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Adam Wagner

@byadamwagner.bsky.social
1.1K followers 339 following 19 posts

Covering North Carolina politics and policy for the NC Newsroom at @wunc.org 📍Raleigh, NC

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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
The grassroots opposition to data centers is starting to cause political shockwaves in #ncpol. This story looks at Edgecombe County, where a political newcomer toppled a four-term incumbent on (almost exclusively) an anti-data center platform. www.wunc.org/environment/...
wunc.org
Opposition to data centers is 'catching a fire' across North Carolina, spurring political challenges
As local officials in North Carolina consider whether to approve data center projects or halt development with moratoriums, their decisions are having political repercussions.
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Colin Campbell @raleighreporter.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Want more analysis of Berger-Page, #ncga primary upsets and even the Wake DA race? New @wunc.org Politics Podcast is up now...listen to me and @byadamwagner.bsky.social nerd out over the results, and the next steps in counting votes: play.prx.org/listen?uf=ht... #ncpol
play.prx.org
WUNC Politics
North Carolina's primary brought rebukes to incumbent legislators in both parties, including a razor-thin margin in the closely watched GOP primary challenge to Senate leader Phil Berger. Why did vote...
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 10/02/2026
Dr. Mehmet Oz urged Americans to get vaccinated against measles, one of the strongest endorsements of the vaccine from a top health official in the Trump administration, which has repeatedly undermined confidence in vaccine safety. Oz's comments come amid a large measles outbreak in South Carolina.
nyti.ms
Oz Offers Forceful Call for Measles Vaccination
The comments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services director come as South Carolina grapples with a large measles outbreak.
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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
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Dave DeWitt @davedewitt.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
"I don't think there's any real desire in our caucus to hear that particular bill," Speaker Destin Hall says about bill filed Monday that would greatly restrict abortions in North Carolina. From @byadamwagner.bsky.social and Mary Helen Moore. #ncpol www.wunc.org/2025-04-08/h...
wunc.org
House Speaker Hall: Bill seeking to ban virtually all abortions in NC will not advance
Members of the NC House Freedom Caucus filed legislation that would ban access to abortion in most cases, including those where a woman is a victim of rape or incest.
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Lisa Sorg @lisasorg.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Jaws are dropping at the Env Mgt Commission meeting b/c Commish Keene just acknowledged the Water Quality Assoc wrote 80% proposed rule for #PFAS minimization plan, DEQ just filled in the blanks. WQA has denied this. @newsongs.bsky.social
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Nick Cunningham @nickcunningham.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
John Ketchum, CEO of Nextera Energy, talking about need for energy for data centers. “The cost of gas-fired generation has gone up by more than three fold.” And takes years to bring online, 2030 or later. “Renewables are cheaper and available right now”
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Jesse D. Jenkins @jessedjenkins.com · 06/03/2025
“It took more than 20 years for the U.S. to install the first 100 GW of clean power, five years to install the next 100 GW, and three years to install the most recent 100 GW" cleanpower.org/news/market-... #Upshift 🔌💡
cleanpower.org
NEW REPORT: Clean Energy Dominates in 2024 | ACP
• 93% of new energy capacity that came online last year was solar, wind, and storage • 49 GW of clean energy installed in 2024 • Clean energy in the […]
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Jeff Stein @jeffstein.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Trump admin through 1 week: - Pauses all federal grants & loans - Purges Justice Department career staff, halts civil rights cases - Purges at least 15 inspectors general - Suspends USAID staff while halting foreign aid - Threatens Colombia, Denmark, Mexico, Canada & many more w/ tariffs & sanctions
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
They are indeed. And they’re in for a very rude awakening.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 28/01/2025
I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service. “Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
washingtonpost.com
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion
The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Essential reading from @katherinejwu.com @theatlantic.com. For months, we've passively watched H5N1 tear through animals. A year into the cattle outbreak & it remains out of control. H5N1 is everywhere. If H5N1 causes a pandemic, it will be because we let it. www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
theatlantic.com
Bird Flu Is a National Embarrassment
America should have more aggressively intervened almost a year ago.
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 12/01/2025
FYI, folks from Bluesky. Reporters at The NYT, among other news organizations, are now generating a giant wave of accountability stories about the new Trump era. Reading these stories, sharing them, is a form of accountability as well. It is a form of participatory democracy too. Substance matters.
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NC State Climate Office @ncsco.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Here's our first draft of the statewide snowfall map from last night's storm. ❄️⛄ It's based on reports from CoCoRaHS observers and local National Weather Service offices this morning. Stay tuned on Monday for our full event recap! #ncwx
A map of total snowfall on January 10-11, 2025, across North Carolina
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
And now for the bad NC wildlife news. A North Atlantic Right Whale has been spotted off the Outer Banks with fishing gear wrapped around its head and is expected to die from its injuries. This is the third NARW spotted in gear in the past week. www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
newsobserver.com
A rare endangered whale spotted off NC will likely die from fishing gear entanglement
There are about 370 North Atlantic right whales alive. In the last week, NOAA has spotted three entangled in fishing gear, two likely fatal.
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State Demographer of North Carolina @ncdemographer.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
www.osbm.nc.gov/blog/2024/12...
osbm.nc.gov
North Carolina Now Home to Over 11 Million People
Recent Census Bureau estimates show North Carolina passes 11 million milestone earlier than expected
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Today’s shaping up as a big one in NC wildlife news. First, Eastern NC’s endangered red wolf population is getting a huge boost with NC DOT receiving $25M from the Federal Highways Administration to build wildlife crossings on 2.5 miles of U.S. 64. www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
newsobserver.com
$25M federal grant will help NCDOT protect endangered red wolves along dangerous highway
The $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will fund wildlife crossings to protect Eastern NC’s red wolves.
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Pretty sure I wrote this one, @triangleblogblog.bsky.social.
Screenshot with incorrect journalist in citation.
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Aneri Pattani @aneripattani.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
NEW: Database by @kffhealthnews.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social & Shatterproof tracks 7,000+ ways opioid settlement money has been used, shining light on public health settlements worth $50B kffhealthnews.org/news/article... In this 🧵, I’ll share a bit on how we built this & what we found.
kffhealthnews.org
How Are States Spending Opioid Settlement Cash? We Built a Database of Answers - KFF Health News
From addiction treatment to toy robot ambulances, we uncovered how billions in opioid settlement funds were used by state and local governments in 2022 and 2023. Find out where the money went.
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Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Twitter punishing linking, which has encouraged people to just screenshot/steal stuff w no sourcing or credit, really sapped my interest in posting more
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
The EPA is announcing $1.6 billion in climate and environmental justice grants today. That includes three projects in NC. Here's what you need to know about them. www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
newsobserver.com
EPA just made the largest-ever environmental justice grant. Here’s what it means in NC.
The EPA’s Community Change Grants include funds for a neighborhood that has more toxic release permits than any other in North Carolina.
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Yesterday, a House committee heard a stark update on the post-Helene state of agriculture in Western North Carolina. "The next few years we’re going to spend a lot of time trying to keep our farmers in business. That’s the task at hand."
newsobserver.com
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Amid the collapse of the Assad government in Syria, Biden says of Austin Tice, “We believe he’s alive. We think we can get him back. But we have no direct evidence of that yet.” Tice, a journalist, was taken captive in 2012 while reporting on Syria’s civil war. www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...
miamiherald.com
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
North Carolina health officials have been surprised at slower-than-expected demand for well water testing and disinfecting in the wake of Helene. According to estimates, as many as 19,619 wells could be in flooded areas, with another 87,000 nearby. www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
newsobserver.com
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Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
I'm not sure how much longer our Mississippi Free Press account will post to X, but for now it makes a good case study—and a good case for why other newsrooms shouldn't fear moving to BlueSky. Look at the difference in engagement for identical posts with the same links. Left: BlueSky, Right: X 🧵
Side by side screenshots of identical BlueSky and X posts both feature the text: "Mississippi opened its public reefs for a short oyster season for the first time since 2018 after decades of natural and human-made disasters."

The BlueSky post has 2 comments, 22 reposts and 124 likes; the X post has 0 comments, 1 retweet and 0 likes
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
I jumped on the @underthedome.bsky.social podcast this week w/ @dawnbvaughan.bsky.social, @kyleingram.bsky.social and Avi Bajpai to talk about what last week's NC General Assembly legislation and what it says about different approaches to NC's "rainy day fund." www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
newsobserver.com
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 24/11/2024
When the next pandemic strikes, Americans will again depend on a cadre of senior health officials to steer the nation’s response and reassure the public. But the team rapidly assembled by President-elect Donald Trump is largely untested.
washingtonpost.com
Trump health picks largely untested in fighting disease outbreaks
They have questioned vaccines and other interventions overseen by the health agencies they have been tapped to lead.
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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Netflix is so wild to me. There’s a first rate production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” starring Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington and I only know about it because of a post on BlueSky. Like, I’m watching it now while reading along and it’s BRILLIANT.
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 23/11/2024
Breaking news: U.N. talks have reached a deal to offer $300 billion a year in climate aid to poor nations. Follow live updates here.
wapo.st
COP29 live updates: Climate talks to offer $300 billion in aid for poor nations
The COP29 United Nations climate conference is coming to a close in Baku, Azerbaijan after more than a week of discussions. Follow news and live updates.
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Josh Sternberg @joshsternberg.com · 22/11/2024
Every year on Thanksgiving at 12pm, I, like many others, turn on the radio to listen to "Alice's Restaurant." Growing up, I'd sit w/my parents and listen; now, I sit w/my kids Alice died today at 83 You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant (excepting Alice) www.wbur.org/news/2024/11...
wbur.org
The real Alice of Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” dies at 83
The hippie-era icon who inspired folk singer Arlo Guthrie’s epic, Berkshire's based anti-establishment song “Alice’s Restaurant” has died. Alice Brock took her final breath at a hospice home in Wellfl...
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Danielle Battaglia @daniellebattaglia.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Looking for my colleagues at The News & Observer? I started a starter pack. #ncpol go.bsky.app/4x89jaX
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Colin Campbell @raleighreporter.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Up to 100-plus NC journalists and news outlets on this "starter pack" -- I think the migration to this site might really be happening this time Go fill up your feeds with local news! bsky.app/starter-pack...
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Senate Bill 382 would also repeal the Energy Policy Council, an advisory board chaired by the lieutenant governor (or their designee) that is housed within DEQ. Notably, the LG seat is shifting from Republican Mark Robinson to Rachel Hunt, a Democrat.
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Colin Campbell @raleighreporter.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
#ncga press conference starting shortly on power shift/Helene bill. Only five seats for reporters, we're not allowed in the other seats you see #ncpol
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Adam Wagner @byadamwagner.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
This legislation would also shift control of the NC Utilities Commission away from the Governor. New makeup would be: 2 Governor appointments 1 House Speaker 1 Senate President Pro Tem 1 State Treasurer
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