The State of Things

Architect Vandana Dake was recently listed in Durham Magazine as one of 20 incredible women making an impact locally and globally. Born in India, Dake landed in Durham almost by accident.

President Donald Trump accused Jewish Americans of being disloyal if they vote for Democrats. The comments evoke the anti-Semitic idea of “dual loyalty” and that Jewish citizens are more loyal to Israel than to their own countries. What kind of impact will this have on the 2020 election?

A University of Michigan study of North Carolina death penalty trials from 2012 showed that prosecutors on average struck black jurors at 2.5 times the rate of white jurors. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court forbid prosecutors from using the basis of race alone to reject jurors, racial bias is alive and well in North Carolina’s justice system.

Durham-based, local legend Kym Register, who performs as Loamlands , returns this summer with their sophomore album “Lez Dance.”

Hippocrates, the Greek father of medicine, wrote “all diseases begin in the gut.” He continued the line with the famous advice: “let medicine be thy food and food thy medicine.” New research confirms Hippocrates’ thinking, showing the human gut does much more than just process food.

Earlier this month former Asheville police officer Christopher Hickman pled guilty to felony assault in the 2017 case involving black pedestrian Johnny Rush. Hickman was charged in March 2018 after footage of him choking and violently beating Rush was leaked to the media. Now, Hickman could see his charges dismissed after one year if he follows through on a first-of-its-kind restorative justice program.

Planned Parenthood pulled out of the Title X program Monday after the Department of Health and Human Services ruled that clinics receiving Title X funding may not refer patients to abortion providers. After months of threats, Planned Parenthood refused to abide by the ruling and opted to give up federal money in favor of maintaining abortion services. In North Carolina, Planned Parenthood affiliates were stripped of federal funding in May. The state health department gave those dollars solely to

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality recently released a plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gases from electricity production over the next decade. The goal is to get to zero emissions by 2050, starting with a 60 to 70% reduction from 2005 levels by 2030.

The future of Silent Sam still remains uncertain. The Confederate statue has been stored in a secret location since its toppling last fall, and the UNC System Board of Governors has indefinitely postponed making a decision about its future. The one-year anniversary of the toppling coincides with the first day of classes for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s fall semester, and some returning students have planned on-campus gatherings and celebrations. WUNC Daily News Producer Will

In the summer of 1973, three black men from Tarboro were sentenced to die in North Carolina’s gas chamber after being tried and convicted of raping a white woman. The story made national news, and Tarboro became the center of a larger conversation about race, civil rights and criminal justice. The men maintained their innocence and refused plea deals that may have lightened their sentences, but it was not until The Southern Poverty Law Center stepped in did they receive a new trial and a new