Agriculture

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Annual N. Carolina farm bill nears final lawmaker approval
The North Carolina legislature neared final approval on Thursday of its annual farm bill, which includes the creation of a streamlined method for hog farms to receive environment permits to convert liquid waste into consumer natural gas.

Education 

THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: NC will only require 1 semester of teacher prep classes to work in high schools
North Carolina will try to address the national teaching shortage by allowing people who complete just one college semester of teacher preparation classes to become part-time high school instructors.

WCNC: NC bill would let school boards decide on face mask requirements
North Carolina lawmakers just introduced the "Free the Smile Act." It would allow individual school boards to decide if masks will be required next school year.

Government

THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: Bill that will push back elections in Raleigh and other cities will become law
A state bill pushing back some municipal elections, including Raleigh’s, will become law without the governor’s signature. The election delay is caused by delays in getting U.S. Census Bureau data.

THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: NC Senate budget bill passes with enough Democrats to override a Cooper Veto
With a sunny economic forecast, a surplus of money to spend and more from the federal government in coronavirus relief, the North Carolina Senate passed its proposed state budget on Friday.

Healthcare

ASSOCIATED PRESS: North Carolina remains near bottom in COVID-19 vaccinations
Less than half of North Carolinians eligible for a COVID-19 shot are fully vaccinated, even though there are more than 2.1 million doses waiting on shelves for residents to take.

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Mental health advocates say North Carolina is headed toward crisis. They're asking lawmakers for help
In an open letter to Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders, 11 health-care groups and the N.C. Chamber warn that the state is nearing a mental-health services crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ask for help to combat it.

Politics

THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: Cooper nominates executive at recycling nonprofit as new environmental secretary
Gov. Roy Cooper has nominated Elizabeth Biser, a North Carolina-based executive at a national recycling nonprofit, to take over the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.