Under the Dome

Paul Tine became North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner on May 6, taking over a state agency known mostly these days for long lines and poor customer service. This episode includes highlights from an interview with Tine. He sat down with The News & Observer's transportation reporter Richard Stradling on Friday, May 9, 2025, his fourth day in office. The interview has been edited for clarity.

Reporter: Richard Stradling

Guest: Paul Tine

Recording: Kaitlin McKeown

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Tuesday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

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Host Dawn Vaughan is joined by K-12 education reporter T. Keung Hui and politics reporter Avi Bajpai to discuss what’s in the NC House budget, including cuts, a UNC System tuition increase, and what the House wants to do in the areas of education and public safety.

Host: ⁠Dawn Vaughan⁠

Guests: T. Keung Hui & Avi Bajpai

Executive Producer: Kevin Keister ⁠

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Tuesday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up ⁠here⁠.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a ⁠subscription to The N&O⁠. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

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Host Dawn Vaughan interviews Rep. Jake Johnson, a Polk County Republican, about his early start in politics and what’s going on in the North Carolina House of Representatives, from the upcoming state budget to crossover to his role on the House Oversight Committee.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: 

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Tuesday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

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This is crossover week, the busy time at the North Carolina General Assembly that leads up to the May 8 crossover deadline. That’s a self-imposed cutoff date for legislation to pass at least one chamber. Host Dawn Vaughan talks to politics editor Jordan Schrader and politics reporter Kyle Ingram and break down what that means for North Carolina laws.

Host: ⁠⁠Dawn Vaughan⁠⁠

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Jordan Schrader

Executive Producer: ⁠⁠Laura Brache⁠⁠

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a ⁠⁠subscription to The N&O⁠⁠. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The North Carolina General Assembly is back in session after a weeklong break, with a packed schedule of bills moving through various committees.

While legislators were away last week, a lawsuit resulting from a bill they passed in December was in court.

Host Dawn Vaughan talks to politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram discuss a ruling in that lawsuit over governor and auditor appointments to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Host: ⁠Dawn Vaughan⁠

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: ⁠Laura Brache⁠

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up ⁠here⁠.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a ⁠subscription to The N&O⁠. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

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Four Senate Democrats voted for the Republican-written Senate budget last week, setting up seats at the negotiating table for them as the budget progresses. Host Dawn Vaughan talks to legislative reporting colleague Avi Bajpai and higher education reporter Korie Dean to break down the budget, including how the Senate’s budget impacts the UNC System.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Korie Dean

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

North Carolina is getting ​closer to a resolution in the N.C. Supreme Court case between Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin. Host Dawn Vaughan and politics reporters Kyle Ingram and Avi Bajpai talk extensively about the latest in the race between Riggs, who is the Democratic incumbent on the court, and Griffin, the Republican candidate and a Court of Appeals judge. Plus, another court case about the composition of the State Board of Elections and what to expect at the General Assembly this week.

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Dawn Vaughan and McClatchy DC's Danielle Battaglia discuss how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are costing Americans money, and not all Republicans are falling in line behind the president’s costly decisions.

So what do North Carolina’s members of Congress say about the tariffs? And who’s not talking yet, and what does that mean?

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Danielle Battaglia

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democratic Sen. Woodson Bradley from Mecklenburg County discusses a debate over concealed carry gun permits on the Senate floor. Bradley talks about how she won a close, and closely watched, race last year in a swing district, and her priorities in office.

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Sen. Woodson Bradley

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Dawn Vaughan talks to fellow political reporters Kyle Ingram and Avi Bajpai about new developments in the still-unresolved North Carolina Supreme Court race and how a Senate floor debate showed what how debate may go​ the rest of this session may look like. Vaughan shares that the governor’s budget proposal has landed on lawmakers’ desks.

Stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices