15 h. ago North Carolina judges back Republican colleague in bid to toss votes and overturn election

Appeals court sides with Jefferson Griffin, who lost supreme court election and wants thousands of ballots thrown outMore than 65,000 people in North Carolina who believed they were eligible to vote could have their ballots thrown out nearly five months after election day, flipping the results of a supreme court election, a state appeals court ruled on Friday.The 2-1 ruling from the North Carolina court of appeals came in response to Republicans’ months-long effort to overturn the results of the state supreme court election in November. The Democrat Allison Riggs, who currently sits on the court, defeated appellate judge Jefferson Griffin, a Republican, by 734 votes. After the election, Griffin filed a protest seeking to get around 60,000 votes thrown out. Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago I don’t want to die with a freezer full of seeds. It’s time to rethink biodiversity and preservation | Chris Smith

Hurricane Helene proved a hard truth: a freezer of seeds is the literal version of putting all your eggs in one basketAbout a month after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina last fall, Roger Wynn and I met in an Asheville, North Carolina, supermarket parking lot. He’d driven two hours from Little Mountain, South Carolina, where the passing storm had also left its destructive mark.“When the power finally came back on,” Wynn said, “two of my freezers didn’t work.” Wynn was worried not about spoiled food inside, but his seed collection. On that autumn day, in an act of forced downsizing and seed philanthropy, Wynn handed over two boxes filled with seeds. He wanted me, as founder of the non-profit Utopian Seed Project, to share the seeds with farmers across the region. The boxes contained a trove of Appalachian varieties: speckled field peas, white mountain half-runner beans, purple-podded bush beans and lots of butterbeans. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Wisconsin supreme court race: Liberal Susan Crawford beats Musk

Liberal judge defeats Brad Schimel in the most expensive judicial election in US history, which cost a combined $80mSusan Crawford won the race for a seat on the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday, a major win for Democrats who had framed the race as a referendum on Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s popularity.Crawford, a liberal judge from Dane county, defeated Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general and conservative judge from Waukesha county, after Musk and groups associated with the tech billionaire spent millions to boost his candidacy in what became the most expensive judicial contest in American history. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago ‘We are so grateful’: how play therapy can help children after disaster

In North Carolina, kids affected by Hurricane Helene are putting this method, often inaccessible, to the testOn a winter afternoon at the old Methodist church in Swannanoa, North Carolina, a group of young children gathered around a special sandbox. The sand was silky and lavender-scented. The toys inside were carefully chosen: small sections of wooden fence, fist-sized plastic houses, tea lights with battery-operated flames, matchbox-sized police cars and construction machines.In the wake of Hurricane Helene last autumn, these objects took on new meaning in the town of 5,000 miles (8,000km) east of Asheville. The storm downed thousands of trees and knocked out power and water for weeks. Driving water, wind and mudslides swept away people, buildings and fences. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley plans a bill to stop judges from carrying out their checks

Judges have issued at least a dozen nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration since the president took office in January

Politics

7 d. ago Drought, wind, and debris from recent hurricanes are stoking fires across the US

Some 14,800 wildfires have burned 1,105 square miles so far this year — well above the 10-year average

Events

7 d. ago South Carolina wildfire keeps growing as firefighters protect homes

A large wildfire in the South Carolina mountains has doubled in size on each of the last three days

Events

7 d. ago North Carolina judge challenging outcome of race wore Confederate uniform in college photo

A judge challenging the outcome of his North Carolina Supreme Court race was photographed wearing Confederate military garb and posing before a Confederate battle flag when he was a member of a college fraternity that glorified the pre-Civil War South

Events

8 d. ago First rain and then fire chase people from their homes in North and South Carolina

At least a half-dozen large wildfires continue to burn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina

Events

8 d. ago Wildfires rage on in North and South Carolina as more firefighters arrive

Hundreds of people asked to leave their homes amid states of emergency and out-of-state responders battling blazesWildfires continued to rage in North and South Carolina on Thursday, leading to states of emergency and evacuations as firefighters deployed from other parts of the US to help bring the blazes under control.In North Carolina, progress was being made in containing two of the largest wildfires burning in the mountains, but officials warned that fire danger remained from dry and windy conditions. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago The White Lotus ‘goes too far’: Duke University unhappy over their prominence in show

Two characters in the troubled Ratliff family are Duke alumni, but the association has displeased the US universityThis article contains spoilers for the third season of The White LotusIn the aftermath of an incestuous threesome, many viewers of the latest season of The White Lotus may think the show has stepped over a line. But audiences have an unlikely ally in Duke University, which is unhappy that two characters happen to be Duke alumni.The third season of the popular TV show, which follows wealthy guests and workers at a luxury resort in Thailand, includes the Ratliff family, with the father, Timothy (played by Jason Isaacs) and one of his sons, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) both having attended Duke, a prestigious institution located in Durham, North Carolina. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago More evacuations as wildfires burn in the Carolinas. Forecasts aren't encouraging for firefighters

More people have been asked to leave their homes in the North Carolina and South Carolina mountains as wildfires spread and the forecast for the rest of the week isn't encouraging

Events

9 d. ago Manchester City’s Kerolin: ‘I have this big dream of being the best player in the world’

Brazilian followed her heart with a move across the Atlantic to the WSL in January and has already had a big impactKerolin joined Manchester City from North Carolina Courage in January and last week showed everyone exactly why she made the move. On the biggest stage in European football, the Champions League, the Brazilian produced the performance of her City career so far to help set up a 2-0 quarter-final first leg win against Chelsea.Kerolin was a constant thorn in Chelsea’s side throughout the game and provided the assist for one of Vivianne Miedema’s two goals to set up a tantalising scoreline before the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts will be published twice a week from next week. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago Wildfires in North and South Carolina fueled by drought, wind and fallen trees from Hurricane Helene

Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene are fueling wildfires in North and South Carolina

Events

1 week ago I’m a vet for bees – I think I might be the only one in the US

Every bee is precious, and as the weather gets more erratic I’m growing concerned about the effect it is having on their wellbeingPhotographs by Kate MedleyI’m an only child and grew up in the US in a time when children were free-range. My parents would open the door in the morning and say, “come back for meals.” I would disappear into the forest and wetlands. I loved the constant stories around me that I didn’t understand: the stories of animals.When I was about seven there was a litter of kittens in the house, and a board crushed one of the kittens. The vet examined her mouth and said, “she’s not going to make it”, and minutes later she died in his hands. I couldn’t understand how he knew that – I wanted that superpower to understand animals, and that is why I wanted to become a vet. I got a degree and have been working as an environmental health scientist for more than 25 years. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Democrats want to punish Trump in the 2026 midterms. Here are the five Senate seats most likely to flip

Analysis: The 2026 midterm election will largely be about Donald Trump. That puts Maine and North Carolina in Democratic grasps, while Republicans eye Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire. Eric Garcia reports

Politics

1 week ago Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey crews contain a forest blaze

Firefighters in North and South Carolina are battling multiple wind-driven wildfires

Events

1 week ago Evacuation orders across North Carolina as wildfires burn uncontained

Fires in North Carolina forced evacuations and South Carolina’s governor declared a state of emergency

Events

1 week ago Three wildfires burn more than 3,300 acres in North and South Carolina

South Carolina governor declares emergency as North Carolina announces mandatory evacuation in Polk countyThree major wildfires that broke out in one North Carolina county still recovering from Hurricane Helene have exploded to burn more than 3,000 acres combined as South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire in the Blue Ridge mountains.The North Carolina department of public safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8.20pm on Saturday for parts of Polk county in western North Carolina about 80 miles (129km) west of Charlotte. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire

Events