Australia mines more lithium than any other country, but most of that lithium is refined in China. Countries such as Australia and the U.S. are looking to refine more lithium at home, and North Carolina is well-positioned to benefit.

Scientists at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission have discovered a new species of mussel. The mussel called Ligodonta obscura was first found in 2016 in the Little River about 20 miles south of Asheboro. Over the last nine years, researchers have studied the mussel. It has unique characteristics related to its teeth and reproduction.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined 22 other states in suing the Environmental Protection Agency to restore the $7 billion program. It would have helped provide rooftop solar systems to low-income and rural households.

In the 1990s, Howard Knob was sold to a private investor, sparking a conservation movement that led to the founding of what’s now the Blue Ridge Conservancy.

It’s been two years since migrant farmworker Jose Arturo Gonzalez Mendoza died from possible heat-related illness at Barnes Farming in Nash County — though the farm has said an autopsy shows a rare tumor was responsible. Last week, another farmworker died after a sweet potato truck struck him, an incident advocates say highlights the dangers migrant workers face.

More fossil fuels and rate hikes are on the horizon as Duke Energy prepares to meet the demand of electrification, manufacturing and data centers.

The governor announced the projects in Marshall as part of a state program to prevent flooding across the state.

Energy experts gathered in Raleigh this week to discuss how North Carolina’s energy grid — and ratepayers’ wallets — will handle the incoming wave of new data centers.

Citizen volunteers confirmed that the scenic drive is open from Virginia down to Linville Falls without interruption.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program allows property owners in certain flood-prone areas to sell their home or business to the government. Gov. Stein says no applications have been approved yet.