The State of Things on WUNC

José Gálvez was a 10-year-old shoe-shine boy when he first stepped foot in the newsroom of the Arizona Daily Star . His entry into that building was his first step in a decades-long career as a photojournalist that would eventually earn him a Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism. His winning series, like much of his work, showed the positive and mundane side of life in Latino communities in America.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections is calling for a new vote in the state’s 9th Congressional District. The unanimous decision came after four days of dramatic hearings into allegations of election fraud by the campaign of Republican Mark Harris.

When thousands of Central Americans moved en masse toward the border between Mexico and the U.S. in 2018, violence and poverty were named as the culprits behind the immigrants’ journey. But according to Edwin Castellanos , another factor could be just as much to blame.

Music is in Faith Jones’ blood. Her father plays piano; her mother sings, and the two met in a band in the 1980s. Growing up, Jones and her family listened to a wide range of music around the house, from jazz to classic rock.

Updated at 4:40 p.m There will be a new election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. The unanimous decision from the North Carolina State Board of Elections comes after four days of dramatic hearings into suspected election fraud.

William Ferris is known around North Carolina as a folklorist — a man whose passion is to chronicle the stories, music and culture of the American South. His love for documenting his communities began as a boy. At 12 years old, he was given a camera and began to take photographs around his neighborhood in Warren County, Mississippi. There are tales of young Ferris taking a reel-to-reel recorder to record hymns at church.

Saturday morning dance classes around the country are filled with little girls dreaming of becoming the next Misty Copeland. But what happens when a young boy dreams of becoming the next Mikhail Baryshnikov?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained at least 200 people in North Carolina earlier this month. In a press conference, ICE Atlanta Field Office Director Sean Gallagher told journalists that more visible enforcement is a direct consequence of decreased cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement agencies.

Sandra Cisneros is best known as the author behind the literary classic “The House on Mango Street,” a book that has been translated into over twenty languages. She has penned poetry, short stories, novels and essays. These days, beyond writing, the acclaimed author is spending a lot of time listening.

A new paper from Duke University concludes that North Carolina should end the sentence of life without parole for juvenile offenders. “ Juvenile Life Without Parole in North Carolina ” looks at the cases of 94 people sentenced to life without parole as juveniles in the state and finds almost half of them have been overturned.