☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. Are Republicans Gaining Ground?
2. Exoneration Affirmed
3. Climate in Court
4. What We’re Reading
5. Around the State

A recent New York Times article proclaimed that the Democratic Party faces a full-blown “voter registration crisis.”

Similar trends are at play in North Carolina. The Democratic Party dominated politics in the Old North State for the better part of a century, and voter registration patterns reflected this.

But the gap is closing.

As of September 27, Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a mere 9,968 registered voters. At the current rate of change, Republicans will eclipse Democrats by early 2026, if not sooner.

These trends should alarm the Democratic Party and may indeed signify the “crisis” the Times cited. But it’s premature to make the leap that Democratic pain equals Republican gain in North Carolina, Christopher Cooper writes.

Democrats Are Losing Members in N.C. But Are the Republicans Gaining?

Much has been made of the decline in registered Democrats. But who is benefiting from that shift, and why it’s happening, is more complicated.

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals effectively affirmed Tuesday the exoneration of four men convicted as teenagers in the 2002 death of Nathaniel Jones, the grandfather of NBA star Chris Paul.

The unanimous decision means that the two who are still incarcerated could soon walk free, Michael Hewlett reports.

The ruling comes nearly two months after Superior Court Judge Robert Broadie issued a 33-page decision exonerating the men in Jones’ murder. He also dismissed all charges against the men with prejudice, meaning they can’t be re-tried. 

Prosecutors have filed an emergency motion asking the state Supreme Court to block the imminent release of the two men.

Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration

After nearly two months, the N.C. Court of Appeals has seemingly made it official—the men convicted as teenagers of killing Nathaniel Jones, NBA star Chris Paul’s grandfather, are exonerated.

The state’s first climate deception case unfurled recently in North Carolina Business Court, where attorneys for the town of Carrboro and Duke Energy spent six hours sparring over legal arcana.

The single question they were trying to answer: Should a jury hear a case alleging that Duke Energy is responsible for lying about the link between climate change and extreme weather that has inflicted millions of dollars of property damage on the town? 

Lisa Sorg reports for Inside Climate News that Carrboro alleges the utility has funded and promoted a decades-long deception campaign to dismiss the connection between fossil fuels and climate change. Duke Energy says the complaint is baseless and should be dismissed.

Is Duke Energy Liable for Climate-Related Property Damage?

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What We’re Reading

This Again: A federal government shutdown puts the paychecks of more than 140,000 North Carolinians at risk, along with federally funded programs and services used throughout the state, per The News & Observer.

You Might Be a Redneck If: UNC-Chapel Hill’s administration placed a professor on administrative leave after reports of his alleged affiliation with the “anti-racist, anti-fascist” group Redneck Revolt, The Daily Tar Heel reports.

If It Ain’t Broke: North Carolina’s experiment in providing nutritious food, safe housing, and transportation for doctors’ visits to reduce hospital stays was seen as a success. The NYT reports it’s shutting down because of Medicaid cuts.

Our Recent Stories

WRAL-TV Fights to Succeed in a New Media World

WRAL confronts a precarious future as locally owned television stations deal with declining viewership and advertising revenue.

Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene

A ProPublica and Assembly analysis of the more rural counties Helene pummeled found households that got the most aid had higher incomes.

In Asheville, a Natural Disaster and a Housing Crisis Collide

The city saw an increase in the number of people living on the street after Helene. For some, it was their first brush with homelessness.

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Emily Stephenson is managing editor of The Assembly. She was previously economic policy editor at The Wall Street Journal, news editor at POLITICO, and a politics and financial regulation reporter at Reuters.