RALEIGH, North Carolina, June 20 -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued the following news release: * * * North Carolina is drought-free for the first time since October 2024 * North Carolina is drought-free in the latest advisory issued Thursday by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC), marking the first time since Oct. 15 that the state has been free of drought or abnormally dry conditions. "Due the drought's timing in winter and spring,   more