The Assembly

12/24/2025

When eCourts went live in the final 13 counties this October, officials touted the conversion from paper to electronic filings as a “historic transformation.”

Ryan Boyce, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), said saving North Carolinians trips to the courthouse and expanding access to records “was the foremost priority, and proud legacy, of the eCourts conversion.”

But the multi-year rollout of the system has been anything but smooth, plagued with delays, software glitches, and data errors that prompted calls from some quarters to hit pause so problems could be addressed.

State lawmakers said court officials in their home districts have not seen the conveniences and cost-savings eCourts was supposed to bring.

12/24/2025

Every holiday season, we ask the staff of The Assembly to pick some of their favorite stories we published throughout the year. These can be hard-hitting investigations, timely features, or just stories that were really fun to read. They aren’t always the journalism that drew the most readers or had the biggest impact, but they are what stuck with us weeks and months later.

As a special treat, we’re putting all our favorite stories outside the paywall for the next week so you can enjoy them–and perhaps share them with your friends and family.

We know you’ve all been very good this year and definitely deserve it.

Here are our staff's favorite stories published throughout the year, which we are putting outside our paywall as a special gift to you.

12/24/2025

How did the rapper, still omnipresent three decades after his death, come to rest in a Lumberton grave? Journalist Jeff Pearlman went down to Robeson County to find out.

How did the rapper, still omnipresent three decades after his death, come to rest in a Lumberton grave? Writer Jeff Pearlman finds out.

12/23/2025

Undoubtedly, The Assembly sets the bar for the higher education beat. I joined the team this fall, and I clearly have big shoes to fill.

It takes time—something that’s becoming more and more rare in journalism—to do this work. We do it because we believe the results are worth your time and attention, too.

I’m committed to telling more of the stories shaping higher education in North Carolina, in 2026 and beyond. Our state deserves it.

https://theassemblync.com/subscribe/?utm_campaign=eoy_socials

12/23/2025

New charter schools in North Carolina are struggling to enroll enough students to stay solvent. One High Point school’s mid-fall implosion shows the consequences for families.

New charter schools are struggling to enroll enough students to stay solvent. One High Point school’s implosion shows the consequences.

12/19/2025

Syllabi for all courses in the UNC System will now be considered public records and soon must be made available online, under a rule issued Friday by system President Peter Hans.

The regulation finalizes a proposal from system officials that had been circulated among faculty leaders for feedback this month.

The final version includes some changes, such as a new requirement that syllabi include a disclaimer that the inclusion of an assigned reading in a course does not imply an endorsement of the material by the professor—a change that stemmed from feedback from members of the system’s Faculty Assembly, chair Wade Maki said.

The regulation, which includes some changes from a previous draft, takes effect on January 15.

12/19/2025

If you didn’t know better, you might think Gov. Josh Stein’s December 10 press conference was a victory lap, not a concession speech.

Stein announced that he was reversing the “real and damaging” cuts, which he said would allow the state’s 3 million Medicaid recipients to “continue to receive the care that they need and deserve.”

There was some irony in the commendations. It was Stein’s administration, after all, that cut Medicaid rates in October over the objections of the Republican lawmakers he blamed and many of the people standing behind him. He changed course only when courts left him no other option—or, in his words, when his health department “read the writing on the wall.”

Facing an uphill legal battle, Gov. Stein reversed his administration’s Medicaid cuts. But the crisis isn’t over.

12/18/2025

BREAKING: Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt has died, his family announced on Thursday.

12/18/2025

From 2024: Michele Morrow’s primary defeat of incumbent Catherine Truitt took many by surprise. But the candidate for state superintendent is following Steve Bannon’s playbook to seize and reshape the Republican Party.

When Michele Morrow won her primary, it took many by surprise. But the Republican candidate for North Carolina superintendent is following Steve Bannon’s playbook.

12/18/2025

BREAKING: Michele Morrow, the former Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, filed paperwork on Thursday to run for U.S. Senate, according to her campaign and the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Morrow will challenge Republican frontrunner Michael Whatley, who is running with President Donald Trump’s support. The winner of the primary is expected to face former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, in the November election.

The former candidate for state superintendent of public instruction will face Michael Whatley in the GOP Senate primary.

12/17/2025

U.S. Rep. Don Davis could be facing a familiar challenger next November, in what is anticipated to be one of North Carolina’s tightest House races.

Retired Army Col. Laurie Buckhout announced Wednesday on a local radio station she’s running in the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 1st District.

“I’m coming back home to run for the 1st Congressional seat,” Buckhout said on the radio show Talk of the Town with host Henry Hinton. “We’re going to win it.”

Republican Laurie Buckhout announced she’s running to face off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Davis in the 1st District.

12/17/2025

BREAKING: The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to grant full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a moment 137 years in the making.

The chamber passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which included Lumbee recognition, following approval by the House last week. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law as soon as this week, making the Lumbee the 575th federally recognized tribe.

Lumbee people gathered in Pembroke, where the tribe has its headquarters, on Tuesday in anticipation of the Senate vote and reconvened there Wednesday. The celebration was about more than a title—it was the culmination of over a century of hard work that forced them to navigate power politics in Washington and defend their identity as Native Americans.

Read more at the link in our comments.