Members of the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina recently visited the state legislature to push for a House bill that would grant them formal state recognition as an American Indian tribe. They've been fighting for the benefits provided to other tribes for decades, and the history of conflict stretches back centuries to the 1700s war between Tuscarora ancestors and British colonists. House Speaker Tim Moore says the recognition bill is unlikely to move forward, in part due to opposition from the Lumbee Tribe, the Tuscarora Nation's neighbors in Robeson County. To learn more about the Tuscarora Indians and their push for state recognition, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with Rahnàwakęw Donnie McDowell, the Tuscaroras' public relations officer.

Polls will once again open all across North Carolina on Tuesday, May 14. But with mostly down-ballot races on the ballot, will Republican primaries be decided by a tiny number of voters? Political scientist Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University shares some turnout trends and other dynamics for North Carolina’s rare runoff primaries with WUNC's Colin Campbell. And we hear from the two Republican candidates for state auditor, Jack Clark and Dave Boliek, who offer contrasting backgrounds and visions for an important state government watchdog role.

State lawmakers are back in Raleigh to begin what’s known as the short session – several months in which they’ll make adjustments to the state budget for the upcoming year and consider a variety of other legislation that didn’t make it across the finish line in the 2023 long session. One of the biggest partisan battles is likely to be over education funding: How much of the state's projected revenue surplus will go to public schools, and how much will address high demand for private school vouchers? Will the state address the funding cliff that childcare centers are experiencing as federal pandemic money expires?

To sort through the issues facing lawmakers, WUNC's Colin Campbell spoke with Sen. Gale Adcock, D-Wake. Adcock, a longtime nurse practitioner, also discusses the state's healthcare policy needs in the months following the expansion of the Medicaid program.