The Assembly

Taking ICE to Court A new federal lawsuit alleges immigration agents are making wrongful warrantless arrests, including a U.S. citizen who said agents stopped him twice and smashed his truck window.

A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that immigration agents disregarded their own policies in making warrantless arrests and violated the constitutional rights of five North Carolina residents.

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UNC Asheville’s Soccer Stadium Isn’t Out of the Woods Yet Neighbors, students, and UNC leaders clash over a plan to develop university-owned woods into a soccer stadium and mixed-use housing.

Paused plans to build a stadium district on property south of UNC Asheville’s main campus have forced questions about the university’s future.
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Fact Check: DeCarlos Brown Is Not an Undocumented Immigrant Despite what President Donald Trump said in the State of the Union address, the man accused of killing Iryna Zarutska was born in Charlotte.

Brown was born in Charlotte and had a driver’s license, according to court records. Read more here: www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...

As Anna Zarutska sat in the audience, Trump highlighted her daughter’s fatal stabbing, calling the man charged in her death a “deranged monster.” DeCarlos Brown, he said “came in through open borders,” implying that Brown was an undocumented immigrant.

That is false.

Misinformation continues to swirl around the brutal death of Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail train in Charlotte last year. This time, it came from the country’s largest, loudest megaphone: President Donald Trump’s State of the Union delivered on Tuesday night.

As Phil Berger Fights for Re-election, Sam Page Deflects Questions About His Record Rockingham County sheriff Sam Page faces an SBI investigation and accusations of mismanagement. Can it all be dismissed as politics?

For most of his 27 years in office, Sam Page hadn’t worried about local officials looking over his shoulder. But recently, and in increasingly blunt terms, commissioners had questioned his management, scrutinized his finances, and criticized jail operations.

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As Measles Spreads in N.C. Hospital, Doctors Confront a Challenge: It’s Hard To Spot As the Carolinas near 1,000 cases, health care workers who’ve never seen the vaccine-preventable disease can get caught by surprise.

Via @kffhealthnews.org | As the Carolinas near 1,000 cases, health care workers who’ve never seen the vaccine-preventable disease can get caught by surprise.

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Why Alamance County’s Pro-Trump Sheriff Iced Out ICE Sheriff Terry Johnson stopped holding immigrant detainees just before a sweeping federal enforcement operation in North Carolina.

For years, Alamance County NC sheriff Terry Johnson—a Republican who claimed immigrants were "raping our citizens"—held ICE detainees at his jail in return for millions of federal dollars. Then, in November, he ended the agreement with ICE. @jacobbiba.bsky.social @theassemblync.bsky.social #ncpol

Judge Upholds State Limits on 1,4-Dioxane Pollution in Utility Wastewater The chemical, used in solvents, degreasers and some consumer products, is a likely carcinogen that can harm the liver and kidneys.

Via @insideclimatenews.org | A Wake County Superior Court judge has ruled against several cities, concluding that state environmental regulators can legally limit the amount of a likely carcinogenic chemical that they discharge into the drinking water supply.

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Outside Money Flows into 4th Congressional District Primary, Again In the race between U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee and Nida Allam, outside PACs have spent more than $1 million.

The deluge of PAC-funded mailers and TV ads may feel like déjà vu for 4th District voters; the 2022 matchup between Allam and Foushee was the most expensive congressional primary in state history thanks to millions in outside spending. www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...

Southern Discomfort More than 200 years ago, George Washington struggled to find North Carolina’s charm on a tour of the US. I retraced his route to find out why.

More than 200 years ago, George Washington toured the newly born nation and struggled to find North Carolina’s charm. I retraced his route to separate fact from mythology about his journey.

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Why Alamance County’s Pro-Trump Sheriff Iced Out ICE Sheriff Terry Johnson stopped holding immigrant detainees just before a sweeping federal enforcement operation in North Carolina.

For years, the Alamance County Detention Center in Graham had been holding ICE detainees in return for millions of dollars from the federal government. Then in November, just as CBP agents were about to descend on the state, they ended their agreement with ICE.

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Owner of St. Andrews University Campus Files for Bankruptcy The move stopped a pending foreclosure and land auction filed by one of the creditors of the now-shuttered school in Scotland County.

The nonprofit organization that owns most of the land once belonging to St. Andrews University, which closed last year, filed a notice for bankruptcy in federal court Tuesday.

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Court of Appeals Hears Junior Chandler Case Prosecutors argued his conviction on child sexual abuse charges should be upheld, despite a judge finding favorable evidence was withheld.

Last week, prosecutors argued that a Madison County man’s conviction on child sexual abuse charges should be upheld, despite a judge finding that favorable evidence that could have helped his defense nearly 40 years ago was withheld.

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The Morrow You Know Michele Morrow is betting the name recognition she earned in 2024 will help her win a U.S. Senate seat. But is all publicity good publicity?

Michele Morrow is betting that the name recognition she earned running for superintendent of public instruction will help her win a seat in the U.S. Senate. But is all publicity good publicity?

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Wrestling With the Future Stephanie Diaz Mendoza is a reigning state champion in the growing sport of girls’ wrestling. Her future depends on that momentum continuing.

Durham’s Stephanie Diaz Mendoza is a reigning state high school champion in the growing sport of girls’ wrestling. Her prospects on the mat depend on that momentum continuing.

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Keeping the Fire Alive Black-owned barbecue restaurants have continued the whole-hog tradition and anchored their communities. There aren’t many left.

Black-owned barbecue restaurants have continued the whole-hog tradition and anchored their communities across North Carolina. But there aren’t many left. www.theassemblync.com/news/culture...

How Much Could Trump’s Cuts Cost Your College? We crunched the numbers on five significant higher ed cuts from the Trump administration’s first year to find out how they affect every college in North Carolina.

And, search for your college to find out how different funding cuts may effect it here: www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...

5 Takeaways From Our Analysis of Trump’s Higher Ed Cuts The potential changes are substantial, and they go beyond the most prestigious schools. But the enduring uncertainty may be the biggest impact.

Read more about our takeaways here: www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...

5. The uncertainty alone is a challenge.

The fact that some threats have ebbed doesn’t mean things are easy at the state’s colleges these days. The massive spread between low-end and high-end potential outcomes lends its own type of damage.

4. Some colleges escaped relatively unscathed.

On the other hand, small colleges that haven’t leaned on expensive graduate programs and international students to balance the budget may be breathing comparatively easier these days.

3. The hardest-hit colleges may not be the ones you expect.

Massive threatened cuts to research funding have led many to focus on the risks to major research universities like UNC-CH and Duke. But Campbell University stands out when it comes to potential losses due to changes to loan programs.

2. What didn’t happen may be as important as what did.

Some threats have ebbed over time. The North Carolina Community College System fares particularly well in our models, with basically no potential losses.

1. A lot is still up in the air.
Our total estimated potential annual losses for the 168 schools we analyzed range from $1.4 billion to $2.2 billion.

The lion’s share of those losses have not actually come to fruition.

How Much Could Trump’s Cuts Cost Your College? We crunched the numbers on five significant higher ed cuts from the Trump administration’s first year to find out how they affect every college in North Carolina.

To get our heads around it, we embarked on a data analysis project, modeling how the most substantial changes might affect the bottom line of colleges and universities across North Carolina. You can explore the data yourself, but here’s what stood out to us. ⬇️

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Administrators, faculty, staff, and students at the nation’s colleges and universities spent the first year of Donald Trump’s second term careening from one headline-making announcement to another. The sheer quantity of changes, updates, and reversals was hard to follow. 🧵

As Helene Survivors Wait for State Help, Some Victims of Earlier Hurricanes Are Still Out of Their Homes North Carolina created a new housing recovery program to avoid the delays and cost overruns that plagued rebuilding efforts after hurricanes Florence and Matthew. The Assembly and ProPublica have foun...

Really important piece by partner @renlarson.bsky.social @theassemblync.bsky.social: As Helene Survivors Wait for State Help, Some Victims of Earlier Hurricanes Are Still Out of Their Homes

As Helene Survivors Await State Help, Some Victims of Earlier Hurricanes Are Still Out of Their Homes N.C. created a hurricane recovery program to avoid delays and cost overruns that plagued past efforts. Similar problems to ReBuild NC are surfacing.

With @propublica.org | NC created a new housing recovery program to avoid the delays and cost overruns that plagued rebuilding efforts after hurricanes Florence and Matthew. The Assembly and ProPublica have found that similar problems are starting to surface.
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Top Primaries to Watch in 2026 Your guide to the top races in North Carolina in the 2026 primaries, from Sam Page facing Phil Berger to the battle to be Don Davis' general election opponent.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE ⬇️ www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...

10. Since joining the House in 2019, Rep. Jake Johnson of Polk County has risen through party ranks to deputy majority whip, working to keep the caucus together on key votes. Johnson faces a challenge in House District 113 from former House Majority Leader Mike Hager, who abruptly resigned in 2016.