WFAE Local Content

North Carolina’s hemp industry has largely been unregulated, but that may soon change, and this multi-billion-dollar sector of our state’s economy hangs in the balance. A federal law banning intoxicating hemp products is scheduled to go into effect in November and the General Assembly is considering their own prohibitions. A look at what this may mean for the industry and the 16,000 people working in it.

Criminal indigent defense services, which the state has to provide anyway, will get funds that were going to aid civil legal aid programs.

At watch parties in Uptown and South End, family ties, childhood memories and shared identities shaped whom fans backed in the World Cup semifinals.

The Canadian wildfires continue burning. Now, the smoke from those blazes has drifted south, bringing down local air quality across North Carolina.

The weeks-long heat wave continues in the Southeast, and humans aren’t the only ones struggling. Here are some tips for taking care of your leafy neighbors.

It’s been one month since Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill was placed on paid leave pending an outside investigation, and there haven't been any updates.

Charlotte City Council is looking for ways to address teen takeovers and may implement a stricter curfew. There's a new wrinkle in the I-77 toll lane saga. South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister has been appointed to fill his seat in Congress, and a parasitic illness has arrived in North Carolina.

As Carowinds’ most popular roller coaster, Fury 325 remains closed during the peak of the summer season, state officials say the ride will not reopen until a state reinspection determines it can operate safely.

New rules approved Thursday by the North Carolina State Board of Elections could make it easier for elections officials to reject ballots during the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.

The beach at South Point Access Park on Lake Wylie is closed until further notice after routine water testing found elevated levels of E. coli.

As the U.S. marks its 250th birthday, most stories focus on familiar figures and places like Washington, Jefferson, Boston and Yorktown. In Kings Mountain, about 45 minutes west of Charlotte, a new exhibit instead highlights an often overlooked story: the Native Americans — especially the Catawba Nation, who lived in the Charlotte area and supported the patriots in almost every major battle and skirmish in the South.

Demolition is underway on a historic west Charlotte building that served as a gathering place for African Americans for decades beginning in the 1940s.