2024 Assembly Favorites News and In-Depth Reporting

Mark Robinson and the Suspension of Disbelief

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has written a lot about his longtime love of professional wrestling. (Illustration by Nicole Moore; Photo by Peyton Sickles)

Professional wrestling explains much of what you need to know about the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s political rise and fall.

Asheville Residents Describe Rescue From Swannanoa River

Water rises toward the first floor of apartments in an Asheville building where residents were evacuated by boat. (Photo courtesy of Lemuel Robinson)

Neighbors in an Asheville apartment building gathered on the second floor as floodwaters rose on Friday.

Too Good to Be True

Jolene Strickland in front of the Governor's Mansion in 1996. (Photo by MJ Sharp for the Independent Weekly)

When Jolene Strickland ran for governor in 1996, she received press coverage, money, and votes. If only she existed.

‘Nobody Knows Where the Line Is’

Illustration of UNC-Greensboro and rpk GROUP by The Chronicle; photos by Julia Schmalz, The Chronicle; Makiya Seminera, AP; Carolyn de Berry, The Assembly; iStock

When cost-cutting universities hire consultants, who’s really making the decisions? UNC-Greensboro offers a case study.

North Carolina’s $55 Million Olympic Dream

The USA field hockey team uses the US Performance Center in Charlotte. (Travis Dove for The Assembly)

Top legislators quietly allocated large state grants to attract Olympic organizations to the Charlotte area, with little to show for it.

Yeti or Not, Here They Come

Bargain hunters at the Bigfoot festival in Marion. (Cornell Watson for The Assembly)

What is it about North Carolina that attracts the Sasquatch-curious?

What Is Really Going On With Charlotte the Stingray?

A still from one of the videos ECCO has posted of Charlotte.

A Hendersonville aquarium blew up the internet with the announcement of a “miracle” pregnancy.

Bobby Huckabee’s New Poker Face

A patron plays at a video lottery terminal at Tioga Downs in Nichols, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

The Wilmington gaming operator’s campaign contributions were once poisonous. Now he and his money are looking to legalize video gambling machines.

The Making of Michele Morrow

Michele Morrow at a Moore County Republican Men’s Club luncheon. (Julia Wall for The Assembly)

Her primary win took many by surprise, but the state superintendent candidate is following Steve Bannon’s playbook.

Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy

Hannah Davis beheads fresh-caught shrimp at Davis Seafood for a customer order. (Photo by Johanna F. Still)

Shrimpers are fleeing the industry as cheap imports flood the domestic market. They’re fighting for relief before it’s too late.