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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has signed a law making it permanent for restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic drinks for carryout or delivery.
Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporter
Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis dropped a striking statistic during a recent interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, claiming federal agencies "have grown 50% since 2019."
Louis Jacobson and Sevana Wenn, PolitiFact reporters
COVID relief funds will help keep a roof overhead for families in Raleigh who suddenly find themselves out on the streets or who are on the brink of becoming homeless.
Matt Talhelm, WRAL reporter
The federal funding that the state used to pay outside vendors to run a lot of these programs is coming to an end this year. The department has already started to wind down free vaccine events.
The COVID testing and treatment programs are coming to an end as federal funding is beginning to run out.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners meeting will move to a virtual format after commissioners tested positive for COVID-19.
Mark Bergin, WRAL senior multiplatform producer
The Raleigh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $500,000 on a program to help renters by preventing evictions and providing legal support for those who face losing their homes.
The state of North Carolina is trying again this month to give out COVID relief money to businesses. The Business Recovery Grant program reopened Monday for a second round of grant applications.
Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol bureau chief
The United States is "certainly, right now, in this country, out of the pandemic phase," Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on PBS's "NewsHour" on Tuesday.
By Naomi Thomas and Brenda Goodman, CNN
More lockdowns could be coming to Beijing. It comes as leaders in China use the words "urgent and grim" to describe a growing outbreak of COVID-19.
The Biden administration recently announced plans to lift what's known as Title 42, a public health law that allows border officials to expel certain immigrants without giving them a chance to apply for asylum. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) says "most Americans" want to keep it in place.
Paul Specht, PolitiFact reporter
A national transportation mask mandate for airlines is set to conclude in the coming days, as companies and passengers hope for a return to normalcy.
State officials overseeing COVID-19 relief efforts say hundreds of millions of dollars remain available to help businesses and homeowners who suffered financial loss due to the pandemic.
Laura Leslie, capitol bureau chief
A Rocky Mount foundation says it has no idea who received more than $80 million in COVID-19 relief loans it gave out. The announcement comes after a report from the state auditor said the Golden Leaf Foundation didn't track how businesses spent the millions in taxpayer dollars it distributed.
Keenan Willard, WRAL eastern North Carolina reporter
North Carolina's unemployment benefits office failed to distribute quickly enough $438 million in initial payments to displaced workers in 2020 and early 2021, state auditors said Monday while scrutinizing the agency's work during the pandemic. The audit in part blamed the claims process and poor monitoring for the delays.
Thursday marks two years since the first COVID-19 case was detected in North Carolina. On March 3, 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper said a man in Wake County tested positive for coronavirus after traveling to Washington state.
Ali Ingersoll, WRAL investigative data reporter
The White House COVID Response Team talks about the new pandemic road map following President Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The company that verified identities for unemployment claims in North Carolina and other states says people can delete their selfies, but questions remain.
Travis Fain, state government reporter
WRAL's Bryan Mims followed the convoy of about 50 people from Mebane where they assembled to the North Carolina Legislative Building. Although the event was advertised as a protest by truck drivers, most people who joined in were in cars or pick-up trucks, and only one tractor trailer appeared to be participating, Mims said.
North Carolina's 13 members of the U.S. House are among more than 170 congress members to sign on to a letter calling for action at the IRS, where leaders are scrambling to address a colossal backlog that's affecting taxpayers across the country.
North Carolina's 13 members of the U.S. House are among more than 170 congressmembers to sign on to a letter calling for action at the IRS, where leaders are scrambling to address a colossal backlog that's affecting taxpayers across the country.
Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief
Republican Rep. Greg Murphy tweeted on Jan. 16: "The Dems demand a photo ID to get a cheeseburger but not one to vote. The height of hypocrisy." PolitiFact NC checks his claim.
President Joe Biden assured members of the National Governors Association Monday that additional support is on the way as COVID case numbers continue to increase.
Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief, and Kevin Liptak, CNN
