Adam Wagner
@ByAdamWagner
NC politics/policy reporter @wunc & NC Newsroom. Formerly @newsobserver, @starnewsonline. Watch what they do, not what they say. [email protected]
Here's a handy cheatsheet of what the General Assembly could do this week, including which lawmakers to watch on which bills.
Having trouble keeping track of the 14(!) vetoes issued by @NC_Governor, and the prospects that the #ncga might override them this week? Here's a full list, including which bills initially got support from some Democrats: wunc.org/politics/2025-… #ncpol
Great thread on the value of public media in state government coverage, particularly in #ncpol #ncga where there are three of us (two backed by a grant from the now-defunded CPB) keeping tabs on everything at the state capital for audiences from Murphy to Manteo
I’m a big Big Bird fan. Mr. Snuffleupagus*, too. But my biggest concern w/ the public media cuts is not about either, but rather what the cuts may mean for statehouse reporting— &, by extension, our knowledge of state government. (1/8 🧵)
Mass layoffs in the US power sector begin following the Big Beautiful Bill: -20% RIF yesterday at New Leaf Energy -15% RIF today at Pine Gate Renewables -Enel suggesting potential exit from US renewable market More likely to come, along with project delays and cancellations
We look to be heading for a Duke Carolinas power demand record this afternoon. The forecast is for 22,051 mWh. #cltwx #ncwx #scwx #wcnc
And now former Gov. Roy Cooper seems to confirm what we all know is coming. Asks everyone who is running for office next year to stand up and waits a moment. "I'm not sitting down, am I?" Cooper says. Followed by chants of "Run, Roy, run." #ncpol
"When it comes to the veto overrides, we've got (Josh Stein's) back." -- @pittmanfornc says at the Democrats' Unity Dinner. #ncpol That's particularly interesting because Pittman was the only Democrat who crossed party lines on House Bill 805: wunc.org/politics/2025-…
GOOD NEWS: I received word this evening that the Small Business Administration (SBA) approved North Carolina's request for an SBA disaster declaration for counties impacted by Tropical Storm Chantal. Homeowners, renters, and business owners in Durham, Orange, Alamance, Caswell,…
If you didn’t hear this story from Anas Baba on NPR today, you should take a listen. He walked 3 hours to find a working internet connection to file the story. npr.org/2025/07/25/nx-…
UPDATED: Trump posted on social media tonight promising a full endorsement "should Michael Whatley run for the Senate." "I need him in Washington, and I need him representing YOU!" wunc.org/politics/2025-… #ncpol
Trump’s opposition to green power clashes w/ his AI agenda, via @jamepdx & @kelseytam. Stay for a YOLO quote from Sen. Thom Tillis, who calls cancelation of loan to Grain Belt transmission line a "mistake." “You can’t have it both ways,” he told me politi.co/416uEwZ
Wilmington, NC has had the most number of hours with dewpoints of 70°F or higher on record. "Dewpoint" is one way we measure the amount of water in the air - higher dewpoints means it feels stickier and more oppressive outside. Thanks to @SERCC and Iowa State Env Mesonet #ncwx
Another update on the Registration Recovery Program (RRP). 🗳️317 people have now cured their registration. 🗳️ ~40% of the RRP list voted in the 2024 election Full report (with these two new data points) available at: oldnorthstatepolitics.com/2025/07/an-ana…
Did a little more analysis of North Carolina's Registration Recovery Project list (for background, see the @BryanRAnderson story ⬇️) & posted it here: oldnorthstatepolitics.com/2025/07/an-ana… #ncpol #electionadministration
Breaking News: The EPA said it would eliminate its scientific research arm and begin firing hundreds of scientists, after denying that it intended to do so. nyti.ms/4500xIU
New: I teamed up with @elenalingshao and @nytgraphics to map more than 100 public TV and radio stations that are at risk of closing as a result of tonight's vote: nytimes.com/interactive/20… This is a time bomb that will go off in the fall, when the last federal grants run out.
Some photos from Gov. Josh Stein’s tour of businesses and apartments damaged by Chantal’s flooding today.
The company behind NC’s biggest jobs news of 2024 is in financial trouble. Sodium-ion battery startup Natron Energy is low on cash and struggling to get investors (as many battery startups currently are). What it means for its $1.4 billion project? amp.newsobserver.com/news/business/…
Nothing to see here but rising CO2 levels: nytimes.com/2025/07/17/cli…
NEW: Alligator Alcatraz isn’t meant for minors. A 15 year old ended up there anyway. State and federal officials initially deflected questions about the boy being held at the facility, but eventually acknowledged he had been there. w @clurhealy miamiherald.com/news/politics-…
checks out.
Yes, we're halfway through "meteorological #summer". Just a few extremes. Hottest-to-date in #Raleigh. Wettest in Tulsa, San Angelo, TX. Among driest in WA state. (Maps/data kudos: @SERCC)