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State employees making more than $90,000 a year would see significant increases to health premiums

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NC Newsline-The state Health Plan Board of Trustees plans a vote Friday on a proposal that will for the first time set premiums according to how much state employees earn. Premiums would increase substantially for the state's top earners.  Premiums will increase $10 a month, to $35 monthly, for state employees and teachers enrolled in the standard insurance plan, make $50,000 or less, and have coverage for only themselves.  That
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How NC’s School Voucher Program Is Impacting Black Education Access

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By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer North Carolina has found itself at the center of a fierce national debate over the future use of private school vouchers. A program launched in 2014 to help low-income families access private schooling has now grown into a nearly billion-dollar initiative, driven by aggressive legislative expansion, rising private school tuition, and new opportunities introduced by federal policy. The state's Opportunity Scholarship Program was initially underutilized,
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Matthew Henson Was The First Man At The North Pole

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By Jordan Meadows Staff Writer Just outside the nation's capital, in the suburban sprawl of Montgomery County, Maryland, lies a serene 116-acre stretch of forested land named in honor of a man whose legacy was nearly lost to history-Matthew Henson. Matthew Henson State Park Stream Valley Park is threaded with a 4.2-mile paved trail that winds through woodlands and wetlands, with deer, wild turkeys, and birds making frequent appearances. Most
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Stronger, bigger Hurricane Erin forecast to create dangerous surf along US coast

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AP NEWS - A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week. It reintensified to a Category 4 storm with 130 mph (215 kph) maximum sustained winds early Monday and moved closer to the Southeast Bahamas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Around 5 a.m. Monday, Erin was
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Ripple Effects Feared From Potential EPA Downsizing

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By Will Atwater NC Newsline As the Trump administration keeps pushing to change the focus of scientific research and roll back environmental regulations - moves that critics say favor industry over public health - members of North Carolina's scientific and environmental communities are speaking out. They're raising alarms about the effect of the EPA's stated goal of dismantling its environmental research arm, including the possible closure of its Office of
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Government Support Doesn’t Necessarily Make People More Religious

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By Brendan Szendro The Conversation The IRS will offer religious congregations more freedom to endorse political candidates without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, the agency said in a July 2025 court filing. President Donald Trump has previously vowed to abolish the Johnson Amendment, which bars charitable nonprofits from taking part in political campaigns - although the latest move simply reinterprets the rule. Celebrating the change, House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted an
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Can Homeownership Improve Health Outcomes?

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CDC-The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes "adequate housing" as a basic human right. Housing is among the most important social determinants of health. Homeownership is an essential pathway to economic security, social mobility, stability, generational wealth, and healthy life. Financial assets such as owning a house or land passed down from one generation to the next within families is referred to as generational wealth. Recent research conducted by the
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SAU Secures Accreditation: Classes Start September 2, 2025

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RALEIGH, NC– Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) announced Friday that it has successfully secured a preliminary injunction to maintain the university’s accreditation, ensuring that classes will begin on September 2, 2025, as scheduled, with SAU remaining a fully accredited institution. The injunction, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on August 14 and granted this week, prevents any disruption to SAU’s accreditation status while the university continues its
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Gullah Geechee Elders Work To Preserve Sacred Songs

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[caption id="attachment_13259" align="alignnone" width="2000"] "Voices of Gullah" members, Joe Murray, from left, Minnie "Gracie" Gadson, Rosa Murray and Charles "Jojo" Brown, sing Gullah spirituals at the Brick Baptist Church in St. Helena Island, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)[/caption] ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - Minnie "Gracie" Gadson claps her hands and stomps her feet against the floorboards, lifting her voice in a song passed down from her
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Local Non-Profit’s Thrift Store Faces Closure, Issues Urgent Appeal for Community Support 

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By Ms. Jheri Worldwide Staff Writer Hope Connection International, a local faith-based non-profit dedicated to empowering survivors of abuse and addiction, has issued an urgent appeal to the community after being forced to close the Déjà Vu Thrift and Hope Connection thrift store. The store has been closed until further notice due to significant structural issues with its building, putting the organization in a state of crisis. The non-profit is
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