North Carolina
Bird flu found in North Carolina cow herd, officials say
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, more commonly known as bird flu, has been found in a herd of dairy cows in North Carolina, according to state agriculture officials.
Bird flu has been found in cattle herds in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, New Mexico and Ohio. The risk the virus spreading to humans is low, but two people are known to have contracted the virus in the latest outbreak.
Testing by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory found the virus in the North Carolina herd recently.
“This is an evolving situation, and we are waiting for more diagnostics from NVSL and will work collaboratively with our federal partners and dairy farmers in North Carolina,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
“We have spent years developing methods to handle HPAI in poultry, but this is new, and we are working with our state and federal partners to develop protocols to handle this situation. It is important to note the FDA has no concern about the safety or availability of pasteurized milk products nationwide,” he said.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture said it already suspended bringing cattle to North Carolina from states with known bird flu infections.
State officials did not say where in North Carolina the infected herd is.
Bird flu is known to cause decreased milk production, a loss of appetite and other symptoms in dairy cows, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA said pasteurized milk is safe for human consumption because the pastreuization process kills any bacteria and viruses.
Milk from sick animals is being destroyed, the FDA said. As of now, the almound of milk being destroyed is not having any effect on the milk supply, according to federal regulators.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it suspects bird flu is being spread by the migration of wild birds, but there could also be transmission between cows. The USDA said it does not think infected cattle will have to be slaughtered like what happens when a flock of chickens is infected with the same virus.
RALEIGH, NC — For years, WRAL Investigates tracked problems with North Carolina’s unemployment benefits system.
Now, two new follow-up audits show the same problems still persist inside the Division of Employment Security (DES) when it comes to paying the correct amount of unemployment and paying those first-time benefits on time.
The first audit deals with improper payments. The category includes fraud, overpayments and underpayments.
From 2021-2025, the auditor found the improper payment rate for unemployment benefits in North Carolina was 22%, most of which were overpayments. That’s more than double the national standard of 10% error rate.
According to the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA), those payment errors cost taxpayers more than $90 million over the expected 10% error rate.
In fact, the improper payment rate got worse compared to an initial audit’s findings back in 2022, when OSA found errors in 18% of payments.
The second follow-up audit out today dealt with timeliness of benefits, meaning when people finally got paid after filing and qualifying for unemployment.
In 2024- 2025, 28% of first-time unemployment checks were not cut within the 14-day federal standard. While not great, it’s an improvement compared to previous audit findings of 40% late checks in 2022 and 43% of late checks in 2024.
In fact, the auditor’s office noted on-time payments in below the national standard in just 3 of the past 20 years.
The Division of Unemployment Security agreed with the findings and recommendations to improve North Carolina’s unemployment system.
As visitors enjoy North Carolina’s outdoors this summer, members of the North Carolina State Parks and Recreation fire team are helping fight a wildfire in the eastern part of the state.
The agency said its Natural Resource Section’s Fire Management Team is assisting the N.C. Forest Service and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission with the Rose Bay Canal Wildfire.
Officials said the agencies work closely together during fire season to help contain wildfires and protect communities, natural resources and public lands.
According to North Carolina State Parks and Recreation, nearly 5,000 wildfires have started across the state since the beginning of 2026.
Fire danger is expected to remain high as summer continues.
State parks officials are reminding people to be fire-wise when heading outdoors.
People should follow local burn restrictions and never leave a fire unattended.
Officials said all fires should be completely extinguished before people leave the area.
Fires are only allowed in designated areas, such as grills and fire rings, at state parks.
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