“I have thought on it and prayed about it, and I have decided: I want to serve as your next United States senator, because, even now, I still believe our best days are ahead,” Cooper said in a video posted to his YouTube account on Monday. “The decisions we make in the next election will determine if we even have a middle class in America anymore.

“Politicians in D.C. are running up our debt, ripping away our healthcare, disrespecting our veterans, cutting help for the poor, and even putting Medicare and Social Security at risk, just to give tax breaks to billionaires.”

Cooper hinted at his candidacy at a Democratic fundraiser over the weekend. The official announcement comes days after Axios and The New York Times reported the former governor planned to throw his hat in the ring and run for Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat after Tillis announced his plans not to seek reelection.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Kirsten Gillibrand released a statement in support of Cooper’s candidacy, saying he has a history of winning tough races and will help flip the seat.

“Gov. Cooper is a formidable candidate who will flip North Carolina’s Senate seat, and his announcement is the latest indication that the Republicans’ Senate majority is at risk in 2026,” Schumer and Gillibrand’s joint statement said, in part.

Although  President DonaldTrump has endorsed Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley to compete for the seat, Whatley has not made an official announcement as of Monday. Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump said last week she decided against a run to instead remain as host for her weekly show,  “My View with Lara Trump,” on Fox News.

Prior to serving as the RNC chair, Whatley ran the North Carolina Republican Party for five years. He grew up in Watauga County in the northwestern part of North Carolina.

Cooper served as North Carolina’s governor from 2017 to 2025 after defeating Republican incumbent Pat McCrory. Before serving as governor, Cooper was the state’s attorney general from 2001 to 2017.

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Both directions of I-40 remain closed near the North Carolina-Tennessee state line after flooding and a rockslide covered the road with muddy water and debris this past week.

Tennessee’s Department of Transportation said in a Thursday post on X that the closure on I-40 is the same area that was damaged during Hurricane Helene in late September, but the rockslide’s damage “is not as extensive.”

Hurricane Helene produced between one and three feet of rain in parts of the Appalachian Mountains, leading to significant flooding in North Carolina and Tennessee that knocked out roads and power lines. More than 200 deaths were connected to the hurricane and damages have been estimated at about $80 billion.

Mark Nagi, regional communications officer for TDOT-Region 1, said I-40 is closed just east of Exit 451 (Waterville Road) in Cocke County.

In a post on X Thursday, Nagi said a “massive” amount of water was still flowing from the slope as crews worked to clear the roadway.

Nagi said based on the initial assessment of I-40 and the slope, TDOT anticipates it will take at least two weeks for the water to recede, repairs to be made and cleanup to be completed before the interstate can reopen.

TDOT officials first announced the possible slide and road closure around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Photos and videos from the area showed several inches of muddy water covering the roadway, along with several tractor-trailers and vehicles stopped in the standing water.

In an afternoon press conference on Thursday, Tennessee transportation officials gave an update on the situation and how long the interstate could remain closed.

“I can tell you at this point, what we feel like is we have a goal of getting the interstate reopened in the next two weeks,” said TDOT Chief Engineer Will Reid. “However, we do have a significant amount of work to do down here at the interchange at 451. I think that’s going to take a little bit longer, but we will give you more information on that as it becomes available.”

The National Weather Service told TDOT that 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time on Wednesday. The rain had an impact, creating four slides, including the largest one on the interstate.

Contractors doing Hurricane Helene repairs helped with getting people to safety and are now helping with the repairs from the rockslide on I-40. Repairs could cost $500,000, according to officials.

Authorities said no injuries are reported, despite one home being flooded and a number of trapped vehicles in the mud on the interstate. People living in the area have alternate routes and crews are removing mud and debris from the road.

“Our survey team is utilizing drones to get an accurate picture of the area and assess damages. Right now, we expect this stretch of I-40 to be closed for at least two weeks. Commercial and thru traffic should use I-81 to I-26 or I-81 to I-77 detour routes. This is the same route utilized during the I-40 closure for Hurricane Helene,” TDOT said on Thursday on X.

I-40 reopened one lane in each direction in March after flooding and mudslides through the Pigeon River Gorge because of Hurricane Helene closed the roadway for five months.

The closure rerouted traffic through Asheville and smaller western North Carolina towns, causing daily traffic backups.

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“Today, all across North Carolina, there are unregulated intoxicating THC products available for purchase: just walk into any vape shop. There is no legal minimum age to purchase these products! That means that kids are buying them,” Stein said in a news release announcing the council on Wednesday. “Let’s get this right and create a safe, legal market for adults that protects kids.”

Stein said without enforceable labeling requirements, adults in North Carolina are recreationally using these products without full awareness of how much THC they are consuming.

The State Advisory Council on Cannabis will be tasked with “studying and recommending a comprehensive approach to regulate cannabis sales,” Stein said in the release.

The council will create a system that “protects youth, allows adult sales, ensures public safety, promotes public health, supports North Carolina agriculture, expunges past convictions of simple THC possession, and invests the revenues in resources for addiction, mental health, and drugged driving detection.”

Stein signed the executive order to create the council on on June 3.

He urged the General Assembly to take immediate action by prohibiting the sale of products containing “intoxicating” THC to anyone under 21 and requiring photo ID to verify a buyer’s age. Stein also called for packaging that clearly indicates the contents and THC levels of all cannabis products.

“The status quo of zero protection of our kids is absolutely unacceptable,” Stein said in the release. “Let’s work together on a thoughtful, comprehensive solution that allows sales to adults and that is grounded in public safety and health.”

Head of product at Asheville Dispensary on Haywood Road, Adriana Barnes, said there are positives and negatives for the industry when it comes to this new council.

“What is important is that consumers have accurate packaging, they’re educated on the products that they’re consuming; that children do not have access to products that can be very psychoactive,” Barnes said.

But she added that the council’s recommendations could harm small businesses.

“Making it to the point that regulations are so tight, it makes small business impossible to thrive,” Barnes said.

Barnes said she believes North Carolina’s cannabis industry can handle the stricter regulations, if it has enough time to adapt.

“I do think in some situations that tighter regulations can benefit the industry just because it is going to weed out some of those companies that aren’t taking things seriously,” she said.

Representatives for the State Advisory Council on Cannabis will include officials from the Office of State Budget and Management, the State Highway Patrol, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the General Assembly and the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Safety, Revenue, Transportation and Justice.

The committee is expected to start meeting in July and will meet every second month until Dec. 31, 2026. That is when the committee plans on putting out its final recommendations.

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Megan Pugh, UNC Asheville’s now-former dean of students, was recorded by a “hidden camera investigator” with Accuracy in Media, a nonprofit conservative watchdog organization. The platform subsequently posted the video to its YouTube page.

In the video, an unidentified interviewer is heard speaking with Pugh on DEI-related subjects regarding the university. When the camera person says, “I’m so glad that you guys are still doing equity work,” Pugh responds, “We probably still do anyway, but, you know, gotta keep it quiet […] But, I love breaking rules.”

Later in the video, the camera person says, “Breaking rules, having fun doing it,” to which Pugh replies, “You know, until more or less, they get mad at us, but they haven’t done it yet.”

University spokesperson Brian Hart said the university is aware of the incident “in which an employee makes comments implying that the university does not comply with UNC System policies or legal requirements and supports employees disregarding such obligations.”

“These remarks do not represent the practices of UNC Asheville. The university remains firmly committed to upholding all UNC System policies as well as federal and state laws, both in principle and in practice,” Hart wrote in an email. “UNC Asheville takes these comments seriously.”

Hart confirmed that “following a prompt review of the matter, the individual [Pugh] is no longer employed by the university.”

He also said the university will now take on a “comprehensive review to reinforce expectations and ensure all employees are aligned with applicable laws and policies.”

In May 2024, during a UNC Board of Regents meeting, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted 22-2 to eliminate its DEI program from the system’s 16 campuses. The program was replaced with a new policy called “Equality Within the University of North Carolina.”

All DEI offices and related positions within the UNC System were either removed or adjusted by September 2024.

An administrator at UNC Charlotte recently was removed from her position after a separate hidden camera video by the same watchdog organization.

Janique Sanders, the now-former assistant director of leadership and community engagement at UNC Charlotte, was secretly filmed implying that diversity, equity and inclusion work is still active on campus.

“So, we’ve renamed, we’ve reorganized, we’ve recalibrated, so to speak,” Sanders said on the video.

UNC Charlotte later announced the individual involved [Sanders] “is no longer employed by UNC Charlotte.” The university has faced backlash from various groups for its dismissal of Sanders.

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NOAA officials announced their 2025 Atlantic hurricane season forecast Thursday during a news conference at the Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Center in Gretna, Louisiana.

The forecast expects 13 to 19 named storms. Of those storms, six to 10 will be hurricanes, and three to five storms are expected to be major hurricanes. A major hurricane is a Category 3 or higher, based on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

NOAA has a 70% confidence in these ranges.

This season is expected to be above normal because of warmer-than-average temperatures, ENSO-neutral conditions and forecasts for weak wind shear. There is potential for higher activity from the West African Monsoon, which is where Atlantic hurricanes originate.

“NOAA and the National Weather Service are using the most advanced weather models and cutting-edge hurricane tracking systems to provide Americans with real-time storm forecasts and warnings,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the conference.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and runs until Nov. 30. Based on past records, the historic peak of hurricane season is between mid-August and mid-October.

On average, a typical hurricane season will produce 14 named storms. Seven of those named storms are hurricanes and three of those storms are major hurricanes.

In 2024, NOAA predicted an above average Atlantic hurricane season, forecasting eight to 13 hurricanes. NOAA also predicted that four to seven of these storms would be major hurricanes. The 2024 season produced 11 hurricanes. Five strengthened into major hurricanes.

Acting NOAA Administrator Laura Grimm said the 2024 forecast was “right on the money,” saying the results fell within NOAA’s predicted ranges.

Last year, five hurricanes made landfall in the continental United States, including Helene and Milton, which developed into major hurricanes. Helene became a hurricane on Sept. 26 and devestated western North Carolina.

Reports from official state government sources as well as media reports indicate Helene is responsible for at least 175 direct deaths, with 85 in North Carolina, the highest of any other state. North Carolina also had 20 reported indirect deaths, giving it 105 deaths. South Carolina had the second-most with 50.

NOAA’s National Weather Service Director Ken Graham reminded the public that it only takes one storm to generate life-changing impacts.

“This outlook is a call to action: be prepared,” Graham said. “Take proactive steps now to make a plan and gather supplies to ensure you’re ready before a storm threatens.”

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On March 19, just eight days before the sixth-month anniversary of when Helene hit western North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center’s report was released, detailing the strength of the winds and the rainfall totals. The report also breaks down the number of storm-related deaths in each state, with North Carolina the deadliest with 105.

Helene grew to a tropical storm on Sept. 25 and the next day became Hurricane Helene, making landfall 10 miles southwest of Perry, Florida, in the early morning hours of Sept. 27 as a Category 4 hurricane. It then made its way up through the Southeast, wreaking havoc on the Appalachian Mountains, making it a storm no one will ever forget.

The official report says Helene brought life-threatening wind gusts much farther inland across the Southeast than other hurricanesbecause of its fast forward motion and large size.

The highest wind gust recorded was actually in Yancey County, North Carolina, at Grandfather Mountain. Its highest gust was 92 knots, just over 105 mph. At Banner Elk in Watauga County, the second-highest gust in the state was reported to be 88 knots (101 mph), and the next-highest was in Haywood County at Frying Pan Mountain, that had a gust of 76 knots (87 mph).

As for rain, North Carolina had some of the highest totals since a storm hit the area with heavy rain just before Helene. The highest total from Helene was in Busick, where 30.78 inches of rain was recorded from Sept. 25-28. A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program spotter near Celo, measured 26.65 inches of rain. Both are in Yancey County.

Farther south, a rainfall total of 29.98 inches was measured in Transylvania County. The highest total in Buncombe County as in Black Mountain, which had 21.07 inches.

Some of the rivers that caused catastrophic flooding were the South Toe River near Celo (which broke the 1957 crest record by 8.7 feet), the French Broad River at Blantyre (which broke the 1901 crest record by 1.3 feet) and the Swannanoa River at Biltmore (which broke the 1901 crest record by 6.6 feet).

Reports from official state government sources as well as media reports indicate Helene is responsible for at least 175 direct deaths, with 85 in North Carolina, the highest of any other state. North Carolina also had 20 reported indirect deaths, giving it 105 deaths. South Carolina had the second-most with 50.

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Robinson said the following via X tweet:

“The words of our Savior, along with the earthly reality that costly litigation and political gamesmanship by my detractors makes clear that continuing to pursue retribution from CNN is a futile effort. That is why I have asked Jesse Binnall and his legal team to terminate any continued attempt to litigate with CNN on my or my family’s behalf.”

Robinson backed up this decision in a following tweet on Friday, declaring that “the continued political persecution of my family and loved ones is a cost I am unwilling to continue to bear.”

Following his announcement of dropping the lawsuit, Robinson confirmed via X he will not run for Senate next year and does not plan to take office in the future.

Robinson’s retirement announcement marks the close of a series of events that plagued his campaign for North Carolina governor.

In September 2024, CNN published an article saying Robinson, the 2024 Republican gubernatorial candidate for North Carolina, made “a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board over a decade ago.”

CNN says that on a pornographic website called “Nude Africa,” Robinson allegedly made comments between 2008 and 2012 where he called himself a “Black Nazi” and admitted to enjoying transgender porn and peeping on women in the showers as a teenager.

Some of the statements made on the site, according to CNN, included “I like watching tr*nny on girl porn!” and “I’m not in the KKK. They don’t let blacks join. If I was in the KKK I would have called him Martin Lucifer Koon.”

After the CNN article was published, Robinson released a video denying the news outlet’s claims and said he was committed to running for governor. However, Robinson lost the 2024 gubernatorial race to now-Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat.

In October, Robinson announced the CNN lawsuit, calling the reporting “reckless” and “defamatory.”

In November, CNN’s legal team filed to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, saying Robinson had not “adequately alleged that CNN acted with actual malice.”

In December, Robinson requested the defamation lawsuit be moved back into state court.

In his closing remarks on X Friday, Robinson said, in part:

“In closing, I say to each and every one of you, thank you! To those who have supported me and to those who have not, we are all Americans[…]”

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Stein told reporters Wednesday that his office had just learned about the presidential visit.

“I think that’s very good news for the people of western North Carolina, that this issue is front-of-mind of the new administration,” Stein said.

The governor said he wasn’t sure of his schedule on Friday but hoped to visit with Trump.

As of Thursday afternoon, details about Trump’s visit, including venue or arrival time, were not made available by the White House or local officials. A Buncombe County spokesperson announced Wednesday that travelers in the area should expect traffic delays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Trump announced plans to visit Helene-torn western North Carolina while delivering remarks on infrastructure on Tuesday.

“I’m going to North Carolina, which has been ‘abandoned by the Democrats.’ I’ll be there on Friday,” Trump said.

Trump visited the Asheville area twice during the 2024 presidential campaign, including a visit to Swannanoa in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

During his October visit to Swannanoa, the then-presidential candidate criticized the federal government’s response to Helene.

Former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, visited hard-hit areas of the mountains in the weeks and months after the storm. His office also sought more federal aid for the region. Former President Joe Biden visited the region on Oct. 2 — five days after the storm hit — and took an aerial tour of the damage.

Stein, has also visited the region since taking office. On Jan. 2, Stein announced five executive orders aimed at bolstering recovery efforts in Helene’s aftermath.

As of January 2025, there are six FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers open in western North Carolina counties. Federal officials say the agency has provided more than $316 million in cash grants to people in western North Carolina after the hurricane, including more than $6.5 million in rental assistance. Officials added that the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $213 million in low-interest loans to survivors.

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FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, which offers free hotel rooms, ends Jan. 10 unless FEMA grants an individual an extension.

There are three primary reasons for the potential end of eligibility:

• An inspection indicated their home is now habitable.
• The inhabitant declined an inspection.
• An inability to contact the applicant to update their housing needs, despite multiple attempts.

Maryjo Tucker said she was displaced by the storm and has been waiting for the inspection from FEMA for quite some time now.

“I’m still waiting on the inspection through FEMA and I called them yesterday as a matter of fact and she said, ‘Yes, you have an inspection due, don’t know whether they’re going to contact you. However, you need to be out by Saturday,’ ” Tucker said. “Come this Saturday, I’m going to use my paycheck Friday and I’ve already been in contact with the animal shelter to take my dog because I’m not going to put my dog out here in these streets.

“I don’t even know what’s going to happen in two days, not to be able to sleep in a bed or be warm at night.”

According to FEMA, if a household has a pending inspection, it is still eligible for Transitional Sheltering Assistance.

FEMA’s full statement:

“Our inspectors have returned nearly 91,500 inspections and are about 98% complete with current inspection requests. At this time, it is taking between 4-5 days to fulfill an inspection request.

“One of the reasons TSA was extended for everyone in hotels through the holidays was to allow for additional time for inspections to be completed. [The holiday extension] also provided additional time to continue and finish repairs and/or for families to find longer-term housing.

“Cumulatively nearly 13,000 households in NC have checked into hotels through the TSA program. That means about 7,000 households have already checked out and been able to return home or found alternate, longer-term housing.”

FEMA officials said notifications began on Jan. 3 to individuals checked into hotel rooms who were no longer eligible for the program because of the reasons that were identified above.

Officials said that as of Jan. 6, more than 5,600 households were staying in hotel or motel rooms paid for by FEMA, and approximately 2,100 families meet the requirements for the program and are allowed to stay in hotels provided by the agency. However, it said nearly 3,500 households do not meet eligibility.

Through the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, FEMA pays directly to participating hotels and motels to cover the cost of the room, taxes and non-refundable pet fees to provide short-term accommodations.

FEMA confirms continued eligibility on an individual basis. When eligibility ends, FEMA notifies survivors approximately seven days prior to their checkout date.

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Explore Asheville staff shared a revised net lodging tax revenue forecast of $24.2 million and a Buncombe County administrative fee of $1.3 million, based on data from Tourism Economics.

This revision is approximately $10.1 million lower than the original FY25 net revenue budget. Before the storm, merchants and business owners were already reporting weakened sales and counting on a robust fall season.

Lodging tax collections are forecast to decline nearly 30% for FY25, reaching their lowest levels since the pandemic. Year-over-year monthly declines of 40% to 45% are anticipated, gradually easing throughout the fiscal year.

Lodging tax is a barometer for the economic well-being of the rest of the region’s economy, as 70% of visitor spending takes place in a wide variety of businesses outside of lodging, such as restaurants, shops and local businesses.

“We expect once potable water returns to downtown, it will really be a rebirth of our downtown restaurants,” said Hayden Plemmons, director of the Asheville Downtown Association.

Tourism officials launched a winter in downtown program in an effort to gain more attraction.

“There’s going to be holiday lights in downtown for the first time in a while. The winter windows competition is coming back this year. We’re going to have the holiday jamboree in place of the parade. There’s a lot to look forward to this holiday season,” Plemmons said.

Merf Rose, manager at Instant Karma in downtown Asheville, has implemented a strategy to assess the flow of customers and evaluate the demand in the area.

“We just started opening up on Fridays downtown to test the waters — to see if it’s worth being able to be open for Fridays, as well as Saturdays and Sundays,” Rose said. “I do think it might take a minute to get people to come out, just because whatever situation that they’re going through because of all of this, that really does decide whether or not people can go out.”

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