NC Drought & Political Drama: Cunningham Switch, Inmate Probe, Leandro Case

0:00It's April 24th. Welcome to Durham News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. Nearly all of North Carolina has locked in a severe drought right now, drying up rivers and stressing farm statewide. On top of that, political drama is heating up with party switches, investigations, and court fights, while college hoop stars are making big NBA calls. Stay representative Carla Cunningham, from Charlotte, just ditched the Democrats to go unaffiliated after losing her primary. She caught heat for siding with Republicans to override the governor's veto on an immigration bill. GOP leaders fired back by launching a new committee to probe the release of thousands of inmates during the COVID pandemic. They're targeting former Governor Roy Cooper, who's running for Senate, though his camp calls it straight up lies. Meanwhile, the original school districts in the long-running Leandro funding case are begging the Supreme Court to pause its recent dismissal. A grand jury had four Raleigh lobbyists with misdemeanor charges over a bourbon distillery

1:01tour. They funded for lawmakers through a nonprofit. That group's cash dropped sharp from $568,000 last year to just $26,500 this year and the state still digging. To nice the deadline at 11.59 p.m. for players to declare for the NBA draft, UNC's honoree Vsar is out, heading pro after averaging 17 points and 8.7 rebounds. Duke's Dame Sarr is staying put for another run with the Blue Devils. Keep eyes peeled as these stories unfold across the Tar Heel state.