WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress, including those representing North Carolina, are seeking detailed answers from the Biden administration over the United States’ catastrophic exit from Afghanistan.

Lawmakers held a hearing recently focused on the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control system. Their goal was to learn why ABC store shelves are empty and why bars and restaurants are scratching and scraping for typically ubiquitous brands such as Jameson’s and Titos.

“The day the music died.”

I thought about that song a lot last year. The music didn’t die then, exactly, but rather faded like that final guitar riff, the one before the band waves and turns its collective back on the crowd, who stay hoping the lights don’t come on. Not yet, they plead. One more song.

RALEIGH — The N.C. Senate bill that would legalize sports betting on phones and at various venues is stuck in the House, and it may not see action until next year’s session.

RALEIGH — Spiritous liquor is still in short supply in ABC stores across the state, and supply still isn’t keeping up with demand. Republican lawmakers say things are getting even worse.

RALEIGH — COVID-19 cases in North Carolina may actually be decreasing, even as media hysteria and local mask mandates rage on. 

RALEIGH — ABC chairman A.D. Zander Guy Jr. has resigned as chairman of the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

RALEIGH — The N.C. Senate has passed House Bill 890, an all-encompassing measure that could help distillers succeed in a crowded and burgeoning industry.

Family members and lawmakers, in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, representing N.C. residents are mourning the deaths of a Marine and soldier who died in a terrorist attack while helping Americans and others evacuate from Afghanistan. Thirteen service members, including a Fort Bragg soldier and Camp Lejuene Marine, died while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, the Department of Defense announced Saturday, Aug. 28.

RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper wants a provision to curb a governor’s powers removed from state budget plans.