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May 2021

Posted inHigher Education

Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Mega-Donor, and the Future of Journalism

by John Drescher May 30, 2021March 29, 2023

Emails obtained by The Assembly show that UNC-Chapel Hill’s largest journalism-school donor warned against Nikole Hannah-Jones’ hiring. Their divergent views represent a new front in the debate over objectivity and the future of the field.

Posted inPolitics

Mandy Cohen’s Fight to Tame DHHS

by Melba Newsome May 26, 2021March 29, 2023

A massive footprint, enormous budget, and complex mission: NC DHHS is an administrator’s nightmare. As the all-consuming pandemic fades, yet another undertaking looms this summer in Medicaid Transformation. Are Cohen and her agency ready?

Posted inPolitics

The Progressive Fight for Durham’s Soul

by Jeffrey Billman May 17, 2021May 16, 2024

Last year, Durham’s county manager accused a commissioner of racism. Last week, commissioners ousted him. This is the inside story of how North Carolina’s most progressive county is tearing itself apart.

Posted inCriminal Justice

The Perfectly Legal Hogtying Death of Marcus Smith

by Ian McDowell May 12, 2021June 21, 2025

In 2018, Marcus Deon Smith died after Greensboro police used “maximum restraint” on him. Now, The Assembly has obtained depositions from the officers and their bosses in the civil rights lawsuit filed by the family. These previously unreported documents shed disturbing light on why the officers used a form of restraint that neighboring cities have banned.

Posted inBusiness

Apple’s Big Bite

by Eric Johnson May 5, 2021February 25, 2025

The tech giant’s proposed RTP campus, and its quieter investment in the foothills, demonstrates the unsettling power of global companies to shape a state like North Carolina.

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