Searches of communications found little evidence that Trump’s recovery czar ever engaged with officials on rebuilding Western North Carolina.

Two years after Tropical Storm Helene, damaged trails, missing bridges and closed stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway remain across public lands.

Thousands of projects remain in FEMA’s pipeline as communities continue repairing infrastructure damaged by Helene.

Rep. Chuck Edwards faced House censure Sept. 1 after an ethics investigation concluded he created a hostile work environment for two former staffers.

Workers, climate groups rally over housing, inequality ahead of G20 summit in Asheville

Roy Cooper rejected an ad tying him to a South Carolina murder during a Hendersonville campaign stop focused on affordability.

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Republicans have chosen a new NC-11 nominee after Chuck Edwards withdrew from the race following a House Ethics Committee report recommending censure.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards ended his bid for a third term two days after the House Ethics Committee recommended sanctioning him.

Committee exhibits show the NC-11 Republican prioritized private time with an aide over being present for votes and a town hall with his constituents.

A new documentary follows Yancey County survivors through Tropical Storm Helene’s destruction, grief and recovery.

Local Republican officials denied entry to a publicly advertised event despite a warning from Waynesville’s town attorney.

GOP Senate candidate Whatley helped write recommendations that could shift flood insurance business toward companies tied to his stock holdings.

A Cherokee museum marks America 250 with memory, sovereignty and a harder kind of patriotism.

YouTube video by Spectrum News

“Islands in the Sky” depicts Hurricane Helene through the stories of its survivors—with the help of some nationally recognized comic writers and artists.

Haywood County’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget carries the kind of consequence that will land in every mailbox and on every mortgage statement across the county — a 7-cent property tax increase,...

"Papertown" documentary featuring a new song by Dave Matthews Band sets premiere at MountainFilm Festival.

The tiny Haywood County Town of Clyde has joined a growing number of Western North Carolina communities by formalizing its opposition to data centers through a 12-month moratorium, but with limited ju...

The Republican parties of Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties, during a joint meeting, selected a replacement for Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), who passed away March 18 at age 71 following a prol...

A new political ad marks a sharp escalation in the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley, turning Hurricane Helene recovery into a central line of attack by accus...

A leaked draft of the FEMA Review Council’s final report on reform of the disaster response agency appears to shift considerable burden onto states, local governments, tribes and territories (SLTTs) w...

It was always more than just a place to pick up the mail. Long before asphalt and electronic highways reduced time and space to mere trivialities, a quieter system stitched scattered settlements toget...

Western North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District has been a Republican stronghold for more than a decade, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s decision to elevate Buncombe County ...

In a move that underscores shifting political terrain in Western North Carolina, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed a candidate in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District ...

They left campus on foot — with signs raised, chants echoing across the valley under clear blue winter skies — turning a routine civic act into a noisy, high-visibility public rebuke. On Feb. 13, roug...

As the sun set over Canton on Feb. 11, the scene at the town’s makeshift municipal building more closely resembled that of a trendy big-city nightclub. More than 100 people had lined up outside, hoping to join the other 49 people who’d pushed the modular double-wide’s fire code to its absolute limit...

The Sylva Herald and The Smoky Mountain News last Friday received anonymous emails threatening both publications if the papers, specifically The Herald, do not report on the Fontana Regional Library k...

On Saturday, Jan. 17, Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville will host a daylong series of worship services, presentations and artistic offerings focused on peace, education and action in respon...

The Republican-led North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines to allow the closure of a Democrat-leaning early voting site at Western Carolina University, against overwhelming...

The seemingly indiscriminate closure of an early voting site at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee prior to the March 3, 2026, Primary Election by the Republican-majority Jackson County Board of...

Waynesville resident Sam Wilds is blind, cannot work, uses her entire Social Security disability check for household bills, has approximately $50 left on her SNAP card for the month of October, and on...

As the federal government shutdown continues, North Carolina residents may be left with a patchwork of closures, service limitations and uncertainty across the region’s parks, forests and federal agen...

In the wake of two devastating floods just three years apart, Western North Carolina’s resiliency didn’t come from government agencies. While FEMA and state emergency teams provided vital aid, three…

Adam Smith says it’s time for a change and that he’s ready to stand up for Western North Carolina in ways incumbent Rep. Chuck Edwards hasn’t — particularly, in Hurricane Helene recovery. “I thin...

Scenic Chimney Rock has historically been an out-of-the-way place, nestled tightly against the Broad River in a narrow valley between lush, towering peaks that peer down at nearby Lake Lure. It’s alwa...

A Prince George’s County, Maryland, man whose viral video of a confrontation with a group at a dump in Haywood County drew outrage and polarized viewers has said he will file a federal civil rights la...

After the dark days of Hurricane Helene, an award-winning comic book writer launches the Appalachian Comics Project. And, our Song of the Week this week features “Planetarium,” by Blitzen Trapper.

A blistering letter signed by four Democratic candidates for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District is raising questions about party neutrality in primaries, calling the party’s deci...

For nearly two decades, a self-styled reformer with no law enforcement experience who toppled a longtime sheriff and rode a rising red tide to four reelection victories enjoyed his unusual transformat...