iraq. Three soldiers from his unit were killed in one of the first ambushes by insurgents after the occupation began. He arrived back from Iraq on February 14 and is based at Ft. Campbell, Ky.

The cover album becomes an unlikely site for deconstructing gender norms — and R&B's staid '80s tropes — in Ndegeocello's genre-bending care.

Christmas in the City is coming to town once again! This premier production, with shows on December 1-3 & 8-10, is a stunning variety show bringing the true essence of the Christmas Season to life using various forms of creative and performing arts in a way that entertains and inspires the soul. Christmas in the City includes: music with a live band, top-notch singers, traditional and modern Christmas songs, energetic dancers, state-of-the-art media and lighting, and inspirational drama.

Horrible bosses make life miserable in a variety of ways, but when the doofus in charge is the President of the United States, the stakes of maintaining workplace sanity are even higher. In Selina Fillinger’s savage, riotous POTUS, a group of unwitting heroines, ranging from the Chief of Staff to the mistress to the First Lady herself, must keep the toxic office culture of the White House from tipping into international disaster. Will they grab a little power for themselves in the process?

Directed by Stephen Kaliski with an all-star cast of Charlotte actors, POTUS skewers the proud American tradition of feckless male leadership while also hinting at a better way forward.

The recent Broadway premiere starred Vanessa Williams, Lea DeLaria, and Rachel Dratch. Critics called it “a delicious feminist farce” (Variety) and “a breath of fresh air on Broadway…The likelihood that you will laugh until your face hurts is one of near certainty.” (Entertainment Weekly). It closed in August 2022, making this Charlotte staging one of the first regional productions.

This new cast includes Jennifer Adams, Marla Brown, Iris DeWitt, Sarah Molloy, Iesha Nyree, Katy Shepherd, and Valerie Thames. The show will be designed by Chip Davis (scenic), Ashleigh Poteat (costumes), Gordon Olson (lighting), and Matt Sherwin (sound and compositions), with Allison Collins and Sarah Provencal as fight and intimacy choreographers. Carrie Cranford will serve as production manager, and Kathryn Harding will stage manage. Savannah Deal and Marla Brown are the producers.

Contains strong adult language. Recommended for ages 17+.

Vic Chesnutt was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 18, but he's still a massively productive songwriter. Chesnutt has fifteen albums under his belt and his songs have been covered by Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, and R.E.M. His new album, At The Cut, is a collaboration with Guy Picciotto of the band Fugazi.

A survivor of childhood polio, Sen. Mitch McConnell was the only Republican in the Senate to vote no. Here's how he explained his vote.

A loosely assembled group of House and Senate lawmakers released a legislative framework they hope can break the months-long impasse between party leaders and the White House on pandemic relief.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has been approved for another five years, as the Senate voted to renew the law that grants the government wide surveillance authority. President Obama has said he intends to sign the measure, which senators approved by a 73-23 margin Friday morning.

President Obama and congressional leaders from both major parties met at the White House for the first of what will likely be many negotiations aimed at averting a plunge over the so-called fiscal cliff. Afterward, Congressional leaders sounded optimistic about the chances for a deal.

After three years of congressional hearings and three inspector-general audits, the scandal still ricochets around Capitol Hill.

It is a rare distinction bestowed on only a handful of civilians. For two days Americans will be welcome to pay their respects to the beloved Evangelical pastor. He will be buried in North Carolina.