The Triangle’s top stories: 7 stories from Monday to catch up on
Here are the top stories from The News & Observer on Monday, April 27, 2026, covering North Carolina politics, healthcare spending, crime and more.
• North Carolina lawmakers spent a combined total of more than $380,000 in campaign funds on travel and over $280,000 on food and beverages in 2025, a News & Observer analysis found. Seventeen lawmakers — including top Republican leaders — used campaign money to pay rent, spending just over $190,000 total.
Read more: NC lawmakers used campaign money on travel, food and rent. See top spenders
• State Rep. Nasif Majeed of Mecklenburg County is leaving the Democratic Party to finish his term as unaffiliated, becoming the second Mecklenburg Democrat to switch after losing a primary this year. Majeed, who lost by more than 40 points in March, cited concerns about fairness in the political process.
Read more: Nasif Majeed is 2nd Mecklenburg Democrat to leave party after primary loss
• The North Carolina State Health Plan projects it will spend more than $1 billion over what was originally planned in its three-year contract with Aetna, largely due to higher-than-expected health care costs. The plan’s medical cost trend hit 15.8% in 2025 — nearly double an industry benchmark of 7.9%.
Read more: NC State Health Plan expects to spend $1 billion more than planned. Here’s why
• An 18-year-old Wakefield High School student in Raleigh was arrested on 14 felony counts of secret peeping after allegedly using his cellphone to film up the skirts of at least two teachers.
Read more: Wake County high school student accused of filming sexual videos of teachers
• A Powellsville family medicine doctor was reprimanded by the North Carolina Medical Board after a chronic pain patient died of an accidental overdose involving fentanyl and heroin. The board found he prescribed high-dose opioids without performing required drug screenings or documenting proper monitoring.
Read more: Small-town NC doctor reprimanded after patient dies of drug overdose
Evening read
• A 90-year-old man received a medicine bottle recovered from the wreckage of his father’s ship, torpedoed by a Nazi submarine off the North Carolina coast in 1942. Ted Haviland last saw his father at age 6 as the merchant seaman shipped out from Savannah.
Read more: At 90, man gets an artifact from a sunken ship — a treasure from long-lost father
Opinion
• Former U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina argues in an opinion piece that the state’s leaders should strengthen investments in conservation, citing a 4:1 national return on investment and the state’s $17.8 billion outdoor recreation economy.
Read more: Sen. Richard Burr: Investing in nature helps NC’s economy — and military
This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 7:17 PM with the headline "The Triangle’s top stories: 7 stories from Monday to catch up on."