On this episode of The News & Observer's Under the Dome politics podcast for Feb. 17, 2026, host and Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan talks with Charlotte Observer politics reporter Mary Ramsey about how a NC House Oversight and Reform Committee about public safety turned into a grilling of Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, and what the fallout may be. Plus what to watch as primary early voting is underway, and Vaughan and Ramsey's picks for Headliner of the Week. 

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Mary Ramsey

Producer: Kevin Keister

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