Emily Stephenson, Author at The Assembly NC

The Man Can Dance: N.C. State Team Spotlights First Male Dancer

Ryan Cawley performs with the N.C. State Dance Team. (Photo by Chase Cofield for The Assembly)

Ryan Cawley is one of a handful of male performers on university dance teams.

A Columbus County farmer prepares for the spring planting season. (Photo by Les High for Border Belt Independent)

Farmers say they’re waiting for federal payments for conservation and climate change programs, as well as emergency loans.

A vulture near dumpsters in downtown Hillsborough. (Photo by Julia Wall for The Assembly)

One couple says the birds came with their house. Their neighbors say the duo won’t stop feeding the scavengers, and the town has weighed in.

Holly Silvers’ tomatoes. (Photo courtesy of Silvers)

For some people weathering Hurricane Helene, food was hard to come by. Those with experience canning looked to their own larders.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer at a briefing in Maryland. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Calls to a Durham-based hotline spiked, and schools and churches scrambled to communicate with families as President Trump’s deportation push began.

Jacqueline Cole speaks with interviewers during a tour of an opera museum in Kunshan, China. (Photo courtesy of Sophia Lehrman)

Dozens of Duke students signed up for a free trip to China. Even the school was surprised by what happened.

Hurricane Helene flooded Asheville's River Arts District, once a hotspot for local creatives and tourists. (Photo by Mike Belleme for The Assembly)

Western N.C.’s vacation rental industry, a key component of the tourism economy, faces an uncertain future after Hurricane Helene.

Dried okra pods at the Princeton Seed Farm. (Photos courtesy of Tessa Desmond)

Okra seeds yield a liquid comparable to extra-virgin olive oil, but the crop isn’t ready for commercial production.

Children take pictures with Santa Claus, played by Stafford Braxton, CEO of Santas Just Like Me. (Cornell Watson for The Assembly)

For 12 years, a Raleigh man has been making Black Santas a holiday tradition.

Dried mud coats bushes and grass in Biltmore Village. (Photo by Jessica Wakeman for The Assembly)

Asheville has welcomed tourism back after Hurricane Helene. But in Biltmore Village, recovery is still months away.