The Triangle's top 5 headlines of 2025

Redistricting creates new Republican-leaning seat

Legislative Republicans heeded the calls of President Donald Trump to draw the party a new GOP-leaning seat in the U.S. House ahead of 2026.

• In October, Republicans voted to redraw the 1st Congressional District, hoping to oust Rep. Don Davis, a two-term moderate Democrat.

Why it matters: For now, thanks to years of successful partisan gerrymandering, Republicans hold 10 of North Carolina's 14 congressional seats, even though statewide elections break closer to 50-50.

• The 1st is in northeastern North Carolina, a largely rural region with a high concentration of Black voters.

State of play: Combined with other states' redistricting efforts, the shift could help Republicans maintain control over the U.S. House of Representatives, even if a midterm slump hits the president's party, as it often does.

• Cook Political Report describes the redrawn 1st as leaning Republican by five percentage points.

Zoom in: A crowded GOP field has since emerged, though no Democrats are challenging the incumbent.

• Davis would have a harder time beating Laurie Buckhout, whom he scraped past in 2024, under the current map. Buckhout recently announced her candidacy, but must first face a state senator, county commissioner and local sheriff in a March primary.

A big year for jobs

Despite uncertainty around tariffs, 2025 turned into a record year for jobs announcements in North Carolina.

Why it matters: The announced jobs, which span from advanced manufacturing to C-suite roles, will boost the state's economy — if they come to fruition.

Zoom in: More than 23,000 new jobs have been announced this year under North Carolina's Job Development Investment Program, the state's main incentives program, according to data from the state's Commerce Department.

Between the lines: The state only pays out incentives once a company has reached its hiring or investment benchmarks. And even after an incentives deal is reached, companies, for a variety of reasons, don't always reach their pledged goals.

• While Toyota's new battery plant is up and running, several other previously announced large-scale projects — like Wolfspeed, VinFast and Apple — have not yet been fully realized.

Zoom in: Leading the way this year was a massive, 14,000-job announcement from the startup plane maker JetZero in Greensboro.

• Other large announcements included: a 1,200-job headquarters for Scout Motors in Charlotte, a 1,000-job factory for Vulcan Elements in Johnston County, another 1,000 for Aspida Financial Services in Durham and hundreds of planned biotech jobs in the Triangle at firms like Novartis and Genentech.

Belichick's attempt at professionalizing the Tar Heels

All eyes were on Kenan Stadium in September, when NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick walked out of the tunnel for his first game in charge of the Tar Heels, a team that has historically underachieved on the football field.

• And for the first two opening drives against TCU, it looked like the tens of millions of dollars UNC invested into its football team this season would be worth it, as the team rolled to a touchdown and got a stop on defense.

Reality check: From there, that game — and the season as a whole — devolved into a series of blowouts and near-misses, including losses to all of its traditional in-state rivals in Duke, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

Why it matters: Instead of elevating the school's program, UNC's performance on the field, coupled with a huge investment and some embarrassing headlines off the field, turned the Tar Heels into a joke for much of the football world.

What's next: Belichick still has a shot at redemption, however. He's poised to lead the Tar Heels again next season.

• Though fewer people might be watching, their opening game in Ireland will show what lessons the Super Bowl-winning coach took from his first season in the college ranks.

Federal cuts reach the Triangle

The Triangle has long been proud of its research universities and the companies and nonprofits their work has spun out.

Why it matters: But that also made the region especially vulnerable this year when the Trump administration began making deep cuts to grants issued by groups like the National Institutes of Health and USAID.

Zoom in: Hundreds of research grants were cut in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District alone, and Duke University had more than $100 million in funds frozen over an inquiry into its diversity practices.

• The result: Duke reduced its workforce by hundreds and cut its budget, and UNC-Chapel Hill cut its budget and put some building plans on pause.
• Nonprofits like RTI International and FHI 360, large recipients of federal funding, laid off hundreds of workers.

The big picture: After expanding for years, the Triangle's university ecosystem took a beating this year and looks poised to invest conservatively in the near future.

Tropical Storm Chantal

Tropical Storm Chantal might have had the perfect recipe for catching people unawares this summer.

• It formed rapidly over a holiday weekend and moved slowly while dropping torrential rain on the Triangle.

Zoom in: The storm killed six people.

• It also broke dams in Moore County, flooded businesses, roads and homes in Chapel Hill, spawned a tornado, and sent the Haw River to record crests.
• Some stores in Chapel Hill's Eastgate Plaza have not reopened.

Here are 5 things we are watching in 2026

🗳️ The midterms: We'll see federal, state and local races on the ballot in 2026, and the results will tell us a lot about where the country is headed and how North Carolinians view the Trump presidency.

• Depending on how votes fall, state legislative races could embolden Republicans or strengthen the Democratic governor's veto.
• There are interesting Republican and Democratic primary battles to analyze in March. And by November, the eyes of the nation will be on the U.S. Senate race.

💰 The stalled state budget: Lawmakers in the General Assembly are already six months behind on a state budget, so we're eagerly watching to see if Republican leaders in the House and Senate can compromise.

• Unless they do, teachers will go without raises, a children's hospital won't get additional state money and Medicaid money could dry up.

🚸 Immigration enforcement: Immigration agents in North Carolina have been using aggressive tactics to sow fear and confusion with an end goal of persuading immigrants to leave the U.S. voluntarily, Border Patrol's chief recently affirmed.

• Federal agents surged into Charlotte and the Triangle in December, and we'll be watching how they operate moving forward.

🏅 Sports: Triangle teams have a bright future ahead, and there are several storylines worth tracking next year.

• 🏒 The Carolina Hurricanes again have a shot at the Stanley Cup, 20 years after taking it home for the first and only time. The Canes have made the playoffs seven years in a row, but keep falling short of the title. We'll be rooting for breakout goalie Brandon Bussi, superstar Seth Jarvis and the rest of the boys in 2026.
• 🏀 Speaking of superstars, how far will college basketball's freshman phenoms Cameron Boozer (of Duke) and Caleb Wilson (of UNC) take their teams? Sports journalists expect both young men to be top picks in the NBA draft. And can Will Wade right the ship at N.C. State before March Madness? On the women's side, North Carolina is the only Triangle team still ranked, but N.C. State and Duke could also make deep tournament runs.
• 🏈 And college football should prove fun again, with sports gambling taxes helping local teams recruit national talent.

🍃 THC: A deal to end the government shutdown dealt North Carolina companies making hemp-derived THC and CBD seltzers and edibles an uncertain future.

• Will lawmakers create new rules by November to keep those products legal? Or will the industry as we know it crash and burn?