Nick Ochsner

The N.C. Department of Public Safety hired a security company to provide armed guards at prisons around the state despite a history of past disciplinary actions, state records show.

Following public outcry and two days of protests about a measure that would shield death investigations from public access, Gov. Roy Cooper said he has concerns about the language under scrutiny.

Days after the North Carolina legislature’s passage of a bill that includes a measure to further restrict death investigation records from public access, some lawmakers say they plan to walk back the provision.

While North Carolinians were sleeping early Friday morning, the General Assembly swiftly passed a bill that would shield death-investigation records from the public. The bill was requested by N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and passed unanimously by lawmakers.

Leaders at health systems around the state say a combination of better medical care and larger stockpiles of protective gear mean they can handle surges in COVID-19 patients more effectively today than they could three months ago.

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson has asked the state auditor to investigate a contract signed by Eric Davis, the chairman of the North Carolina Board of Education. Johnson says Davis violated state procurement laws.

North Carolina prison officials asked a judge for permission to withhold some information about how its responding to COVID-19 in prisons

NC prison officials transferred more than 1,000 inmates between various prisons in April and May, at a time when they said inmate movement had been largely restricted. Experts say each inmate movement increased the risk of spreading the virus.

Law enforcement agencies across the state refuse to tell the public how they use force when policing their communities, citing provisions in state law they say shield such records from public view. Now, some state leaders say those laws should be re-examined.

The North Carolina prison system has contracted with a private security firm to provide armed guards at some prisons across the state.

Officials with the White House Coronavirus Task Force are concerned with North Carolina’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the state’s inability to quickly marshal testing resources, multiple people familiar with the matter say.

North Carolina prison officials have resumed the intake of inmates from county jails and the transfer of inmates between facilities but health experts say that may increase the spread of COVID-19 and a judge has found prison staff are not doing enough to protect inmates.

New emails obtained by WBTV show the Republican majority on the Council of State objected to an order issued in mid-March by Governor Roy Cooper closing bars and restaurants to in-person dining. Council members had less than one hour to weigh in on the proposal.

North Carolina prison officials announced Friday that they will test all inmates at Caswell Correctional Center for COVID-19. The announcement comes a little more than a week after a network of journalists across the state revealed that a nurse who worked at the prison died of the virus.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety is asking law enforcement officers from other state agencies whether they would be willing to work at state prisons in the event the agency has a major shortage of correctional officers due to COVID-19, according to documents obtained by WBTV.

A coalition of more than two dozen media outlets filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking the release of a list of records related to COVID-19 that the state had, so far, refused to provide.

Many local and state health officials in North Carolina are refusing to release details of COVID-19 outbreaks at meatpacking plants, even as the number of cases at those facilities continue to grow, threatening both the health of workers and a critical link in the nation's food supply.

State Senate leader Phil Berger is demanding answers from the North Carolina prison system following a news report from WBTV and a statewide network of reporters Thursday that revealed the death of a Caswell Correctional Center nurse diagnosed with COVID-19.

NC prison officials did not acknowledge the death of a nurse who worked at Caswell Correctional Center until faced with repeated questions from a statewide network of reporters. At that same prison, testing for staff offered by the health department was delayed by prison officials for weeks.

NCDOT will require all employees to take furlough time off between now and the end of June, as the department continues to grapple with budget issues stemming from before the coronavirus pandemic.

Court documents filed by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety show the state lags in testing inside prisons compared to other states with comparable staffing. Experts say that, without more testing, inmates and staff will be at increased risk for contracting the virus.

Mecklenburg County court officials said they would take steps to increase the public's ability to access virtual court proceedings on Thursday, after questions from WBTV prompted by the public being shut out of a hearing earlier in the week.

New data released by NCDHHS show some hospitals across the state inconsistently reporting patient counts for COVID-19, resulting in skewed numbers published by the state. Health officials are working to streamline the reporting process.

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to drive up the demand for absentee ballots in this year's presidential election, bringing an extra cost that counties are not prepared to bare.

There is no timeline for if or when mass COVID-19 testing will be conducted for inmates or staff at North Carolina’s prisons, even as cases of the virus continue to rise inside prisons across the state.

A review of previous state inspection reports for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities hit hardest by the coronavirus in North Carolina show some had previously been cited for serious deficiencies.

The way in which outbreaks of COVID-19 are reported from nursing homes and other congregate living facilities to county health departments and, eventually, to the state are inconsistent, according to a statewide survey by journalists from a six-newsroom collaborative.

There have been 50 deaths and hundreds of cases of COVID-19 reported at nursing homes and other congregate living facilities in the greater Charlotte area, according to new data released by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Under pressure from advocacy groups and media organizations, North Carolina health officials said they would release details for the first time Monday on the locations of dozens of nursing homes and other group living facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks across the state.

The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 40 outbreaks at nursing home facilities in 26 counties as of Thursday morning but the state is refusing to identify which facilities and many counties won't share the information, either.