Liz Schlemmer

The Central American country of Guatemala has inaugurated  its newest consulate in Raleigh to serve Guatemalans living in the Carolinas and southern Virginia.

The consulate is one of four the country is introducing in the United States this year, and it opened for business earlier this week.  Guatemalan nationals can go there to apply for passports and visas, or declare citizenship for their children. 

Duke University researchers have completed a two-year health intervention that resulted in improvements in weight, cholesterol and blood pressure to more than 1,100 Methodist clergy in North Carolina.

Filmmakers have spent less and produced fewer projects in North Carolina in the past two years.

That's when the state changed its film incentives program to a capped-grant program. Before the change, state taxpayers offered credits to filmmakers with a project cap but no statewide limit.

With temperatures into the 90s this week, county human services are receiving more requests for cooling assistance.

As many as a few dozen dogs in North Carolina have been infected with a new strain of canine influenza.  

Voters in Raleigh will decide if the city should spend more than $200 million on local road improvements. A bond package will go to referendum in the fall.

Flu season is over, and this year's was deadlier than usual. North Carolina health officials recorded more deaths to flu complications this season than in any year since they began tracking them in 2009.

The Outer Banks will have its first passenger-only ferry next spring. The State Department of Transportation has signed a contract for a catamaran vessel that will carry up to 98 passengers from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island.

New cases of hepatitis B and C have risen significantly in North Carolina in recent years. In response, state health officials are warning those at a higher risk for the infection to get tested. 

With mosquito season underway, public health officials are monitoring the spread of the Zika virus. North Carolina officials say the threat of the mosquito-borne virus is low here this year.

The invasive, tree-killing emerald ash borer has been detected in one more county in North Carolina. The insect was confirmed in Mecklenburg County this week.

State wildlife officials are warning people to not drink and operate a boat this holiday weekend.

More travelers will hit the road this Memorial Day weekend than any year since 2005.

Concert-goers at the PNC Arena in Raleigh may notice new security measures starting this week: the arena will begin using canine units to detect potential bomb threats.

Residents of a historically African-American neighborhood in Raleigh are petitioning the city to protect the area with a historic overlay. Oberlin Village was settled by black freedmen after the Civil War, and its early residents made many contributions to the city. The area has now become a predominantly white neighborhood under development.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning swimmers of an increase in outbreaks of a waterborne parasite in pools.

North Carolina's Supreme Court Chief Justice has announced he's joining a task force to seek multi-state solutions to the national opioid crisis. Justice Mark Martin will serve as a member of the Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative.

Two Appalachian State University students have won second place at an international competition for their creative, sustainable biofuel project.

Ali Moxley and Kelsey Simon pitched an idea to have corn chip factories use cooking oil left over from manufacturing to fuel trucks that transport packaged chips.

North Carolina is receiving a large federal grant to treat people addicted to opioids. Governor Roy Cooper announced Thursday that the state will receive $31 million for treatment initiatives over the next two years.

The State Senate's recent budget proposal includes a provision that threatens to cut food assistance for tens of thousands of children in North Carolina.

North Carolina NAACP President Rev. William Barber said he will pick up a campaign Dr. Martin Luther King Junior began just before his assassination.

Duke Energy might again cut off the lights at the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, unless the nonprofit makes payments on an $18,000 credit deposit.

Duke mandated the deposit following an alleged late payment earlier this year. Duke shut off the museum's lights for a few hours one day in February. The museum refunded visitors that day, during Black History Month, its busiest time of year.

Replicas of two of Christopher Columbus' ships are scheduled to dock at a North Carolina port.

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse on the Crystal Coast will switch to a solar-powered system this week.

The Durham-based substance abuse recovery program TROSA saves North Carolina $7.5 million annually.

The North Carolina Department of Revenue gave a record number of tax credits last year for renewable energy use.

A new political poll from Elon University found that more North Carolina voters support Governor Roy Cooper than not after his first 100 days in office.

On Friday, President Trump has issued an executive order that opens up the possibility of off-shore drilling in American waters, including off the coast of the Carolinas.