North Carolina
Texas Longhorns Ex Coach Mack Brown ‘Proud’ of North Carolina Following Firing
While the ending to his time as the head football coach at North Carolina didn’t end the way he may have wanted. Former Texas Longhorns coach Mack Brown is essentially back to the life he lived before taking the head coaching job – for a second time in his career – with the Tarheels.
That includes spending the winter and spring in Austin, before moving back to North Carolina where he has a house in the mountains for the summer.
“We were doing that before and it worked,” Brown said during a recent interview with AP News. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I may do some TV, I’ll probably do some podcasts. I enjoyed that. … You can do it from North Carolina just as easy as anywhere.”
At 73 years old, Brown is seemingly enjoying the life of a retired coach. He can live where he wants when he wants. And doesn’t have to deal with the everyday stress that comes with leading a college football program.
This time away from football isn’t anything new to Brown either. Following his firing from Texas in 2013, he spent five years away from coaching, working with ESPN as an analyst. That was before he landed the North Carolina job ahead of the 2019 season.
And while Brown did find success back with the Tarheels, a job he held once before back in 1988 through 1997 before leaving for Texas, it didn’t end the way he wanted. Brown was informed of the University’s intentions to let him go following last season just ahead of the team’s regular-season finale loss to NC State.
This sudden, albeit not surprising decision to move on, came just a day after Brown himself said he’d be the coach in Chapel Hill next season.
“I think the frustration was it was probably more political than anything else,” Brown said of his departure from Chapel Hill. “They knew I was going to be through at the end of the year, but there were some, a lot of people, that weren’t on the same page. So it didn’t really matter in the end.”
Brown’s final game as Carolina’s coach was that loss to NC State, which capped off a 6-6 regular season for the Tarheels and brought to an end the second stint of the program’s winningest coach ever. In 16 seasons at Carolina Brown went 113-79-1.
Add this to his career at Texas, where in 16 seasons he went 158-48, which includes winning a national championship in 2005. Brown’s return to the sideline in 2019 certainly didn’t hurt his already then-inducted status as a College Football Hall of Famer.
As for how he feels about the future of the North Carolina program under new head coach Bill Belichick. Who will oversee a Tarheels program is seemingly finally invested in football. Which doesn’t according to Brown doesn’t make him bitter.
“I’m proud of them that they finally committed. And Bill’s one of the best ever,” Brown said. “So I’m proud for the kids. I’ve got so many friends there, like I do at Texas. So I’m glad they finally stepped up, and now they should have a chance to compete with the best in the country.”
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North Carolina
NC to receive nearly $70M in FEMA funds, Madsion County manager says $14M hasn’t arrived
MADISON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Senator Tedd Budd’s office announced nearly $70 million in public assistance FEMA funds for Helene recovery toward the North Carolina Department of Transportation, cities and counties.
Madison County Manager Rod Honeycutt created a color-coded spreadsheet of projects, both paid and unpaid. Honeycutt said he sends the spreadsheet to federal leaders’ offices, including Budd’s, regularly to ensure staff are aware of what’s not reimbursed.
Honeycutt estimates about $14 million in reimbursements from FEMA haven’t come through.
As for the $1.9 million just approved for Madison County’s emergency protective measures, including laborers, equipment reimbursement, Honeycutt said the county doesn’t have it yet.
NORTH CAROLINA TO RECEIVE $70M IN ADDITIONAL FEMA FUNDING AS NOEM FACES CRITICISM
“It’s coming back to our fund balance,” said Honeycutt. “And we know it will take six more weeks for it to get through the state and to the county.”
Honeycutt estimates that within six months, FEMA will resolve all reimbursements. He said debris removal jobs along the French Broad River have been delayed as FEMA continues to review the applications.
In Marshall, the town has leased store spaces on Main Street, along with signs advertising leasing available. But longtime resident, artist and business owner Josh Copus is optimistic that Marshall and its community will thrive once again. He acknowledged that FEMA funds and reimbursements to clean up have been an important part of the area’s recovery.
MORE THAN $3.5M HEADED TO BURKE COUNTY FOR CONTINUED HELENE RECOVERY
“I would say our town is 50% fixed and our town was 100% destroyed, so 50% is pretty good,” Copus said.
The awards include:
- Biltmore Forest: $2.5 million for debris removal reimbursement.
- Buncombe County Sewage District: $1.57 million reimbursement for line repairs, vacuuming, line replacements and riverbank restoration.
- Old Fort: $1.15 million Westerman Street Waterline for potable water reimbursement.
- Mitchell County: $11.9 million for debris contractors, tipping fees and debris monitoring reimbursement.
- Buncombe County: $3.5 million toward labor costs for 836 laborers during and after Helene reimbursement.
- Asheville: $5.6 million for North Fork Treatment Plant repairs reimbursement.
- Lake Lure: $1.48 million for lake safety repairs reimbursement.
- Madison County: $1.9 million for emergency protective measures, including laborers, equipment reimbursement.
North Carolina
2026 primary turnout report released for eastern NC counties; see your county’s numbers
Here are the voter turnout numbers for the 2026 primary election, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Hyde County had the highest voter turnout, while Onslow County had the lowest turnout. Check out what the voter turnout in your county was below:
BERTIE COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
31.85% (3,911 out of 12,280)
CARTERET COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
29.06% (16,543 out of 56,931)
CRAVEN COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
18.63% (14,119 out of 75,778)
DUPLIN COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
21.93% (6,981 out of 31,832)
EDGECOMBE COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
18.16% (6,428 out of 35,396)
GREENE COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
19.70% (2,147 out of 10,900)
HYDE COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
37.27% (1,123 out of 3,013)
JONES COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
25.91% (1,805 out of 6,966)
LENOIR COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
16.73% (6,251 out of 37,371)
MARTIN COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
17.61% (2,858 out of 16,228)
ONSLOW COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
11.44% (14,816 out of 129,537)
PAMLICO COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
24.03% (2,446 out of 10,180)
PITT COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
15.71% (19,429 out of 123,705)
TYRRELL COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
30.49% (723 out of 2,371)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
28.66% (2,312 out of 8,067)
WAYNE COUNTY
Ballots Cast:
21.49% (16,408 out of 76,358)
North Carolina
Statewide tornado drill has NC schools and workplaces practicing safety
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 6:41PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina schools and businesses took part in a statewide tornado drill Wednesday morning as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week.
The National Weather Service led the drill at 9:30 a.m., broadcasting it on NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System. Schools, workplaces and households across the state were encouraged to join in.
The National Weather Service didn’t issue a follow up alert to mark the end of the drill. Instead, each school or business wrapped up once they felt they had practiced the procedures thoroughly.
Wednesday’s drill also replaced the regular weekly NOAA Weather Radio test.
SEE | New warning for parents amid new ‘fire-breathing’ social media trend
Make sure to download the ABC 11 Mobile App ABC11 North Carolina Apps for Connected TV, Mobile News, Echo
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