WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Budd, Welch Introduce Bill Targeting Foreign Robocalls, Scammers * Bipartisan bill to increase cooperation between feds, private sector to fight overseas scams backed by AARP, USTelecom Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) recently introduced the bipartisan Foreign Robocall Elimination Act, legislation that would bring together government and private sector  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service issued the following article: * * * U.S. Obesity Rate Changes Differ for Rural and Urban Areas, as Well as Across Regions By Mariah Ehmke and Brandon J. Restrepo Highlights * Despite a slight decline in the U.S. overall obesity rate from March 2022-2023 to March 2023-2024, rural obesity rates rose 0.5 percentage points during the same time. * The U.S. obesity rates in rural areas were higher than urban rat  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Aug. 6 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news: * * * Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and SouthState Bank award $200,000 grant to Central Pines Regional Council ATLANTA (Aug. 5, 2025) - Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) and SouthState Bank are delivering a $200,000 grant to Central Pines Regional Council. The grant will be used to prevent and resolve heirs' property issues t  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 6 -- The North Carolina State Treasurer issued the following news release on Aug. 5, 2025: * * * LGC Approves $704 Million Financing Request for Major Wake County School Projects Wake County will be able to seek financing to build a new Morrisville High School now that the Local Government Commission (LGC) approved its application for nearly $704 million in limited obligation bond anticipation notes. The money also will help pay for other projects. That was the  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 6 -- The North Carolina State Treasurer issued the following news release on Aug. 5, 2025: * * * N.C. Schools Issue Bonds in N.C. Thanks to Policy Change An effort to keep state dollars in North Carolina came to fruition today at the N.C. Capital Facilities Finance Agency (NCCFFA) meeting. This group, chaired by State Treasurer Brad Briner, adopted new guidelines earlier this year aimed at making it easier for nonprofit institutions, particularly schools, to issu  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- The North Carolina Utilities Commission, Raleigh, has issued an order (Dockets No. E-2, Sub 1373; E-7, Sub 1327) allowing Duke Energy Progress LLC, Raleigh and Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina, collectively referred to as Duke, to file a limited reply to supplemental comments concerning their "2025 Solar Resource Procurement Request for Proposals for Solar and Solar Paired with Storage Resources". The order was issued on July 30, 2025. Duke had initial  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 5 -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued the following news release: * * * NCDEQ awards more than $9.39 million to address coastal storm damage * The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Water Resources (DWR) is awarding more than $9.39 million for five projects in coastal North Carolina for beach and dune renourishment. "The coastline is one of our state's natural treasures and serves as the livelihood of many commu  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 5 -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued the following news release: * * * NCDEQ Division of Marine Fisheries releases annual Fishery Management Plan Update * Looking for the latest scientific information on your favorite coastal fish? The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Marine Fisheries has released its annual Fishery Management Plan Update. The Fishery Management Plan Update is a compilation of annual updates   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 6 -- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services issued the following news release on Aug. 5, 2025: * * * NCDHHS Partners with the North Carolina Community College System to Offer Free Training to Strengthen the Direct Support Professional Workforce The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Community College System have partnered to launch an Advanced Training Certificate program for current Direct Support Pr  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 5 -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued the following news release: * * * REMINDER: NCDEQ Division of Water Resources to hold public hearing on draft water discharge permit for former Alcoa aluminum facility * The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Water Resources (DWR) will hold a public hearing on Aug. 19 in order to accept public comments on the draft renewal permit for Badin Business Park, a former Alc  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Rep. Deborah Ross, D-North Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Ross, Foushee Slam Closure of EPA Office of Research and Development, Urge Administrator Zeldin to Reverse Course * Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin warning of the immediate and long-term effects that closing the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD)   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (TNSLrpt) -- A new preliminary field report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) details landslide hazards in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The report, 'Preliminary Field Report of Landslide Hazards Following Hurricane Helene,' was published in May 2025 as Open-File Report 2025-1028 and was authored by Kate E. Allstadt, Sara K. McBride, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen L. Slaughter, Kelli W. Baxstrom, Steven Sobieszczyk, and Anna Stull. The report's findings are based on a USGS mi  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released a document titled 'Assessment and Validation of Depressions in Digital Elevation Models From Multiple Elevation Data Sources and Delineation of Depressions, Sinking Streams, and Their Watersheds in Tennessee and Parts of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.' The report, authored by David E. Ladd and John K. Carmichael, is designated as Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5134. The   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with North Carolina State University, has released a report on the '2023 Earthquake Ground-Motion Workshop for the Central and Eastern United States, with a Focus on the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains--Agenda and Abstracts'. The document, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5025, was prepared by Oliver S. Boyd, Julie A. Herrick, Ashly Cabas, and Sean K. Ahdi. It documents the agenda, presentations, and panel   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 5 -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued the following news release: * * * Water quality swimming advisory issued for sound-side site in Dare County * An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in Dare County, where state recreational water quality officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state's and Environmental Protection Agency's recreational water quality standards. The advisory is for   more